B2000 possible performance mods

[LUCKY13]

Hello

This is my first post here, and so you kinda know what your dealing with here is a little about me real quick. I have been a ASE cert. Tech for 25 years. Raced and built many differnt types cars including fabricating turbo kits & retrofiting EFI to older cars with factory ECM setups & aftermarket Stand along ECMs. I have been 10.80s in my Eagle Talon & 9.60s in my Big Block Mopar. So I kinda know what I am getting into here with this project I am starting although its purpose is not for racing.


I have a 86 B2000 that has been in the familiy sense it was bought new. It has close to 200,000 miles on and it still runs very good. My son is driving the truck now everyday but it is a bit boring for him and he wants to rebuild it and try and add some pretty good power to it. We have desided that where going to pull the cab & bed off the frame and bring it back up with a complete rebuild & paint. At this time I am going to fab a turbo kit for it. Not sure what size but maybe a GT2860rs with a .68 A/R. I am also wanting to change it over to EFI whether I use a factory setup or probably a MegaSquirt to control the timing & fuel. More than likly it will be the MegaSquirt so I can set it up good unless the factory stuff is capable of being tuned easly which I kinda doute.

My questions are what later model engine stuff will interchange with this engine. It would be nice if atleast one of the EFI intakes will bolt up & I wouldnt mind if there was a bigger engine like a 2.2 or 2.4 that the crank would swap out and fit. Maybe there is a better flowing head or camshaft. Just anything that would aid in this build. I am not looking for all out horse power but some good torque and around 200 to 250hp ( or who knows maybe a little more). We do want the truck to be fun but we are not looking for 1/4 mile times or nothing. But I do expect the truck to get pushed a bit.

Are the rods in these engines any good ( I will know myself when I get into the engine) Does anyone offer aftermarket rods for the older engine, what about forged pistons or maybe some Hyper pistons. Heck even over sized Mazda pistons would be good in my mind because they have held up good and I probably want be running over about 10psi boost. I am sure with the right tune the factory pistons would hold up to 10psi. I do have wideband systems & access to a dyno for tuning so I am good to go there.

So if anyone of you guys knows of a good combo to use on this engine or a good place to get the right parts I need ( turbos,injectors, intercooler and stuff like this I have). It is the Mazda stuff or aftermarket engine stuff that I need to know where to get. Or maybe you know of some problems this engines have when you start pushing to power on them. Just anything you fell that might help me out on this build that I may need or need to know.

If it comes down to it I will fabricate my intake & turbo header but I would really like to find a intake that would work even if it needs some fabrications to get it working out like switching to a differnt throttle body or making the fuel rails and such.

This little truck is tough and sticks to the road well. If the engine shows me it can take a bit of power I feel the chasis & drive tran can handle quit a bit if its not getting a set of slicks and being launched hard ( and it will not get this). Not sure what tires and wheels it will get yet but it will probably be something light with a little bit of meat to get it to the road a little better but still be good for highway & backroads. Maybe a 245/60 on the back & a set of weld wheels. I am going to rebuild the tranny & get a good clutch for it while I am doing this & it would be nice if there was a possitraction unit for the rearends for these trucks. If not I can probably live with it but if it comes down to it I will put some other rearend in if its in a big need for it.


Well hope some of you guys have some ideas & sorry for such a long post. I am going to start gethering parts & go ahead and pull the bed off the truck and be working it out to be ready for paint. This is not something that is going to happen in the next week or anything because I will be doing plenty of research before setting a goal on the end results.


Thx for your time
Jess

 

[Kansei]

For a truck that old I'd say it's probably easier to go megasquirt than source all the MAzda parts to convert to EFI. A friend of mine back in high school had a B2000 (I had a B4000.. 1994, a ford ranger in poor disguise haha) and it was such a fun little truck.

I hope someone knows more about the engien internals for you to help you with your project.

Welcome to the site!

 

[Kansei]

K just looked up some info. Well the engine in it is an F-series Mazda engine, so it is loosely in some small way related to the engine in the Protege (the FS-DE, champion or weak rods haha).

It's the 2.0 FE

The 2.0 L (1998 cm) FE was very different with a square 86 mm bore and stroke. It was an 8-valve SOHC engine for front-wheel drive and rear wheel drive pickup use. Output was 90 hp (66 kW) for the 1 barrel carburetor version, 101 hp (74 kW) for the 2 barrel carburetor version, or 118 hp (87 kW) with fuel injection.
Applications:

• 1983-1987 Mazda Capella/626
• 1985-1987 Mazda B2000
• Mazda MX-6
• 1983-1987 Mazda 929

Yum, it has a square bore and stroke. Oh and the dual overhead cam version of the engine, the FE3, found in the Kia Sportage in the U.S., has INCREDIBLY strong rods. A turbocharged version of the FE engine (sohc) was put into the first generation Mazda MX-6 and the first generation Ford Probe. I bet it'll be a lot easier to find information about the strength of the engine if you go looking for information for the turbo MX-6.

 

[Be11ydawg]

Go V-8

First let me congratulate you in passing on your love of auto customizing to your son and finding a common project for the two of you to work on. I am in the process of trying to help my boys appreciate these things.

I had a 91 B2200 Mazdawg that was customized. I kept the original engine with header, Jackson ignition and upgraded 32/36 carb. Definitely helped in the power department, but still a dog.

Personally I have seen people in the minitruckin scene not bother with the time and money to upgrade what is a deplorable engine and instead drop in a Ford 5.0 V-8 engine and transmission. Couple that with an IRS rear end and you'll have something truly unique. There used to be a company in Canada that made a swap kit for the Ford engine. I have also seen the original engine supercharged and turbocharged. If you do decide to go with a factory engine, look at the 2.6 liter. Don't know how available it is but you will also need to get the hood for a B2600 for proper clearance.

Whichever way you go, good luck and have fun.

 

[LUCKY13]

Thanks for the info guys. I didnt check for the thread to Email me when there was a reply and just now found the thread had been replied to.


Some of this info is very interesting. Oh , there will not be any 5.0 V8 going in. If we get 200 to 250hp out of a turbo and maybe a 2.6 then that will be all we are looking for. Sounds like there is a few possibilities on the engine and EFI. I think the MegaSquirt will be the way to go on the EFI. And that would be sweat if there is a DOHC Turbo engine that is the same platform. I will have to look into the MX6 & Probe setups. I have worked on both of those cars. But I wasnt really looking into building a Mazda to really notice or remember how they was setup. We have plenty of Pick & Pay yards around here. I know a few of the owners, I am sure they can pull the info out of there change over books.

Heck I guess it wouldnt take much to put one of the ranger/pinto engines into the truck. Those engines are tough & I have seen a bunch of them turning 8000 rpm with big turbos on them, or NOS. So I know one of them could make a good setup. I want to keep it 4 cylinder, it will be much easier to work on that way. I dont have emmision testing in my state, so we can about do what we wish. And I would rather have a popular readly available engine in the truck, that way if we hurt it by pushing it to far it will be quick & easy to replace it. Hech I have seen the ThunderBirds with the 2.3 turbo running low 11,s at the track so I am pretty sure this would be a very good setup. Cheap,tough and there is already turbo setups with EFI for them. It may even bolt right up to my tranny.

But I will look into the the Mazda setup first. If the DOHC 2.6 can be used that would be a good torque setup combined with a T25 turbo. I have plenty of time to work out all teh possibilities. I will probably pull the engine and do a tear down & start compairing it to the other Mazda engines to see what will swap. 86mm bore is a good size bore, there is plenty of pistons around for them & its big enough to let a head with some bigger valves flow good. Really I would say that even the 2.0 done right would give a good hp with the right turbo. I just would like to have a lot of torque.


Jess

 

[tviera]

Have you poked around the Ford Ranger forums? I'm guessing that there is a boat load of parts for a Ford pick-up.

 

[LUCKY13]

No I havnt, and I would say that is a good idea. I am waiting till after Xmas before I start building on the truck. To till the truth the truck runs so good at 200,000 miles that it is almost crazy to take it apart. But if we are going to put money into the truck that is what we need to do is take it plum apart so we can make all the repairs & upgrades at one time. We are going to try and make the cab a lot quiter inside while we have it apart and painting it. Also do things like go ahead and rebuild the heater with a new core and look into adding A/C. After thinking about it I am just going to build the engine that is in it. If some of the Mazda bigger engine stuff will interchange I may do something like a longer stroke crankshaft, DOHC and use the Manifolds for the EFI. If I can find a complete 2.6 or something turbo out of a MX-6 or Probe and it will go inplace of the 2.0 I will do this. But the truck dont have to have a lot of power. If it only ends up with 200hp but it is responsive with good torque that will be fine. We are going to size the turbo to spool quickly and really be to small for the top end because we are just not looking to rev the engine & race it. We want usable power that will last a long time. But on the same hand we are the kinda people that are use to having a lot of higher power cars & trucks. My daily driver is a Big Block Mopar Stationwagon that has a stroker kit in the engine and is getting a set of twin turbos here soon. So I will probably go for all the power I can without pushing the truck to the piont that it is very bad with traction. But if the truck will handle it I will give it all the HP it wants, as long as we can keep it driving good without going crazy with tires and keep it together without having to go in and repair something all the time. That is one reason I have held onto this truck & My Mopar StationWagon is they work & last. Even when being pushed hard.

I know all this sounds like a lot to put into a old pickup truck but it has been in the family so long & the truck meets our needs so good that we would rather do this than go buy something new. It is paid for, and will last as long as if we bought something new.


Jess

 

[tviera]

I really think it would be much easier to look for "FORD" parts and upgrades because part numbers might different between the two but the parts would be the same. I'm 29 and grew up in a family owned parts store. You would be suprised the interchangeable PNs with prices on both sides of the spectrum.

 

[Kansei]

Yeah but the B2000 is pre ford ranger clonage..

 

[tviera]

Ford had the 2.3l and Mazda the 2.0l. IIRC the blocks are the same with a different bore of a longer stroke. I know the oil/water pumps are the same I think the ford used a different ignition system though.

 

[tviera]

At least alot of the parts are interchangeable.

 

[16902]

Interesting reading I found....may help:

I get a lot of questions about Miata interchangabilty with the 1978-92 626/MX6 and B series truck motors because of the larger 2.0 liter displacement. Here's the scoop as I know it.
The F motors (F,FE,F2, FS) are larger in both bore spacing and deck height than the Bs are are mostly unrelated. Little to nothing will interchanges between the 'B' and 'F' motors, even the bellhousing bolt pattern is different from the 'B' motors. The 'F'/'MA' engines were first used in the late 70s in the 2.0 liter RWD 626 and B2000/Ford Courier. An enhanced version called the FE was introduced in the 1984 2.0 liter (86x86mm) FWD 626 and the B2000 pickup. The stroke was increased in 1988 for the 2.2 F2 motor as used in the B2200 and MX6/626/Ford Probe. None of the Mazda 4 cylinder heads are an interferance fit with the exception of the long stroke 2.2. All the F, FE and F2 motors had SOHC heads with the exception of the 1998+ 2.0 liter Kia Sportage which uses the block from the 1984-87 B2000/MX6 (86x86) mated with a new, very 'B' like, DOHC head. This engine was also in use in the Japanese only market 4wd 626 and European/Austrailan market 626 16V too.


In 1993 Mazda created a short bore spacing version of the F engine called the FS. It was used in the 1993+ 626/MX6 (83x92mm) and had a DOHC head. Although it is loosly based on the 'FE/F2' internals it is a new generation and not many parts interchange. The motor mount bosses are in different locations and the bellhousing bolt pattern is different. Same situation as the generation change between the 'F'/'MA' and the 'FE'.
The G motors are the 2.6 liter truck motors. All are SOHC. There have been two 2.6's, the 1987/88 was a Mitsubishi built engine and from 1989-93 was a Mazda designed and built motor. It was also used in the MPV. The common use of the engine types makes for some interesting and easy to do swaps, such as a 1.8 DOHC Escort GT motor in a Ford Festiva, 2.0 DOHC Kia Sportage Engine in a MX-6/626/Probe/B2200, and a 2.0 DOHC 'FS' MX6 engine in a 1999 Protege. Hmmmm...

Found the info at: http://members.aol.com/solomiata/MX5Engine.html

I can't wait to see your truck when your done with it...(glare)