burningman wrote:
otrfun wrote:
Lantley wrote:
.....What is the Pinto notorious for? . . .
Exploding rear-mounted gas tanks (when rear-ended). It was big news back in the early 70's. If I remember correctly, the fix action was placing some extra sheet metal between the gas tank and the muffler. The muffler was mounted parallel with the side of the gas tank and was only an inch or two away.
The Pinto was notorious for being the victim of an over-sensationalized story, in an era when fact-checking was a lot more difficult.
That’s evidenced by the fact that none of you actually know what the Pinto was notorious for. Everyone just heard “Pintos blow up!” and believed it.
It was all about hitting the car so hard that the gas tank was crushed against the rear differential, and getting a hole punched by one of the bolts.
Since then, attempts to recreate the scenario have all failed.
Hit any car that hard and anything might get smashed against anything . . .
I owned two Pintos back in the day. I remember things a little differently. Buy, hey, it was . . . a loooonng time ago--lol!
Edit: Upon second thought, here's a little further elaboration on what I do remember. I believe it was true they couldn't recreate or definitively find the source of the problem. They made several guesses as to the cause. According to you, one guess was the differential. Another guess was the muffler. So . . . apparently in an attempt to appease concerned owners a sheet metal guard was placed between the muffler and gas tank. I remember having this installed at the dealer. I believe in later years it became OEM.
