neohic Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 So there's this guy I work with. He's mostly an early Bronco kind of guy which is pretty cool. Lately he's been wanting to build something a little different and with a plethora of leftover Bronco stuff, all he really needed was a solid platform to start with. What better than a classic Courier?! What better to start than with THREE Couriers?!?! The green truck is a '72, the white one is a '74, and the gray truck is a '76. What's really cool about these trucks is that they were build by Mazda before they were known as Mazda, and there were tons of changes and upgrades through their short lifespan. Notice anything different about the cab on the '76?... because it's 3" longer than the other two! It's also clearly a 4x4 which wasn't available from the factory. See, there was a company out of Springfield, IL that did conversions with early CJ parts. They all got narrow Dana 30s up front, a divorced Dana 20 transfer case, and then lift blocks in the rear to level things out. Pretty cool little trucks!! So here's the plan: use the green truck's frame as a base (because it's in the best shape), the cab from the '76 (because of the extra leg room), and the bed form the '74 (because it's got the best floor) on the outside. Drivetrain? We're going with early Bronco 9" and Dana 44 axles, 4.56 gears, 35" tall tires, a mild 289, SM465, and a Dana 20 with twin sticks. For suspension we're keeping it simple by hanging everything with Wagoneer leaf springs. Being I really don't have much for my own projects going on, I'm super excited about this! This afternoon at work, we decided that he needed a push to get the ball rolling so we pushed the '72 in and started stripping. Went pretty quick too! Within three hours we got it arranged, pulled the bed and cab, suspension, drivetrain, got it outside to finish cleaning the frame, and even managed to clean up the shop before the weekend. How did it go? Just like this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted January 13, 2018 Author Share Posted January 13, 2018 ... continued... There have been a few good Courier builds over on Pirate, but they've all been pretty crazy. This one has the idea of keeping it very streetable and flying super low under the radar. Bronco stuff under Japan's finest Fords? Couronco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 neat! I love off the wall builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
500 MJ Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 This will be fun to watch! My first vehicle was a Chevy LUV. Same concept, only rebranded Isuzu... 70 mph was only accomplished going downhill with the wind behind you :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Seems like a solid plan for a build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INjake89mj Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Love the old mini trucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 How about a Rotary engine truck? My old 1973 Mazda Rx3 was a real rocket at the time. The Rotary engine trucks were the fastest by far of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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