Looking like a great little truck that just didn’t work out for the seller’s son, who wasn’t comfortable parking it without power steering, this 1990 Isuzu Pickup is a short bed model with a 5-speed manual transmission and is said to be solid. They have it posted here on craigslist in Millbrae, California, and they’re asking $4,500 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Barney for the tip!
I get it, my tiny truck is hard to park without power steering as well. I grew up without having power steering on my first few vehicles, but have grown so used to it now over the decades that it would be nice to have it on my little Dodge D-50 truck. I’ve been kicking around the idea of trying to figure out electric power steering out of a modern vehicle, but haven’t done anything with it yet. This is a basic truck, to say the least. Power brakes are standard even on the base model truck, as with mine, but power steering was an option. There appears to be a small dent or some rust on the rocker below the driver’s door; that’s the only glitch I see on the outside.
I believe the paint color on this truck is “Violet“, a color only offered on the 1990 and 1991 Isuzus, but I could be wrong. Maybe it’s Pewter or Dark Beige? Whatever color it is, there’s no rear bumper, and we don’t get to see inside the bed, but I’m assuming it’s in nice shape. The seller says they bought it from the original owner, a retired pilot, who bought a new truck. The third-generation Isuzu Faster trucks were made from 1988 through 2002.
Americans are so boring. Other countries got these pickups with names like Invader, Hunter, Brava, Rodeo, Dragon Power, Dragon Eyes, etc. And we got them here as the “Pickup.” Seriously, that’s what they’re called here. Whatever the name, they’re legendary for being both tough and reliable, unlike me. The interior looks outstanding for a California vehicle. I don’t see many flaws anywhere inside or out on this $4,500 Dragon Eyes. I mean, Pickup. The fabric seats look perfect, and it’s always perfect seeing a 5-speed, which was the base transmission.
The engine is Isuzu’s 4ZE1, the bigger of two four-cylinder engines available. It’s a 2.6-liter SOHC inline-four with 115 horsepower, 15 more than the 2.6 Mitsubishi in my Dodge D-50! This one is backed by that standard 5-speed manual transmission sending power to the rear wheels, and it’s said to work great with no leaks, no smoke, no issues at all. Have any of you owned an Isuzu pickup from this era?
Oh boy. That’s a very fair price if the condition checks out underneath, which I have a feeling it would. I had the 2.6 a d 5 speed in my ’90 Trooper. Sure, it won’t win you any drag races, but it had enough oomph to do what I needed it to do. I’d imagine on a smaller, lighter 2WD pickup it would be even better. I’ve probably mentioned 68 times on here I always wanted a Mitsubishi pickup from this vintage, but I always liked these just as much. The local Pontiac dealer ( remember those????) Had Isuzus as well and they sold quite well. We had a lot of them running around in the 80’s and 90’s. I’m surprised at seeing a carpet on a base model. Thats a nice step up from a rubber floor. I’m going out on a limb here and saying the rear bumper was probably an option, as it was on so many pickups back in the day. I can’t get over that price!!! This would be perfect for Home Depot runs etc. I don’t have to parallel park often, so manual steering is no biggie, just keep it rolling lol. This is a solid looking example. Great find Barney. And I thoroughly enjoyed your write up too Scotty…..
Hey….. Wait a minute…….Where’s the 4 door crew cab version??? Just kidding….
Just a thought Scotty. The earlier ones were called P’up. My buddy who had one called it his little Poop ( with a fake French accent).
There used to be these running around all over. Good small utility truck. No power steering, no A/C and the deal breaker, no power door locks. How can this be? Seriously looks to be a great deal and with what’s out there now how could you go wrong. Jump in and enjoy the simpler times.
Used to see alot of the 4wd “SpaceCab” versions up here, often manuals..👍 thought they were cool little rigs. Saw way more four wheel drive versions than the 2wd. Love this frugal little rig.
I too remember these being called the “P’up”, a shortened version of “pickup”, apparently. While some may think, seen one Asian pickup, seen them all, that just wasn’t true. To be honest, I thought the Asian vehicles that had US ties, Isuzu/GM, Mitsubishi/Chrysler, Mazda/Ford were actually better than the standard issue Toyota/Datsun offerings. The public, however, didn’t see it that way and T-D probably outsold these 10 to 1. The obvious downside, is these use a timing belt, and IS an interference engine, meaning, you don’t get a 2nd chance. If the belt breaks, it’s scrambled eggs, something Toyota owners didn’t have to worry about. Since most of these rusted on the way over here, the fried engine usually doomed most. Nice find, and I bet these would be a good seller again, if old men were their target audience, but quite frankly, I don’t think people want this type of vehicle today. They actually are hypnotized by their modern gee-gaws.
To be clear, power steering isn’t really needed on these, its not an R model Mack for cryin’ out loud. :0
Duly noted with the p/s.My 66′ Mustang has it and would have preferred manual.
Auto parts stores had many of these as delivery trucks around here.
Basic simple transportation in a PUP
I wasn’t crazy about no power steering on mine, but it was doable. Seemed well made, basic truck.
Never have heard of the “Dragon Power” truck. Now I want one after I looked it up. I’d have to get some of those decals for this if it were mine.
I drove my ’95 Isuzu P/U for over 227K before it started having problems. Mine has the 2.3L engine and A/C. Original clutch as well!
It’s sitting out behind the old hog barn as I type this.
I use to have one of these and it was a great little truck. Once the wife went and got pregnant I knew I needed a bigger rig.
We had thousands of these in South Africa and they were great pick-ups and apart from rust they were virtually indestructable. And here’s one for you Americans, it was graded as a ONE TON truck. That’s the UK one ton, 2240 lb. not the American one ton. In fact all of the same size pick-ups from Mazda, Toyota, Datsun, Ford etc. were all one tonners! The American trucks that I see as one tonners are massive in size and some of them seem to have four wheels on the rear axle.
Like the Chevy LUV, these were great with an SBC dropped into them!
These are absolutely bullet proof pickups! No suprises if you take care of them.