'97 Mazda B.... Suspension?

One of the contractors my dad and I frame a lot of houses for has a '96 or '97 Mazda B(something), just caught the year as he asked me in a hurry, but he said he thinks he wants to bag it just to have a project to mess around with for fun. I wasn't sure if the suspension was like a ranger or what.. so I told him I'd ask so I could help him get the parts together. He sounded pretty serious, and I think it'd be awesome if he really wants to bag it.. here in town it's a younger age group of minitruckers.. it'd be cool to see an older guy cruising around in a bagged Mazda lol. Any info. is appreciated, just looking for the possibilities..

Edited: 7/18/2007 11:55:31 AM by iLLblazer

It'll be I beam I think. 98 was the first year the ranger switched to control arms, and I am pretty sure the mazdas changed over at the same time.

Not sure if he'd be planning on larger wheels.. but I'd at least suggest to him something a little better looking and lower profile tires. What size wheels would you think he could go up to before worrying about Drop I-Beams? (Or are they needed either way?)

Also.. would it have any crossmembers hanging down, etc?

Haven't seen the truck.. and really haven't messed with too many rangers other than a notch/bridge kit install, so I'm kinda clueless lol. Thanks for the help!

def get dream beams regardless of wheel size. you will need a new tranny xmember, as well as a new radius arm xmember. check out sd.com, i know its competetion haha, but they have everything there.

for the front, dont use sd.com style brackets. they suck. really bad. your best bet is to make a tubular upper mount. i think james, bagged85, has pics of his setup. thatd honestly be the best route.

also, if the guy wants to keep ac, it'll be a bit of work. the truck i bagged laid on the radius xmember, about 2.5" off the ground, on 18s, and had to lose the ac box. coulda modded it, but i wasnt getting that much!

good luck man. theres a few guys that know i-beams really well on here and im sure they'll chime in with what i forgot.

I beams suck is basically it. if this guy is just looking for something to toy around on, and doesnt have any experience, its probably not a good starting point.