“It may be the best small car value of 1980.”
Ford’s Pinto was little changed in its final year, with minor trim and detail changes and the removal of the V6 engine option.
The only engine remaining was the Lima 88 bhp 2.3 liter/140 ci inline four with a two-barrel carburetor. A four-speed manual was standard, while a SelectShift automatic was optional ($340). 0-60 came in a little over 14 seconds with the manual. Fuel economy was 24 city/38 highway by the day’s standards. With a 13.0-gallon gas tank assembly that now included a longer fuel filler neck and a stronger fuel filler cap than in earlier years, a Pinto owner could expect a range of 295 to 325 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
The 1980 Pinto 2-door sedan’s base price was $4,605—about $19,700 in today’s dollars and 30% less expensive than any 2025 Ford product. Standard exterior and mechanical equipment included tinted glass all around, vinyl insert bodyside moldings, rack and pinion steering, front disc/rear drum brakes, and 13-inch black sidewall steel-belted radial ply tires on 13-inch wheels with full wheel covers. Inside, all vinyl or cloth and vinyl high back bucket seats, a mini-console with a storage bin, and an AM pushbutton radio were included.
Packages, Options, & Production Numbers
The wide variety of packages and groups available for the 2-door sedan included:
- Convenience Group ($118)—pivoting quarter windows, interval windshield wipers, day/night mirror, cigarette lighter
- ESS Package ($313)—black accents, premium bodyside molding, styled steel wheels with trim rings, ESS nomenclature
- Exterior Decor Group ($44)—bright grille and headlamp doors, along with bright rocker panel and wheellip moldings, bodyside accent stripes
- Interior Accent Group ($50)—Deluxe steering wheel, day/night mirror, woodtone appliques, cigarette lighter, rear seat ashtray
- Interior Decor Group ($238)—cloth/vinyl or all-vinyl low-back bucket seats, Deluxe door trim, Deluxe steering wheel, woodtone appliques, deluxe sound insulation package, courtesy light switch on passenger door
- Light Group ($41)—map light, lights in glove box, ashtray, engine, and trunk, courtesy light switch on passenger door
- Sports Package ($118)—3.08 performance rear axle with the manual transmission, Sport steering wheel with black metal spokes, instrumentation (tachometer, ammeter, temperature gauge)
Individual options included a flip-up open air roof ($219), Medium Red Glow metallic glow paint, a Tu-Tone paint/tape treatment, power front disc/rear drum brakes ($78), power steering ($160), the SelectAire conditioner ($538), and series of radios ranging up to an AM/FM stereo with cassette tape player and two door-mounted speakers ($191).
The best-selling Pinto remained the 2-door sedan (Ford’s description), which looked like it should be a hatchback but wasn’t. Ford sold 84,043 of the 2-door sedans (including the decontented Pony edition) compared to 61,542 of the Runabout, which actually was a hatchback but cost 3% more. The all-new Escort would follow in 1981, but that’s another story.
The View From 2025
I haven’t seen a Pinto in the wild for decades, and they have little presence in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds or on eBay Motors. Bring a Trailer has sold four 1980 Pintos in six years.
Make mine Dark Pine Metallic, please.
Other 1980 Fords I have written about include the Fairmont Futura coupe, the Mustang Cobra coupe, and the Thunderbird coupe.
Eighties Cars 