1988 Isuzu Trooper 2.8 Turbo Diesel - Very Unique And Tough, Bio-diesel Ready. on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1984 Isuzu P'up

General Motors, wishing to sell a small pickup to compete with the likes of the Toyota Hilux and Nissan 521, began importing the Isuzu Faster for the 1972 model year, equipping it with Chevrolet LUV badges. Ford brought over the Mazda Proceed as the Courier the same year, while Chrysler turned to Mitsubishi to provide the Plymouth Arrow Truck and Dodge Ram 50 a bit later on. Once GM introduced the all-Detroit S-10 for the 1982 model year, however, the LUV's reign ended. Fortunately for fans of the Light Utility Vehicle, Isuzu began selling these trucks under its own badging here in 1981. This truck was called the P'up, and sales continued through 1987. Here's one of those P'ups, found in a Denver boneyard last month. This truck has the long-bed option. The purple paint and black stripes appear to be non-factory items, as the engine-compartment paint is silver. Under the hood, we see the 1.9-liter G200Z engine, as used in the Impulse and early Trooper. It had 86 horsepower on tap, which made this truck quite a bit zippier than the version with the 58-horse diesel (several decades back, I had a job that involved driving a diesel P'up and I can state from experience that the oil-burning P'up was an agonizingly slow machine). Still, this truck must have been on the poky side, what with its (optional) three-speed automatic transmission. What's this— air conditioning in a compact pickup? That was still something of a blasphemous idea in the middle 1980s. Someone installed a functional cold-air induction system involving an aftermarket air cleaner protruding from the hood, above the carburetor. Let's hope there was a filter element in here, because it doesn't do a carb any good to suck in bugs and dirt (not to mention filling with water while parked outdoors during rainstorms). This is by far the most common sticker found on vehicles in Denver-area wrecking yards. The Incredibles Empire appears to get mightier with each passing day, though I see plenty of stickers from other cannabis-related businesses in these yards. Fox Street Wellness is still around, though under a new name. What better vehicle for picking up a bag of Girl Scout Cookies weed ("best reserved for experienced cannabis consumers") than a purple P'up with hood-mounted air cleaner? Today, the Purple P'up's final parking spot is just a few miles to the north of this dispensary.

Junkyard Gem: 1992 Geo Storm

GM's Geo brand existed from the 1989 through 1997 model years. While mostly remembered today for the Suzuki Cultus-based Metro (which continued to be sold with Chevrolet badging until 2001), there were also Geo Prizms (California-built Toyota Corollas), Geo Spectrums (Isuzu I-Mark), Geo Trackers (Suzuki Sidekick), and Geo Storms (Isuzu Impulse). Storms are very rare now, but I found this one in Colorado last week. The idea of the Geo brand was that it would lure young car buyers in a way that wouldn't be possible with stodgy brands such as Oldsmobile or Buick. While GM never sold as many Geos as hoped, enough hit American roads that they were pretty numerous for a while. 1980s-style pink-and-blue graphics remained relevant into the early 1990s. I'm not sure if these pink decal stripes were done at the factory, at a dealership, or later on in someone's back yard. The Storm GSi was the factory-hot-rod version, but this is an ordinary Storm with the 95-horsepower, 12-valve engine. Automatic transmission, of course. It never made it to 100,000 miles. The car seems to be in good shape, so perhaps something broke at about age 10 and it sat in a garage for the next 15 years. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This ad, like the Storm, was very much of its time. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. GM emphasized the Japanese origins of the Storm. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In Japan, this car was sold as the Yanase-Isuzu PA Nero, a catchy name for a "Nice Day Fair." Featured Gallery Junked 1992 Geo Storm View 16 Photos Auto News Isuzu

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Isuzu Pickup, Zombie Response Edition

Isuzu-built pickups first went on sale in North America for the 1972 model year, but with Chevrolet LUV badges. Elsewhere, they were known as the Isuzu KB or Isuzu Faster, But eventually they got Isuzu badges in America, and were named the Isuzu P'up in the early 1980s. Later, they became simply known as the Isuzu Pickup (following Toyota's lead after the US-market Hilux became just the Toyota Truck) starting when the third-generation Faster debuted for 1988. Here's one of those trucks, found in a Denver self-service boneyard last Halloween. I see a lot of zombie-themed decor on junkyard vehicles, mostly just a single decal here or there (often combined with snowboarding and/or cannabis-themed stickers), but someone went above and beyond in the zombification of this Isuzu. This truck started life with a coat of dark blue paint, but that's just too cheerful when you're out hunting down the undead. Now it has a thick coat of flat black and "Toxic Waste Green" stickers everywhere. It appears that you can buy this sticker set on Amazon for under $30 right now. Remember when you'd see these Metal Mulisha stickers all over? In case you're looking for some Get Up Stand Up Light Roast coffee, Marley Coffee has you covered. Someone should write a doctoral dissertation about the stickers found on vehicles in Denver car graveyards. The engine is the 2.6-liter Isuzu straight-four that went into so many Amigos and Rodeos over the years. You should have four-wheel drive and a manual transmission when pursuing zombies across the wastelands of eastern Colorado, especially in the winter, and this truck has both. There's no telling how many miles were on it at the end, because some junkyard shopper nabbed the instrument cluster. While four-wheel-drive small pickups are useful even at age 32, the rust plus the manual transmission (plus the Zombie Appearance Package) would have made this one a tough sell for its final owner. When you have Isuzus of the late 1980s and early 1990s, you have Joe Isuzu! Did you know Joe Isuzu was a phone phreaker? The Isuzu Pickup was slightly cheaper than the Toyota Truck, if you considered only the stripped-down base versions. The only things scarier than Isuzu trucks are Isuzu trucks on sale!