The other day we spotlighted a Fox Body Mustang that was powered not by a 5.0V8 but by a Toyota 2JZ. Today we have a vehicle that is powered by a Ford 5.0, but as the photo suggests it’s certainly not a Mustang.
This Mazda pickup was sent in by Speedhunters reader Gorka Arrieta from Alexandria, Virginia. While many people out there learned to drift in an S13 or maybe an AE86, Gorka has been honing his skills behind the wheel of this minitruck for the last three years.
The truck once had turbo power, but it now sports the tried and true 5.0 HO swapped over from a Mustang. The engine is stock for the most part, but still makes plenty of power for the lightweight chassis.
There’s not many performance suspension parts available for a Mazda truck, so much of the setup was built from scratch. Among the chassis modifications are custom rear shock mounts with 3″ lowering blocks in the rear, KYB shocks, custom tie rods and a bumpsteer kit.
A welded rear diff with a 3.76 final drive is a cost effective solution for putting that V8 power to the ground while a custom hydraulic E-brake setup helps at those drift days. 15″x7.5 American Racing Torq Thrust wheels with 3″ over fenders give the truck a unique, old school look.
There’s just something great about a pickup truck going sideways isn’t there? Thanks for sharing, Gorka.
If you have a cool car or build story that you think is worthy of being featured on Speedhunters, drop us a line at featurethis@dev.speedhunters.com . Please make sure to include your name and location, as well as some basic details and specs, along with at least 5-10 photographs. Photos should be no less than 800 pixels wide.
-Mike