Used Car Of The Day: 1986 Isuzu Trooper

by Tim Healey

Published: August 7th, 2025

Today we're bringing you what appears to be a project car with this 1986 Isuzu Trooper.

This one has a body that seems to be in decent shape, but apparently it needs a new chassis. The engine also leaks oil -- a lot, according to the seller -- and the frame is peeling in the back.

Still, it runs and drives, and the current owner wants to sell it to someone who will restore it or "put it to good use", which I translate as "turn into a rig for muddin'."

Anyway, this one is for sale for $500 in Idaho. Click here for more.

[Images: Seller]

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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.

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Comments

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6 of 18 comments

MaintenanceCosts on Aug 07, 2025

Rusted frame? Junkyard material. Just pull off the decent body and interior parts to sell separately.

Like Reply
Jeff on Aug 07, 2025

Isuzu still sells a pickup and SUV globally but not in the US. I have always liked Isuzu and liked my GM built Isuzu I-370.

Like Reply
- See 3 previous
- Grandmaster T on Aug 08, 2025
  
  How many i-370 trucks did Isuzu sell in the U.S. market?
  
  Like
- Redapple2 on Aug 08, 2025
  
  67
  
  1
- Jeff on Aug 08, 2025
  
  I don't really care how many I-370's were sold. Mine was fully loaded with power seats, power locks, auto dim mirror, tow package, leather interior, cruise control, and many other features. Very reliable and a smooth ride for a midsize truck. The only difference between the I-370 and the Colorado and Canyon was the grill and the badging. I don't buy a vehicle based on how many are sold unless it does not share parts with another more popular brand. The I-370 is basically a Chevy. I bought my Isuzu new for 21k with a MSRP of 32k at the time a bargain.
  
  2
- Grandmaster T on Aug 11, 2025
  
  Grill, or grille?
  
  Like

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