Car Shopping: Swank has no clue edition

What's the hot setup for the b2600i?

Any years to look out for? Fairly robust running gear?

I'm not enjoying being truckless as much as I thought and this is only a few minutes from a buddies shop.

And by that I mean: Swank, look at this Mazda I found a million miles from you. You should totally fly and fix and drive.

mndsm wrote:

daeman wrote: In reply to mndsm: Man, you two kill me. Either way, your both nerds and the stuff you two know has helped me here and there.

You should see us when we're in the same room. With beer.

You'd either explode my head or we'd get on famously.

I still say F2T a first Gen Kia Sportage

captdownshift wrote: I still say F2T a first Gen Kia Sportage

Those already have the fe3. Think mazdas version of the 4g63. The f2t is hilariously underrated, but the fe is better.

NickD wrote: Apparently the manual was available with the turbo. Could swear I heard/read that turbo Bajas were auto-only. Huh.

Just wanted to add my cousin had a manual turbo Baja but had to go a few states away to get it, and that is when they were new. So I think they are pretty rare

Burrito wrote: What's the hot setup for the b2600i? Any years to look out for? Fairly robust running gear? I'm not enjoying being truckless as much as I thought and this is only a few minutes from a buddies shop. And by that I mean: Swank, look at this Mazda I found a million miles from you. You should totally fly and fix and drive.

Dammit!

That's exactly the truck i want, but not super thrilled about the mechanical issues with it being on the other end of the country.

To answer your question: B2600 had the Mitsubishi G54, so actually the same motor that's in that 1g Montero that was posted. B2600i is the one you want, has the Mazda G6, which is like an F2 on Bovine Growth Hormone. Very strong motor. Transmission is very strong, it's an "R box," like the TII and FD RX7s. Rear end very strong, diff is a TII unit. Basically... it's a small truck built more like a half ton.

At $1000, i'd be buying that one even with the issues if i was local. Head gasket not including having the head checked out and resurfaced is probably... a 2-3 hour job. If not less. Radiator shouldn't take more than 45 minutes, probably including burping the system. And it'll all cost about two dollars.

In reply to Swank Force One:

Perfect. Just the information I was looking for.

Thanks!

Ima just gunna leave this hur:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/5181458036.html

Mazdax605 wrote: Ima just gunna leave this hur: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/5181458036.html

Oh no. You just ruined.... everything.

Or this not so red one:

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/5155064643.html

Swank Force One wrote:

Mazdax605 wrote: Ima just gunna leave this hur: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/5181458036.html

Oh no. You just ruined.... everything.

You're welcome?

Mazdax605 wrote: Or this not so red one: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/5155064643.html

I don't even know what is happening right now.

Sigh.

Who can go look at either/both of those for me?

I think my friend Brad knows the green one really well, and has been trying to buy it for years. Of course now it's available, but he doesn't have money, or room. I could probably see the green one for you if my friend Brad can't.

I would much appreciate it. I really shouldn't be doing this, but i've wanted one for these for a looooooonnngggg time and the fact that there's two available right now with low miles tells me i should probably consider acting on it.

Just to warn you... if you guys manage to talk me into one of those, it WILL be the death knell for the MX6.

Any of you dudes in NY and can look at the red one for me?

Swank Force One wrote: I would much appreciate it. I really shouldn't be doing this, but i've wanted one for these for a looooooonnngggg time and the fact that there's two available right now with low miles tells me i should probably consider acting on it.

stop being a wimp.. Just pull the trigger.

Spoke with my friend Brad about the one on CL Boston. It is his friends car. Super solid he says, light side swipe as seen in pics. Looks silver in person, and not green as seen in pics. 2 owner car from VT originally. I will try to get more details.

Mazdax605 wrote: Spoke with my friend Brad about the one on CL Boston. It is his friends car. Super solid he says, light side swipe as seen in pics. Looks silver in person, and not green as seen in pics. 2 owner car from VT originally. I will try to get more details.

Excellent. Most concerned about rust and whether it would make the 1000 mile or so trip home.

Oh, and price. Because i assume it's not actually $1.00.

Appreciate it!

Brad says he didn't see any rust, but really didn't crawl around it thoroughly. He say he got a friend price of $1500.

That just made the decision way harder. I was guessing it was going to be priced about the same as the red one, and i like how the red one is set up already. Arg.

Thanks for middlemanning this, and thank Brad for me. I'm going to sit tight and wait for further info on how insurance is going to play out, then once i know what's going on, i'll call the seller and maybe bug you for Brad's contact info. I don't know these cars well.

I do find myself drawn to Jaynen's 3rd gen Montero, though. Checks a LOT of boxes. Every one of them, save for old school flavor.

Yeah, I agree they are great trucks but the 'modern-ness' just kills it for me. The 2g had all the good stuff about the modern era (EFI, airbags, abs, etc) but retained a super boxy style inside and out that made it feel like an unabashed utility vehicle in which little effort was made to 'soften' the appearance. It was probably the 'oldest' interior you could buy brand new in USA in 1999, and from my 2015 perspective that seems like a great thing.

So my current plan is to snag one of those 626s and either Jaynen's Gen3 or a Gen2.5 SR

But in the meantime, here's the B2600i in VA i was waiting on pics for. This is... obnoxiously minty.

http://www.carrva.com/vehicle_pages/jm2uf4140k0784641-1989-mazda-b2600-pickup-4w-used-pickup-richmond-va.shtml

So what happens to the MX-6 after this all goes down?

I'm in Richmond, want me to go test drive it?