1981 Ford Courier.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 8,462
Likes: 4
From: Durant, OK (SOSU)
Greywolf...when you get done, you had best be updating us. You got the RX-7 engine already? That'd be worth the drive to Tennessee to see that. Talk about a lack of torque though.
RP
Zach
RP
Zach
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
From: Englewood, CO
Greywolf, buy a Mazda truck to do the swap on. The Courier used the Ford engine and transmission, so you might have better luck with the Mazda swap in a Mazda to begin with. They made the Courier style longer, until 84.
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
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My brother had a Courier. I had an '83 B2000. All I can say is things must be tough if you are going to the scrap yard to find parts vs. just taking these pieces of junk to the scrap yard. Is there a vehicle that emodies the worst of more worlds than one of these? Underpowered, rust-prone, no more crash worthy than a bicycle, god can you think of something this side of a 28hp VW beetle that is more life-threatening to drive?
Sorry to rain on the parade, but y'all need to wake up and smell the anti-freeze.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but y'all need to wake up and smell the anti-freeze.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
From: Englewood, CO
85e150. I had a 77 Courier. It had the 2.3L Ford engine. I traded it in on the 84 Mazda B2000 with the 2.0L Mazda engine. The Courier had 150K on it and still had plenty left in her. Rust? Depends on where you live, it had little to no rust in that time frame. And the engine was used for years and years, and if Ford is still putting a 2.3L engine in anything, it's still the same from from back then.
The 2.0 Mazda was underpowered, I agree. But today with at least $3 a gallon gas, 35 mpg in town is still hard to beat.
And dangerous? Yep, I can think of a few. The Pinto that blew up when hit from behind, any old truck that had saddle tanks outside the frame rails or inside the cab. That's what I'd call dangerous. I wouldn't say these trucks are the safest things on the road, but they still aren't the worst either.
Just my .02
The 2.0 Mazda was underpowered, I agree. But today with at least $3 a gallon gas, 35 mpg in town is still hard to beat.
And dangerous? Yep, I can think of a few. The Pinto that blew up when hit from behind, any old truck that had saddle tanks outside the frame rails or inside the cab. That's what I'd call dangerous. I wouldn't say these trucks are the safest things on the road, but they still aren't the worst either.
Just my .02
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
Originally Posted by 85e150six4mtod
My brother had a Courier. I had an '83 B2000. All I can say
-That sums it up nicely.
Now then - the engine I'd really like to get hold of to plant in one of these you can find out about here:
www.3rotor.com
pbw_55, how much did you want for it? Considering what I want to do to one, a bare shell with a front suspension is all I'd need to begin with.
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
dont forget to ask the junkyards if they have Mazda B2000 for the same year. It is the same truck.
I had an 81 in high school, some 20 years ago. It was a pretty nice truck for the $1200 dad paid for it back then. I wrecked it once and we pulled all the parts from a Mazda.
I had an 81 in high school, some 20 years ago. It was a pretty nice truck for the $1200 dad paid for it back then. I wrecked it once and we pulled all the parts from a Mazda.
New User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
My brother had a Courier. I had an '83 B2000. All I can say is things must be tough if you are going to the scrap yard to find parts vs. just taking these pieces of junk to the scrap yard. Is there a vehicle that emodies the worst of more worlds than one of these? Underpowered, rust-prone, no more crash worthy than a bicycle, god can you think of something this side of a 28hp VW beetle that is more life-threatening to drive?
Sorry to rain on the parade, but y'all need to wake up and smell the anti-freeze.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but y'all need to wake up and smell the anti-freeze.
There's a better site than this one for Courier enthusiasts... Ford Courier Collector. Check it out...
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,724
Likes: 1
From: Butler, IN
jcargal must belong to the National Procrastinators Club, that is the only clue I have why it took so long to reply with an insult. Or maybe it took that long to come up with what was posted!
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 432
Likes: 1
From: Amherst, WI
Take care and have a great week-end and remember why.
Dave
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 8,261
Likes: 15
From: Big Sky Country
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