Odd survivor 1988 Nissan pickup

A 30-year-old Nissan single-cab pickup truck with a 4-cylinder engine and basic amenities might not anyone’s idea of a collector vehicle, especially since the majority of these were worked to death or driven into the ground. But miracles do happen, and here is a little “hardbody” truck that seems to have led an easy life and survived unscathed.

The Pick of the Day is an unusual find, basically because of its condition, a 1988 Nissan pickup truck that looks like it just drove out of the showroom. Indeed, the truck has fewer than 30,000 miles showing on its odometer, and judging by its appearance, that is likely accurate.

“Beautiful original truck that was used as an extra vehicle at the cabin for years,” says the Brainerd, Minnesota, dealer advertising the Nissan on ClassicCars.com. ‘They must have hauled sleeping bags and pillows around because the bed is perfect!”

Although the ad is sparse on details, the truck apparently wears its original coat of red paint, not faded or damaged, with a black cap covering the pickup bed. The bed appears in the ad’s photos like it’s never been used to haul anything, with essentially no wear or even any apparent scratches in the paint.

The truck is powered by a 2.0-liter engine hooked up with a 4-speed manual transmission, the typical setup of these vehicles that were designed to be minimalistic workhorses. The seats look a bit tired and there’s a poorly attached cover on the steering wheel, but the dashboard looks decent as do the gauges and factory audio system.

Low-mileage original survivors are always interesting, especially when they come out of left field, as this one does. I’m sure there’s an interesting story behind it, something about the cabin in the pines where it rested in the garage most of the time.

Whether this could be considered any kind of future classic is doubtful, but it certainly would be fun to have, especially with the low asking price of $3,900.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.