Since it’s the political season, I guess I can technically say that I was on the road, but since I live here it wasn’t a real road trip like the last Barn Finds On The Road report. I just happened to be downtown on a quiet weekend (if there is such a thing in a town of 3.8-million people) and spied this nice Mazda B2200 Diesel Pickup and couldn’t resist stopping for a few photos.

There are a couple of small dents and I could see some rust lurking under that beautiful, brown candy coating, but man, this thing was in great shape for a pickup in Minnesota that’s almost forty years old! And, it’s a diesel! This may possibly be a “Sundowner” edition with a longer bed and overhang in the rear, but I’m not sure and there are no Sundowner badges so it must not be one.

This is a Perkins 2.2L diesel engine with 59 whopping, stump-pulling ponies under the Bronze Brown Metallic hood. This has to be the ultimate option for the third-generation Mazda B-Series pickup. They made the diesel version from 1982 through 1984 so that narrows things down a bit on the year.

Someone must have absconded with the MAZDA emblem here; punks! This B2200 may need a headlight, too. Pay no attention to the rusty Outback on the right side of the photo.

Someone will know if this is a Sundowner edition, that bed sure looks long. But again, there are no badges, emblems, or graphics to confirm that. Yes, that’s a chunk of wind-blown cardboard under there. I never touch anyone’s personal property so I just left it. The cardboard was drip-free so that’s a good sign!

This truck has done some work in its life, at least some light-duty work. It looks good, though, with the bare minimum of rust and just a few little dings from being used as, you know, a pickup, which is what it is. I think that I can barely make out an “84” on the tail light which would confirm that this is the last year for for the Perkins diesel-powered Mazda B-Series pickup: 1984.

Again, not touching anything, although still a bit intrusive, here’s the only interior photo that I felt comfortable taking. I didn’t want to intrude on anyone’s personal space too much, but dang it, if you’re going to drive a truck as cool and nice as this one is, you have to expect a few gawkers! It looks like there’s a built-in cup holder in the top of the dash but that’s more likely where the missing speaker cover goes. This truck, or anything from this era, wouldn’t have had anything as silly and useless as cup holders. Of course, now they come standard on most shopping carts. Whomever owns this truck has a little gem on their hands. Kudos to them for keeping it in great shape and for thankfully not driving it in the notoriously-salty Minnesota winters!

Until next time, Scotty G reporting from the road for Barn Finds.