Before the Chevy S-10 was introduced for the 1982 model year, the Chevy LUV was the bowtie brand’s compact pickup. It was a badge-engineered Isuzu Faster marketed in the U.S. across two generations. A unique modified example of a 1980 Chevy LUV is up for auction on Bring a Trailer with no reserve.
Every Chevy LUV sold in the U.S. came with a four-cylinder engine, but the one you see here is powered by a Buick 3.8-liter V6. It’s unclear which V6 this is, specifically, but it undoubtedly brings a performance upgrade compared to a factory LUV. It’s mated to a 4-speed manual transmission. Another interesting mechanical modification is a Toyota-sourced front axle. This truck also has a dual-range transfer case, dual fuel tanks, and body and suspension lifts.
Aesthetic modifications to this single-cab LUV include MB 15-inch alloy wheels with 33-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A tires, fabricated front and rear bumpers, a Smittybilt front winch, driving lights, tow mirrors, tubular rock sliders, and bedliner material in lieu of paint.
On the inside, this Chevy LUV has a bench seat with red cloth and vinyl upholstery, a sliding rear window, auxiliary gauges on the dash, auxiliary lighting and fuel tank selection switches under the dash, and a Kenwood head unit with a CD player.
This Chevy LUV has a clean Texas title in the seller’s name, making it ready for the next owner. Since this one is so modified, bidders may want to make sure it would be capable of passing any necessary emissions testing to get it registered in their home state.
The high bid on this no-reserve auction is only $1,200 at the time of this writing. The auction ends on Monday, March 17th, so there’s plenty of time to get in your bids to take home a rare example of a V6-powered Chevy LUV.
Comments
And that interior is still better than the all black dash with an iPad.
Yes. The trend of removing the critical analog gages from the DIC and replacing with a screen… is terrible. There’s no style. Worse, the screen goes out, you cannot drive. I much prefer the Silervado’s pre-refresh DIC of the current screen. A screen is a screen is a screen. They all look the same.
Looking at the distributor cap makes me think it’s an odd-fire motor.
Got you beat. I have a 5.3 liter Vortex, in a 2002 chevy silverado. I love my truck. Good luck with what you got! 4.5 in lift, and runs like new!!!!!
sweet