Mazda B2600i 4x4 DD/fun project

[The_Dude]

So I used to have a Miata that was a ******** box. Drove it for 1.5 years to keep the mileage off my 80 series. I found this little truck on craigslist, contacted the owner and was able to trade it straight across. It didn't run great at first, it needed a distributor and the PO actually was nice enough to warranty it for me. So after dinking with the timing I was able to get it running. Its got new plugs, wires, dizzy and coil. Its EFI as well. Its in probably 7/10 condition. 228k on it right now. 2 of those K's are from me. I have aspirations to make this a fun little camp/adventure vehicle when I go places for a night or just to practice honing skills on. It still needs ball joints and other things down the road. Right now I don't drive it out of town but its been running pretty solid. There is basically no aftermarket for it which sucks but also good to a point.

So far I pulled the ugly 80's roll bar out and painted the stock wheels back. Then I got a smoking deal on the Tacoma wheels with some usable but very worn 265/70/16s on them. I think they made it look a little tougher and gave me piece of mind on the tire clearance. Its all stock suspension.

I think a soft topper would be cool as well as a bumper at some point. I am struggling with the fact its not a Toyota still.

I want to go with some 235/85/16s on it soon as well. Keep it mostly stock and see how many miles I can squeeze out of it.

 

[tanglefoot]

Very cool! I love the pre-Ford Mazda trucks.

Don't worry about it not being a Toyota, or about the aftermarket. Keep it stock and use it well. Mazda has great heritage, and it's a pretty unique thing to be driving these days. Enjoy!

Fill us in a little bit...are those auto hubs? Do you reverse to unlock them? Is 4wd shift-on-the-fly? Timing chain or belt? Anything quirky like 8 spark plugs (Datsun)?

 

[The_Dude]

Auto hubs. No reverse unlocking. 4.30 gears . Timing chain. Just 4 plugs. Torsion bar ifs. You have to be stopped to engage 4wd.


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[tanglefoot]

Gotcha! It looks great from the outside. Looking forward to some adventure reports.

 

[The_Dude]

Its definitely a 20" footer. Its got little rust spots and blemishes all over. Not bad for a 26 year old truck though! Its in the perfect condition that if a gust of wind turns a shopping cart into a guided missile in a parking lot I wont mind. Its going to be seeing a lot of loads here soon as my wife and I are buying a house. Its pretty unique though. I definitely like the styling of it. Definitely less common than the similar Toyota pick up. I want to put a locker in the rear and I have read that a Miata rear limited slip will bolt into the front diff.

 

[The_Dude]

I just ordered some upper ball joints for the Mazda. They bolt into the UCA which is really nice.


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[The_Dude]

New UBJ made the truck drive so much nicer!


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[thatbikefella]

I had one of these in 2WD, and it was one of my favourite vehicles so far. Only had 17 or so, though. Anyways, it was rugged, yet sporty. It had some issues before I bought it, like a leaky diaphragm on a load sensor on the automatic transmission, but she turned out to be a good runner. Made a wooden canoe rack for it and had some great adventures with it! I wasn't sure if the 4WD shared much other than the body panels, and maybe a frame, as the suspension, axles and even the drivetrain seemed different, if memory serves me right. Either way, I recollect there being rust issues in the frames over the rear axle. Spray the rust preventative to it, if it's not already rotten, and fix and spray if it is. Can't say the old truckie ever let me down. Had some good spotties on the front bumper and my CB! SE-5 model with buckets, alloys and stripes. I remember a buddy in high school who had a 4WD one, and treated it with far more brutality than any truck should have went through, and survived admirably! I'd rate them on par with any Toyota truck, no hesitation.

 

[nswanny]

One of my first vehicles was a B2200 2wd and then I had a B2600 4wd. Both were great trucks, ran well and went everywhere I tried to go. The gas mileage was horrible but the trucks were fun and easy to work on.

 

[The_Dude]

Mine gets around 20 in town


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[The_Dude]

I am trying to decide between 235/85/16 or 265/75/16s on this truck. Thoughts?


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[85CUCV]

I had a B2600I when I was on active duty. I had a matching aluminum topper on it to stow camping gear. Took it everywhere. Family grew out of it. My only complaint was the lack of aftermarket support.

From what I remember (15 years ago) the tires your naming would be tight without fender trimming.

235 85's would be nice.

dg

 

[The_Dude]

I am debating if 229k is too high mileage to put money into. It needs new cvs and pads and rotors and lower bj's. It's a cool uncommon truck though.


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[The_Dude]

Oil change and new pads up front today! Little truck runs like a champ right now. A/c would be nice though.


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[justcuz]

I had one that came with a frozen 2.6 Mitsubishi 4 cylinder. A little research and lo and behold Ford used the same trans behind the Ranger with the 2.9 Cologne engine! Some junkyard searching netted the bellhousing and engine.
Keep that in mind if your 2.6 dies. TheRangerStation and MazdaTrucking.com were good sources of info for the swap. MazdaTrucking.com has a thread for LSD swaps for the front and rear differentials.