Ford Pinto caravan heads cross-country to celebrate the model's 40th birthday

As proof that there's a group of enthusiasts for just about everything, owners of the lowly Ford Pinto are taking to the roads in celebration of the car's 40th birthday.

Pinto owners are driving from Denver to the Carlisle Ford Nationals in Pennsylvania this week, a journey of approximately 1,600 miles.

Leading the caravan are Norman and Louise Bagi in their 1976 Pinto Runabout and 1977 Pinto coupe, respectively. The Bagis were inspired to organize the trip when they heard of a Mustangs Across America tour in 2009.

We caught up with Norman Bagi this week while the group of 24 Pintos was taking a break at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

“It's been exciting and exhausting at the same time,” he said of the trip.

The group toured Fort Riley in Kansas on Memorial Day, then went on to take laps around the Kansas Speedway and, later in the trip, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“The Kansas NASCAR track was just how you would expect it to be, it was down-home,” Bagi said. “We felt very welcome there.”

The group took several spins around that track at speeds Bagi claims approached 95 mph. At the Indianapolis track, they were disappointed to only be allowed one lap--at 30 mph.

The Pinto's journey ends on Thursday as the crew pulls into the Carlisle Ford Nationals with a crowd, by now, of 32 Pintos. The cars will be participating in the downtown parade and holding a raffle of a guitar autographed by Ted Nugent, with proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Were the Bagis worried about their Pintos making it all 1,600 miles, especially with the car's reported safety setback of blowing up if rear-ended?

Norman Bagi said the problem was exaggerated, and that a simple retrofit fixes the issue. Nonetheless, Louise Bagi keeps a fire extinguisher in her car--good insurance for any classic.

By Julie Alvin