Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Chevy Luv and Ford Courier

The Subaru Brat was front wheel drive (when in 2wd).
Dunno if they made a 2wd only.
The couple i saw were 4x4.

Ford courier was a Mazda.

Chevy Luv was Isuzu.

Worked for GM and had some folks driving them.

Had the Datsun 1600 that little sucker could carry a load of oak.

No power but could carry a lot lol.

Those Datsuns had a tough engine.
Too bad everything else rotted away on em.
Hauled my first deer out of the riverbottom w one 😎

I plucked a ‘76ish Chevy Luv out of my dads junkyard at about 12 years old as a field bomber. Had several successful rides before trying some high speed back up maneuvers. Got going a little too fast and stuffed the gas instead of the brake. Looked down to see what my feet were doing, and cut the wheel for a better view! I slammed into a 15” birch tree and peeled all the bark off, while caving in the back of the old Chevy. Not a problem, I thought, I nailed the bark back on, and carefully backed the truck into a position that nobody would walk behind. Who knew (at 12yo) that nailed on birch bark would curl up in the matter of days … busted. After that Dad figured I might me a little young to have free access to the junkyard. And yes, it was a full framed RWD.

My 2nd vehicle was a little chevy luv rear wheel drive when I was about 16. After I got it tuned up it ran pretty well. I barely fit in it, my knees touched the dash. My friend had a diesel Isuzu pup that he loved and drove forever.

Bb

My dad bought the Mazda version in 1980, it was the B2000. Coming from a Ford pickup with a 302 that got 10 mpg he was crazy about that little pickup and the 32-35 mpg he got out of it. I remember it was a 5 speed manual and didn't have enough power to get out of it's own way, but it was perfect for him running 100 miles a day between his income tax offices with boxes of files in the back. If I remember right he crashed it with about 150,000 miles on it and still going strong, which was unheard of mileage in those days when a U.S. made vehicle was lucky to go 100,000 miles. He replaced it with another mazda pickup but by that time they'd made it a B2200 model and it didn't get quite the fuel mileage of the old one, but it was still getting over 30 mpg. Now 40 years later we still can't build a pickup that'll get that kind of fuel mileage.

Dad used both as a contract mail carrier.He liked the Chevy Luv best.Wasn't a bad little truck Dad taught me how to drive and it was a Chevy Luv.

In '73, we were looking for a small truck. We looked at the Courier and were considering it until I looked at the oil filter. It was under the engine and on top of the axle. I didn't see any way to get at it without a hoist. We bought a Datsun.

The Rampage was a pickup version of the POS Dodge Charger FWD 4 cylinder. My brother's first new car was a black and silver Charger in 1981 or 1982. 3 year note at 19.99%. Don't miss those days, buy they will be back soon enough unless we get a new president and congress.

Regards,

Kris

my tiny s10 2wd pickup was the bomb ...4c 5s trash hauler and 40 mile hyw boo hunt cart ....

My first vehicle was an 86' Isuzu P'up, 2wd. I owned a 4wd one later. Both good vehicles.

I remember that the first new car I bought, an ‘88 Chevy Nova, had a whopping 70 HP. 1,6 L, standard. 65 Mph max with any headwind.

If the consumer would be willing to buy cars/trucks with 70 hp again, mileage would be a lot better than we’re getting now.

I would buy a diesel Hilux in a heartbeat.


Not new of course.....

The early small pickups were all 2wd. I remember seeing some 4x4 conversion kits that included the front axle, transfer case, etc. It cost approximately the same as the original new pickup. I don't remember which car maker came out with the 1st factory 4x4 small pickup but it didn't take long for the rest to follow suit.

I owned both a Datsun and a Mitsubishi mini-truck. The Datsun was -- well, a Datsun. Utter crap. The Mitsu was 4wd and gave me great service for years. I drove it to a lot of out-of-state gun shows carrying all my stuff and it got pretty good mileage. I took it to an oil change place one time for a complete service - except that they forgot to refill the transfer case with lube. They ended up buying me a new one. Sold it not long after that.

As a class, they were useful, handy, and cheap to run. But pretty small for the average American, had jouncy ride, and limited haul capacity.

My Datsun wasn't a bad pickup except for the seat. It broke down very quickly and sagged in the back. It was a back breaker.

I had a Dodge D-50 4x4 back in the day. It was a rebranded Mitsubishi. A dandy little truck. I still helieve there would be a brisk market for a base model small truck. They were so handy and cheap.

They started out cheap but people wanted a/c so they added it. Then they wanted auto transmissions so they added those. The the government demanded dozens of new safety features so they added those. Then people wanted better seats, 4 doors, power steering, etc. so they added those. The cheap pickups were gone because of demand and regulations. I doubt that a base model would sell. We're too demanding of our comfort.

Subaru Brat, probably.

When I priced a Luv, in 1974 the dealer told me he could sell me a halfton for the same or less money.