1987 Mazda B2000 | GRAPE APE

Chris Johnson’s ‘87 Mazda B2000

CHRIS’S FASCINATION WITH CARS AND TRUCKS STARTED AT A VERY YOUNG AGE WITH HIS DAD BUILDING HOT RODS AND LEAD SLEDS ALL OF HIS LIFE. This bonding time allowed Chris to learn the necessities and the ins and outs of working on his own vehicles.

It wasn’t until Chris’s early teens when he started to take an interest in mini-trucks. He found himself a static dropped Chevy S-10 that fed his obsession with the life of a mini-trucker. From then on, Chris moved from one bagged Mazda truck to another and even a few body-dropped ones as well.

One afternoon, Chris was visiting with Kyle Rowl about his Purple ‘87 B2000 Mazda pickup. Kyle had been in the stages of building the truck into a custom body-dropped mini. This is where Chris got the idea to purchase the truck from Kyle because of his love for the classic looks of the B2000. After a price was worked out, Chris got the opportunity to bring home the purple Mazda to begin his next project.

One of his best friends, Jason Goss, who was also a chapter president for the No Regrets Kansas chapter, was looking to grow the group. This was a perfect fit for Chris to start petitioning with Jason’s chapter. He had already been such good friends with the group it was like a second family. For Chris, there is nothing better than showing up to a show and seeing a “star” on someone’s chest and knowing that’s your family.

Chris would like to thank his wife Krista for all her support throughout all the building process; Justin “Juice” Cline for the awesome job on the paint and air-brush graphics to make his truck standout in a crowd; and last but not least, a big thank you goes out to Jason Goss and all his No Regrets family for helping and keeping him on track when the times got rough.

TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Chris Johnson
‘87 Mazda B2000
Hutchinson, Kansas
Club: No Regrets

ENGINE

• Kia 2.0cid 4-cyl motor
• Raceland 1 1/4-inch headers
• Custom intake
• Optima Red battery, electric fan

TRANSMISSION

• Mazda five-speed manual

SUSPENSION

• Front suspension modifications: 2,400-pound Firestone bags, Viair compressor, and steel 5-gal tank
• Front shocks: Monroe
• Rear Suspension Modifications: 3-link bars, 2,500-pound Firestone bags, backhalf frame, narrowed rear end axles
• Rear shocks: Monroe

WHEELS & TIRES

• Colorado Custom Carefree 18×8 (front), 18×8 (rear)
• Falken 215-35-18 (front), 235-40-18 (rear)

BODY

• Shop: Kyle Rowl
• Traditional 3-inch body drop
• Mazda bubble steel hood, Baby Turbo mirrors, tilt bed.

PAINT

By: Juice Cline, Augusta, Kansas Purple w/airbrush graphics

INTERIOR

• Upholstery material: Gray tweed
• Carpet: Factory gray
• Steering wheel: Colorado Custom
• Four-Play manual switch panel at center bottom of seat, custom dash pad

STEREO

• Head unit: JVC tape deck
• 4-inch two-way coax speakers