Florence Beige is an unusual color name, but maybe I’m the only one here who wonders how car companies come up with color names. Florence? Who is that, and why is she associated with beige? The ad for this 1988 Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup can be found here on craigslist in Robbinsville, North Carolina, and they’re asking $5,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!
There was a bigger version known as the Mighty Max Macrocab, which may not have been the best name, as it implies it’s even smaller than the regular cab. It was their SuperCab version with extra space behind the front seat, and that’s always handy. I’m thinking of selling my 1980 Dodge D-50 Sport (basically the older version of this truck) because at 6′-5″ tall, there’s just not enough legroom for me in it.
I’d want a rear bumper. I know imported trucks sometimes came without rear bumpers, but it’s hard to believe this truck has gone almost four decades without one. In case you were wondering about the topper/cap/shell/whatever-you-call-it on the back, it reportedly has been on this truck since day one, according to the seller. Here’s what it looks like in there. Really nice, and more than enough room for weekend camping and fishing trips if a person doesn’t need modern conveniences, like bathrooms, running water, etc.
There was a 172.2″ long truck, which I’m guessing this one is, and also a 188.2″ model, and a 193.7″ truck. They were offered up to a one-ton, and there was also a Dodge Ram 50 version. This second-generation (1986-’96) Mighty Max has a nice-looking interior, with no visible rips in the vinyl bench seat or door panels. This one doesn’t have a 5-speed manual, as I expected; it has a column-shifted automatic.
The engine looks almost exactly like the one in my ’80 Dodge D-50 Sport, and should be a Mitsubishi 4G54, a 2.6-liter SOHC inline-four with 114 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque when new, and it starts and runs well. This one (as with mine) has a Weber carb. That may add a horsepower or two, but in the process, you lose the nice, factory air cleaner housing and the related heat tubing. Backed by the automatic sending power to the rear wheels, the seller says it has new tires, a new battery, and a new stereo system. Could you or would you use this little Mighty Max for errands or other chores?
Your next mini truck should be a Super Cab version Scotty. Pull out the back seat, and extend the seat track further back. Should provide the extra inches of legroom that you require.
That would be great, Jack. Todd Fitch said he’d fabricate that on my little orange truck once he’s tackled a few of his projects, but that would be a ton of work. I did a quick Photoshop version a while ago, just for the heck of it.
Well I guess it’s better that it’s just your legs that don’t fit. A large majority of the population today, it would be their stomachs or rear ends!
Fun fact: the Macro Cab version of these didn’t have back seats, not even vestigial jumpseats, so the larger cab just allowed for more interior storage space behind the front seats, not sure if it even allowed the seats to slide any further back.
They basically took the longer wheelbase of the longbed version, mounted the shortbed on it, and filled the resulting gap with about 10 inches more cabin behind the B-pillar.
Thanks for the information!
Great looking plain Jane truck with a lot of life left. Side note comment for a future 80’s ish MOPAR/Mitsubishi writeup…give some history/context as to the tipping point where Chrysler gave up its engine program to Mitsubishi.
Not sure what you mean? AFAIK Chrysler never handed-over any engine designs to Mitsubishi, but they did use plenty of engines supplied by Mitsubishi, most notably the 2.6L Astron I-4 engine with hemi heads and a balance shaft design patented by Mitsubishi (derived from earlier Lanchester patents they obtained), which they licensed to other mfrs. including Porsche, Saab, Fiat and, yes, Chrysler, which applied them to the 2.5L evolution of their 2.2L K-car engine.
I can vouch the Astron 2.6L engine in my Ram 50 is astonishingly smooth, let alone for such a huge inline-4 which would normally be pretty thrashy otherwiise. The sensation is almost hydraulic or turbine-like, with little sense of individual cylinders firing at all.
BTW, this one doesn’t have one of those; it’s got the smaller 2.0L Mitsubishi Sirius engine.
I didn’t say it correctly…at same point Chrysler “gave up” on their own engines and used Mitsubishi engines. I’m guessing the “malaise” era was the end? Didn’t mean to imply Chrysler handed over tooling/designs.
Rare autoloader model. Sweet little truck.
I had to take a double take when I saw this. My Dads friend had one identical to this, except it was a stick. Same color too. George was kind enough to let me take it for a drive around the block and I KNEW I wanted one. Unfortunately it never happened, at least not yet. But back to this one, its in incredible condition barring a couple bumps and bruises over the years. Thanks for the good memories Scotty.
I had a later model Ram 50. Picked it up off eBay. Low miles, excellant condition. First step was to have my local mom and pop Dodge dealer change out all the fluids, belts and hoses. I did point out the temp gauge was running very low but they didn’t pick up on the thermostat being stuck open. Not long I was zooming down the highway it went from full open to full close. By the time I found a place to pull over BOOM blown head gasket. At the time a used 2.6 engine was impossible to find but at least the dealer stepped up and bought it from me. They were peeved their errors and omissions insurance didn’t reenverse them.
Looks like this one has a Dodge Ram 50 eggcrate grille. At first I wondered if it might actually be a Ram 50, but all of the Mitsubishi badges/labels all over would seem to indicate a grille swap as more likely.
Badging/grille quibbles aside, these are great little trucks, smooth driving, rugged, easy to work on, and I love the blocky ’80s dashboard — that full-width shelf across the top is handy for eating takeout on the go.
The MightyRam50 forum is great for advice and talking shop, tho’ it seems bot traffic has been slamming the server and bogging it down lately, hope the admin can find a way to fend that off as it’s been a great resource for owners heretofore.
Nice article, Scotty, however I must correct you… you stated (second generation 86-96), the 2nd generation Mitsu based trucks were 87 models, not 86…great ad though and nice truck!
Seeing this today throws me right back to 1981 when I bought a Toyota truck that is identicle in colors down to the stripes , wheels, trim, and interior colors. The only things slightly different are the wheel well shapes, and the grille area.