Ford Pinto/Mercury Bobcat

Ah, the early 1970s. Gas was cheap ... maybe 20 cents a gallon during price wars. The terms "Oil Embargo" and "Energy Crisis" had not been coined yet. We could put a dollar's worth of gas in the car and drive around town all night. Big cars were everywhere, muscle cars were still being made. But there was a storm on the horizon. For about five years, these funny little cars from Japan were popping up, Volkswagen Beetles were everywhere, and even though the Corvair had been a disaster, Americans were turning to smaller cars. The U.S. automakers responded with the first generation of home-grown import fighters.

So General Motors, American Motors Corporation, and Ford Motor Company launched, almost simultaneously, their assault on the imports. GM had the Vega, AMC touted the Gremlin, and Ford introduced the Pinto, somewhat unique to this group by being the only car to have rack-and-pinion steering, which we all take for granted today. All of these little cars were unibody, had rear-wheel drive, and were introduced in the glory days of no Five-Mile-Per-Hour-Bumper or Unleaded Fuel requirements. When the tougher bumpers were required, starting in the 1974 model year, the initial car styles took a turn for the worse as "Guard Rail" bumpers made the cars look heavy and awkward.

I always thought small Ford cars were trimmed more nicely than their GM equivalents. Rather than hard door surfaces and places for gauges, Ford had padded vinyl doors and needles that actually moved on the dash, though upper door panels were made of hard painted metal. Upgraded interiors offered adjustable head rests, again a feature not available on small GM cars. Cruise control, tilt wheel, power windows, and power door locks were never offered on these American subcompact cars. One thing I liked about the Pinto was the fact that, in either hatchback or sedan form, their profile was virtually identical.

But driving a Pinto was a different experience from other small cars of the time. Even though the cars were light, the Pinto's steering required more effort than the recirculating ball systems of the others, probably caused by the quick turn ratio. Pintos were initially offered with drum brakes on all four corners, which were not as effective as discs. The power-grabbing optional power steering and power brakes were a good idea on a Pinto, even though its compact size suggested that these should have been luxury items, not necessities.

The Mercury Bobcat, identical to the Pinto save for the hood, grille, taillights, and badges, popped onto the scene in 1975 and died with the Pinto in 1980. Both cars were replaced by the front-wheel-drive Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx, respectively. The Mercury shared the Ford's 94-inch wheelbase and offered the same 2.3-liter I-4 (88 horsepower) or 2.8-liter V-6 (98 horsepower) engines, and the same 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatics. Surprisingly, these cars were light; they weighed in from 2,000 to 2,300 pounds. For reference, a Mazda Miata weighs close to 2,500 pounds.

The Bobcat was available as a 2-door hatchback or wagon, but Mercury did not make available an equivalent to the "sedan" Pinto with an enclosed trunk. Mercury wisely installed the Pinto's deluxe interior as standard trim to appeal to upper-market subcompact buyers.

Toward the end of the 1970s, large vans became customized beyond reason with shag carpet, mirrors, CB radios, wood cupholders, RV-style windows (some heart-shaped), airbrushed graphics, and other gaudy niceties. Ford decided the Pinto Wagon would make a good economical approach to this trend, so the company gussied up its wagon with graphics, a porthole, raised white letter tires, nice wheels, a tach and gauges, sport steering wheel, spoilers, and some attitude. The custom vans were commonly known as "Sin Bins," and Ford called the custom Pintos "Cruising Wagons." I remember seeing quite a few of these on the road, so they must have been at least somewhat successful.

Sadly, what the Pinto became most famous for its proclivity to a fiery response to rear-end collision. Two crucial elements of the car were poorly designed--the gas tube filler poked directly into the tank, sparking a fire in a serious collision, and the tank itself had very little protection from impact. The Pinto's body structure was also weak; the body cavity would bend on impact and the doors would jam, preventing easy escape. As a result, cigarette lighters shaped like a Pinto were sold in the finest novelty shops. Adding insult to injury, some Pintos came equipped with Firestone 500 radials, which had a nasty habit of band separation and blow-outs. The Pinto became involved in litigations and was a frequent butt of late-night comic jokes. Though the two videos here are short, they demonstrate the bad press the car received, which ultimately led to poor sales, a tarnished reputation, and an early demise.

The picture of the Vega, Gremlin, and Pinto is from Motor Trend; the interior picture(s) are from LoveFords.org; the Bobcats are from Wikicars; the Pinto Cruising Wagon is from Barraclou.com.

--That Car Guy (Chuck)

Comments

[Cap'n Dan on February 15, 2009 at 07:30 AM]

My first car was a 1971 Pinto, purchased when I graduated from college in 1977. The engine was not a 2.3; I believe it was the same 1.6 liter engine that was the basis for the Formula Ford engine. The 2.3 was the upgrade engine. It was a tough little car, though lots of things broke. For example, the inside door handles often snapped, because people used them to close the door. A junk dealer told me to use Mustang II door handles, as they were more plentiful and stronger. The left turn signal wouldn't blink - you pushed the lever down and the turn signals stayed on. You could fake your way through a state inspection by clicking it up and down manually. As someone else mentioned, rust was a problem. A front coil spring on mine just snapped in a corner. I had the shocks replaced when I got that fixed, and all four had to be cut out with a welding torch

Mine had originally belonged to my brother. I picked it up after he and I got slammed in it at an intersection by a guy in a Buick Electra 225. I bought the (totalled) remains from the insurance company, and my father and I bent it back into something like the original shape. (no, it wasn't a rear impact - driver's side, just behind the door.) A few months later I drove it for 100 miles after a radiator puncture, which was when I found out the coolant light didn't work. We patched the radiator and it ran fine. Then I left it outside on a night of -35 degF and froze the engine block solid (there was ice in the radiator hoses). That's when I learned that southern repair shops did not understand the concept of antifreeze. I called the car Lazarus, because it came back from the dead 3 times.

Mine was the absolute base version. It had the original 5 mph bumpers. The interior was very spartan - the passenger seat had no fore-aft adjustment, the floors were clad in vinyl, it had an AM radio (I added an 8-track). The front seat was very roomy - a 6'4" friend of mine was comfortable in the immoveable passenger seat. It was very very light, had good rear-wheel drive, and that little 1.6 loved to run. I always claimed that in the stop light grand prix, it could beat anything - for 10 feet. After that it was over. I once proved this to a friend who owned a Porsche 911, beating him across an intersection. After that he was just taillights.

I finally sold it when I got a little money and upgraded to a '75 VW Rabbit, but as a first car, it was a fun experience.

[Anthony Cagle on February 15, 2009 at 10:01 AM]

Carmela said: "I loved the Pinto. We didn't have one, but our neighbors did. It was their first new car (they always had beaters - Dad was a mechanic). It was the mom car and she took me and her kids everywhere in it. Whenever I hear "Making my way back to you babe.." song, I think of Mrs. Dale driving us to Friendlies after dinner for a Sunday (she loved that song.) She used to get her hair stuck in the door (she was tall) and a couple of seconds out of the driveway we would always here the door open and close and she pulled her hair in."

This is why this blog exists.

[BackwardsBoy on February 15, 2009 at 10:13 AM]

Both the Vega and the Pinto were fun little vehicles. I knew friends who had both. Also had one friend who shoehorned a small-block Chevy engine in his Vega, something you couldn't do to the Pinto.

[David on February 15, 2009 at 11:53 AM]

Had a 78 Pinto Hatchback (canary yellow), given as a wedding gift in 1983 I appreciated it (although no love) - it gave my wife and I 4 solid years of service through college. Replaced a muffler, alternator and some tube that carried transmission fluid - probably $500 all told.

[epobirs on February 15, 2009 at 03:08 PM]

I had the Bobcat, passed down by my sister. One thing I'll always remember is that there were only 14 or so key patterns, making it likely you could get into someone else car at random. I did this by accident once, and couldn't figure why the ignition wasn't working until I noticed this car had a red interior and mine was blue inside. I scrambled out and realized the other white Bobcat four spaces down was my ride.

I drove that car for almost two years until one fateful night in 1982 when I got into a collision with a Datsun 260 at the intersection of Victory and Tampa in the San Fernando Valley. It was probably my fault, being 2 AM and well past when I should have been home and asleep. The Bobcat was totaled and that was the end of that.

[Eric Florack on February 16, 2009 at 06:44 AM]

I had a 72 hatchback. Plain blue. Automatic. I always rather enjoyed that car. Added a decent stereo, and my CB, along with a pair of 102 inch whips in co-phase. Made it a bit harder to handle in a breeze.

I used to put a small mattress in the back and camp with it. Even put snaps on the hatch and around it, so that when the hatch was up, you could put some canvis I'd cut for the purpose around the outside of the hatch. I called it the 'world's smallest RV". Even had curtains. Only slept in it once, though.

At the time I was doing radio, and part of my job was doing traffic reporting from a stable remote location. The place overlooked a major freeway intersection, where 3/4 of the cars in town went through each morning. One mornring, I was running behind schedule and in my rush, I locked the keys in the car. Bad move, since I needed them to get into the remote site. I walked over to the gas station on the corner and called the cops. They sent someone down, who couldn't get the thing open; I'd just replaced the doors the weekend before, (Rusted out) and hadn't gotten around to putting the knobs on the lock pulls, yet. It was at that point I remembered I'd been working with sheet metal to seal up the floor, some. Acting with that idea in mind, I laid down on the ground, and rammed my fist up through the floorboard and the reached over and opened the door while the cop watched with amazement all over his face. I cut my hand a little but it was worth the look on the cop's face.

[djkenny on February 22, 2009 at 09:13 PM]

My Mom and Dad had a few. heck, I think *everyone* in my family had one at one time or another?

My fave was my mom's yellow 74 4 speed manual 2.3 liter squire/woody wagon. It has AC.

I recall playing with Hotwheel's cars in the back with the seats up or folded down. The Poison Pinto was especially dear to me. My Mom, being a young mother, would rip around corners and I would roll around. Good times!

There is a this certain sound to a Pinto~ as they reverse. A special-high-pitch-squeal as you accelerated in reverse...no other car make's quite that sound...

I actually bought a 72 2.0 liter (last of the standard German motor) Pinto~ about 8 years ago. It was a 1 owner old lady that drove it to church and the grocery store model. Only 15k orig miles and a lovely 'saddle bronze" color.

It was MINT. The recall sheets were in the glove box as was the orig Bill of Sale form Los Gatos Ford in N. CA. The rear leaf springs even had the orig tape still on them from the factory. The rear window had the smog info.

I bought (stole?) it for $1100... and then after adding another 10k to it...rebuilding the carb, new battery, new tires, motor mount, turbo muffler, decel valve that popped twice, tune up...about $500 into it over 8 years...I sold it for $1800 with a dent someone put into the side and left a fake ph# when they did.

It was slow. The brakes locked up easily.

The stick shift was easy to shift and smooth (but shook around a lot at idle). The trunk was sad.

Had it been a Runabout hatch model, I would have (likely) kept it. It had no where to put anything besides a suit case!

I think I made the right move keeping the 87 turbo Sprint and selling the Pinto~, despite all the nostalgia from folks who commented on it every time I drove it. I couldnt handle the lack of power and I hated the carb. I should have not had it rebuilt and had a Holly put in it, a cam, and that horrid smog pump taken it.

[shotgun on March 08, 2009 at 11:52 PM]

I love a pinto better than any other 4 banger made, they handle like no other, however Ive never drove one on the street I only race them on dirt tracks, Ive raced every other kind of 4 cyl but nothing comes close to a ol pinto

[Shawn on March 30, 2009 at 05:43 PM]

In 1984 (before I inherited my brothers excellent 1980 Fiesta S)I bought a 1971 Pinto Runabout. I paid $400 for it, and it was essentially rust free. Although it had a 2.3 (from a later Pinto) it had the 3sp C4 automatic... Although It did not start the next day (carb rebuild kit), it proved to be a fun car. It was a pre-'74 so it was lower and did not suffer from federal "picnic table" bumpers. I remember showing some guys in a Rabbit my tailights in an offramp situation - wereby the couldn't believe how this pig stuck in the corners - and that was its best feature, a low center of gravity, and stiff suspension made for virtually nil understeer...

[Mark M on April 30, 2009 at 05:15 PM]

When i was seventeen and quit high school(failing miserably)all i wanted was to have 3 things,a car,a girlfriend and a job.I bought my first car which was a 78 pinto 2 dr sedan,chestnut brown in color for 3,737.50(ive still got the reciept).For a guy who was washing cars for a living at the local chrysler dealer,everyone thought i had er made,brand new car,heck i thought so too.Iwashed it the first day i had it and there wasnt a speck of dirt on it.I remember driving home after work with it that night and paul mcartneys with a little luck was playing and i thought to myself,pinch me,i must be dreaming this,i felt like i won a lotto.My boss over at the chrysler wasnt too pleased with me crossong the bridge and buying a ford,but what the heck,i hated dodges back then.Anyway i showed off with it night and day till one night i picked up a couple of buds down by the store i used to go to school with.Soon as they got in i just had to show em how much power pintos really had.I was kind of going along fast and a truck stopped in front of me and made a left turn ,i sat there and sat there waiting for him to get a break and finally he moved,then i showed the guys how i could speedshift and make er squawk between first and second and hit er when i got in to third,i was really wheelin when all of a sudden there in front of me there was a big 73 chev making a left turn,stopped right dead on the road with his blinker turnin left waiting for cars coming the other way.About that second i heard buddy say "jezuz Markkk,all i heard was the crashing and crumpling of metal and me hitting my knee on the wiper switch and being thrown into the steering wheel.It was over,Didnt quite right it off but it never was the same after it was fixed.I got it back 2 months later and that following winter someone smashed my passenger door in,not my fault that time.I dressed it up nice with mag wheels and had to replace the clutch a couple of times and after 2 years sold it and bought a series of shit cars for a while.That pinto went through hell and still hardly ever let me down.I missed it so much that just a couple of years ago i bought another pinto and im in the process of restoring it to look just like my old one.Hope i have better luck with this one.Maybe i will play mcartneys'with a little luck" when i get this one on the road.lol

[That Car Guy (Chuck) on May 04, 2009 at 01:19 PM]

Nice story, Mark! I'm glad you weren't hurt. Good luck with your new Pinto!

[Gena on May 29, 2009 at 03:14 PM]

I loved the Pinto so much that I owned two of them. Both were red. One had the full rear window the other had the half rear window. That thing had so much room in it. It was my first car and my payment was $74.00 a month. Man you can't even get that at a buy here pay here place. I loved that car so much that I am looking for one to alternate with my Honda to drive back and forth to work. Anyone know where I can get one in FL?

[James on November 12, 2009 at 07:03 AM]

Boy you just can't find a nice plaid interior anymore...LOL

[Sterling Douglass on January 23, 2010 at 03:28 PM]

I have a 1977Mercury Bobcat which I have owned since Jan 8,1979.Well aware that the body is nothing more than a worthless piece of shit and it is probably one of the reasons there is a federal 5 year perforation law now,it only gets run in the summertime.The one half of one winter I did run it it was like trying to drive a Corvertte-one scary ride.Makes a great summertime only rig.Has 268000miles with a very good engine rebuild two years ago last October.An asshole by the name of Mark Crooks repainted it with modern two step paint and I tell you it is light years ahead of that origonal laquer!Big reason to keep it is the total lack of crap on it that the new ones force up your rectal cavity that you dont want or need.No power brakes or nothing else on it.Well radio.Pintos and Bobcats were quite popular around here for racing because of the way they were set up.That is okay.A lot of stupid people out there ruined a great rig and so I have the only one left in the area.SLD

[Sterling Douglass on January 24, 2010 at 12:09 PM]

Two items I had left out from my earlier entry:The only other real modification to the vehicle is that I went to 14 inch Mustang wheels.It improves handling and the car height immensly.That is what it is essentially-a Mustang II.The one point this site fails to paint out besides the differances between it and the Pintos hood and grill is that the Bobcat's brakes are also Mercury.I have had a number of Pintos and know right off the differance.SLD

[Know-It-All on March 11, 2010 at 07:10 AM]

Pintos and Mustang IIs are NOT that alike, and for the most part only share some bolt-on items. Pintos and Bobcats have the same brake parts, but most if not all Bobcats came with power brakes (all 4 of mine did). Also, not all Bobcats came with deluxe interiors. Pintos steering needed similar effort as other small cars of the day, and have much better overall safety records. Ford used the "industry standard" of 180K per life (not 200K), as it was not strictly a 'Ford' thing. There is no evidence of the number of deaths that are mentioned in many articles, as many of those numbers were pulled from the author's butt. In the photo for this article shows a Pinto with significant re-end damage, however there is only minimal evidence of a fire (if any). I would think that at least the rear tires would have burned off quickly. IMHO: If I were in THAT car, and suffered an impact like that, fire might be the least of my worries. No cars of the day were made with safety as a priority, and laws were changing and timelines for them kept changing. Here's something: if everyone obeys ALL the traffic laws there would not be car crashes, and then we would ALL be safe out on the roads no matter the car.

[S L Douglass on May 04, 2010 at 01:42 PM]

Mercury Bobcat and Ford Pinto Front disk brakes ARE MOST CERTAINLY
Differant! Bernie R who is considered by many to be a total moron concers with what I say.He says "yea, they definetly are, but they simply can be exchanged easy enough.One fits the other." I do agree with him.I have had over 31 years machining experiance and he has just over 40.
The rotors are identical however.He combined a Pinto and a Mustang II with amazing success.Two of them were too much to continue seperately but the final effort came out great I thought.That Mustang motor in that Pinto was amazing!He just kept on with it and the final result was truly a cream puff.Now whom is calling whom a moron!

[Evan on June 10, 2010 at 05:16 PM]

Ah, yes, the Pinto and Bobcat. Don't forget the economy versions (labelled "MPG") from the mid-1970's with the small engine and the high-ratio rear end. In 1976 I had the dubious pleasure of a 1976 Bobcat MPG with an automatic transmission while my Capri 1600 was being worked on at a Mercury dealer. Between the smog-control-choked engine, the power-losing automatic transmission, and the high ratio rear end, it might get out of its own way if you floored it and passing required as much tactical and strategic planning as a good military campaign. Ford US could've learned a lot by looking at how the gas tank in the first generation Capri was installed as it was crash protected and installed in such a way that water formation in winter was greatly reduced (and with the same engines, the Capri got better gas mileage than the Pinto/Bobcat).

[vido on July 05, 2010 at 05:28 PM]

selling 1980 mercury bobcat ENGINE AND TRANSM SSION
cash and carry, $850 FIRM.

[vido on July 05, 2010 at 05:30 PM]

have 1970 OPEL GT 1.1 ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION.asking $850 firm, cash and carry

[vido on July 05, 2010 at 05:32 PM]

have for sale 440B chrysler engine, had 15k when boiught and never used it. $350 firm cash and carry

[vido on July 05, 2010 at 05:35 PM]

1995 parts f150, runs verygood cracked chasy nad rusty, $385 firm cash and carry

[cody woodworth on December 01, 2010 at 11:22 AM]

yah for never made a Reliant just want to point that out, That was one of the the K cars

[Paul on June 04, 2011 at 12:54 AM]

My stepmother had a red, 1972 Pinto with the 2.0 OHC engine and a 4-speed. I drove the car all through High School. After it had been wrecked and NOT repaired several times (yes, including being rear-ended once), it was given to me for my 18th birthday. I was thrilled to have it, as the alternative was walking. I did love that car. I really did not have to worry about babying it, as it the body was already trashed. It was fairly simple to work on (remember those days??), and I was secure in the knowledge that I could always look down on Vega owners. And Gremlin owners. It was better than the competition. I mean the American competition. After placing the drivetrain in a '73 wagon, it was sadly totaled one night. Which leads me to my Granada...