Dear Mini Truckin',
I consider myself a very loyal MT follower. That's why I would like to ask you for help. I currently own a '91 Mazda B2200 and I would like to know if a motor swap could be done by swapping my engine with a '95 Mazda RX-7 twin turbo engine. Would I also need the transmission? I would really appreciate the help.
Sincerely,
Omar Sanchez
Orange, California
There are a few Mazda's out there that have utilized the space-saving and horsepower-driven capabilities of rotary motors. If you take a look in our Worldwide Issue from May '06, the feature "Rotisserized" has a rotary motor. The transmission would have to be changed to that in favor of its RX-7 companion. The twin turbocharger wouldn't make a difference as far as it working in the truck, but make sure you have sufficient cooling.
Dear MT staff,
I'm an avid reader and always look forward to the next issue of MT. I don't have any good tech questions but did have a comment. I won a custom shop in Clinton, Tennessee, and some of my customers were making a few good points. One is that we would like to show more under-construction trucks. Not everyone can afford to dump 10-30 grand to get their ride in a magazine. Let's see some more of the rides of those people that dig through junkyards looking for parts to marry to their ride. You know? Some trucks that have been hand-built by the owner and not some shop or company. In a recent issue you were talking about a build from the ground up. I want to see some rides that are complete and at the price of $2,500-3,000. Well, I've said my peace. Any response would be great.
Josh Haon
Clinton, Tennessee
All we can say is that this...
All we can say is that this kid wins "Letter of the Month" again (lol).
Though we understand and respect your opinion, we have a couple of counterpoints. We only have a given amount of pages to show the mini-truckin' community the best that there is in the world of MT. To take room from finished trucks and people that have spent countless sums of time and money would be unfair. At least we do offer a construction section as well as dedicate an issue to the unpainted and glorious. If you look at quite a few of our past cover trucks, they were primarily built by the owner and friends, such as Josh Freeman's "Mini Truck of the Year," Charles Armstrong's "Time Machine," Brent Zuelke's "Mini Truck of the Year" VW Toyota, Patrick Reid's door draggin' Ranger, and Jenn Lacey's "Mini Truck of the Year."