Will This Junkyard Patina PINTO Run After Sitting Abandoned For 30 YEARS?? 

The Pinto came out when I was 13 years old, and soon it seemed like you saw them everywhere. I had several friends who owned Pintos, and I both drove and rode in them. They were considered decent small cars with good fuel economy, and were fun to drive-- especially when contrasted with the typical "road yachts" of the time. At the time, there was nothing "unique" or rare about them... between 1971 and 1980 Ford made over 3.1 million of them in three basic body styles: the 2 door sedan (which is what Lance's car is) with a conventional trunk, the Runabout with a hatchback and folding rear seats, and a 2 door wagon. In the early '70s, imports were taking over the small car market (following in Volkswagen's footsteps), and many Americans purchased Pintos, Vegas, and AMC Gremlins in their effort to "buy American" and still get some semblance of good fuel economy.

The #1 reason the media ran with the story is Ford decided it was cheaper to pay wrongful death lawsuits than to recall the cars and fix them. Also the first people to die in a Pinto crash/fire was a single mom and her son. They ended up issuing a recall anyway and retrofitted the early cars with a super thick plastic sheet in between the gas tank and the rear axle. I actually had a recall/retrofit car with the plastic sheet that I built into a circle track car. Many more people died due to the Chevy pickup saddle tanks on the outside of the frame rail than Pintos.

If Ford had just addressed the gas tank issue immediately, the Pinto's history would be a much different story. I still love the Pinto despite an easily fixed issue.

Lance needs to call this the Green Bean (Pinto bean) . Love it!!!!

❤😂😢😮😅😊😊😊 that’s one nice 71 Pinto I had a 72 with a 302 that damn thing was fast and they kicked ass and spit out Chevy and dodge out in the tailpipes. Keep up the good work. I see some more videos of new ones instead of a year old, I might subscribe

Nice car and hope to get it run soon.

Loving my new daily

I learned all about the Ford Pinto in ethics class at uni. The car wasn’t the problem though. Love your work 👍

I have been driving a 1972 Pinto Squire wagon for over 30 years. 2.0L SOHC/4 speed. It has zero rust, but lots of patina. It is an original AZ car, and the sun has burned the paint and faded out the woodgrain vinyl to almost white. It was originally Ginger Brown. Except for the cracked dash and drivers seat, the interior is very nice. A new paint job and new woodgrain vinyl would make it look almost new again, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do. It gets a ton of attention the way it is, and I don't have to worry about scratching it. These cars are so easy to steal (not that I can see anyone wanting to steal a Pinto) all you have to do is connect a wire from the positive battery terminal to the coil, and jump the starter relay with a screwdriver. You might want to put a hidden switch in it somewhere. The biggest issue with the 2.0L SOHC engine is the Ford copy of a Weber 2 barrel carburetor. They are almost impossible to get right. I'm thinking about putting a one barrel carb on mine. I set points with a business card. So far it has worked every time. I would pour some two stroke premix into the carburetor. Starting fluid tends to burn holes in pistons, and has no lubricating ability. Accelerator pump diaphragms don't last long with ethanol gas. I have to replace mine about once a year.

I bought a brand new 79 pinto in Dec 1978. I was an E-1 (AB) at Wright Patterson AFB.

This Pinto has the 1978 Factory gas tank fix. So, no explosions happening here. You can tell by the gas cap. It's definitely a 4 speed. The drivers seat is out out a later Pinto. Ooh, you got the Kent 1600 CC motor. My 72 Pinto Runabout had the 2000 CC engine with factory disc brakes and automatic transmission. It was exactly the same color as yours, but it had a black interior. 1971 had 2 door sedans only. The Runabout was a midyear option and had a smaller window, which was later enlarged in 1972. The wagon was introduced in 1972. Yoour Pinto has the same motor as my brothers 1978 Ford Fiesta. That was a fantastic little car, too.

Oh yeah it'll run. Be a cool going to towner.

Had the same type of problems with my '72 Pinto wagon. Needed a new fuel filter and a new mechanical fuel pump, then it ran fine.

next time you get a hd to start pinto, have a closer look at the choke, now open it all the way up and shoot some 2 stroke fuel in there! should light off right away, while you are at it, tale that carb off, get a rebuild kit for it and go through it, it'll run better with a carb not fully choked and overgrown with weeds!

More Pinto please! Just bought a 71 as well.

Pinto are very cool I have a 1972 2.0 modified but it's been siting for 20-30 years I need to refreshin the moter then put it backing the car get new seats ......

Pintos were never any more dangerous than the Toyotas and Bugs at the time. It's just that Ford got caught cutting corners on safety. It chose save money to by not addressing a known safety issue. The bean counters at Ford estimated that it was cheaper to deal with the lawsuits than fix the problem. If it wasn't for that fateful decision, the Pinto would just be another 70's economy car. It would be great to see more of this car. There are not many Pinto videos on YT.

That engine appears to be the 1600cc Ford UK unit.

Definitely want to see the pinto

❤😂😢😮😅😊😊 in a 59 Ford pick up the white one that is Hella sweet lowered to the ground. I bet you that thing will burn rubber good that’s sweet. Take care. Have a good week.

Sounds exactly like my dad's pinto when i was 2 in 1988, ran just as bad too.

❤😂😢😮😅😊😊😊 there’s a Pinto wagon in California. It might be for sale. If not, I know a lady that has another Pinto that she might sell and she has three of them and I want to see the motor run of that pinto. You have now the poison, green pinto, and let it rip after when you’re done working on it.

❤😂😢😮😅😅😊😊😊😊😊😊 I like to see that wagon too the Fairmont I had a LTD wagon it was nice six cylinder still got up to 130 or 140

❤😂😢😮😅😊😊😊😅😊😊😊 eco-boost 2300 will fit perfect in that and it was smoke the tires up and down the street and the track so far so good with the video

❤😂😢😮😅😊😊😊 bro what is the best year to beef up a pinto cause I’m thinking about doing another one cause I had like I said I had a 72. I don’t know what when I should go with and I wanna make it light and fast so that always kick ass

Put it on a Wrangler chassis with a tdi swap❤ some 33's and some wagon wheels

If I had seen that car for sale first , it would have been mine ...

❤😂🎉🎉🎉🎉😢😮😅😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 damn that’s pretty damn good for 30 and beat on my Ford and they still run.

Mines a '73 Ford Pinto 2door sedan, drive her every day