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.
EDIT
Well come to find out that Dolly has a little more work 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
