Getting this 86' 6 cyl Trader work ready

Seems this turned into a thread. Thanks, I think ? might have to go back to the start if anyone's interested.
The intention for this truck is to slot in between the smaller truck I use the handpick granite from the local quarries in both Vic and NSW where I work and the larger truck capable of carrying upto 12 tons but can only travel within 100km of my Vic base.
My little Trader has a GVM of 4495 and tares at just under 2T which gives me around 2.5 tons of granite I can carry for jobs which can be a pain sometimes needing to go back and forth several times on larger jobs. The little truck is handy however on jobsites where there is little room to store the stone.

 

I haven't had much experience with the Perkins 6 variety of these Mazda built diesels. The other Traders and a Mazda I use are the 3.5 SL 4 pack version and as johnK stated were a more popular diesel for these little trucks.

The main reason why I originally bought an older one of these 4 cylinder Mazda/Fords was in their strength, being full box chassis, reliability, simple direct injection inline pump and ease of parts availability (even today)
The 6 cyl ZB Mazda variant does have some quirks like the rotary pump and the goofy injector hold down clamps with the large rubber washer (cup)
Even torqued to spec they stand proud of the head.

 

 

I note these long wheelbase versions use the same bus chassis and higher (speed) ratio diffs. This is the Mazda (T3000) HA Perkins bus chassis I have with the same diff W001.
The original idea was to build a new truck using the bus chassis and swapping over the cab and drivetrain out of a parts truck.
Possibly using a Crummins 6BT (blackduck) or Isuzu 6BZ but didn't want to be mucking around to much with fit.

 

While out looking for a beavertail tray I found this whole Trader, quite straight, with very little rust, working engine, spare diesel, extra parts, local to me and at the right price.

 

to be continued..........







 

77louie400 wrote:

Blackduck59 wrote:

Nothing wrong with a 6BT in an F350 either.
 

What have you done with the air cleaner, I am in the middle of putting 3 inch pipes into a 2 inch Donalson because its the only thing that will fit, because it's a 4X4 the oil filters are remote mounted on the chassis next to the radiator as there is no room between the axle and the front diff
Have a compact unit from the F600 the engine came out of. Jammed into the front corner.
 

 

 

Rust in the cab was the big enemy of all these Mazdas .........seems your come from a dry area.............no tilt cab wasnt a big sales point either...............The sandblasters had a 3.5T with a 20 ft tray ,and it sure had some big loads put on it.

JOHN.K. wrote:

Rust in the cab was the big enemy of all these Mazdas .........seems your come from a dry area.............no tilt cab wasnt a big sales point either...............The sandblasters had a 3.5T with a 20 ft tray ,and it sure had some big loads put on it.

Yes, seems anywhere inland of the range is relatively rust free..3 out of the 4 came from inland while the actual Mazda T3500 came from the coast but still rust free. They like to rust around the roof gutters, floor dog leg and cab steps.
This one only had a couple of small holes along the back of the cab, good floor.

 

 

 

I think the steel used in Japenese cabs of the era was missing something
The cabs earlier lasted as did the later cabs

I reckon Australian cars 10 years earlier had similar issues

Good job finding clean examples



Paul

Continuing on....
Rolling the truck from under the tray off made it easier to inspect the condition of all the drivetrain, suspension and brakes.

The mighty Falcon on tow duties.

 

As anyone knows, the usual mess of extra added wires to trace and remove from the original harnesses.

 

On inspection, cleaning, tidying the rear half of the chassis, I could then get the wiring sorted neatly, paint the frame chassis black on start to check the brakes next.

 

While going over all the brakes I found a couple of loose suspension mounting through bolts, the suspension looked in good order. Most of the bushes had been replaced recently I was told by the guy I had bought the truck off, inspection proved this.

 

 

Moving onto the cab next....



 

It's looking  good

The sandblasters had a 3.5 T ,and it dropped a valve ....which wouldnt have been too bad except the boss let every idiot rev the motor.......I had it tilttrayed so there would be little damage ,and the idiots revved it till it went bang......anyhhoo,thier truck ,their money..............Had the head fixed at the metal stitchers and the guy told me it was Repco Recond Exchange motor ,and every one dropped exhaust valves ......thanks a lot ,Repco.

Great stuff

JOHN.K. wrote:

The sandblasters had a 3.5 T ,and it dropped a valve ....which wouldnt have been too bad except the boss let every idiot rev the motor.......I had it tilttrayed so there would be little damage ,and the idiots revved it till it went bang......anyhhoo,thier truck ,their money..............Had the head fixed at the metal stitchers and the guy told me it was Repco Recond Exchange motor ,and every one dropped exhaust valves ......thanks a lot ,Repco.

Those SLT diesels are hard to come by, occasionally one comes up for sale.
It can get a little confusing as the na 3.5SL had 3 different types of pistons in them within a short time span.

The other 3 trucks all have the same base engine though one has a EPIC controlled pre heating start system and inline Kikki pump, one has a later inlet style pre heating system with the same Kikki pump and the other a parts truck has the later rotary type VE pump.
Most these Mazda/Traders ended up in Pakinstan/India, no doubt with wooden cabs on them and ever so slightly beefed up (source Pakistani truck YT)
While Swaraj/Mazda built them up until recently there. Lots of new spare parts are available.