By the 1970s, not every pickup truck buyer was looking for a beefy ¾-ton truck for his/her projects. Chevrolet got into the small transport game with the LUV (Light Utility Vehicle), an imported and rebadged Isuzu. Ford responded in kind in 1972 with the Courier, which was also an import, but supplied by Mazda. The seller has a “salvage” Courier from 1976 that may be better as a donor than a restoration project. Located in Camas, Oregon, this rusty opportunity is here on craigslist and priced to move at $750.
The Courier was Ford’s small pickup for about a decade before it was finally replaced by a U.S.-built successor, the Ranger. Ford fans will recall that they also used the name in the 1950s as a commercial vehicle, which was station wagon-based. Under the hood of this truck lies what’s left of a 2.3-liter inline-4, whose missing parts may or may not be in the parts bins the seller will throw into the sale.
If the 73,000 miles are to be believed, this Courier worked hard for its pay. That’s especially obvious in the floorboards and truck bed, where the latter has an ample amount of surface rust. If you were to dig at it, you might find daylight. The interior doesn’t look much better, though the bench seat seems to be in usable shape. A floor-shifted 4-speed manual is still in place.
We don’t know why this little truck was sidelined, but we’re guessing the 4-banger developed serious issues at some point. The seller isn’t interested in selling parts off this thing, so you’ll need to take it all as a parts truck or spend a small fortune putting this pickup back on the road. What’s your call? BTW, this is another tip from reliable “Curvette”!
Parts, parts and more parts. To de-rust this and put it all back together isn’t worth it. I once had a ’74 Courier, it ran and drove ok but used oil. I think I sold it for about $750 too, this was long long ago. Anyay, $750 here will buy you spares if you have a good truck, that’s all.
Lots of these made it out west. Strangely enough, these were somewhat more successful than the other compact trucks from Japan. Must be because they said, “FORD” instead of Mazda.
Fun fact: The Mazda version of these trucks had quad headlights. They were solid & tough little trucks…if you could keep the tin worm at bay.
This one is not bad by rust belt standards depending on if they have the parts. May be a few holes, as said. Fuel economy is big again this year.
Add says You need your own parts truck. But then you would have two parts trucks or more depending on what’s in your yard $750 for $200 to scrap it net loss of $550 I don’t know the demand for parts but these were fun mini trucks and can be built into some nice rigs.
Many were hot nodded with V8 transplants. Strong chassis and lots of room under the hood. Had to find a rear axle with more friendly rear ratio. Also the basis for the Mazda Repu (Rotary engine pickup) that had the factory flared fenders. Strong trucks with weak engines.
The Ford 2.3L has flaws. the one in my ’88 Mustang broke 2 rods and ripped holes in the cylinder walls. I would just drop a crate motor in this one to have a fresh start. These are good runaround trucks if you don’t need to tow a house.
My dad helped me get this exact pick up in 1981 and it was in about the same shape. I spent all the money I had and got it back running and drove it for a couple years. After replacing the radiator, thermostat and heater core it always ran hot if you drove it over 60mph
It’s tempting being local and all.. my dad and uncle both had Couriers and drove the wheels off ’em.
They were mini trucks before mini trucks became a thing. Think my cousin even had one that he dumped low in the early 90’s..
Used to be lots of these in the PNW
There was a company that made these into 4×4 also…
Always thought these were neat trucks!! I had a red one.
MAZDA…