89 4.3 Mazda B project

man i can never see enough of that truck.... gives me tingly feeling in my special spot

Chad, It wouldn't be hard to weld the new stuff on. I helped a guy put a Mustang II front end in a Jeep.

I am going to call and see if they will sell just the upper control arm mount. If they will that will save me tons of time and headaches. I don't really care about rack and pinion steering for now i can always make a crossmember to mount that to at a later date. 5 lug is my only concern. And the ford lug pattern is the same as the toyo 5 lug.

yea that truck is really nice but it's cannot be driven daily. It would over heat because of the mazda stock radiator he is using and if you see this truck in person look at the right rear of the frame and notice that the wheel rubs the frame. When i saw it at SEMA i drooled all over it until i saw that. You would have thought he would have fixed it before completion. Guess he didn't care since is a trailer queen.

What's the use of throwing so much money into something if you can't drive it? That's like buying a gun that doesn't shoot! Makes no since to me.

MazDAMN thanks for the pics!! Doesn't look too hard to do.

Oh yea i got the new motor mount tabs today so i can raise the motor up this weekend!! I am also going to have to modify the tranny member so it will bolt on to the tranny correctly. Right now it points down to far and is slightly to long. When i fix it i got to make it a little shorter and it needs to come straight out from the stock Mazda crossmember.

I got some measurements of the stock mazda control arms and the Mustang II control arms.

Mazda
upper - 8 1/2"
lower - 14"

Mustang II
upper - 8 3/16"
lower - 13 1/4 or 12 1/4 (they come in two different lengths.)

These measurements were taken from the center of the ball joint to the center of the crossbar. The Mazda ones were rough measurements but close enough to get a gist.

I have said that a million times. I dont believe in trailer queens nor weekend draggers. You work on a ride with blood sweat and tears, and scared to drive it daily? Cant drive it 4 hours to a show? WTF is wrong with you? My very 1st mazda I took on a 6 hour trip to Showfest in 2001, and it was PERFECT. I have No fear on what I can do. Wait, you got a lot more money invested and dont want something to go wrong? Then drive it and fix it when it breaks. Impress me with how far and fast it can drag on a daily basis. Impress me with how much tires cost every 2 months.

This is one of my favorite mazdas to see, but its just brand name eye candy.

(just winded about trailer queens, not fussing anyone on here)

Well i got the new motor mount tabs made, and the motor is back in the truck. This week i will modify the tranny member. The only concern i have now is the exhaust clearance. As you can see in the pics below i have plenty of clearance for an aftermarket radiator and electric fan assembly. The reason we mounted the motor as far back as we could is for handling purposes and also to keep it as low as possible without hitting the lower crossmember.

The reason there are holes in the center of the plate that the tabs are welded to is so that i would weld the center of the plate to the frame to give it more strength. And no i wasn't drunk when i drilled those wholes...the one in the center was already there before i cut the plate from some scrap metal.

After i welded the tabs and plate to the frame i cut the tabs at an angle to get rid of the excess metal i didn't need and then welded a plate in between the tabs. I forgot to take pics of them before i put the motor back in. You can kinda see what im talking about in the pics below.

sweet...

thanks man...

i think im going with a reg 4x4 bed and cut out 9" before the wheel opening to make a shorty! I have looked and looked and looked for a extended cab 4x4 bed with no satisfaction. Found a reg cab 4x4 bed and fenders for a good price so i think im gonna get it.

When and if i do get this bed should i "Z" my cuts?