Twenty years is a long time to dedicate to anything, especially a minitruck. Some vehicles get traded and sold so many times that it gets difficult to trace the history of when certain modifications were made and who did the work. Instead of searching for a half-built, mystery machine, "Big" John Wakefield created a feature truck out of a Mazda that he's been in possession of for two decades, and he knows who made every single cut since only a small circle of friends were in on the build.
The reasoning behind building the truck to begin with for John is simple. As he told us, "I just wanted a clean truck and I enjoy meeting new people." A clean truck he has, and as far as meeting new friends, there's no better way to do that than being featured in MT, so it's safe to assume John hit the mark on both targets. And the reason why it has taken John so long to complete his build? We asked him just this, and his answer is as respectable as it gets. "I learned new techniques, which forced me to redo a lot of things on my truck. I first started out by planning on fixing the frame from previous damage. I was beginning on the back half but ended up doing a stock-floor bodydrop instead since it was only five feet more of frame. That escalated me into wanting to do even more with the truck."
Since John acquired new skills throughout the build, having to retrace certain steps knocked the few plans he did have for the truck way out of alignment. Things got pushed off to the side, and a moderate sense of chaos set in, but John was in no rush to finish his truck on anybody else's watch. Friends and family helped keep John on track with the progress but the desire to drive the truck was the real motivation. With the truck finally finished, John has been relentlessly attacking the streets of Texas in the Fudge Bomb—a nickname he has affectionately given his Mazda. And why wouldn't he be pounding the pavement with no remorse? Twenty years is an awfully long time to wait for this moment, and we're sure John won't be wasting any more time.
Owner: John Wakefield
Ride: 1991 Mazda B2200
Hometown: Houston, TX
Club: Severed Ties
The Lowdown
Rolling Attire
Wheels: 19x8 Boyd Coddington
Tires: 245/35/19 Hankook Ventus
Chassis Modifications
Suspension (front): 2-inch drop spindles, 2600 Firestone ’bags
Suspension (rear): Two-link setup with 2600 Firestone ’bags
Control Arms: Z’d lower control arms
Shocks: Gabriel Red Ryder
Compressor(s): Two Viair 450s
Air/hydro accessories: Four valves, 5-gallon air tank
Frame Mods:S-10 front clip with 2x3 tubing stock-floored frame
Performed By: Owner and Chris Stahl
Body Modifications
Shaved: Door handles, gas door, antenna, wiper cowl, tailgate, and roll pan combo
Bodydrop: Stock-floor
Body Mods: Custom cowl hood, complete sheetmetal bed floor, custom front bumper molded to fender, cut and modified Dodge Dakota lower valance, relocated master cylinder under dash and cleaned up firewall, custom inner fenders under the hood
Performed By: Owner, Chris Stahl, Bill Carlton at Ekstenive Metalworks
Paint
Brand & Colors: PPG Mellow Yellow (’06 Volkswagen) and Toyota Brown
Misc.: Brown and orange pinstripe
Performed By: Caesar at Ekstensive Metalworks
Interior
Seats: Stock seats with headrest removed, custom stitching with three-tone (King Ranch leather) chocolate suede and camel vinyl
Dash: Custom sheetmetal
Gauges: Dolphin dual 5-1/4-inch
Misc.: Custom console, painted stock plastics
Performed By: Chris Stahl and Joe at Advanced Auto Trim
Engine/Performance
Engine: ’96 S-10 4.3L V-6 Vortec
Intake: Custom
Header/exhaust: Handmade
Transmission: 4L60E
Rearend: Stock S-10
Performed By: John Wakefield
Special Thanks From Owner
"I would like to thank Chris Stahl, Bill Carlton, and the rest of the crew at Ekstensive Metalworks, all of my Severed Ties family members, and all of my other friends that have helped me along the way."