I am on OG minitrucker, being part of the original movement back in the 80's. I love minitrucks, the B2000 being my favorite of all time. Since then I have spent the decades modifying anything I can get my hands on, collecting awards and a positive reputation along the way for advancing the movement and building relationships.
Well now its my daughters turn and go figure, she wanted a minitruck. So meet Dolly, 1987 B2000, named after the way she was brought home. I consider this truck a rescue, as I saved it from the hands of a butcher. This is an example of good intentions gone wrong, very wrong.
Some have asked, so here is the story of how I acquired Dolly.
First a little back story, I knew I was going to purchase a damn near 40 yr old truck, so complete restoration was already in the back of my mind. I'm in central Florida, Orlando area, regardless have truck will tow, I was willing to drive all the way to the Carolina's to get one if necessary. In this area non running trucks are selling for $3K +, this one was advertised for $1500.
I jumped on it and went to see it. The owner (a Puerto Rican punk) made it so the only time I could see it was at night, 1st Red Flag. Probably like you guys, I went with my truck, a full arsenal of tools, ramps, jacks and three shop lights with a headlight. I even brought a battery, this kid thought he would pull one over. I got there, it just so happened a storm had knocked out power to the area, so it was pitch black. He was stunned when I lit up the yard with all the lights and tools I brought. With the battery I brought we started the car, he claimed it overheated. I ran it long enough to listen to the engine and began my inspection. It wasn't long that I realized this car was a disaster but repairable. Honestly I didn't make it under the truck before I began spewing what was wrong with the truck and offered him $200. He got offended, told me to F**k off and leave, so I did. As I packed up the my tools, he approached me and offered up $1k, I showed him $800 and started my truck, he gave me the title and the rest is history.
I have since been under this truck and this is the worst of it, so considering I was going to have to replace everything, my only relief was that I was unable to drive it home, it would have killed me.
This generation and nationality of people have a tendency to get to the result, the method be dammed. The "creative engineering" I have seen from them has blown my mind. I am by no means bashing an entire culture, but when this is what I find each time I encounter vehicles owned by these people, I say prove me otherwise.
So yes I expected to work on this, but I had no idea this kid was driving such an unsafe vehicle. So that where I got it from, some wanna be customizer who thought he could just dump this truck off and laugh it all the way to the bank. Believe it or not the truck is probably worth the $1500 all things considered, nothing was permanently altered and it sure is providing my daughter with an education on how to rebuild a vehicle, lol.
A word to the wise, which you guys are, buying a car from south or central Florida, will likely line you up with the Latin culture, of which I am one, Cuban, not Rican. That being said, do not let your guard down, we are friendly, charming, and polite, but not all of us have integrity and will sell you a polished turd in a heartbeat.
EDIT
Well come to find out that Dolly has a little more work that needs to be done than even I anticipated. Starting with she is not a B2000, but a B2200. Despite this truck never being wrecked, somewhere along the line either the badging or the fenders from a B2000 were put on this truck. Next I also discovered that according to the VIN description, this vehicle started its life as an Automatic, now it is stick. As I get deeper into the restoration of this truck I will get to the bottom of that since that conversion may be a bit more involved than punching out pre-cut plates from the factory and buying parts, but we will see. Oh the fun of buying a used car .. lol
Here is what I have and where I am beginning.
The critical concerns are:
- The overheating: Owner said it would over heat, I am going to run it and see if it is true and how bad. The aftermarket electric fan is run off a manual toggle in the dash and is the first thing hitting the garbage. He claims to have had the head planed. So first I am going to see if the temp gauge works, if not get that working. I am waiting for my fan/clutch/and shroud to arrive along with a new thermostat, to see if that cures the over heating problem. It does run, and sounds strong so I have no reason to believe the water pump is bad, which is what he claims and it also came with one new in box. But baby steps, because changing a water pump does not look like fun.
- Will not maintain idle: Well just about every wire under the hood has a splice, and honestly these carbs are easy to tune, so I am going to first try and set the carb up properly and see where we go from there. In the mail are my new NGK spark plugs, NGK wires, cap and rotor. Let's see how far I get with an old fashioned tune up. Also on the way is a new 2-1/2" air cleaner, just because I like them better, and all new belts, the current one is cracked, lol.
- The suspension: I've been known to bag a few rides, body drop a couple and certainly C notch frames from time to time, but for the love of God, why would anyone want to ride on and rely on tires as their suspension. Even in my time, we knew to loosen the torsion bars and re-index them, so why would you remove them completely !!! So yeah, a quick test drive peeled a few reflectors and loosen a couple of caps in my teeth.
The rest I'll save for the individual repairs. Does anyone on here have a set torsion bars for sale?
I may also need to start a Go Fund Me to replace all the missing bolts and hose clamps I'm not finding .. lol
OEM Parts I Need - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/250-dollys-part-list-ongoing
Individual Build Threads:
Readers Ride - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/43-1987-b2000-dolly-day-one
- Where I gossip about the truck.
Engine Bay - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/85-1987-b2000-dolly-engine-bay-restoration
Water Pump / Thermostat Change - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/272-dollys-cooling-system-woes
Gauge Cluster - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/283-gauge-cluster-overhaul
A/C Rebuild - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/453-dollys-ac-rebuild
Marker/Turn Signal Swap - https://mazdaminitruckin.com/forums/d/481-turn-signal-swap
