87 B2600 Ford 302 Build

No, I did not cut into firewall or clearance anything there, and I did not cut the radiator support either. It's definitely a tight fit in there.

I have a Chevy 350 in mine, and didn't touch the firewall either.

Nice! There's actually a lot more room back by the distributor than I thought there would be.

The HEI distributor would have been another story.

Ha! I had HEI clearance too; mine sat up high enough to interfere with the hood, I had to go to a small-cap style distributor.

Can anybody tell me what the stock rear end gear ratio is for an 87 B2600? I can find info for the B2200 and the B2600i a year later, but I am not sure what my truck has.

Can anyone direct me to a good wiring diagram (PDF, etc?) for my 87 B truck? I have some gremlins to chase down and a wiring diagram would be VERY helpful. The diagram in my Chiltons manual leaves a lot to be desired.

I haven't posted any updates in a while, I had a lot going on with my 69 F-100 and doing a brake upgrade on that, and then having 3 big trees cut down on my property and dealing with all that wood and mulch. But I finally got back to the Mazda and making some progress, I have my fingers crossed for a test drive later this week.

First, I took out my transmission mount which was just a straight metal bar, because I was told that a solid transmission mount when used in conjunction with rubber engine mounts is a recipe for failure. I modified it by cutting out the middle part and dropping it down far enough that I can use a regular rubber transmission mount for the AOD.

Next I brought my Ford driveshaft and Mazda driveshaft to a driveline specialist to put something together that I can use. He wound up using a new tube and welding in the Mazda end with new U-joints and the Ford end as well. I kept this as a 2-piece, I already have the front driveshaft in place. So this is my fresh new rear driveshaft.

Cool. Looks like it won't be long now. Been watching this thread for awhile now.