Great topic OP but you can't go back in time.
We just don't need a 2 door, stick shifted, hand crank window liftin' mini trucks these days, period!
Oh, I could support my bold assertion by mentioning the fact that the U.S. outsourced almost all of its manufacturing jobs that used mini 'parts runner' trucks to countries that didn't have a middle class (they do now thanks to our little miscalculation) or the fact that the U.S. has become almost entirely a service industry economy where the only real cargo being transported is a mop and the the minimum wage workers commuting to the few remaining jobs that have not yet been replaced by a Roomba (YangGang2020) but that would only rub salt into our national disgrace and humiliate the leaders that profited from that economic demise.
So, I suggest you look to the future and embrace Gordon Murry's OX.
The OX is a flat pack, do it yourself, back to basics little 4x4 truck.
The OX has all the refinements of an empty metal box without all the unnecessary fluff of 'safety and comfort' you get in most newer vehicles.
The price is right too because many of the parts are made in countries where pollution controls or child labor laws don't exist so they are a great value and the assembly labor is supplied entirely by you.
The Top Gear crew built one in less than 2 days.
If you do look into this truck, opt for the air cooled Deutz diesel. I used a 5 cylinder air cooled Deutz from an old bread truck in my 1971 Jeepster and it had more power than the 350 Buick or the 455 Olds it replaced.
Did I forget anything?
Lets see, sarcasm, disgruntled-ness, wasting 4 minutes of my time, check, check, check, warning about the zombie apocalypse?
Beware the ZA.
OK done.
