1982 GMC Jimmy 4×4 With Detroit Diesel V8 Is Your Ticket to Truck Glory
It’s even being offered at no reserve.
Old trucks are great—it's undebatable. They carry a certain charm that can't be replicated by sports cars or luxury cruisers, and the collector market is starting to take notice. That's part of what makes this 1982 GMC Jimmy on Bring a Trailer so special. It's being offered at no reserve and features all of the right parts: four-wheel-drive, perfectly retro seats and, interestingly, a 6.2-liter Detroit Diesel V8 that was fitted at the factory.
While the naturally aspirated, compression-ignition power plant won't win any drag races, the truck's stellar condition could help hold its own at a beauty pageant. The shiny white paint feels particularly period-correct, though it's only a taste of what's to come once you open the doors. It's then that you're greeted by houndstooth plaid upholstery laid over beige vinyl with matching carpets. There's a slight crack in the dash pad, but the rest looks factory fresh—from the pushbutton AM/FM radio to the five-digit odometer that reads a little over 38,000 miles.
Now that the cabin is fresh in your mind, it's easy to picture yourself behind the wheel with your right foot planted. It will always be planted, of course, as the Detroit Diesel is infinitely more novel than it is powerful. It only made 130 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque when new, and truth be told, it was one of the company's first ventures outside two-cycle diesel engines some 38 years ago. The "Screamin' Jimmy" lumps were massively successful in commercial applications, like city buses, though the 6.2-liter had its fans as well.
As a matter of fact, Gale Banks still sells a Sidewinder turbo kit for the engine in this very GMC. If you end up walking away with it, just know that should probably be first on your list.
The '82 Jimmy disperses power to the rear or all four wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission. Then, there's a two-speed transfer case and two differentials, of which the rear has a factory-equipped locker.
This is all made even more enjoyable by the removable hard top with sliding rear windows. Hit a backroad with the roof off, maybe make use of the modest 32-inch all-terrains, and you're in for an afternoon of fun.
Bidding has only reached $3,500 at the time of publishing this article, though there are still seven days to go on the auction. Don't expect it to stay under five-figures, but it might surprise you given the recent upswing of retro off-roaders on the collector market.
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