Here’s the reason Dodge didn’t build a pickup version of the Caravan. Well, it’s not the only one; Chrysler struggled for years to keep up with the demand for their minivans; the last thing they needed was a low-volume, low-profit alternate version. Mitsubishi had what the market wanted then in a compact truck, and Dodge sold it happily enough, to compete with the Toyota, Datsun, and all the rest. This was once a pretty big segment of the market.
Mitsubishi got into the minitruck market a bit late, not until 1978, as the Forte, in Japan it first appeared on these shores in 1980 as the Dodge D50, than switching to Ram 50 in 1982. I know the Mitsubishi 2.6 four was common in these, but the smaller 2.0 might have been available too.
Given that this one has an automatic, it almost certainly has the 2.6. That’s an engine some hate on, yet I’ve known others that got very long service out of them. A mixed bag.
Plymouth wanted in the game too, so for a few years a Plymouth badged version sold as the Arrow pickup was available. It was the only Plymouth RWD pickup offered ever, since WW2 anyway.
There’s still a few of these Mitsubishi trucks around, but their numbers are dwindling. Is that stating the obvious?
“I know the Mitsubishi 2.6 four was common in these, but the smaller 2.0 might have been available too.”
Fueleconomy.gov only goes back to 1984, but in that year, the Dodge Ram 50 was available with 2.0 gas, 2.6 gas, or 2.3 Diesel.
That’s a sharp-looking little truck in profile!
The people that I know who had these drove the wheels right off of them and still talk about them in high regard today. Rust was usually the enemy in the end.
Bartender at the restaurant I worked at in High School had one of these – I think they came without bumpers, you had to order them as an option. He had to go back to get his like a month after he bought it. It was a cool little truck though.
In the early 80s, many small and not so small trucks arrived at dealerships without bumpers. In Florida, dealers often used that rear bumper as a cash cow/gold mine, charging whatever the market would bear and often installing those big, ugly step bumpers with the dealership’s name engraved on it. Customers rebelled at paying prices that varied from dealer to dealer for essentially the same bumpers.
After a lot of pressure was applied to state representatives, Florida passed a law that all trucks MUST be delivered with a rear bumper, and the price asked must include the rear bumper.
I thought these had an optional automatic transmission whether you bought the 2 or 2.6 liter engine?
The unit I was attached to in the Navy had one of the 2nd generation trucks, a Ram 50. At the smallest bump, that truck squeaked momentarily as all the plastic interior pieces rubbed together. But it was better than our other duty truck: a 4 cylinder S-10.
I had a friend who bought a stripper ’73 Chevy C10. Not only did you not get a rear bumper, but no spare tire as well. You did get a wheel, though.
Hopefully they didn’t saddle the 2.0 with an auto, I drove a 1977-78 Sigma sedan with one and I always described the throttle pedal on that car as a “volume control” rather than an “accelerator”
I remember in Fort Dix, NJ in 1991 there were some of these on the base, 2wd government fleet trucks. Pistachio green with tan vinyl bench seats, manual transmission, radio delete, no AC, absolute strippers. Fondest memories were when you fell out on a pt run, you had to ride the rest of the way back in the bed of one of these while it followed the rest of your platoon back to the barracks. You didn’t want to be seen riding in the bed.
My father owned one of these for a couple years. I think it was an ’88 model. Quite a nicely equipped little truck, and pleasant to drive. His was a 2.6 5-speed 4X4. It replaced a 1984 Bronco II as an occasional use all-around hauling/plowing/dirtywork doing vehicle. I think he only kept it for a couple years because the 4 cylinder 5-speed wasn’t exactly a monster when put to work as a plow vehicle. It was traded in for a full-size Dodge with a V8 and automatic. Much more practical for heavier work, and the size meant that he could eliminate the small stakebed trailer he used to haul his lawn tractor, etc. between properties. Had I been in the loop when it was traded I might have been interested in buying it. I always liked that little truck, and its cab with buckets and console was just as comfortable as any mid-priced japanese car of the period.
Mitsu built these L200s forever 2WD 4WD single and twin cab petrol and diesel later models turbo diesel they are still everywhere and popular with young guys for recabbing as rat rods, with the usual V8 repower. There are two early models like this odge within a hundred yards of my house one is mint the other not so much.
Drove one after I retired from the Navy. First job was in Guam and I really liked it. Job was selling security services. Boss installed a tonneau cover and that thing did the job perfectly.
Surprised they started making these in 78. Went to Guam in Dec 78 and they were all over the place. Never clicked that I saw no old ones.
Eventually in 1987 Dodge finally made a larger compact pickup and it was called the Dodge Dakota. It was a bit larger than the Chevrolet S-10 and Ford Ranger pickup trucks that it was classified as a mid-sized pickup but still smaller than the full-sized pickups from the Big 3.
It’s worth noting that the Dakota had, at various points in its lifetime, bed lengths of 5.5′, 6.5′, and even 8′ on the regular cab models through 1998 (a second-gen Dakota RCLB is a rare bird indeed). Even modern mid-size pickups like the 2005+ Tacoma and Frontier and new Colorado/Canyon have beds no longer than the 5′ and 6′ beds of their compact predecessors, and when those predecessors had a long bed option on the regular cabs, it was never longer than 7.5′.
Nice looking truck and there are a few in Portland, OR. I saw one last week that said Dodge Ram on the tailgate then found this one a few days later.
Always liked the look of these – very smooth and well-integrated. Almost more an American than a contemporary Japanese truck design. When it came out, was it the first Japanese pickup in the US to do away with indented bed tops and tie down hooks?
The one jap truck make I never owned. Always thought they were really well styled. This earlier generation (up to ’86) only came in one bed length. Several of my landscape competitors worked out of these. Seemed to be a good truck, but then again, all those jap built trucks were bullet-proof. Regarding those rear bumpers, or lack thereof, those jap-built trucks were shipped without beds on them. I seem to remember it was due to an import levy if some sort. I assume they were stacked cab-on-frame, much the same way new medium/heavy trucks are, and rear bumpers would interfere with that.
And as far as rear bumpers go, until the mid-80s, all base model trucks, foreign and domestic, provided bumpers as an option. Every manufacturer had a preferred style though, even if some dealers sourced their own bumpers. The earlier poster claims that here in Florida bumpers were required due to consumer complaints, which seems reasonable; some others would claim it was a law to protect insurance companies from excessive sheetmetal claims. My understanding for the requirement for rear bumpers stems from cars under-riding jacked-up and lifted trucks in rear-end collisions. The Florida state legislature passed a law stating a bumper could not be more than so many inches (I forgot the number) off the ground. Well, that was all well and good, and was strictly enforced for a while, until some people realized there was a loophole that you could, literally, drive a truck through – pun intended. How can there be a requirement regarding bumper height, when there was, in fact, no requirement for a bumper in the first place? Thus the requirement for rear bumpers on utility-type vehicles.
The Mitsu 2.6 was widely understood to be the engine to get in the Chrysler minivans in the mid 80’s, before the V-6 was offered. People on this site seem to hate it for some reason, but it sure ran smoother than the 2.2 and was much more reliable. My Dad sought one out and finally found a 2 year old ’84 Caravan, complete with fake wood paneling. He loved that van and it ran for over 250,000 miles. I learned how to drive in it, we towed a pop-up camper all over the east coast with it. He loved it so much when it finally went teats-up, he found another…a 90 model….with Ultradrive and the Chrysler engine. It was a much more expensive and less pleasant experience.
Very cute little trucklets that for some reason Old Men seemed to love and take better care of …..
My Ex Father In Law , a good man , bought one and loved it , brought it to me for service . ugh .
The 4 cylinder engine was unburstable but the weird things like the carby’s wax pellet that operated the automatic choke and so on , were troublesome although it never failed to start and go , nursing it through it’s annual smog test was a headache .
I don’t miss it and every actual Mechanic I ever met who worked on them , didn’t like them either .
-Nate
My brother in law owned one of these in the mid 1980’s when he first started dating my sister. He has been a Mitsu fan ever since. As far as the 2.6 goes. my other sister and her husband bought a new Caravan in ’84. Had more warranty issues with the coachwork than the powertrain including one of the flip out rear windows falling out on the freeway. Chrysler took care of all the issues. But the 2.6 went 195K trouble free, before I ended up replacing the head gasket for her. Cylinder walls still looked new, and no ring ridge to speak of. And NONE of the so-called Mikuni carb issues so talked about on Allpar and other forum boards.
I believe the Napa in Millersburg, Ohio, still has one of these trucks for a delivery truck.
I owned an ’82 D50 with the the 2.0 and a 4 spd and an ’86, also with a 2.0 but with a 5 spd. A major difference with those 2 engines was that the ’82 mirrored the 2.6 and had a timing chain; the ’86 engine had a timing belt as well as a small belt for one of the balance shafts. The ’86 also had inner liners for the bed (bolted in) where the ’82 was a single wall bed. Both trucks gave excellent service and that body style IMO was the best styled mini truck ever made.
Great-looking little trucks. As I recall there were both quad-lamp versions (like the one pictured) but also some that only used two headlamps. Not sure if that was a different trim or if that varied by year.
They’re all rare (I haven’t seen one in quite some time) but the Arrow versions are like hen’s teeth now.
I used to drive one of these delivering for Pickering Auto Parts when I was 18. Favourite vehicle ever. So light and tossable. Would buy one in a second but haven’t seen one in years. They have all rusted away up here in Canada.