MAZDA B2200... are they that bad?

Found one on the local CL for $750. It's a '92 with 141,xxx miles. Ext. cab with a 5-spd and a carb'ed 2.2

I've read about horror stories with bad valve seals/rings and smoking issues,etc.Are those engines as bad as everything I've seen/read online?

The truck I looked at needs some work( clutch, hole in frame and needs a rear bumper for starters) I want it for the cool factor ( 5-spd, carb'ed, ext cab 2wd) but the guy selling it wont come down on his price.Part of me is saying just walk away from it. What do you think?

I drove one for work years ago. I liked the engine. Anemic but revvy. That one sounds like a good one to pass on though. Needs a lot of help.

Had a 93 2200 in high school (dad bought new and I bought from him with 150ish miles) and yes the valve seal issue is real as well as the bumper WILL rot off sometime before you know it.

Aside from that I wish I still had that damned truck.....

factory installed rust. you can actually hear them rust on a quiet night with no moon...

pass.

-J0N

Revvy is the last thing I would describe a b2200 motor as... wonder if we`re talking about the same truck.

Motor will run forever. Valve seals should take less than an hour and $10 to do. If that's truly a deal breaker then any sub-$2000 truck is probably going to be ruled out.

I have a '93. It has a minor leak at the valve cover and no rear bumper. I wish mine had the extended cab for more room inside, but I like the way the regular cab looks. I had to replace brake pads, two wheel cylinders, clutch master and slave cylinders, but the parts are pretty cheap! I get about 19 mpg (carb'd 5 spd). Yeah, "revvy" is about the last adjective that comes to mind, but I love my little truck! 268xxx and still going strong!

My dad had a pair of them when I was growing up. I want to say they both had ~300k miles on them (mostly highway). Neither ever seemed to need any serious work, didn't rust much at all to my recollection (in upstate NY, which is saying something), got great gas mileage. That said, my dad is really careful when buying cars, and they both were meticulously maintained by the previous owners, and well maintained when we had them.

I was impressed at the time. Would consider one myself if I needed a small truck. I think they're probably undervalued.

I almost bought one about three times now, and would still like to have one. But I am a Mazda nerd, and therefore biased.

B2k+f2t=winning. That is all.

It test drove one when they were new and I thought it was revvy compared to the Nissan that I bought. Both had five speeds. The Nissan does 24mpg and has ~ 375k miles.

The one I was assigned had no AC or PS. Maybe the lack of accesories contributed to its feel. Also regular cab and 2wd. About as stripped down as the company could buy.

They have a really nice shifting five speed - the gearbox guts were shared with the Rx-7.

I owned one for 4 years. It was an injected 93, and made good power. I've never heard that about the carbed ones. It was a love hate relationship. I hated the truck because it was the most miserable driving piece of garbage I've ever owned, but loved it because it was rugged as hell, perfectly reliable, and 100% rust free. Between the 3 times I got hit and took cash, and what I got for it with the rust free body, and high mileage, I may have actually made money owning it. Sold it with over 400k on it, and it still had lot's of life left.

I miss my '88 B2000 dearly. Mine had zero rust, a 5-speed, manual steering, ice-cold A/C, and a long bed. I lowered it 2" and drove it for years until the transmission crapped out. I wasn't in a place to fix it myself, so I sold it for what bought it for. Got several years, 40k, and lots of work out of it for the price of gas and insurance.

This thread needs MOAR PIX!!!

EastCoastMojo wrote: I have a '93. It has a minor leak at the valve cover and no rear bumper. I wish mine had the extended cab for more room inside, but I like the way the regular cab looks. I had to replace brake pads, two wheel cylinders, clutch master and slave cylinders, but the parts are pretty cheap! I get about 19 mpg (carb'd 5 spd). Yeah, "revvy" is about the last adjective that comes to mind, but I love my little truck! 268xxx and still going strong!

That fuel "economy" is terrible.

To the OP, a 5 speed injected Hardbody will pull down high 20's.

So will a 5spd injected B2200.

I'll admit the fuel consumption on mine is not great, and I don't stick my foot in it either. Any ideas how I can improve it?

EastCoastMojo wrote: I'll admit the fuel consumption on mine is not great, and I don't stick my foot in it either. Any ideas how I can improve it?

Trade it in for a fuel injected one?

Remove carb'd 8v F2, insert injected turbocharged 12v F2T?

Or insert Kia FE3 out of a Sportage?

Yeah yeah. You just want to F2T all the things!

Anything I can do that doesn't involve pulling the motor? or the a/c, I just got that working and I LIKE it.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Yeah yeah. You just want to F2T all the things! Anything I can do that doesn't involve pulling the motor? or the a/c, I just got that working and I LIKE it.

I can't imagine it being super hard to convert it to the later fuel injection stuff.

I'd say you could tweak the carb, but i don't know anything about that.

Skip it, and get a real B-Series:

In reply to Mazdax605:

Aw man, that's sweet! What year is that? It looks mint!

Nice Mazda signage in the garage too!

Nevermind, I checked out your garage and saw it is a '74. Love the wood grain dash!

MPG is something I'm kinda worried about as well. I can squeeze 23 out of my 30+ yr old V-8 Camaro. FI is a possibility, with some parts from a Probe and 626. I have read that a certain Weber carb can fit the Mazda intake with an adapter as well( which for some odd reason I think I already have)

here is the truck in question..

Trucks and MPG don't mix very well, even the small trucks like this one. Maybe it's so they can tow and haul stuff. A diesel engine swap would take care of MPGs if you were up to it.