If I’ve learned anything befriending minitruckers it’s that ‘finished’ is never really finished, and low is never really low enough, and Steve Woodward’s Mazda B1800 is a rolling example of this.
A seven-year project full of twists, turns, and endless stories this truck embodies the creativity, originality, and fabrication mastery all of the best minitruck builds are known for.
Originally planning to hunt down a Ford Courier –the sister version of this truck– Steve admits that as soon as he discovered the B1800 it was love at first sight.
With the Courier a distant memory Steve purchased the truck you see today for a song and got to work.
In short order it was black and laid out over green steelies sporting Caddy tails and a traditional body drop. It was at this point Steve took a step back, looked at the truck and realized there was so much more potential in this unique platform.
Lacking rockers from the first time it was bodied the truck already sat pretty low, but more low was to be had, so he stock floor body dropped it an additional two inches. This means the truck was bodied a total of 4.5 inches over all.
At its new resting height the factory roof line looked a little unbecoming so Steve remedy that by chopping the roof 2.5 inches.
While performing the roof chop sanding revealed the trucks several different paint jobs throughout the years, and not wanting to lose any of that newly discovered character Steve opted not to re-spray the truck its original yellow colour.
Instead he strategically spray a thinned sand stone colour onto the body. Once dry brown was sprayed over the sandstone/patina mix, and finally everything was sanded back again to create the incredibly unique finish you see today.
The originality found in this build doesn’t end with the finish however as the interior is one of the trucks best features.
Between the custom leather wrapped door panels homages to Steve’s skateboarding roots are found. The dash and center console have also been wrapped in the same brown leather as the doors, while the seats wear a lighter hue.
Those same seats are custom one-off units built by Steve and while he admits they might not be the most comfortable things in the world, few would argue that the sacrifice in comfort isn’t worth the final look.
The chassis of the truck is another completely custom creation that was fabricated with help from Steve’s friend Rich.
Built around a narrowed ’86 Toyota front clip and 14″ narrowed Ford 8.8 posi rear end this chassis is what allows the truck to swallow Coy 18″ alloys.
Managed by an Accuair E-level set-up it lays with the best of them while being a better handler than many are willing to admit.
Since the body drop would leave any motor protruding through the hood Steve picked one that would be a focal point, a seldom used, yet fairly potent 2.3L Ford turbo mill.
The combination of vital components sitting above the hood and inter-cooler peeking up past the bumper gives this truck a very distinctive, unmistakable, front end.
A previous SEMA showcased vehicle, and now the flagship vehicle for his Alberta based shop Bag Barn, it seems as though this truck might be finally finished but considering his new line of work I wouldn’t bet on it.
Be sure to follow Steve’s progress with his new shop on Facebook, and instagram!
Also be sure to follow Calgary photographer at large Mike McConnell and his exploits with the Dub Dynasty.
