Soft spot for that era of nissans,had the same truck but base model 2wd 4 speed.
Used it for work loaded with tools etc daily,redlined multiple times every time driven,even autox'd it once.
Well over 100k miles on it when I got it and clearly had a hard life before me yet never broke during my 3 yrs with it.
Oh man. That thing with a 4.0l and 6 speed swap would be Bad Ass.
I bought a 1990 Nissan hardbody brand new for $7222+tax and fees. Mine was a base model too with a cloth interior, but no radio, no rear bumper, 2wd. It was in November, 1990, so the 1991's had come out and they were discounting last year's models. I put a radio, rear bumper/hitch, and cruise control on it for about $400 more. Then I found out AC was a dealer-installed system on all pickups, so I ordered one for $800 and had AC. It took about 3 hours to install--the wiring end everything was in place, just needed to add the compressor, evaporator, condenser, etc.. Plus one button (AC) on the dash.
I really liked that truck except it didn't have power steering. I think the 4WD ones did.
Want!
I bought a 4wd new in 1991. I hadn't yet learned any real mechanical sympathy and the truck just kept working. Had a lot of fun in that truck.
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2024/08/05/1722864573_img_5159_mmthumb.jpeg)
Dang. $2900?? Yes please. TG it's no where close to me otherwise I'd be getting that.
In reply to bmw88rider :
I know it's not a genuine Desert Runner, but it certainly seems like a great truck for the price if you can get it fixed.
The first brand new car I ever bought was this truck, no clue that it was limited at the time, just liked the truck. I do know the only choices on the interior was brown or gray, not the blue this one has. I found the VIN in some old paperwork, and when I ran it saw it sold on BAT in 2021. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-nissan-frontier-desert-runner-pickup/
In reply to Carl Heideman :
Ha, same reason I looked at buying one upon graduation. It seemed like the least expensive way to get something new and a little interesting.
In the end, though, I bought a used Golf.
Steve_Jones said:
The first brand new car I ever bought was this truck, no clue that it was limited at the time, just liked the truck. I do know the only choices on the interior was brown or gray, not the blue this one has. I found the VIN in some old paperwork, and when I ran it saw it sold on BAT in 2021. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-nissan-frontier-desert-runner-pickup/
How cool is that, to find one of your old vehicles having sold recently!? That's really cool. I should see if I can dig up some old VIN numbers and do something similar.
In reply to Colin Wood :
I had a green extended cab one and always thought the desert runner looked sharp. At $2900, if the engine is bad, there are plenty of Ka24s out there. A clean interior and exterior are worth it to me. I guess I've been in the midwest too long.