swank to the courtesy phone please.

I know that you, as well as others here, know damn near everything about some things.

Got an 83 mazda b2000 truck with a blowed up engine.

What other engines bolt to this trans? What do I need to source?

Its my best friends first truck. Lost the engine a few years ago, and I've decided to steal it and get it back on the road again. Gotta do this on the cheap. So im looking atjjunkyard swaps, efi and more modern than the boat anchor hes had in there for the last 20 years he's had the truck.

If I can do it cheap enough, I'll bring it down for the challenge. Fmv on it is scrap price at this point. So 300.

iirc miata bp should fit

Most F motors should bolt to it. That transmission won't take a TON of power but enough to be entertaining.

Kia Sportage FE3 should be a pretty straightforward swap.

If you want all the power, B2600i stuff should be mostly bolt in, and it'll hold a LOT of power.

Bp should be doable, you'd need to mess with bellhousing though.

Talk to me more about this fe3 motor. What's the deal with that?

Links, etc will be best. Whole new world here for me.

The "real" FE3 i think was called the FE3N or FE-Dohc. There was an earlier FE, that was an 8v motor. Actually that's probably what's in the truck now.

Overseas the Mazda FE3 did up to 170hp in the Capella/MX6 Efini variant. They're known for making 600hp under boost. Unopened.

We never got it in the US. But we got it built by Kia in the gen1 Sportage. Think it was rated at 130-140hp, still loves boost. If you want to make n/a power, basic casting cleanup, maybe chuck in some mazda 10:1 pistons, shave the head a little, throw a miata header on it (BP exhaust manifolds fit with very mild modification), and it should be way more potent than it was before.

Motor is dirt cheap in the yards because nobody is looking for them.

Swank Force One wrote: Most F motors should bolt to it. That transmission won't take a TON of power but enough to be entertaining. Kia Sportage FE3 should be a pretty straightforward swap. If you want all the power, B2600i stuff should be mostly bolt in, and it'll hold a LOT of power. Bp should be doable, you'd need to mess with bellhousing though.

This is what makes this forum great. 20 minutes after you post a question, you have a reply that gives you several solid avenues to pursue.

So the kia motor mounts to the mazda bellhousing and trans? What about clutch? Im assuming ill have to fab mounts. And wiring.

Anything special about getting it in there I don't know yet? Any good resource for this?

Im pretty sure that 140 horse in this thing will be enough for him. Dead nuts reliability and efficient are top priority.

Not a kia motor. A mazda motor in kia clothing.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

It's a mazda motor.

Might not even need custom mounts, i'm not 100% on that. Would not be surprised if you didn't need them.

Wiring yes, though since you're doing an efi swap into a carb truck, i'd just Megasquirt it.

Clutch should be straightforward. You'll need the kia flywheel, then i think you can use b2000 clutch. I think. I can double check on that one. It'll be off the shelf either way though.

Forum, there's a good B Truck forums.

Hold your horses guys, pretty sure the 83 b2000 runs the f/ma 2.0, which means the fe and its relatives aren't a straight swap in, the ma has a different bell housing pattern.

Ah. Yes. Good call.

I'm guessing a 4th gen trans would bolt into these pretty easily, though? I'm seeing reference that he FE was available in 85 in both 3rd and 4th gen. Knowing Mazda, this is probably still just a case of legos using easy to find junkyard parts, right?

So, what would the combination be?

What little i read on the fe3 this morning, looks like a good solution.

I also couldn't find anything on thef/ma enengine.

Really, im starting from scratch as far as knowledge about this thing.

I BELIEVE the combination would be an FE or F2 powered truck transmission, should bolt to Kia FE3, Kia FE3 flywheel, and truck clutch.

Waiting on my buddy to reply with confirmation. He's previously built a 2.2 liter FE3 stroker with a big turbo, in a 2wd B2200, had an F2T in the truck before. He's been around the block with these.

All good swank, yeah, 85 was the first of the f powered trucks. A straight trans swap shouldn't be to hard, or like you say, it should be a Mazda Lego job. I've got a fe and an ma gearbox in the garage I'll double check after work. Duster, is your gearbox 4 or 5speed?

Personally, if you have to swap boxes I'd be more inclined to used the b2600 box, if your swapping it may as well be to something better.

I think the potential complication with the B2600 R box is what to do with the driveshaft at that point, and would have to mess with the rear trans mount crossmember thing.

We pulled a bunch of stuff off a 2wd B2600 with the 3.7 rear end for a B2200 truck my buddy and i were/might still build. (F2T swap.) Ended up pulling the trans, driveshaft, entire rear end, and the crossbrace mount, because trying to lego bits and pieces together was going to be annoying, or at least looked annoying.

There may be a combo out there i don't know about for use with the B2600 transmission, i didn't look into it much.

But yes, the B2600i trans is MUCH stronger. As is the rear end.

Five speed if I remember right. Thanks for offering to check this stuff out guys.

Really want to get his truck back in time for his first kid to be born in November.

Rotary and corresponding trans. Should pretty much bolt in with minimal work.

No, Really.

Yes, that's an option as well.

13B-DEI and 4th gen trans swap time? Please get a giant "Rotary Power" decal for the tailgate if you do so.

Yeah, fair point on the r box. It won't be a straight forward swap...

Most of the smooth case/oval box transmissions will have interchangeable internals, but keep in mind that during the mid 80s Mazda made a few revisions to the gearbox internals. An early 90s b2000/b2200 box will probably be your best bet for a straight forward fit. Though there may be some differences between the extension housing. Rx7 5th gear swap would be a good upgrade if you've got to swap extension housings.

Rotary would be a fun swap, but no good if its to be used to haul. Also not as straight forward as some would suggest... I know a guy who did a rotor swap on an old rwd 626, it wasn't the hardest swap going but it wasn't plug and play either.

In reply to daeman:

Did you get a chance to check ma/fe3 bellhousing things?

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Won't be able to till I get home from work. Check back in about 6 hours.

Wow. That's a hell of a shift man. No hurry.

Nah, not as bad as it seems... It was late night when I first replied and knew I wouldn't have time to check before work.

Ok, so I can confirm, the bell housing pattern is different for ma (f/ma) compared to the fe,f2, fe3.

If you look at an ma bell housing, there us a bolt petty much right at the top centre (12 o'clock). Compare that to the fe, it has 2 bolts at about 11 and 1, with a flat section at the top of the bell.

This means the bare minimum you'll be swapping the front housing/bell housing section of the gearbox. Its a painful design because the bell housing and front plate of the gearbox are all in 1 piece, so its not a straight forward bell swap like a lot of other manual transmissions. Being an early 80s trans, I'd seriously consider replacing it with a later b2000/2200 trans..

In reply to daeman:

I had to check your location. Thanks for the help from Australia.

Ill start researching a trans swap as well.

Looks like the prices for an fe3 and the power/simplicity of the swap are worth finding another trans for.