Custom 1988 Nissan Hardbody Lowrider

This 1988 Nissan Hardbody MiniTruckin' magazine cover truck is powered by a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine backed by a manual transmission. After spending the last 20 years in heated storage, it recently underwent a mechanical refresh and received new Continental tires. When this truck was new in 1988, it was treated to a host of custom mini truck modifications of the era. Features include flame graphics on the red exterior, a custom gray and red interior, a hydraulic tilt bed, a chrome rear axle, a pinstriped frame and suspension, nitrous oxide, underhood neon, and underbody lighting. This award-winning 1988 Nissan Hardbody is available now and comes with the Fall 1989 MiniTruckin' magazine it was featured in, a clean Carfax report, and a clear Ohio title.

The body is finished in red and contrasting silver and gray flame graphics by Chris Cruz. An airbrushed portrait mural is located on the back of the smoothed cab wall. A Low Impacts Minis logo is on the back glass. A bumper with turn signals, a chrome grille, and a lower air dam with flame graphics can be found in the front. The windows are tinted and the body-color mirrors feature additional flame graphics. The hydraulic tilt bed tilts to the rear, revealing the rear frame and axle. The underside of the bed floor has been covered with a bead-rolled panel with chrome brackets. The interior of the bed has matching diamond-stitched gray side panels with red accents, gray carpeting, and red wheel wells with gray flame accents. Mounted in the middle of the bed is a chrome nitrous bottle with black mounts. At the rear, a Nissan-branded tailgate and a chrome lower panel in place of the deleted rear bumper can be seen. A full-length black tonneau cover with a custom “Red Hot” logo, matching bedside logos, and a chrome fuel door have been added to the cargo box.

The chrome 15-inch KMC wheels are wrapped in 195/50/15 Continental tires.

The interior comes with Hyundai GLS bucket seats upholstered in gray and red accents along with gray carpeting on the floorboards. The door panels, center console, and headliner feature diamond-stitched gray velour and red vinyl. The sun visors are upholstered in gray velour with red vinyl accents. A five-panel wink mirror is mounted above the windshield. Red neon lighting and a chrome roll bar are mounted at the rear of the cab.

The dashboard houses a 105-mph speedometer and fuel, oil pressure, coolant temperature, and cylinder head temperature gauges can be found in a custom red vinyl panel on the right side of the dash. An aftermarket 11K-rpm tachometer is mounted to the left of the speedometer. An aftermarket Sony digital CD player is located in the center of the dashboard below the climate controls. A four-spoke steering wheel with a red accent wrap is mounted to the steering column. A carpeted subwoofer box with speakers and an amplifier is attached to the rear cab wall.

The 4-cylinder engine has been detailed with paint and chrome and features dual Mikuni side-draft carburetors with nitrous injection, a Mikuni camshaft, a chrome valve cover, red spark plug wires, braided fuel and heater hoses, a red-painted block, and a chrome water pump. Power is sent through a 5-speed manual gearbox and the rear wheels. The firewall, inner fenders, core support, and under-hood are smoothed and color-matched to the exterior. The wiper motor, power brake booster, oil pan, radiator brackets, hood latch, and hood hinges have been chromed. The factory coolant overflow and washer fluid bottles are mounted to the inner fenders.

The cab floor and inner fenders are smoothed and color-matched to the red exterior. The frame and front suspension components are matte black with accent pinstripes. The drag link, lower control arm, strut rods, torsion bars, and transmission crossmember are chrome. The “Red Hot” logo can be found in the front wheel wells. Red under-glow lighting has been mounted at both rocker panels. The rear transmission crossmember, gas tank crossmember, and emergency brake lever have been accented with red pinstripes. The driveshaft has been painted gloss red with flame accents to match the exterior graphics. The gas tank has been smoothed and painted red with flame graphics and the gas tank rock cover has been chromed. The rear axle housing has been chromed along with the leaf springs, hangers, shocks, and hydraulic pump. The stainless Doug Thorley exhaust system features a Sonic Turbo muffler and a SuperTrapp tip at the end.

The Fall 1989 MiniTruckin' magazine the truck was featured in is included with the sale of the vehicle.