The Pinto

I’m sure the story has an explosive (rear) ending.
 
AggieMike88 said:
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I thought this was going to be about the Temco Pinto!
I want one!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJI_T-610_Super_Pinto

320px-Temco_TT-1_Pinto_in_flight_%28colour%29_c1957.jpeg
 
As a student in 1971 I bought a Pinto .... knowing full well it was a cheap low-cost car with good economy .... I was very happy with the car , put a lot of miles on it and the second owner also drove it for years.

Sure , there were issues with the gas tank .... in a rear end hit some exposed bolts on the differential would pierce the tank and could catch fire.

Most compact cars had safety issues but the world only points out the Pinto because of a publicized lawsuit on 60 minutes .... and in that case the Pinto owner was stopped dead on the freeway and was rear-ended ..... never a good situation regardless of tank design.

Below is a clip from a law review that shows the Pinto within the safety range of other compacts and even better than Datsun Toyota or Volkswagen .

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pinto.JPG
 
Pilawt said:
I was more of a Vega man myself. :p:(
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HAAAA ... in 1974 I sold my Pinto and bought a brand new Vega .... worse car I ever owned ... engine had to be rebuilt at 2000 miles (factory recall) ... gutless .... rough running engine that rocked side to side under the hood.

Traded it off in 1976 for a new chev pickup (good truck) but it was recalled because of a serious fire danger if broadsided ... GM had 2 gas tanks inside the box sides .... one in front of rear wheel and one behind .... there was only the thin body sheet metal and in an accident the tank was crushed against the frame and would burst ... GM subsequently placed a metal shield over the tank to make it safer.
 
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More Information nobody asked for but I tell it anyway .... haaaa

As mentioned the Pinto gets all the blame for rear-end collision deaths .... truth is it was semi-trailers that were killing thousands of people .... when a car hit the back of a semi it would travel underneath until it hit the rear tires ... by then the car occupants were decapitated and dead.

Eventually it was mandated that trailers have low hanging bumpers installed to prevent it from happening .

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semi trailer bumper.JPG
 
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When it comes to flying cars Pinto has the bragging rights .... this one actually worked and flew but had a fatal flaw .... the lower wing strut was riveted to the Pinto lower body which had no structural strength and detached in flight killing the designer and the project.

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flying pinto.JPG
 
A Martin said:
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More Information nobody asked for but I tell it anyway .... haaaa

As mentioned the Pinto gets all the blame for rear-end collision deaths .... truth is it was semi-trailers that were killing thousands of people .... when a car hit the back of a semi it would travel underneath until it hit the rear tires ... by then the car occupants were decapitated and dead.

Eventually it was mandated that trailers have low hanging bumpers installed to prevent it from happening .

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But what about the broadsides

 
A Martin said:
As a student in 1971 I bought a Pinto .... knowing full well it was a cheap low-cost car with good economy .... I was very happy with the car , put a lot of miles on it and the second owner also drove it for years.

Sure , there were issues with the gas tank .... in a rear end hit some exposed bolts on the differential would pierce the tank and could catch fire.

Most compact cars had safety issues but the world only points out the Pinto because of a publicized lawsuit on 60 minutes .... and in that case the Pinto owner was stopped dead on the freeway and was rear-ended ..... never a good situation regardless of tank design.

Below is a clip from a law review that shows the Pinto within the safety range of other compacts and even better than Datsun Toyota or Volkswagen .

.
View attachment 99532
Click to expand...

Pops bought a 1971 Capri, which was basically the same thing (same engine and drive train) except the Pinto didn't have the POS Lucas electrical system. Still, it was a great little car and fun to drive. Well okay, it was still fun to drive.
 
Not sure about a Gremlin, but he did have an El Camino with astroturf in the bed.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Pops bought a 1971 Capri, which was basically the same thing (same engine and drive train) except the Pinto didn't have the POS Lucas electrical system. Still, it was a great little car and fun to drive. Well okay, it was still fun to drive.
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Both cars are well before my time, but I've heard stories. A quick check shows that while the Pinto shared a couple engines/transmissions, the Ford Crapi has a 6 inch longer wheelbase and MacPherson struts which would imply a different chassis. If anything, it looks like it was derived from the Cortina (also MacPherson Struts) rather than the Pinto (control arms).
 
Tantalum said:
How is something like that missed??
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Its even worse than that .... earlier , the test pilot had the same thing happen .... (the strut separated from the car body) .... rather than stress the weakened wing he wisely chose a straight ahead gentle landing in a farm field and saved the aircraft.

But rather than strengthen the mount they just patched it up and the company owner was flying it when it detached again .... witnesses say he was maneuvering and the wing folded up and then broke off.

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asicer said:
Both cars are well before my time, but I've heard stories. A quick check shows that while the Pinto shared a couple engines/transmissions, the Ford Crapi has a 6 inch longer wheelbase and MacPherson struts which would imply a different chassis. If anything, it looks like it was derived from the Cortina (also MacPherson Struts) rather than the Pinto (control arms).
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I think so. The Capri was a unit body construction. The Pinto, I think had a frame? (someone fact check me). So, not the same in that sense. But I've driven both, and they felt the same to me.
 
The IMSA road race Pinto's with the 2.3 liter engine was amazing. The wild men that raced them cornered in dirt track style, and on courses with short straights and many turns, they could run with 911 Porche's. One year, the fastest Pinto at Summit Point broke the track record set by a 911. There is only one long straight on that track.

The Pinto's had an overhead cam hemi 4 cylinder engine, and with the free flowing tuned exhaust and high rev limits, they reliably made a lot of horsepower.

Car and Driver had one set up and modified to fit IMSA rules, and on the second race, they finished first at Charlotte. The Pinto had a better overall balance of traction and steering, giving a lot of retained speed in the corners. They also had a stiff frame and body, and with the required roll cage, flexed very little on hard cornering.

Watching them was a lot of fun, as the dirt track style had them in massive drifts at every corner after a decent straight to build speed.
 
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wsuffa said:
And yet it was no Corvair.
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When the salvage yard job was in full swing, I had fun asking other yards if they had radiators for Corvairs. Same with the young kids at Autozone.

Need to ask for a alternator belt for my Model 3 next time to see if I can get them to start checking the computer before their brain fully engages
 
As I noted in another thread, the only Vega I saw that was worth anything belonged to the son of a guy I worked with for the Navy in the late 1970s. It had a 327 ci V8 stuffed under the hood, rather than that crap 4 cylinder that the Vega came with. I was certainly glad I wasn't paying for that kid's tires. I had been warned in college by the local Chevy dealer about the Vega's aluminum block engine and its short left expectancy. Needless to say, I did not own one.

My f-i-l had a Pinto. Given how he treated cars that thing must have been well built. It ran and ran.
 
A Martin said:
bought a brand new Vega .... worse car I ever owned ...
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Yep.

I learned how to repair cars by owning a Vega. Almost every weekend something needed fixing.

Kinda reminds me of a piston-powered airplane, now that I think about it.
 
I guess I was lucky. I had a '73 Vega that made it beyond 70,000 miles without a problem with the engine (other than the rubber timing belt breaking... as you would expect of a rubber timing belt).
 
A Martin said:
But rather than strengthen the mount they just patched it up and the company owner was flying it when it detached again .... witnesses say he was maneuvering and the wing folded up and then broke off.
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I mean.. that is just an inexcusable
 
luvflyin said:
But what about the broadsides

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I dated a broad like that once .... she was from Europe and liked to go topless at the beach ... or suntanning in the front yard .

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"Ford has a better idea" was the slogan at one time and they proved it by going from the Pinto to the Escort!

iu
 
AggieMike88 said:
When the salvage yard job was in full swing, I had fun asking other yards if they had radiators for Corvairs. Same with the young kids at Autozone.
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Years ago when selling auto parts I'd often call competitors looking for a vacuum modulator for a Chrysler 727 Torqueflite transmission ... :D
 
When I was an rookie apprentice machinist, I got sent to the tool crib to get a bolt stretcher. The tool crib guy asked what size thread. I made another trip with the answer before I figured it out.

Cheers
 
Since we’re already this far off topic…

I went to a nautical-based summer camp as a kid. They’d send newbies to the maintenance shed to get 50 yards of shore line, or oar lock keys. Which would turn into a snipe hunt of sorts, with everyone in on the joke except for the hapless neophyte.

Fun times!
 
FastEddieB said:
Since we’re already this far off topic…

I went to a nautical-based summer camp as a kid. They’d send newbies to the maintenance shed to get 50 yards of shore line, or oar lock keys. Which would turn into a snipe hunt of sorts, with everyone in on the joke except for the hapless neophyte.

Fun times!
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To keep it aviation related… flight line and propeller wash
 
I had a Mercury Bobcat similar to this one. Upscale Pinto. I liked it OK.

upload_2021-8-29_18-22-6.jpeg
 
Daleandee said:
"Ford has a better idea" was the slogan at one time and they proved it by going from the Pinto to the Escort!
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They sold a TON of Escorts. I helped set one on fire one time. A friend's Escort died on the side of the road. I offered to help get him going again. Ultimately, we pulled the air cleaner so I could see if any fuel was flowing as he tried to start. Kafoof! Up in flames it went.

I smothered it with a towel or T-shirt or something. No damage done.

Turned out, it wasn't a fuel issue. It was a broken timing belt.
 
Had one like this one for several years including two transcontinental trips.

upload_2021-8-29_20-53-28.jpeg

Loved that car.

Cheers
 
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