Seeing as today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Pinto wagon has been turned into an open bed pickup you might feel the urge to quip, baby ain’t got back. That totally works but will its custom work and price have you also saying it better get back jack?
Considering the monumental 94% Crack Pipe vote on yesterday’s 1990 V8-equipped Kelmark GT, it would seem that buying someone else’s completed kit car is an act akin to marrying one of Josh Duggar’s sisters - possibly tainted, and potentially with tragic results. And of course, in the case of the car you have to pay the (too high) dowry.
We’ve been looking at used cars in the new car price range for far too many days here. Oh sure, there have been some interesting and desirable beasts, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that we need the cheap seats every now and again, sort of as a way to bring us back to reality, kind of like listening to some Bernie Sanders after a week of Trumphilaryupchuckabeecruz news.
Do you recall back in the day when Ford first offered a small pickup truck? It was the Courier, which was in fact built by Mazda in Japan, and it was a peach. At the same time Ford offered both the Pinto, which in longroof form was their smallest wagon, and the Torino-based car pickup the Ranchero.
Now, imagine if instead of the Courier, that Ranchero and Pinto had - as they say - gotten together. You know, bumped uglies, knocked boots, knew each other in the biblical way, got busy, had carnal relations, played hide the sausage, did the nasty… I could go on.
The result might be something like this 1973 Pinto pickup Ranchero.
Now, there’s a lot of benefit to an open bed pickup over the wagon that this car used to be. First of all, you can transport palm trees standing up rather than laying down, a position which tends to make them confused and grow sideways from then on. With every pickup you also get free admission to the Urban Cowboy Club. Cue up some Achy Breaky Heart and let’s get those boots a-two-steppin’ pard!
Before we hit the dance floor however, let’s have a look at this cool custom Pinto, which apparently we can do at Teeters in Rupert. How great is that?
First off, it’s a 4x4. In this case that means a four cylinder engine and four speed manual transmission. What? What did you think it meant? The engine is an 83-horsepower 1,998-cc SOHC affair, and the gearbox is Ford’s solid citizen shifter with four forward and one back.
The ad notes that everything save for the fuel gauge works, and that the car has a fresh paint job over its custom roofless bodywork. The back glass has been repurposed as the back glass, and there are tiny little sidelights behind the doors to make the equally tiny bench behind the front seats a bright and airy place to not have legs.
No, the tailgate doesn’t appear to open, but that just means a mobile hot tub without having to put on airs and add a fancy plastic tarp as a liner. This truck has everything!
Part of that everything is a price tag which comes up to be $2,500. That’s not too much dough, but is it too much for this custom Pinto? What’s your take on this great opportunity to drive a Ranchero-ette? Is $2,500 a deal, or is that price just a load of horse shit?
You decide!
Twin Falls MT Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Brian-K58 for the hookup!
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