project b2600: my 87 project 4x4

okay so this is truly my first time on an automotive forum where i actually own a relevant project and the mazda mini truck community is a good one i have come to find out. but enough of that i am here to share my new to me 87 b2600 4x4. no silly names its just my truck haha. she was givin to me for free and has a freash rebuild from like two years ago and a healthy clutch ect... before it was gifted to me a weber 2bbl conversion was added and all emissions junk was removed. it runs great! the frame is virgin straight cause the truck has never seen any offroad action. there are only a couple cons to this though. i mean theres allllllllways a catch . so the engine was rebuilt but the head is bad so she burns more a more than average amount of oil. anyone know if a dodge aries head will work with some mods??? and quirk 2 is she needs a very mild front end alignment. i already cleaned her up and replaced the crap blown front speakers. here tomorrow i am going to be painting my grill and other emblems for a less weathered look .
here is a link to my pics of the truck as she sits now will have some more in the next couple days

Welcome to the forum. As for your first question, I don't know what engine they installed in the Aries, but the engine in your truck is made by Mitsubishi. I do know that Dodge and Mits had some partnerships in those years, so maybe. The alignment should be easy; just a standard 2 wheel alignment from anywhere reputable. Good luck with the truck. -B

hey thanks for the welcome! the truck was my dads so he purchased the head to go with it cause it comes from a mitsubishi sourced 2.6 g54b, its just set up in a fwd config. other than that all i know is that the 2.6 that came in the aries was marketed as a hemi. but i dont know enough aout the modularity between this engine in its different drivetrain layouts to say for sure. ill hopefully have some new pics tonight as ill be blacking my grille today im kinda excited haha

one easy way to find out if the heads will swap is to compare the head gasket part numbers. You would be better off to get a new head though, Clearwater Cylinder Heads is a known good source for replacement, new cast heads.

thanks i will have to look into that. i hope they are the same so i can save myself a couple hundred bucks. so today i blacked my grill and started phase one of blacking the emblems. you can see in the pics that they are all lumpy as i did not sand them flat. well when i have some more time i am going to sand the face of the "b2600" down and just do the letters also ill attach a pic of the garbage speakers i replaced

so i did some more work on the emblems hope you like it. it really needs to be touched up and finished better but it looks cool to me. gonna fill in the 4x4 part tomorrow

looks good mate. and as for that hemi head it will not work on these motors. a hemi head has a half circle in it, i do believe these heads are flat. but not sure on that one. but if you are burning oil try having your valve guide seals replaced and your valve seals that are in the head. should fix the problem i think. but the truck looks good mate. where did you get that front bumper guard? been lookin to put one on my 87 2600. let me know if you find any aftermarket parts like a header for these trucks as i could not find one that would fit and would like to put aftermarket head on it. and welcome to the scene mate. good luck on your build.

87_2600

hey man thanks for the reply. its the same head i did more research. its the same exact head gasket for the g54b across the line. it should work but ill save for a remanufactured one and save my self some trouble. also the engine reuild my dad did just consisted of a rehone and new rings and prolly timing chaim oil pump ect. the brush guard was on the truck when i was gifted the vehicle. as for headers there is a pacesetter on ebay for a buck fifty (150$ to be clear ahaha). are you in washington 87 2600?? whats broken toyz? if you have meets it would be cool to check it out. always wanted to go to one but never had a truck to go lol.

and since its an 87 you can upgrade the carb to a weber setup. i have one on mine but when cold at hlaf throttle and up it kinda bogs till higher up and diesels on shut off so it needs to be adjusted bad but as much technical info as i know about cars i dont have much actual hands on time to know what i am doing

oh and one more thing!!! if you like lift this link should interest you. good deal if you ask me for the kit.