You Can Own This Baja 1000 Isuzu P’Up Race Truck for the Price of a Used Corolla
Sure, it’s an Isuzu, but it’s a real factory-backed racer that won its class twice at Baja.
Race-used vehicles pop up for sale all the time, but it’s not every day we see a real-deal Baja truck hit the market. That’s just what the seller of this 1984 Isuzu P’Up says they have, and there’s enough supporting evidence strewn across the internet for us to believe them.
This little P’Up is said to be one of the actual trucks that was fielded at the Baja 1000 a few decades ago. Not only that, but it supposedly won its class in the 1984 race, and again at the 1985 Baja 500. Isuzu did very well at Baja throughout the decade, even though it was absolutely the David to so many other Goliath racing teams that ran the race. Ultimately, both Isuzu’s racing ambitions and the vehicles that powered them fell victim to shrinking budgets and the harsh reality that the race was a hill too steep to climb for the small automaker.
Most of the company’s trucks were sold off and stripped for parts or converted back for road use. The fact that this truck is alleged to have survived that fate, intact, and in what appears to be decent race-used shape is what makes it so special.
The standard P’Up was sold in the United States as both a Chevy LUV pickup and an Isuzu during the early 1980s. It came with either an 80-horsepower inline-four or a 58-horsepower diesel, neither of which is suitable for racing. If this truck has retained its racing running gear, then it’s powered by a hopped-up 2.3-liter engine, though output specs are uncertain. The seller says the list of race mods is too long to list, but does tell us that the truck’s got an aftermarket Rough Country suspension system, Western Wheels, and BFGoodrich tires, though the ad has photos of the truck with General Grabber all-terrains.
The standard P’Up was sold in the United States as both a Chevy LUV pickup and an Isuzu during the early 1980s. It came with either an 80-horsepower inline-four or a 58-horsepower diesel, neither of which is suitable for racing. If this truck has retained its racing running gear, then it’s powered by a hopped-up 2.3-liter engine, though output specs are uncertain. The seller says the list of race mods is too long to include in the ad, but does tell us that the truck’s got an aftermarket Rough Country suspension system, Western Wheels, and BFGoodrich tires, though the ad has photos of the truck with General Grabber all-terrains.
The Baja 1000 is one of the most grueling races in the world, attracting a true global field of competitors. The event runs 1,000 miles through the Mexican desert, formerly on a loop that began and ended in Ensenada. Vehicles and their drivers often suffer massive damage along the way, thanks to the course’s punishing mix of high speeds and rough terrain. Making things even harder are the locals, who sometimes booby trap the course to create jumps and obstacles for their entertainment.
It’s hard to think of an Isuzu as a collector’s item, but this one’s got the street cred to be desirable. At the very least, the buyer could add an interior and drive the thing as a super-rad daily, and at $10,500 the price isn’t terribly steep for a piece of Baja history.
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h/t: Barn Finds
