Starting in 1972, Ford began selling Mazda Proceed pickups with Courier badges in the US. At the identical time, Mazda was selling the identical trucks here because the B-Series. Then the Ranger replaced the Courier in 1983, while the B-Series remained available in North America through 1993. For 1994, the Mazda/Ford pickup world got flipped on its head, with a Mazda-ized Ranger taking up the B-Series name here. Today’s Junkyard Gem is one in all the early Ford-built Mazda pickups, present in a North Carolina automotive graveyard recently.
The precedent for slapping Mazda badges on U.S.-market Ford trucks began with the 1991 model yr, when the brand-new Explorer went on sale because the Mazda Navajo. Through the Nineties, loads of Mazda-derived Ford and Mercury models were being sold here, including the Ford Festiva, Ford Probe, Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer and Mercury Capri, so it made sense to deepen the connection by moving some Dearborn iron in the opposite direction.
But still, some in Hiroshima should have been saddened by the substitute of the proud B-Series with Ford products.
The 4 digits after the B in B-Series model designations referred to engine displacement in cubic centimeters, with the 1971 B1600 starting that tradition. This truck being a B4000, it has the 4.0-liter version of the pushrod Cologne V6 engine. Output was 160 horsepower and 225 pound-feet. B2300s and B3000s were available as well.
The primary appearance of the Cologne V6 in recent cars sold in the US was within the 1969 Capri, which was sold through Mercury dealers here but never given Mercury badging. The SOHC version of the Cologne 4.0 was bolted into various recent U.S.-market Fords during the early 2010s.
This truck is the costliest rear-wheel-drive Mazda B-Series available for the 1995 model yr, with the long wheelbase, the largest engine, the highest LE trim level and the prolonged Cab Plus.
Its MSRP was $16,035, or about $33,322 in 2024 dollars.
It’s in pretty good condition, with just over 100,000 miles on the clock.
The ultimate model yr for the Ranger-based Mazda B-Series pickups in the US was 2009.
“I feel I’ve shoveled more species of manure than anyone within the country.”
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
