That ’70s Showdown: 1972 Ford Pinto Squire vs 1979 Volvo 242

Good morning! Another week, another batch of cheap cars to choose from. This week, I’m only doing manual transmissions, I decided, and I’m going to go decade by decade, starting with the 1970s.

On Friday, we looked at a couple of cheap runabouts from south Florida, and there was some debate over whether or not the Saturn was the base SC1 model, as I indicated, or the twin-cam SC2. It has trim elements of each, but I’ve just never seen an SC2 that basic before, so I assumed it was an SC1. Whatever; it lost to a PT Cruiser.

I reject a lot of potential cars for missing information: too few photos, no description, et cetera, and I think from now on, I’m going to add another criterion to my decision-making. No underhood photos? Automatic rejection. If I can’t actually see what engine is in it, it doesn’t get featured. That’s how we’ll solve that.

So – let’s kick off our week-long salute to stickshifts with an economy car from the pre-malaise days, and an import with a cult following. Both have had a bunch of work done to them, and both need some more. Were you expecting perfection? You’re reading the wrong column. Let’s check them out.

1972 Ford Pinto Squire – $4,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Berkeley, CA

Odometer reading: 79,000 miles

Operational status: Ran and drove great – until it spun a bearing

Ford’s compact Pinto ended up being the most notorious car from a decade chock-full of questionable decisions from Detroit. Ford’s decision not to recall the Pinto after a bunch of rear-end impacts caused fires was not only boneheaded, but also heartless, and Ford deserved all the hot water it got into and then some. The hell of it, though, is that the Pinto was not a bad little car, really, especially alongside Chevy’s disastrous Vega. And the Pinto wagon, which wasn’t prone to catching fire if rear-ended, was actually kind of good-looking.

This Pinto wagon is the “Squire” model, with fake-woodgrain trim along the sides for maximum ’70s effect. It’s powered by a 2.0-liter version of Ford’s OHC inline-four, with an upgraded five-speed stick behind it. It has had some other performance mods besides the five-speed, including suspension upgrades, head work, electronic ignition, and a Weber carb. It ran and drove great until two weeks ago, the seller says, when it suffered a spun bearing in the engine. If you don’t know what that means, here is an explainer that goes into more detail than you could possibly need. The short version: You’ll need to overhaul the bottom end of the engine, or find another known-good-running engine and transfer the go-fast bits over to it.

Inside, it’s in decent condition, though there’s no telling how the seats look under those covers. But I absolutely love the details: a nice wood-rimmed Grant steering wheel, a “Keep On Truckin'” floor mat (that has to be worth something on eBay on its own), and an eight-track player. Even better, you can read the tape that’s in it: Black Freaking Sabbath. Hell yes.

Outside, it’s a little rough-and-ready, but true to form for a California car, it isn’t rusty. The woodgrain is bleached almost white from the sun, and the paint is chalky, but those turbine wheels make up for a lot. I mean, I know it’s a Pinto, but it’s – dare I say it – cool.

1979 Volvo 242 DL – $4,200

Engine/drivetrain: 2.1-liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual + overdrive, RWD

Location: Portland, OR

Odometer reading: 108,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives, but needs a little work

I still think it’s funny that the Volvo 240 series cars are considered “cool” these days, because back in the ’90s when I was working in a garage, they were anything but. Nobody wanted to look like a divorced mathematics professor or an elderly bookstore owner, and old Volvos languished on used car lots, overlooked by everyone, including me. Which is a shame, because they have always been really good cars, and better to drive than you’d ever guess by looking at it. Their popularity and rising values are sort of an automotive revenge of the nerds, I guess.

This 242 is owned by a young enthusiast, who had to leave it behind when they moved, so it’s now up for sale. It came from an estate sale about a year ago, and the seller did a ton of work to bring it back to life from what sounds like a long slumber. It runs and drives all right, but it still needs some work; the suspension and steering haven’t been touched, and the engine needs a little tuning yet. However – and Volvo enthusiasts will know how big a deal this is – the heater blower motor is brand new.

A lot of old Volvos are a bit piecemeal inside; often the seats have been replaced and don’t match, or there’s a big gaping hole where the radio should be, or something. But this one looks pretty good. It doesn’t have a lot of miles on it, which is probably a big part of it. I had never seen this gauge cluster in a 240; apparently it’s called an “R-Sport” cluster, and it’s one of those factory aftermarket things in that extra brochure in the showroom that everyone looked at but no one ordered anything from.

Volvos of this era only have one natural enemy, but it’s a doozy – rust. This one has holes in the trunk and one side of the floor pan, but it’s still structurally sound. A replacement floor pan is included, but obviously getting the new pan is the easy part. You’ll have to know how to weld, and take the interior apart. On the plus side, it does have some of Volvo’s best-looking factory wheels, and the cool 242 GT grille with fog lights.

’70s cars get a bad rap from a lot of enthusiasts, but they’re cheap, and they can be a lot of fun. Either one of these could be a wonderful weekend driver that you don’t take too seriously, and personally I like that idea a lot better than some precious garage queen that you’re afraid to park anywhere. You’ll just have to put in a little work to get them there. Which one is more your speed?

(Image credits: sellers)