The VEGA & PINTO Celebration Thread

[promo55]

Yes, yes, yes! I think all these kits should be reissued! The MPC Cobra II,Pacer,Pinto wagon,Pinto hatchback,Vega,and Shove-it (Chevette, to those that were not in the car business, back then),and the AMT Pacer wagon, all stock and custom build versions!

[henry57]

Here's mine,

[horsepower]

Yes, yes, yes! I think all these kits should be reissued! The MPC Cobra II,Pacer,Pinto wagon,Pinto hatchback,Vega,and Shove-it (Chevette, to those that were not in the car business, back then),and the AMT Pacer wagon, all stock and custom build versions!

I vote that if they do re-issue on of the Pinto kits that they do the '71 AMT kit, it is the only small bumper kit that was issued as a sedan, all of the other '71-'73 kits were all Runabout's but the best sedan body is the '74 MPC 3in1 release, it can be combined with any of the '71-'73 kits to make a well optioned sedan, the AMT sedan is a "plain Jane" issue, with no "glamour" options, where the MPC kit has them all.

[jbwelda]

i know i could look this up but this is probably a better resource than wikipedia for this sort of stuff...

so the original stock pinto was available with a 1200 cc 4 cylinder motor? thats what it says on that 75 MPC box.

cause thats just plain small! even by english car standards where everything was running 1.3 liter or more.

and to push around that heavy (though "compact" by those days standards) brick?

that thing couldnt get out of its own way!

but then the 74 MPC box says 2 liter four cylinder, which is a little more like what i thought was the base engine.

cause 1.2 liter is just plain underpowered no matter what you do. (cue the 500HP 1.2 litre motor photos). way too underpowered to run on USA freeways i would think...

they redeemed themselves with the small blocks though, a pinto with a small block was a potent piece.

too bad GM never deemed the Vega worthy of a factory V8.

[62rebel]

Pinto came out with the Kent 1600, not a 1200 as pictured... but 1600 was still anemic with a chunky car like the Pinto. it was only a short time later that Ford dropped the 2.0ohc in them, which definitely made a difference. BTW no automatics behind the 1600; too weak to lose any HP pumping oil. Mom and Dad bought a '73 as their FIRST "NEW" car.... we kept it for 7 years through Virginia winters and one wreck, put well over 100k miles on it.... the folks we sold it to probably put ANOTHER 100k on it. no A/C, no power steering or brakes, no GPS, no heated seats, no ABS, a three speed automatic behind a 2.0OHC four.... carbureted, no EFI... no catalytic converter, no O2 sensors.... exactly what i wish i could buy TODAY.

[1972coronet]

Here's some esoteric trivia regarding the 1974 Mustang II :

- First year for that bodystyle

- Last year before delicious catalytic converters

- Only year a V8 wasn't available in the Mustang

[62rebel]

AND it outsold the ORIGINAL Mustang by a long shot..... three to one over a four year lifespan, i think. pretty good for a car that everyone says is universally hated....

[W-409]

Maybe Other H-Bodies would be great to have too, especially Skyhawk and Monza. There are few different kits of them, but I don't know about the quality in all of them, but AMT's '76 Monza looks pretty good. http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a463/VintageDragRace/76%20Chevy%20Monza/P8263323.jpg That version, it has parts for factory stock car too, and SBC V8. Well, it's better quality, than I expected before I got that kit... Maybe those other AMT Monza versions are based on the same kit, but with different parts. Don't know about the MPC versions, though. Maybe they are different. But this:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsXuZoHqwHPmxVlphpP-7Lw8_QUV1lB6lPvrHW_d-ZcEU6fME6KpGOSSFW kit from '75 Skyhawk, is VERY poor.

Anyway, those would be great to add on this thread too, since they are H-Bodies, as Vega is too. That Chevette would be very interesting also.

[Monty]

AND it outsold the ORIGINAL Mustang by a long shot..... three to one over a four year lifespan, i think. pretty good for a car that everyone says is universally hated....

That probably had more to do with the oil crisis going on at the time than anything else. With gas mileage becoming more of a priority than all-out performance, the Glorified Pinto Mustang II was made much smaller and lighter than the previous version, which weighed in at 3800 lbs. Engine choices exemplified Ford's priorities as well, as the mighty '74 Mach 1 could offer nothing better than a 105-hp 2.8 liter V6. In addition, the Deuce also was the first Mustang to have those ungainly, federally-mandated railroad tie bumpers. Those two issues alone engendered a lack of respect among "real" Mustang owners for years. When I had my '73 fastback, I attended some shows where the promoters segregated the II's to a separate section.

That said, I've seen some styling exercises where modelers used the Mustang II body, reduced the front and rear bumper overhang, and ended up with a very sharp looking car.

[Wheels]

Ahem...

Not a thing wrong with Vegas or Pintos, but there is another reviled '70's American subcompact which was kitted and hasn't been seen in years...

And lets not forget AMC's other oddball- the Pacer, which was kitted by both AMT and MPC and, again, hasn't seen the light of day in decades.

I always thought Chevettes were cool little cars. Maybe because my aunt drove a red '78. A hot blonde could make any car look even better! I did my practice driving in a 1980 Chevette for my driver's license. I picked one of these up a couple years ago and it's on my build list.

I would love to see Pintos, Vegas,Pacers and Chevettes reissued.

They would look great with modern wheels and drivetrains in them or packed with big rubber under their rear ends!

[James Flowers]

depends on which Mustang II they would be thinking of re-issueing. the AMT kit that was out not too long ago had that horrible 1/2" deep interior pan, it's not deep enough to be considered an "bucket" IMO. the MPC M2's are much better so if you are going to re-issue one, it should be the MPC.

i'm not up on Mustang II kit history so i don't know who, or if both AMT and MPC offered the Cobra II kit but i think that version is a given for a re-issue

MPC did a much better kit both of them. Edited February 18, 2012 by James Flowers

[James Flowers]

There were both '76 and '77 MPC Pacer kits, NIB, which sold for $32 and $25, so there are still easy to find. If $30 is about what you'd pay for a new Revell Special Edition kit, and $20 gets you a re-issued AMT kit, why even hope for and wait on a reissue? The other issue with re-issuing the Pacer is I think it was last issued as a custom, just like the Gremlin, so Round2 would need to backdate it and restore the body to '78 specs.

I can see the Vega having the most appeal with John Q Public, and I hope Round2 doesn't stay consistent and re-issue the Mustang II in retro box art instead.

I can not remember the last time I have seen a Vega in real life. Where I live you see Pinto's with V8's in them all the time.I check Graigslist all the time and have only seen one Vega for sale not so for the Pinto you see them pretty often.I think it has something to do with the Vegas rusting out so bad here.

[Maindrian Pace]

My Dad bought a '73 Vega brand new in Boston. In one year, it had rust all around the windshield.(?) One day, he got pulled over for no license plate. The rear valance was plastic, and broke off taking the plate with it. It blew a head gasket, and was at the dealer more often than it was on the road. Before lemon laws, nothing could be done about it. He used to joke that the car was made out of green wall paper. He traded it in under two years for a Datsun 200SX, a car that pretty much never broke. Vegas were nice looking cars in a mini-Camaro way, but they had so many problems, that few remember them with any kind of enthusiasm.

-MJS

[1972coronet]

My Dad bought a '73 Vega brand new in Boston. In one year, it had rust all around the windshield.(?) One day, he got pulled over for no license plate. The rear valance was plastic, and broke off taking the plate with it. It blew a head gasket, and was at the dealer more often than it was on the road. Before lemon laws, nothing could be done about it. He used to joke that the car was made out of green wall paper. He traded it in under two years for a Datsun 200SX, a car that pretty much never broke. Vegas were nice looking cars in a mini-Camaro way, but they had so many problems, that few remember them with any kind of enthusiasm.

-MJS

Those cars rusted even out here in the Mediterranean Climate of California !

I worked with someone whom used to work at the Los Angeles South Gate Plant . For one year , this plant built the "H-Special" (Monza , et al.) ; I believe this was in 1975 .

My former co-worker related stories to me of how everyone on that line was stoned on Crosstops or Methedrine ; that the drivertrain guy was so high that he was swinging engine-transmission assemblies right through the cars' windshields !

Much of the build quality issues of the "H" and "H-Specials" are directly attributed to white collar types whom thought that "100 Cars Per Hour" was efficient and achievable !

Small wonder that the line workers said "No problem ! And , no problem doing a half-assed job ! "

[oldscool]

My Dad bought a '73 Vega brand new in Boston. In one year, it had rust all around the windshield.(?) One day, he got pulled over for no license plate. The rear valance was plastic, and broke off taking the plate with it. It blew a head gasket, and was at the dealer more often than it was on the road. Before lemon laws, nothing could be done about it. He used to joke that the car was made out of green wall paper. He traded it in under two years for a Datsun 200SX, a car that pretty much never broke. Vegas were nice looking cars in a mini-Camaro way, but they had so many problems, that few remember them with any kind of enthusiasm.

-MJS

This is why there are so few of them left. The bodies all rusted away and the engines were gone in 50,000 miles. I had a neighbor who had a new one that his grandparents gave him. He was in the Coast guard and left it parked at the beach for a year while he was away. When he returned there was almost nothing left of the body and the car was only a year old!

gus

[Mr Stock]

Here's my contributuion to the thread, I built this one about 8 years ago from a sealed AMT 75 Pinto kit, Built completely stock, with the 2.0 OHC engine and a nice shade of green to give it that 70's feel !

[Dr. Cranky]

Gary, that kit makes me wish it was out already. Nice job.

[Joe Nunes]

I bought a new 1974 Vega GT, met. green with white stripes, and really liked driving that car. It didn't rust out as people were saying...I got rid of it after three years when, during a routine tune-up, we couldn't budge one of the sparkplugs. I also had a Ford Pinto Rallye Wagon (I think that's what it was called), was a two-door panel type that was red and black. Bought it with about 78,000 miles on it and drove it for a long time. I enjoyed driving that car, too. I'd have to purchase a model or two if those came out.

Thanks for the memories!

Joe

[styromaniac]

Nice job on the green Pinto...reminds me of the green '77 I owned for 6 years till '82...it was my first car & I must've put a hundred thousand miles on the thing before I got my Toyota Celica.

I never really understood the vehement hatred of the Pinto...any subcompact that gets rear ended at speed will be a potential deathtrap.

Once the potential fire issue became a national news story Ford was pretty quick to take mine in and install the longer fuel filler tube & buffer plate between the differential & the gas tank.

All the years I owned my Pinto it was not exactly a refined ride but it was a low cost reliable means to get a college kid around & working.

It only cost about two grand fresh off the lot.

Furthermore..during the eighties I worked w/ a stone mason who was a top flight mechanic ( he virtually owned the C-Gas class of drag racing w/ his '39 Chevy coupe when he raced in the 50's & 60's )

He liked those 2.3 litre Pinto engines so much he used to buy them & soup them up into boat racing engines.

So that says something about the basic engineering behind that subcompact Ford.

[ldc65]

I am new to this site, and as a Vega owner myself I'm gonna let this be my first post. I would love to see someone reissue a good 1971 - 72 Vega hatchback, with possibly wagon or coupe versions too. I had a few nice Vega models years ago but someone made me an offer I could not refuse and i sold the whole lot. the Vega Vooomer that came out recently is just terrible looking and not worth building in my opinion. I have had many Vegas over the years and have owned my 1972 Vega since I bought it from my dad in 1983 and installed a V8. it still has no rust to this day even though the body has been stripped and only primered for about 23 years now

[Chuck Most]

Gimme a Pintera, please...

Better still... gimme a new-tool Pinto! Yeah, yeah... not gonna hold my breath..

[Dr. Cranky]

That would be something, wouldn't it, Chuck.

[Rob Hall]

My sister's first car was a new '76 Pinto Runabout...5 winters in Ohio and a cross country trip to AZ towing a U-Haul trailer when she moved out here pretty much killed it...by '81 it was battered and worn out, replaced it with her first Datsun 280Z...

I have a couple MPC Pintos ('74 coupe, '77 wagon)...never had any of the AMT ones, that Pintera kit looks interesting.

My brother had a '71 Pinto briefly in the '70s, and a '74 Vega GT. My Dad had a '77 Vega sedan for a few years as a tow car for the family motorhome.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Rob Hall

[turn1wonder]

First car that I had/drove legally was an orange woodie Astra wagon. I got a job delivering pizza the day before the drivers door packed it in.

Thanks Dad!

Bob

[1930fordpickup]

Here's my contributuion to the thread, I built this one about 8 years ago from a sealed AMT 75 Pinto kit, Built completely stock, with the 2.0 OHC engine and a nice shade of green to give it that 70's feel !

The first model kit I ever built Was this 75 Pinto. Put in the 429 per my brothers helping hand . Still laying around someplace.