TravisSprague 96 Mazda
From NNYOffroad
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1996 Mazda B2300
Purchased from my neighbor in June 2004. The Mazda was the cheapest truck I had been able to find. 5spd, decent shape, the only issue was it was a 4cyl... and a 2wd.
As it stands 5 years later, Spring of 2009, I still have the truck, the 4 cylinder happened to be, most likely the best motor I could have ever owned, and I've shown many people how far a 2wd will go.
I've done some modifying, and a lot of maintenance to the B2300 in the last few years. I should probably start with pics. Almost Stock
The Beginning
The Mazda was extremely basic. I started off with a tape deck, 2 Excalibur 6x8's in the doors, and a busted bench seat.
First was a stereo. I went with a Pioneer Premier DEH-840MP for a deck, and 4 JVC Marine grade 4-way 6x8's. That got me through Summer, and into the school year (Still 2004.) New Deck
First Mods
First few mods to the truck were fairly simple. January 2005, I pulled out the torn up, beat up bench seat, in favor of some 3Racing buckets. Bucket Seats
Next little thing was a set of cheap Walmart lights. Swapped the 55w bulbs for some 100w H3's. New Lights
Only other maintenance on the truck so far was replacing a taillight that the previous owner had epoxied up, and the other that I had bashed.
Wheeling Begins
July 2005 I finally got new wheels and tires, AT Italia Rims, and Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's... This is the beginning of real wheeling. New Wheels
I continue to beat the truck endlessly from Day 1... Start wheeling with Jon and Derrick, through the Summer, Fall, and into Winter. Only real casualty is a water pump that split in two, and a candy-caned drive shaft.
Jon helped me out one night, and we got a little CB installed, all clean and what-not. CB Install
February 11th, 2006... We have the Famous Tooley Pond ride. Me n The Mazda
The Death
Late March 2006, Truck was having issues, Rear end was gone... I parked it and picked up the 88 Nissan 200sx to drive. July 12th 2006, the car died. No vehicles, just bumming rides. Late August I picked up Strader's old 91 Colt, and continued to drive that.
I limped the truck to the parents house in Stockholm... and left it for the winter. Rough Shape
Resurrection
Around February 2007, I started piecing parts together. I grabbed an immaculate Ford 7.5" from a friend down in Rochester, grabbed a set of 4.10 gears and a factory L/s from a nice ford guy in Watertown. Ordered a full set of hanger for front and rear, including shackles. Hangers
Decided to pick up a new set of leafs for an F150, mid 80's to early 90's 2wd springs to be exact. They netted me about 2" of lift total after taking up the slack from the completely broken packs I had on both sides. Installing Hangers and Springs
I also had a feeling I was going to keep wheeling this thing; Purple Cranium had a sale on their Spider diff covers... I couldn't pass it up. Rear-end Parts
Lifting Lumpy
Taxes came back, and I had a chunk of money sitting... and had little to use it for. Then I realized I had a half dead truck still sitting in my parents driveway. I ordered a set of 31x11.5 SuperSwamper TSL LTB's, and a set of 15" black Daytona rims. New Shoes
Next on the list was a lift. I didn't want to have to replace beams, because I knew I would never be able to get the radius arms off my current ones, so I choose a regular lift with drop arms. Read on the net for days about the best lift vs. pricing, finally stumbled upon the Rough Country lift. After a little more research I found "Top Gunz Customz" that was selling the lift for $430 with manual steering box drop pitman, and free shipping. $430 to the door for a 4" lift. After some more reading, I noted the lift brings all equipment back to stock angles etc... I also read that I could go up to 2" of lift without drop brackets. Figured I could install my 4" lift, add an extra 2", and have a 6" lifted truck!!! I went out on the net, found a 2" lift (Daystar spacers) for $45 shipped, and grabbed them right up.
On another note, my truck had been getting rather "Ratty" in the last few months of it's life, so I decided to give her some TLC. I Ordered a Header Panel, and new grille to take care of the smashed ones I had, and a new fan clutch because somehow I toasted that too. Everything was installed with the lift.
One of the last things done, I brought the axle over to a friend in Colton, NY. Sleepers Transmission installed the gears, also went through all bearings and seals in the axle for a ridiculously low price. I slid the axle in as I was finishing the rear lift, and the Mazda was finally on all 4. New Axle First Ride
More Problems
Truck was finally put back on the road in June, but only for a brief time. I think I had it a total of 2-3 weeks running before the transmission decided to grenade. Well, technically the slave cylinder is what initially went. Niki and I were out on a 4 wheeler trail, started to turn around, and I lost all clutch. After repetitive starting and stopping the truck, I was able to turn around and get out, but on the way home the already hurting transmission gave up on me, so as of mid-july, the truck was parked again.
Time to order more new parts! I sourced a transmission at Butches, a local junkyard that October. Had to order a new clutch kit and slave cylinder. At the time my exhaust was also going / previously cut up, so I ordered new cat and a cat-back exhaust system. I also decided, if you're going to splurge, why not make it worth it? So I picked up a beefy 1/2" think transmission x-member from Suicide Doors. New Junk
Finally put some work into the truck, Pulled the transmission, got the other one in and bled... Had to cut out the original x-member but other then that, everything went fairly smoothly. It was cold out, and the middle of January 2008, but the truck was moving again. Old Junk
Yet another Resurrection
Late that January, early February my friend (Formally known as "TIMMAAHH") rode up from Massachusetts with a load of parts. He came bearing gifts of bumpers, fenders, a tow hitch, and missing turn signals. Finally the truck was back together again!!! Posing with Timmah
Yet another disappointment
Truck ran great throughout the winter and into early Summer. I ran into major rear brake issues in July, and snapped a few studs off. Decided to let the truck sit for a month or so before enlisting in the help of Mark to help me finish the brakes.
Around September I was hauling firewood, and put a log through the back window... No huge deal. Later that month I started getting a horrible wobble from the front of the truck, my balljoints were toast. I continued to run it till it was near unbearable, and unsafe... Then I parked the truck in October, and started to tear into it. In Pieces
On the Road again...
November 2008, I started to really put some work into the truck... On December 4th, The truck was aligned, and back on the road with new ball joints, front brakes and wheelbearings. The Mazda made it most the way through the winter without trouble, but there were issues from time to time. Out Playing
Keeping Up
The truck has yet to come off the road since December, I've had some minor things to replace. First issue of the new year was the thermostat, flushed / changed coolant, and replaced all the hoses while I was there.
Next issue, my gas-tank decided to fall out. I replaced all the straps etc, with the help of my sister and Niki. New Straps
Another thing I accidentally decided to break was my steering box. A light day of wheeling with Mark turned into me sheering off my sector shaft. No Steering
I've had some minor suspension work in the last few weeks as well, replacing bushings, re-torquing everything, and an alignment after the whole steering box issue. Other then that, the trucks still going all day every day with no complaints. How it sits
Thinking Ahead
I currently have another 2.3 block torn down in the garage awaiting parts. Summer 2009 I'm hoping to get the 2.3 Turbo project under way. Also looking to source an EB D44 for the front. I have a transmission sitting around, waiting to have the tailshaft swapped over from another transmission. Maybe by next winter I'll have a SAS'd, Boosted, little Mazda.
