Good morning, and welcome to Thursday, or as my wife’s boss calls it, “Friday Eve.” Today, we’re going to see if size really matters, and take a look at two tiny, hard-working trucks. But first we need to decide which button-laden sedan takes the cake:
Wow, lots of brave souls out there, choosing British charm over Japanese reliability. Honestly, with both of these cars in front of me, it would be a coin toss for me. I’ve always liked Jags, but something about the weirdness of that Sigma speaks to me.
But now, let’s talk trucks. Everybody loves beat-up old trucks, right? OK, what about beat-up old little trucks? How about beat-up old little work trucks? We’re about to find out, because I found a pair for us to consider.
1980 Toyota 3/4 ton pickup – $2,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2 liter inline 4, 4 speed manual, RWD
Location: Tacoma, WA
Odometer reading: 118,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
I’m surprised this truck has sat on the market for five days, actually. I fully expect, as I write this on Wednesday evening, to discover the link is dead come Thursday morning. But I already swiped the photos, and got all the information I need, so even if it sells, we’ll talk about it anyway.
Toyota trucks are, of course, renowned for reliability and durability. It’s not uncommon to see 300,000 miles or more on the odometer, and while the rest of the truck may fall to pieces around it, the mechanical core, highlighted by that 20R/22R engine, will just keep on keeping on. (Or at least the earlier ones like this will; my ’88 with those stupid plastic timing chain guides sounded like someone threw a handful of pennies into it, because using plastic for such a critical component is idiotic. But I digress.)
This truck does suffer from the other Toyota truck weakness: rust. It’s not terrible, but it’s there. You can see the bed seams starting to go, and although it’s hard to tell with the bottom third painted black, I bet the door bottoms and rocker panels aren’t too pretty either. But it doesn’t have to look good to haul stuff, and I bet this truck does that just fine.
Inside, it’s as beat-up as you would expect. The rubber floor mat is half gone, and I imagine the blanket over the seat is covering some really ratty remnants of blue vinyl. But as we’ve seen in other vehicles from this era, the minimalism of the interior is a breath of fresh air. And that’s a good thing, because without A/C, fresh air is your only option. It also appears to be lacking a radio, so let’s hope you can infotain yourself.
The seller says this truck runs and drives great, but will need tires soon. Luckily, they’re cheap; you can probably re-shoe this truck for under $500, and then wear those down to the cords.
And it’s a 3/4 ton long bed! Bonus! Yeah, this truck won’t be for sale for long at all.
1980 Dodge D50 with utility bed – $1,950
Engine/drivetrain: 2.6 liter (probably) inline 4, 5 speed manual, RWD
Location: El Cajon, CA
Odometer reading: 40,000 miles (probably 140,000)
Runs/drives? Yep
This is a new one on me; I’ve never seen a D50/Arrow/Mighty Max with a utility bed on it. Utility beds are rare on small trucks anyway, but on a D50, especially what looks like a Sport model? It’s got to be a unicorn.
This truck is, of course, not a Dodge at all, but rather a Mitsubishi. Chrysler never did build their own small pickup (unless you count the Rampage), relying on Mitsubishi’s Mighty Max to fill the space below the D-series in their lineup until the “mid-sized” Dakota came along in 1987. The truck was sold as the D50, Dodge Ram 50, and Plymouth Arrow at various points. This one, by the looks of the interior, started out as a Sport model, which would mean it has the larger 2.6 liter Mitsubishi four.
Bucket seats and a racy three-spoke wheel in a work truck? Sure, why not?
The rest of the truck looks like it has lived a hard life, but that is, after all, what trucks are for. And it looks like it still has some life left in it. It could use a repaint, especially on the utility box, but I don’t see much in the way of rust that would be a problem. It would be a cool ride for a handyman or painter or someone, with a little tidying up.
We don’t get much detail about its mechanical condition beyond “it does run and drive,” but that’s 80 percent of the battle right there. If it can come home with you under its own power, you’re already ahead of the game. Obviously you’d want to go over it with a fine-toothed comb before relying on it for work, but it’s a simple truck.
And it’s got a good face. It kinda looks like an old cigar-chomping foreman, tough but fair, chuckling at your joke and then telling you to get back to work.
Trucks don’t have to be gigantic to be useful. And they don’t have to be intimidating to be tough. These two prove that, and either one looks like it’s ready to get shit done. Which one would you add to your fleet?
My brain said Mighty Max, but … there’s history involved. When I was a kid my GF’s dad had a ranch in Sonoma and a 20R SR5. I did some work there and got to drive it frequently. There were much cooler cars in the barn, but the truck was cool too. Buckets and a 5M pulled me back to the D50 but in the end the “Truck” formerly known as Hilux got my vote.
Interesting how small a truck can haul 3/4 ton. A modern F250 “3/4 ton truck” has a MINIMUM payload of 3344 lbs, or just over 1.5 tons
That’s what got me to vote D50. A tiny Toyota 4 banger with an 8 foot bed? Okay if you’re hauling helium filled balloons but otherwise little guy in a fat man’s coat. Don’t need a utility bed but better for hauling small stuff and keeping it locked up. Not to mention Johnny Law usually gives a pass to the working man around here.
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2 liter inline 4, 4 speed manual, RWD
Location: Tacoma, WA
Odometer reading: 118,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does -> Ok let’s be real here, was this really necessary? When was the last time any of us actually saw a non-running 40 year old Toyota?
I think the availability of parts as well the unique 3/4 ton nature of this little guy has me too.
Actually seeing nonfunctional vehicles is rare regardless. Unless broken down on the side of the road.
Utility/service beds are way underrated, so it’s the D50 for me although I don’t think there’s a bad choice in this particular battle.
While the Toyota is the actual best choice, I’m a sucker for a utility bed, so I chose the Dodgubishi.
Both are interesting. While the Dodge is in “better” shape, the Toyota wins.
Boneyard parts should be easier to find. A good bed and maybe doors. Then either a MACCO cheap pint job or rattle can it.
While both are overpriced due to the market, I played the game of which would I choose if I had the money.
You’ll never find boneyard body parts for that Toyota in the rust belt. At this point, you’d have better luck learning how to use an english wheel and panel hammers to make your own.
Most of those are long gone decades ago, if not from the buyers, then definitely from the rust or the crusher. Maybe you’ll find a few on the west coast if you look hard enough. But definitely not in the rust belt.
The utility box Dodge is pretty specialized. The chassis too light duty to haul too much in it, and too old to store anything good in it.
The toss-up goes to the one that looks better as it sits: the Dodge. But I’d definitely want the Toyota more if they were closer to equal condition.
This is pretty close to a toss-up. I went dodge because SPORT PACKAGE and the Toyota looks rougher, but would be satisfied with either. Man, I wish small trucks were a thing.
Ahh, the days before a 3/4 ton truck was the size of a house
I love service bodies, I knew which I’d pick based just off the header picture, if this d50 was in my area I would go buy it.
Unbelievable as it might be, I am actually torn on this one. I can see great things for either one. Personally, I have little use for a utility bed but they have always intrigued me. I used to work as a surveyor for a living and would have loved to have one. Based on that one nostalgic thing, I’m gonna vote for the MitsuDodge.
Paint the Dodge all white and add some generic logos on the doors and tailgate along with some random letter/number combinations and max PSI over the wheel arches. Miniature utility truck cosplay on the super cheap!
Yeah, with the standard-equipment bed, it’d be the DeeFitty all day long. But the utility bed sends me hieing to the Hilux.
So I’m curious: what’s the parts situation like for everyday vehicles that are this old?
I honestly don’t know, but imagine it might be a little challenging at this point?
Engine, suspension and transmission parts are easy to come by, at least for the Toyota. Interior pieces will be much harder to come by.
That’s what plywood and shower curtains are for.
A quick peek at Rock Auto shows that the basics (brakes, gasket sets, ignition, cooling system) are readily available for both. When you get into the nitty-gritty, the Toyota has the edge, no problems finding parts for that one. They list almost everything for the D50, but a lot of it says “out of stock.” Don’t know if that’s supply chain problems, or parts that are NLA.
I went with the Toyota in this case. I used to have a D50. The carb on that D50 is a total piece of junk. Rebuilding the carb was difficult and it still was crap. I bought a gray market engine for it and replaced in a weekend in a parking lot LOL
I had a Dodge Challenger with the 2.6. I got fed up with the stock carb and went with an aftermarket Weber kit. Ran much better, although I could never completely get rid of the 3500rpm flat spot.
The 2.6 should be the 4G54 engine which is the same used in the Starion/Conquest but with turbo and a really goofy EFI setup. I’ve always wondered if that engine would fit into one of these to give the truck a little more pep.
I’ll go with the one with the short cab and looonnnngg bed!
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Gotta go D50. The rust doesn’t seem as life-threatening and that utility bed…*whistles*
If you really want to do work, these service body trucks are wonderful. And to be able to get one in a smaller, more maneuverable, probably better-fuel-economy-getting footprint, well shoot. The Toyota is fine, but like I said, this is the preferred choice of the guy doing more than basic hauling, dumping, yardwork, etc.
Although I like the D50, no one is going to depend on that thing to make a living at this point, and what non-contractor wants to drive a truck around with a utility bed? Gotta go with the “right” answer this morning as opposed to the likely loser..
Yeah. That’s a 42-year-old truck, dawg. You gonna trust your livelihood to a vehicle that’s older than half your clients? Hell, that thing is probably barely even highway-capable anymore, and carbureted? Forget about it. Not to mention the complete lack of any safety features whatsoever. Worst though is the look on your customers’ faces when they see you pull up in that ancient rig.
This is the second Shitbox Showdown where some geriatric Dodge has been proposed as a straight-faced option for a tradesperson’s work vehicle. It’s just not happening people, it’s about as likely as Mark deciding to start commuting to work on an electric unicycle. These things are curiosities at this point, or maybe the basis for an interesting custom build. Viable work vehicles they are not.
A D50 was only really highway-capable when speed limits were 55 mph, and that is probably true of all the small trucks from this era.
I wouldn’t plan on taking either of these trucks on a highway anymore. Anything over 65 mph is probably pushing them too hard. These are around-town trucks now.
It was a rite of passage to top out the 85mph speedometer in our ’82. Getting to 75 was no problem, but it crept up slowly from there.
To add insult to injury, just as I got it pegged for the first time, a motorcycle passed me. I dejectedly let off the gas, the truck backfired loudly, said motorcycle rider looked back at me and opened his throttle up to put some space between us.
With the pedal to the floor, my top speed was 87 mph, verified by the helpful state trooper who issued me the corresponding documentation (aka: speeding ticket.)
It’s the Toyota for me, but that’s mainly due to the D50 having the utility bed. Had it been the regular truck bed, it would have been a hard decision. Something this old and beat down, you don’t want to have to make the investment to swap the bed out. You just need something to throw junk in the back of and haul down to the dump or make Home Depot runs in.
D50, personally I’d pull that utility bed and put one of those Australian ute style flatbeds on it, mini ute!
I gotta pick Toyota for these trucks, even though the Mitsubishi is cool too.
Sport on the front, utility on the back, it’s a … Sport Utility Vehicle 😀
Kinda like a reverse mullet – Party up front, but all business out back!
I worked on drivability issues on WAY too many Dodge Caravan’s with that 2.6L back in the day, so the Toyota is a no-brainer for me.
I never knew the Caravan was available with that Mitsubishi 2.6!
I think a lot of it was the Mikuni carbs those came with. They were garbage and a PITA to dial in properly.
I went for the Dodge just for the dichotomy of sport front/utility rear.
Reverse mullet?
Beat me to it. I replied “reverse mullet” 9 mins after before reading your comment. Well played.
after COMMA before. Still not being able to edit is getting really annoying!
The absurdity of that D-50 is too good to pass up. Who the hell puts a service bed on a puny truck like this? I love it, and $2,000 is solidly in the eff it money range.
Having owned both, I’m partial to the D50 myself. No real reason, I was just more fond of it than of the toyota and therefore miss it more. Both are great little runabouts though.
I voted for the Dodge as well, because my first vehicle was an ’80 D50, and I loved it. I could hear it looking at these pictures, although I had to modify the sound in my imagination to accommodate for the added burden of hauling that utility bed around, poor thing. That’s like putting a saddle on a cat.
I love JDM trucks, like the Mitsu….I mean Dodge. But a 1JZ in that Toyota would be a soul shaker. Toyota wins today.