Recent purchase, a 1986 Mitsubishi Might Max pickup. Always like to have a spare vehicle on hand.
This is a 2WD, 5 speed, 2.0 with 126,000 miles (true miles, six digit odometer). No A/C, no power steering. Base, base, base. Decent tires. Drives out just fine, clutch is strong, and the brakes, while spongy, stop it in a straight line as they should. Has a bumper mounted ball hitch and flat four electrical connector. I'm the third owner. Bought if from a young man. Bet his parents bought it for him but he wanted an Accord.
The young man had the dash apart trying to find why the cigarette lighter had no power. Now the brake warning light stays on, the heater fan control isn't working, and the windshield washers don't work. The wipers do. Probably some pulled/loose wires. Didn't check the fuses; that will be the first step.
Body is good. A few issues around the rocker panels and the rear of the front fenders. The bed has zero rust. This is rare. These little trucks came over as a cab and chassis for tariff purposes. The beds were made in Korea and installed in Seattle or Tacoma. The quality of the bed metal and finish wasn't up to the standard of the trucks.
The paint is good, somewhat faded. The truck looks to be "Shed Kept" most of it's life. A local detail shop should be able to bring it back along with fixing the minor body issues.
There is nothing on this I can't fix, but I won't. At my age, it justs hurts too much. I can afford one to two hours of shop time and local detail shops are very competitive.
This will be the third 84-86 Mighty Max I've owned. One was 4x4 Turbo Diesel. The other was a 2.6 with an automatic. They gave us good service and were cheap to operate. I've probably sold twenty or more off the car lots over the years.
Gets around 30 mpg. With gas prices going up and up, should be able to get back what I paid (constant dollars, not inflated). So, I paid $1,000 for it and will spend another $300 or so. If I sell it a year from now for $2,000, I should be alright in terms of purchasing power. Based on my past ownership history, will probably own it for several years.