Turbo Rotary Mazda B2600i Minitruck Build!

True... I have to go to the boneyard soon but I'll keep an eye out just the same.
 
well, ive been holding out on u guys for suspense reasons lol...

picked this up a week ago. was driving by one of the local salvage yards and just had this feeling come over me that i needed to stop in and see if they had what i needed. so i stopped, and asked the guy at the front if they had any 4runner rear hatches with glass with the power rear window in which he says, "what year?"

i said, well im not completely sure. mid nineties i think. he says, well what year is urs? and i said i dont have one. im not using it on a toyota lol. he didnt quite understand what i was saying, so i explained it was going on a mazda b series pickup in which he replied Hmmm. and that was that.

so he sent me outback to a ragged 4runner. no rear glass, motor was rusted out, so i went walking back inside. as i was walking back inside i noticed a white glimmer out of the corner of my eye. it was a 1997 4runner, and from looking at it from a distance, i couldnt figure out why it was in the scrapyard.

so i walk over to it, and see a perfect rear window/back hatch with all plastic and wiring and what looks to be a brand new window motor/regulator and tracks. it even has all of the mouldings for the window.

so i write the number of the vehicle on my hand and go back inside. i give the guy the number and he tells me $150. i say no way. will u take 125? and he says no $150+tax, so $161. so i sit there for a sec and think that all the parts have got to be worth that and the window alone is prolly worth it since its heated and tinted, so i go ahead and buy it. i hand the guy my credit card and he swipes it, i sign my receipt and load my hatch and leave.

now some of u might be upset about this next part, and i still dunno how i feel about it, but once i got home i checked my receipt...

$16.18 it says. hmmm, looks like someone missed a number when they typed it in the credit card machine. normally i would go back and tell them about their mistake, but i think im just gonna take the bad karma on this one lol(dont judge me, im really not a bad person).

so now im home and itching to cut up my newly acquired project for my already over the top mazda lol...

so out comes the measuring tape and after about an hour of measuring and making sure i didnt waste $16, out comes the grinder and cutoff wheels...

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al the guts in good shape..
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the fun begins...
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so basically, all of the measurement of the window are dead on, so im going to use the toyota window and all. the only big difference is the yota window is taller than the mazda, but its the same measurements as the other windows, so it will go all the way to the top of the bed instead of having a 2 inch gap like the factory mazda window.

so i am working on getting everything seperated so i can get it traced onto the mazda and get the mazda rear cut out and everything tacked into place. then i will wire up the window and see if it works and thats basically all there is to that project!

easier said than done...
 
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think about it this way. he should have gone down in price like you asked. if he did that then he probrably wouldnt have messed up. so it is his fault lol.
but anyway great score can wait to see the finished product
 
That is such a sweet find! On the pricing issue, I agree with Bullshark! You go to a junk yard so you can "haggle" a little bit... it's a dog eat dog world, his mistake, i'm sure he will make up for it by over charging someone down the road for some simple parts!
 
Score on the back window!

-Derrick
yezzir!

That's awesome man! God I love this build!
gladu guys r enjoying urselves!

think about it this way. he should have gone down in price like you asked. if he did that then he probrably wouldnt have messed up. so it is his fault lol.
but anyway great score can wait to see the finished product
thank u sir! its coming along!

That is such a sweet find! On the pricing issue, I agree with Bullshark! You go to a junk yard so you can "haggle" a little bit... it's a dog eat dog world, his mistake, i'm sure he will make up for it by over charging someone down the road for some simple parts!
ya i just found out the rear window is around $350 for this, so im trying not to **** this one up...

Nice score, and good progress! You are definitely a crafty individual.
crafty? lol. isnt that something u call a hooker?

Nice!!! Can't wait to see how the rear window works out.
oh, its gonna work! haha
 
so on to updates for u fellars...

i got home from work on monday and decided to get some s*** done!

little did i know that two of my buddies would end up stopping by and lending a huge hand to get the ball rolling on my newest creation lol...

so first off i have to throw out a big thanks to those guys for stopping by and lending their whole night to me!

back on track-- first things first i had to get the rest of the front sheetmetal seperated from the window track and frame and the rear sheetmetal. after i did that then i took a sharpie and trace out the body line where the window would mould easiest to the mazda body lines...

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then after everything was trimmed, it was time to rip off the bed to check for fitment. this is also a great time to have friends, because even though the bed is pretty much fully cut out, its heavy and cumbersome...

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so bed is pulled giving us enough room to work...

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rear window removed, time to do some cutting!

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me neighbors have got to hate me..
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this is about the time when u start s***ting bricks hoping all of ur measurements r balls on...

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so then we fitted the window and made our marks to see what needed trimmed to sit flush. here is my buddy jeremy doing work with the cutoff wheel..
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my wife has been fiending to get her hands dirty, so when it came time to wire wheel off the paint to get a good welding surface, in she stepped and did a damn good job! she had to ruin the moment by informing me that it is just like doing nails....

not real sure y im posting this pic, since she put it on facebook literally ten seconds after i sent it to her phone lol...
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sorry for the dark pics, it was super late...

but anyways, tacked into place...
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can we fill the gap? yes we can!
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whats this? inner guts being fitted? i think so...
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material removed from the inside to allow the frame to sit flush so it can all be spot welded together...

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tacked together and even test fitting the moulding.... sure glad i have a collision repair buddy helping me on this sheetmetal fab!

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window test fit! that rolls down far enough for me!
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fully welded the top. man this thing is solid!
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ive got quite a bit farther, but havent loaded pics. figured u guys just wanted to see updates!

cost of this project so far is the $16 for the whole setup lol
3 thirty packs of stones and a couple bottles of bubbly(yes, thats a thirty pack a night between two of us lol)
some cutoff wheels
grinder discs, and a broken grinder....

need to get a new grinder today, but i ordered a big purchase last night, that as soon as it comes in i will have it mocked up and pics up!

i really think u guys will like this...

wanted to throw another thank u out to my friends for the help. this wouldve taken three times as long without u!
the amount of time that went into finding the spot welds and drilling them out and also helping chisel through to seperate the two sections was astronomical! couldnt have done it without u guys!

more updates to come!
 
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Yess!! As soon as I saw the pic of the 4Runner rear hatch I knew exactly what you were doing! That is sooo sick, man. Awesome work!
 
it is always good to have friends that 1)know what they are doing and 2)are willing to lend a very helpful hand. all in all it is a very good job done by all

but i ordered a big purchase last night, that as soon as it comes in i will have it mocked up and pics up!

you wanna tell us what it is or are we gonna have to wait?
 
it is always good to have friends that 1)know what they are doing and 2)are willing to lend a very helpful hand. all in all it is a very good job done by all

you wanna tell us what it is or are we gonna have to wait?
I don't wanna wait, but I think we're gonna have to!

Great work so far man... this project is so over the top it makes my head spin :)
 
Yess!! As soon as I saw the pic of the 4Runner rear hatch I knew exactly what you were doing! That is sooo sick, man. Awesome work!
thank u kindly!
well since u know what ur doing would u mind coming and helping, cuz im just winging it as i go lol...

but seriously, bring beer!

Looks nice man! Wish I knew someone local that had that kind of talent to do that to my f150!
honestly, u could do it urself...

mind over matter my friend!

it is always good to have friends that 1)know what they are doing and 2)are willing to lend a very helpful hand. all in all it is a very good job done by all



you wanna tell us what it is or are we gonna have to wait?
all my buddies are building trucks themselves, so its damn near impossible to get anyone over here to lend a hand. so ya, it was really weird when both of them showed up unannounced and busted ass to get this project rolling!

and u guys should know im gonna hold out on u til the product is in my hands lol. im not one to brag on something until i actually own it. then ill rub it in ur face. haha jk!

I don't wanna wait, but I think we're gonna have to!

Great work so far man... this project is so over the top it makes my head spin :)
yes ur gonna have to wait lol..

but i will tell u this. the parts i ordered have been played out on minitrucks and fullsize alike and i swore that i would never own them, but for the look that im going for on my truck, i think they will flow well and compliment the mods that i have without standing out too awful much.

and if they dont look right and i just plain dont like them, then i will just get rid of them lol...

(if u cant figure out what i got from that, then, well, u can wait for pics haha)
 
alright, im trying to keep this thing updated for u guys so i dont get flack, but u do realize every minute i spend on the computer takes away from my precious garage time!? lol

on to the updates from yesterday!

so first things first i cutout another piece to flush fit my smooth rear cab wall. nobody should really ever see this, but it adds to structural support and also just looks cool( just in case i ever do a tilt bed or something)

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these pictures look like ass on my computer. hope they look better on ur screen...

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i also went and bought a new grinder and some flap discs and such and started grinding down my welds on the rear. then i did some welding on the inside for the cab wall and also on the top of the frame for the window.

then it got hot, so i went outside and played on the slip and slide with the kiddos. after it started to cool down and i could stand to be back in the garage i started working on the front of the truck.

i finally tacked in my inner fenders where i wanted them and have enough room to clear bigger wheels once i decide to make that purchase lol..

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but now i have a problem. my hinges for my hood wont go all the way down, so i have to do a little cutting and bending...

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much better...
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i havent had a functioning hood on this truck for years. and before that it had a hole cut in it because the engine stuck through it. now that i have the rotary, i can run a stock hood, and thats not even a b2600i bubble hood.

not everyday u see a doored truck that runs a stock hood!
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so i have a few little fitment issues with the front of the truck so that my hood lines up properly, but thats easily fixed when i reallign my front end and make sure everything is squared up! thats the least of my concerns right now...

and some random pics while i relaxed and had a few brews...

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bed back on. well moved out of the way so the wifey can do laundry lol...

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got dayum that rear window is gonna be HUGE!
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plans for today are to work on the floor and get that finished and hopefully start mounting my seats. then jeremy is supposed to come back over tonight so we can brace in the rear cab wall and get that all squared away...

doesnt seem like much, but thats a lot on my plate for today.

maybe more updates tomorrow!
 
Haha, that would be a long drive, but I have a feeling it would be a good time. I meant that when I saw the 4R rear hatch I hoped you were going to put it in the back of the cab. ;)
I know man. Just giving u s*** lol
lack of tools, welder, weldign know how or even weldign buddies and a spot to do it all in kind of old me back on that.

Either way man looks pretty freaking slick on the build! Keep up the good work man!
Thanks a lot. And ya, I remember when I had to borrow a welder and when I bought my first grinder and all that to start learning how to fab. But not having a proper work space is a big deal!

My bad!
Totally loving this build............
Thanks man. I'm trying my damnedest
 

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