How many Ford Pinto convertibles were made?
The official answer is simple: Ford did not produce a factory Pinto convertible. Any Pinto convertibles you may hear about are not part of Ford’s sanctioned production. The broader story, however, involves how myths form around car models and how collectors distinguish factory builds from aftermarket work.
The Ford Pinto, manufactured from 1970 through 1980, is known for its compact design and ubiquity in the subcompact segment of its era. Despite a wide range of body styles in many aging lineups, Ford did not publish a convertible variant for the Pinto in any market. The misconception persists in some circles, but the historical record remains clear: there was no official Pinto convertible for sale from the factory.
Official record: no factory convertible
What the production history shows about the Pinto’s body styles is clear: there was no factory convertible variant offered by Ford. The lineup included two-door and four-door configurations primarily in sedan/hatchback and wagon layouts, but never a factory convertible.
- Ford did not offer a convertible body style for the Pinto in any model year or market.
- Production catalogs and dealer order sheets from the Pinto era do not list a factory Pinto convertible.
- Any Pinto convertibles that exist are not factory-built; they are aftermarket or dealer-converted projects, and not part of Ford’s official production numbers.
In short, Ford produced zero factory Pinto convertibles during the Pinto’s run from 1971 to 1980. Any Pinto convertibles you encounter would be aftermarket or privately converted, not factory-issued models.
Expert consensus
Automotive historians and museum catalogs consistently state that the Pinto was never offered as a factory convertible. The confusion often arises from misidentified vehicles, isolated dealer conversions, or retrospective storytelling that conflates other Ford models with the Pinto lineage.
The aftermarket and collector landscape
Because there was no factory convertible, the Pinto’s convertible narrative lives primarily in the realm of rare, non-standard projects. If any Pinto convertibles exist in private hands, they are exceptional cases created outside Ford’s official assembly lines, and they are not representative of a production run.
Summary
The Ford Pinto did not have a factory convertible variant. Ford offered the Pinto in sedans and wagons, but never a factory open-top version. Any Pinto convertibles are aftermarket or custom conversions and are not part of official Pinto production records. For collectors and historians, that distinction remains important when assessing authenticity and value.
