Used Car of the Day: 1986 Isuzu Trooper

by Tim Healey

Published: June 25th, 2024

Today's UCOTD is a 1986 Isuzu Trooper that's in the midst of a build.

Right now it's a rolling chassis that needs to have the engine and transmission put back in. There are about 145K miles on the engine, and the body does have a minimal amount of rust.

The interior is apparently in pretty good shape, with a radio that can accept Bluetooth, newer seats, a Ford Explorer center console, and a functioning clock. Apparently the A/C worked well when the engine was in place and the vehicle was also nice and quiet. There are period-correct window shades and there are window tints.

The suspension is worn but apparently that doesn't cause any issues with the ride.

The seller will also include what is listed as a "literal truckload" of parts.

If you want to see more, click here.

The asking price is $6,000 and this rig is for sale in Plano, Texas.

[Images: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#UCOTD #UsedCaroftheDay #UsedCars #1986IsuzuTrooper #IsuzuTrooper #Isuzu #Trooper

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 35 comments

Corey Lewis 3 days ago
$6k for a project in pieces? Nah, these aren't really desirable. It's cool to see one with a body in decent condition, but that's all.

2 Reply
Lorenzo 2 days ago
This is a solid, squared off two-box, "some assembly required". Once properly re-assembled, the buyer will have no trouble removing all the Isuzu markings and finding a three-point star for the grille. Voila! a Mercedes G class!

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Ajla I do not think the IQS metric is useless but JD Power doesn't give enough data to the public to have a big impact on consumer decisions.
OrpheusSail My mom swapped her Oldsmobile station wagon for one of these when I was in high school. I remember the Infinity stereo sounding nice and the A/C being strong. I'd pick my little brother up from Little League, and he'd sit in the middle seat and have me point the center vents on the dash at him and turn it on full blast.
SCE to AUX When will the comments formatting be fixed?
Durailer I forgot how these things kind of resembled XJs in the rear quarter. Nice find!When we were kids, we actually wanted our parents to buy one of these so we wouldn’t have to squeeze 3 in the backseat. My dad would refrain, “Volvo doesn’t make minivans for a reason.” In hindsight, our childhood complaint was nothing compared to how my grandparents’ generation would squeeze larger families in their sedans.
Blueice Speaking about defects, has anyone ever axe the driverof an Aldi vehicle, what the four rings represent ? It is the most unknown badge of any vehicle. Perhaps themanufacture could add each letter, to the for mentioned rings. The closest replies were, the Olympics, Hula-Hoops, holes-in-family-budget, nose rings and bug deflector. Money, simply can not purchaseintelligence; axe college graduates.