Hank my friend, you just got the award for reviving a 16.5 year old thread!



But, unlike most thread reanimations, this one rocks!

I had a 1982 Mazda B2000 Sundowner Sport. It was replaced a few years later by a B2200. Both trucks were gutless as could be, but I had fun with them while I owned 'em.

Stewart

 

Yes, I remember these trucks. I saw them around but, not as much as the LUVs and Ram 50s when I was a kid.

 

Well, since the thread has come alive, I'll mention that my boys had one back when. Matter of fact, I still have a Chilton's manual if anyone is interested.

 

My Dad had one back in the 70's, One time he got it stuck on a stump when I was about 10 and he told me to let out the clutch and give it gas while he pushed. He wedged a board under the wheel and it shot out and almost hit him. Another time we were caught in a freak (for NC snowstorm) and me and my sister had to ride in the bed for traction on the way home. Stubborn old man still buys 2wd's.

 

I had one for a while, pretty tough, not much power, good mpg's............But, SMALL.
I upgraded to a first gen Ranger, it felt like going from a Ranger to a F-250.
In a courier if you wanted to roll down the passenger window will driving, all you had to do was lean over slightly and crank it down. 2 passengers max.

 

Courier was my son's first vehicle. It was a sharp looking truck painted a medium blue and had white wagon wheels. It served him well and dear old dad did much rust repair. I patched the frame and sprayed oil inside the frame rails to slow down the rust process. The gas tank rusted through where road dirt collected near the fuel pump and I soldered a patch on it. It blew a head gasket far from home and a fellow that worked where he was doing an internship replaced it. Afterwards it did not run well, so on a trip to visit him, I found the valves needed adjusted. Not until he returned home did I find that the cam was not properly seated when re-installed. It is a wonder the cam did not go out as much oil was leaking out at the front because the front bearing cap was not seated properly. Other than the head gasket it had no other mechanical issues. He eventually traded it for a 92 Ford Ranger and just last year sold the Ranger and bought a 2006 F-150.
It seems my scanner had some issues with the blue at the bottom of the door.

 

Mine only had the 1.8 Mazda engine, I drove another one that had the 2.3 Ford engine, it had considerably more power than mine.

 

I had forgotten that I owned a late 70's Courier. I remember it had a manual
tranny, a 4 cylinder. Every thing under the hood referred to Mazda though.
Fun little truck. Which reminds me, I also had a Chevy Luv.

 

I still have an 82 B2000. It was a WA state vehicle so its got rust on every body panel with rust through on the single wall bed and lower fenders, frame is good but slightly tweaked from a PO accident. The bed sits about an inch lower on the driver side at rest. Thing is bulletproof but getting it smogged was tough as all the emissions vacuum crap was F'd. Found a NOS anti-backfire valve off Ebay (from U-haul's NOS fleet supply) and an EGR and a air cleaner shutter vacuum pot. still looking for the idle servo vacuum pot that goes next to the carb, not necessary but it would be nice to have a completely hooked up motor for the **** CA smog police. It tops out at about 88 with a 5sp. I was a member over on the site, fordcouriercollector, that had that 4X4 add, but it folded. Is there a Courier forum here? The Mazda 2.0 was weaker than the Fords 2.3 Lima motor but got better gas mileage. Also you could not shave the heads past .020 or you would upset the oil jet seating from the block and the head would not physically seal so they sold a .020 head shim. I had one back in 1993 and drove it all the way to Canada from So.Cal. Made it there and back WOT without even a hiccup hauling a camper shell.

 

The Ford courier as all the American mini trucks was Japanese Ford using the Mazda b1600 to b2000 . The difference being you could get a courier with a Ford engine in it. My 79 Ford courier has the indestructible 2.3 liter beast. Only gas engine Bobcat put in their skid steer and used in countless other commercial applications. My truck was converted into a 4x4 by Brama and has a Dana 30 front drive axle with a two speed transfer case mated to the transmission with a custom tail housing. With a step side bed it’s the only one like it I’ve ever seen.

 

I remember them, they were fun to drive, especially with the manual transmission. Always wanted one back in the day.

 

I had a '72 back in the early 80's. I bought it as a project. It had a broken timing chain at only 80K miles. I totally rebuilt the 1800 engine and it needed to bored 030 over. I took it for it's first drive and discovered the transmission bearings were also shot. So I replaced the bearings since it was really easy because you could split the case to do it. I drove it for a few years and made an even trade for a '67 Cadillac convertible in 1986. The Caddy was a little rusty and needed work but was drive-able.
The Courier was a fun little truck and seemed to have enough power. Yes the seat was shredded and the dash was cracked for a truck that was less than 10 years old.
The only reason I bought it was my dad had owned a '72 and '76 which he bought each one new. All had the 1800. We were very familiar with them. Looking back they were really crappy trucks. I don't think any of them went beyond 100K miles before needing a total rebuild. The '76 had a 5 speed and was gutless. The interiors held up well in both of my dad's trucks but the dashes cracked on both after only a few years.

 

My Dad had a 72. I learned to drive stick in it.
Later in life I bought an 81. I put that truck thru hell, but it kept going, never had a problem with it ,except the clutch had to be replaced once.
if it wasn't for the fact I had my Trans Am and my Jeep. I would have kept the truck for many more years, but my Dad said one of them has to go, so the truck went..