My 1996 Mazda B3000

[forzda]

I have Mustang rims in the truck , and of course the center caps didnt fit on the front , so I cut a 2 1/4 inch in the center of the cap , and it was a perfect fit

 

[forzda]

It has been a busy 3 days , I now have a hybrid , The cab and frame are the 96 Mazda, the box and front clip are from a 99 ranger XLT . I was a very interesting swap , two different generations of truck , had to do lots of modifications to get the front to swap over .
Pictures will be coming so don't ask for them , check back next Tuesday .
I will say one thing , Ford has way better head lights compared to Mazda .
With everything I have done , the truck is a FORZDA

 

[forzda]

As promised, here are the pictures on the truck .This is just a teaser , will post more later .

 

[forzda]

Now for the rest of the pictures

Replaced the drive shaft from a 2 piece to a one piece , what a difference in the truck .

Carpet replace with the carpet from the ranger, used the sill covers from the ranger as well

My Father made this new metal box to attach the hood latch to use the Ranger hood

I am having a hard time finding a fuel door here in Canada.

This is what the truck looked like when I first bought it ,

 

[forzda]

Changes I have done to the Mazda since I first bought it
Tinted windows
From the 99 Ranger I added these items to the Mazda
Dome light
High level cargo /brake light
Front clip
Box
Reese Class III hitch
Ashtray/airbag panel
One piece drive shaft
Other items added or changed include
15" rims from a Ranger with BF Goodrich T/A's
Explorer center console
Mustang Recaro Seats
Auto Loc power door locks
and finally power mirrors

Parts I have replaced on the truck so far
Front / Rear brakes
Shocks
Exhaust9soon to be replaced again)
Rear hanger brackets and shackles on both sides

Work still to do,
Recover the headliner
Recover the seats
Complete the stereo Install
Find a fuel door
Replace the front leaf spring hangers on both sides
Replace the windshield when the truck gets painted in the spring
Paint the center raised portion of the hood and the grill to match the cab
Install vent visors
That about covers it for now .

 

[b3000 man99]

need help swaping b3000 1999 v6 to 88 5.0 efi

 

[Mirage]

Any problems or mods needed for the 1 piece driveshaft? I have a 96 B2300 extended cab, all stock, and would like to do this mod. But I've heard people say it isn't as easy as swapping shafts. You input?

 

[dasfinc]

how hard was it to get those seats to fit? What were they out of exactly?

 

[forzda]

Any problems or mods needed for the 1 piece driveshaft? I have a 96 B2300 extended cab, all stock, and would like to do this mod. But I've heard people say it isn't as easy as swapping shafts. You input?

The hardest part was grinding the rivets off the crossmember to remove the hanger bracket that the hanger bearing mounts to.

 

[forzda]

how hard was it to get those seats to fit? What were they out of exactly?

The seat are from a mustang , dont know what year . yes they were a pain , I used the sliders from the 60/40 bench seat , then had to make brackets to adapt the seat to the sliders .

 

[Mirage]

Sounds good so far. My crossmember and the bearing bracket bolt on in my truck so that should be no problem. (I've had to replace the carriage bearing before). So what drive shaft did you use? Was it a stock swap, or did you have one made?

Thanks for the input!

 

[forzda]

Sounds good so far. My crossmember and the bearing bracket bolt on in my truck so that should be no problem. (I've had to replace the carriage bearing before). So what drive shaft did you use? Was it a stock swap, or did you have one made?

Thanks for the input!

I used an aluminum drive shaft from a 1999 Ranger extended cab with a 3.0 liter and auto transmission , the same configuration as my Mazda. I am going to have to cut and raise the floor however as the new shaft is hitting the floor . as for bolting in , it is a direct fit

 

[legoms013]

Sounds good so far. My crossmember and the bearing bracket bolt on in my truck so that should be no problem. (I've had to replace the carriage bearing before). So what drive shaft did you use? Was it a stock swap, or did you have one made?

Thanks for the input!

Look in the tech library, there is a nice writeup on the topic.

Nice little Mazda, ahem I mean Ranger you got there

 

[forzda]

Just a bit of a heads up , anyone doing this with a Mazda , you will need to modify the floor of the truck . there is a valley(from the inside of the truck) in the floor that contacts the drive shaft , you have to reverse this valley and make it a ridge( inside the cab) . this give you the clearance to right the Ford drive shaft in the Mazda

 

[Mirage]

Well the floor mod part sounds like a bit more than I want to deal with. Guess I'll stick with my 2-piece a while lomger. Thanks for all the info.