- TRUCKIN.COM [5 3 ] OCTOBER 2019 -
T
he Mazda B-series trucks were first introduced in 1961
and continued all the way to 2 00 9. For the tenure of
almost 5 0 years in production, the Mazda B-series was
the most popular in its fourth-generation models, the
mid-’85s to ’98s. Once introduced in North America, the sleeker-
styled Mazda B2 000 , a 2.0L engine (up from the previous year
at 1 .6L), was an instant hit. Jeff Giles from Greenville, South
Carolina, first got involved in trucks, specifically Mazdas, when
his cousin had a late-’8 0 s Mazda B2 000. Eventually, it’s all Jeff
dreamed of owning.
At 1 5, it wasn’t plausible Jeff would be able to afford the
Mazda mini, so his first vehicle was a static-dropped Dodge
D5 0 , which he and his father each went half on. “I drove the
Dodge for about a year before it completely failed on me,” Jeff
tells Truckin. “It wasn’t the truck I wanted, so I didn’t worry too
much.” The following year, as he got his finances in order, he
purchased his first Mazda, a B22 00. He worked hard and addeda hydraulic suspension and a topper on it until it was involved
in an accident and he was forced to sell it for parts.
That opened the door for him to find a cheaply priced ’86
Mazda B2 000 , the same model and year his cousin had during
his childhood. The Mazda wasn’t in the best shape, but it was
what Jeff wanted. The blue stock paint was faded and there
was a half attempt at bagging the mini. Almost immediately
after the purchase, Jeff started adding the 4x4 sheetmetal and
turned his attention to the suspension issues. The frame was
Z’d to finally get the mini-truck to the ground.
With Jeff and his good friend Jeff Green tackling all the work,
the Mazda was coming along just as he had imagined. The rear
was completely redone with a new four-link and airbags with
newly designed brackets. In the front, the bag brackets were
mounted and the ball joints were flipped to lower the truck
even more. The next step was all the bodywork to bring life
back into the Mazda and some intriguing additions.