89 4.3 Mazda B project

I have had my truck dead in my garage for over a year debating on a motor swap. First i was going to do an 86 626 FI turbo swap. I went and found a whole car bought it and brought it home to find out the whole motor needed to be rebuilt from bottom up which would cost me well over 1500 to get the amount of hp i could get from the 4.3 and no one even makes any performance parts for this vehicle unless i went with a bigger turbo and custom turbo manifold. So i scrapped that project and picked up a 2000 S10 with 100k miles for $400!! I have parted off the truck and made $500 back plus i still got the motor and tranny! I haven't taken the truck to the scrap yard yet so there is another $150 roughly.

Here is where i am right now and the only thing that is holding me up is MONEY!! Man i wish i could win a scratch of for like $2000 and this thing would be done in like 3 weeks!


here is the motor finally mounted in the truck with billet universal 350 mounts from







I have heard that you don't have to cut the tranny tunnel for this swap but dam this 4l60e is f'n huge compared to the mazda tranny. First i did some messaging but it was still hittin so i just decided it would be easier just to cut it out and build a cover and weld it back up. Plus if will make it easier when im running my fuel lines and Lokar floor shifter!!





This is the first time my truck has seen sunlight in over a year!!





haha i thought these were funny and my friend will probably hate me but oh well! lol




here are some pics of what the truck looked like before the swap started.






As soon as i can get a new bed everything is going under the bed!

These are 86 626 buckets. If anyone is looking for an easy bucket swap this is it!! I only had to drill 2 holes on the drivers side to mount the b2200 bucket tracks. The passenger bolted on. These seats are really commfy and have so many adjustments for the drivers seat.







Well that is it for now...i will update this weekend when i get the tranny mounted so i can measure for a drive shaft.

Will a toyota rear end bolt up to the mazda drive shaft flange? If so i am just going to use the mazda rear end for mock up since it is already in place and squared up. If the yota rear only needs a different flange to bolt up then i guess i will still be ok as long as i get the drive line shop to put the yota flange on instead of the mazda flange right? What yota rear end will fit the stock frame and allow me to run 18x8.5-9 wheels?

well lookie what came in 5 mins after i posted...



It's a used ultimate customs 302 swap kit minus the motor mounts but i don't see why i couldn't make it work. I sat the tranny member up to where it would bolt to the factor cross member and it looks like all i go to do is drill a single hole in the center of the mounting plate. The front member doesn't fit cause i guess i mounted the motor too low....f*ck! Well i was planning on running Cando arms anyways so i won't even need that anymore but i only paid $50 for the whole kit so im not to disappointed. I would have used a factory automatic trans mount for the mazda but went to 8 junk yards and couldn't find a single automatic!! So instead of waiting to find one i found this and knew i could make it work.

More updates coming!

Nice dude it looks right at home in there. Those motor mounts are pretty sick too. Are you keeping it FI or going carbed with it?

I'm going to be doing this swap so please post as many pics as possible and lemme know how many snags you get in this build . Looks great man.

Dale

Josh wears girls' belts. You can tell him I said so.

the only snag i have run into so far is the tranny mount and what i found out today that my motor sits to low which i already stated earlier. I'm ordering some new tabs to raise it up like 1/2 inch...what a bitch.

First of if you can find a totaled truck like i did...BUY IT!! Part out what you dont need and keep the motor and trans. You will most likely make your money back plus some change.

I will keep posting updates as they come!

Happy Leap Year!

badass man. i think i am about to do the swap as well (in my 89 b2200 that is). my carb took a shit and i cant get the needle for it. so i think i am going to either say screw it and put a 4.3 in it or get rid of it all together.

man dont get rid of it just put a 4.3 in it i would like to do it to mine but i dont have the green stuff right now

nice truck keep the pics comming

[quote="reflectorcollector"]well lookie what came in 5 mins after i posted...



Ya the tranny bracket is the same for both kits and yes all you have to do is drill a hole in the center . You will find that you will still need to have a crossmember under your motor for frame support bro. I do like those motor mounts though they are sweet. oh ya for the mount on the back of the tranny make sure that the bracket you use has some hieght to it or you will find that the tranny will hit.