Ford’s use of the Courier nameplate dates to the 1950s. Beginning in 1972, it was applied to a compact pickup truck which was a badge-engineered version of the Japanese Mazda B series of small transports. The two companies had entered into a joint partnership that would last for nearly 50 years. This 1979 edition of the Courier is a surprisingly clean survivor since many of them were put to the test as diligent workhorses for those buyers not needing a half-ton or greater pickup.
The second generation of the Mazda-inspired Courier debuted in 1977 and ran through 1982 when Ford replaced it with the new U.S.-built Ranger compact truck. Many of the pickups, including the seller’s, came with an optional 2.3-liter inline-4 which was the same motor that was used in the Ford Pinto, Mustang II, and Mercury’s versions of the same, the Bobcat and Capri. A 4-speed manual was the transmission of choice, though an automatic was optional.
According to the seller, this survivor is a one-owner truck that came from California with just 58,000 miles. The body and paint are original and in very nice condition considering the age of the vehicle. This truck is tidy enough to be a reliable daily driver or serve as a weekend candidate for outings to Cars & Coffee. It should start up the first time and every time, indicating it could have a long life ahead of it.
This Ford wears a new set of tires, and the AM radio still works so you can listen to your favorite talk shows. Compact trucks are no longer compact in size – so if what you need is something to bring home things from Home Depot – this pickup should be up to the task. It can be found in Frenchburg, Kentucky, and is available here on eBay where the current bid is $5,200. Could this be the bargain of the week?
It had to be from out west ; these were already gone from the East Coast by he mid 1980s – the frames used to rust and break right where the cab meets the bed
Fun to see one of these. Like DON says, they lived short lives, especially where rust was a possibility. This looks good with the whitewalls and the Ford corporate dog dishes.
I like to read the ads to get clues (assuming there is enough verbiage to work with cough…craigslist…cough). In this ebay ad the first two paragraphs sound like they were dealer-written, and include incorrect math (the vehicle is not 41 years old). Then there is additional random verbiage. Perhaps, re-used verbiage from four years ago with additional tidbits added by the current owner?
He’s definitely a seller on the ebay. Seems to dabble in all sorts of things.
One of my brothers owned one of these in the early eighties. One night he was driving home on a rural gravel road and hit a neighbor’s large sow that had escaped its pen.
The front fenders on his Courier popped off like one of the “you wreck ’em” toys of the day – I forget the brand name of the toy now. Hilarious. Took him a long time to live down that event.
If it’s the same toy that I am thinking of, it’s called Smash-Up Derby. The version that I remember resembled a VW beetle and a GMC full size pickup.
I had one of those! Not those same vehicles, but I remember it being a blast to play with.
I can even remember the TV commercial jingle.
Yep, it’s what I remembered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMmvQgJ4Ao
PRA4SNW, I had one of this version too!
Crash-Mobile was the toy from the 1960’s
I’m seriously thinking about this lil Ford. Not 3,000 miles away and I’ve never seen one this clean, since they were new. And, it’ll fit in the garage.
Just last week, there was one of these parked at a supermarket, close to the street. I thought it might be for sale, based on where it was parked, but it wasn’t.
It was a bit beat up, but it was amazing to see one of these.
The “Rodney Dangerfield” of mini trucks, they just got no respect, even though, they were the best of the bunch. The motor was a 2.0 and basis for the 2.3 Pinto motor. The cam belt being the Achilles heel, but easily changed and no damage except a few busted knuckles. Motor aside, it had all the, um, downsides of any Asian pickups, but at about the same price as a Toyota, about $4700, it really was a toss up. I suppose if you just had to have a Ford and couldn’t wait for the Ranger, this did just as well. Great find.
I wouldn’t say anywhere near the best of the bunch ; as far as import trucks go, rust was the killer for all of them , but it would be hard to beat a Toyota 20r ,22r, or an L20b Datsun engine. The Courier was just a rebadged Mazda ,and in the hierarchy of imports, it was well below Toyota and Datsun in every sense
Hi karl, while the public tended to follow the mainstream, anyone that knew anything, knew the Courier was better, particularly because of its affiliation with Ford. To most, Mazda was basically unheard of, except for that rotary fiasco and light bulbs. I feel any sales of these at all were because they were marketed by a familiar name. Think Opel and Capri. To many, Toyota and Datsun were still swear words, and some blissfully never even knew a Courier was a Mazda. They didn’t want to know. It said Ford, and that’s all that mattered. The Chevy LUV got the same deal.
I remember these fondly. My uncle had a white one that he drove for a long time. He lived in California so no rust problems there. It wasn’t fast but it got you there with decent gas mileage.
I think it could be the buy of the week, for the right person. I need a little beat around transportation and this truck would be perfect.
Ford’s answer to the Chevy LUV, a rebadged Isuzu pickup truck, they were both sort of stopgap measures until the Chevy S10 and Ford Ranger hit the streets. These were closer in size to their Asian competitors, The Toyota SR5 Sport Truck and the Nissan offering (whose name escapes me), while the Ranger and S10 were larger, as befitting American’s appetites for bigger being better, even when talking about small trucks.
IIRC, the cross-pollination went both ways, as Mazda later sold a version of the Ranger under its own nameplate. I was a young engineer working for Sylvania, a supplier to Ford, when I was sent to Ford’s Louisville, KY, plant on an investigation into an issue with Sylvania’s CHMSL (third brake light) supplied to Ford for the Explorer, when I saw Explorers, Rangers, Mazda pickups, Mazda Navajo and Mercury Mountaineer (Mercury’s version of the Explorer) all coming down the production line at the same time!
I had the Mazda B2000 version, which is a much better choice over the Courier. Just don’t leave a salt shaker from lunch in the glove box overnight, or your truck will be gone the next morning.
I bet I’m not the only one who wishes that trucks like this were still being made. I had a 1982 Toyota pickup. It was so practical and fun to drive to boot. Someone will be happy with this little Ford. GLWTS
i owned a 1986 mazda b2200 and it was not only a nice little truck but also very reliable and very easy to work on. got decent gas mileage and responded well to tweaks. the only problem i ever had with it was (in my opinion) it was rated as a 1/2 ton. i filled it with just under a half ton (927lbs weighed at the landscape store) of garden rocks and it was scary driving the 7 mile trip back home. i don’t think the brakes were adequate for that much weight. i was 130lbs soaking wet at that time.
It’s great that the door cards are not cut up with speakers but it appears that they cut up the dash cover instead because I don’t remember the speaker looking like that. I’m trying to figure out how I might be able to get that dash back to stock.
I had the cousin to this truck – a 1982 Mazda B2000 Sundowner – that I purchased new back in the day. It was a great truck that I used to haul all sorts of stuff. Mine was white with a tan vinyl interior.