If the so-called “Toys for Boys” six-Porsche collection from a U.K. climate-controlled garage is too boring for you, may we offer something from the other end of the automotive spectrum. Toys for Men, if you will, because it’s going to take some elbow grease to get this six-Pinto collection from Hacienda Heights, California up and running.
All six cars are 2-door wagons — shooting brakes if you want to be cool — and all of them wear the same shade of 1970s pale yellow. Since the ad was posted to Facebook Marketplace it naturally comes with minimal description, leaving the reason for the hoarding a mystery.
There’s not even that many photos considering it’s a half-dozen cars being offered. The seller states that the Pintos “all different years” and that they “just got half of them running.” So really you’d be buying three operable Pinto Wagons and three project cars.
Unlike the Porsches we told you about, all of the Pintos for sale have manual transmissions, and the seller goes on to state that they each have clean interiors as well. Mileage ranges from 23,000 to 70,000. From the one interior photo posted, the black vinyl appears to have survived the Southern California sun pretty well for the past 50 years.
According to Barn Finds, which believes they’re 1973-74 models, these cars would’ve come with a 2.0- or 2.3-liter inline-four making around 86 horsepower. In 1974, a Pinto Wagon would have sold for around $2,775 new. In 2024 the seller wants $16,000 or best offer on each car.
The Ford Pinto is perhaps best known for being the subject of a recall and nationwide scare about its fuel tank being prone to leaks, and thus the fiery deaths of its occupants, during rear impacts. A leaked “Pinto Memo” shocked the nation when it showed Ford knowingly calculated the costs of issuing a recall versus how much human lives would be worth if they let crash statistics play out.
The families of two separate Pinto drivers took Ford to court in high-profile cases after their loved ones perished in rear-ending collisions. The jury in one case awarded the plaintiffs what was at the time the largest punitive damages sum in a product liability case. The other found Ford was not liable.
The NHTSA eventually forced Ford to issue a recall. Nevertheless, the public awareness and furor over the cases irreparably damaged the Pinto’s reputation. It was commonly used in popular culture as an object of derision.
Which brings us to at least one use we can think of for the six Pintos for sale. Since they’re located near Los Angeles, perhaps a Hollywood production company could buy the lot. Stunt coordinators often need multiple identical copies of the same car to destroy or modify. These cars would be perfect for the next 1970s period piece.
