89 B2200 New Owner!

Haven't owned a little truck in a long, long time, last one was a 91 chevy s10 but I never did anything with it. I don't have any pictures at the moment but I'll upload some tomorrow when I get a chance to take some.

My plan is to replace the bed (damage I can't repair), fix up the other little dings/dents and repaint. I want to lower this thing probably just with drop blocks in the rear with a mono spring and some Chevy LUV Monroe shocks in the front. I do have a couple of questions regarding the torsion bars in the front, are there others besides stock which would be good for a drop? I want to drop about 3-4 inches all the way around, not really tucking tires but just above the sidewall.

I have a valve tap, possibly even a rod knock but I don't care, got this thing for $500 running with a clean title.

Like I said pics will follow, not on any budget, I'll throw money at it as needed just need some info regarding suspension.

Welcome to the site man! To address the tick it's more than likely a valve as these trucks are known for that. It's not a big issue at all most guys just live with it or eventually replace the valves. I had the same ticking noise that it could be a rod bearing but figured out it was just a little valve tick. Changed my oil using factory Mazda oil and filter and went away and haven't heard it since.
And about the torsion bars there is really no reason to get new ones unless there is something wrong with yours. You can easily get the drop you want with the factory bars. I've honestly never seen anyone on here replace theirs when doing a static drop. I'm going to dropping mine this weekend finally and I can post pics for you. I will be doing 3 inch blocks in the rear with 2 inner leafs removed. And for the front I will re index the torsion bars to match the rear height probably 2 or 3 teeth though if I had to guess and new shorty shocks. All bump stops removed as well as bracket arms on front. If you are on a budget and wanting a static drop just use the factory torsion bars no need to spend money on new ones. Oh and post some pics!!!

Chance

Thanks for the reply, this isn't my first rodeo, not mechanically or lowering I mean, just first time on a truck. I come from the honda/acura scene and more recently dropped my Audi A3, so my knowledge base is pretty vast along with the know-how.

I'm thinking of replacing the motor "just because", it looks as if it's been neglected for years and I just don't know what the real deal is with it. I don't have any service of CEL on the cluster, which is good, but I don't know about any of the seals or gaskets or even belts (haven't really looked).

I bought this thing just because I needed a pick up, but after thinking about it I figured that I wanted to start another project and since this thing is already running, why the hell not?!

Regarding the blocks in the rear while doing the mono leaf; doesn't that create wheel hop? I've read that somewhere here and with the snow/ice coming in the next couple of months, that's the last thing I want. This isn't going to be a DD, just saying.

"Indexing" the torsion bar...is that just the height adjustment for the front ride height? Or am I missing the idea completely, like I said not familiar with Mazda what so ever, but all I need is to be pointed in the right directions and I'll be good to go.

Right on man I too am from the Honda scene have been a Honda guy since I could drive haha. I couldn't even begin to name off all of them I have owned and built. Anyways back to the truck, as for wheel hop due to adding blocks and removing 2 leafs I haven't heard of before. I have experienced axle roll due to flat blocks that I put on my old S10. That's why I will be using angled blocks to correct the angle and eliminate axle roll which may cause wheel hop but I have never had it happen. Are you sure they weren't talking about running large blocks like 4 inch or more and removing the 2 inners which would cause the axle to hit frame since there would only be about an inch of clearance unless you "C Notch" it. So I wouldn't recommend going over 3 inch blocks. If you are worried about removing 2 leafs then have the leaf pack de arched. That basicly means they heat and bend them to lose the arch in them. Allowing you to still get a fair amount of drop and keeping all your leafs for loading capabilities. You will still want to use 2 or 3 inch blocks though to get the drop you want. Most spring shops will do this. You can also make it ride even better by replacing the rear shocks (which isn't a must) with air shocks.
As for the front torsion bars, they can be adjusted in two ways 1. You can crank the bolt at the rear of the torsion bar under the cab. By loosing it (bringing the bolt towards the ground) will lower the front keep cranking until you get the drop you want. The only downfall to this method is the bolts now hang down lower than the rest of the truck and may or may not get hung up on something. 2. You can re index them. This is the way most of the guys do it. It's fairly simple but instead of trying to explain it here is a thread with step by step instructions and pics! Hope this helps man. Good luck!

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Thanks for the response, I want to replace my front shocks with the Chevy LUV Monroe's here pretty soon, probably will be one of the first things I do. Then I'll go for sourcing out a new bed, the one I have is pretty jacked at the rear of the passenger side. Speaking of sourcing out something I need a new bench seat, but that will come later.

I dunno man I'm excited to get into this thing and stoked to see the suspension parts are dirt cheap, I probably won't ever go body drop or air bags so for maybe $300 total I can have this thing dropped to my liking.

I'll post pics of the beast tonight.

Yea it's pretty crazy how cheap things are for these trucks. I was they same way when I snagged mine fore 200 bucks! Being an Honda guy it wasn't long until I started to modify it And if you do some diggin on this site you can learn a lot about these trucks and see what others have done. It's crazy what you can do to them. Sounds good man I'll be looking for them! I see your in KC not too far from me I live in south Nebraska.

Herr it is

Nice man diggin the wheels! Truck looks good needs a little body work but whose doesn't? Lol You could pull that bed side out pretty easy instead of replacing the whole bed but that's up to you.

Thanks haha the body is decent. No real dents or big rust spots just some surface crap. I plan in stripping and paint anyway so its cool.

Some more.