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channeled or stock floor?
framedragger2
+1y
ight guys, need sum insite, has ne one channeled a maz yet? ive done a few toyotas and s-10s and blah blah, but being that there isnt much room between the frame and bottom of the cab is it even worth it? reason i ask is because im about to start the frame, well if its not worth the channel im gonna just build a new frame from the fw back and stock floor, im 6'4 so i dont have much room for my long as legs like i had in my ex cab, which just had the a reg bd. any pics of anyone thats done this will be great.
dssur
+1y
because of the numerous crossmembers under the mazda cab, channeling would be a lot more work than a traditional bodydrop, because you wouldnt just be raising over the framerails.
a stockfloor on a mazda is not too bad. I have seen a lot of guys just whack the front end off and build it from there, using the core support to line up the cab and building body mounts from there. I myself wanted all the bodymounts in the right place before putting it back together so I built a light steel "jig" that was as wide as the stock rails and had a pin that came up through the centers of every body mount, which I then cut off flush with the top of the body mount. This located every body mount in relation to the front clip (I welded it down to the jig so it wouldnt move) and when I laid in new rails and built new body mounts, I just alighned the rails parallel to the jig and made the body mounts 2.5 nches lower. I know I am going to scare some people by saying this but once the jig was built there was almost NO measuring done on the frame, I just built from the jig.
I wasnt super aggressive with where I cut the frame off at the clip and as a consequence there were two small sections of frame that hit the floorbaords and needed raised slightly, but other than that the body plopped right back on and you could see daylight through every bodymount hole (meaning it lined up perfectly). There is so much more room in the cab than a traditional, it is ridiculous, and when you sit in it you feel like you are really really REALLY low, like your butt is on the ground.
My truck is for sale in the classifieds and I have a few pictures there, as well as a lot more build pictures on ssm under username Russ-D. One thing is certain, I will never waste my time with a traditional body drop any longer.
a stockfloor on a mazda is not too bad. I have seen a lot of guys just whack the front end off and build it from there, using the core support to line up the cab and building body mounts from there. I myself wanted all the bodymounts in the right place before putting it back together so I built a light steel "jig" that was as wide as the stock rails and had a pin that came up through the centers of every body mount, which I then cut off flush with the top of the body mount. This located every body mount in relation to the front clip (I welded it down to the jig so it wouldnt move) and when I laid in new rails and built new body mounts, I just alighned the rails parallel to the jig and made the body mounts 2.5 nches lower. I know I am going to scare some people by saying this but once the jig was built there was almost NO measuring done on the frame, I just built from the jig.
I wasnt super aggressive with where I cut the frame off at the clip and as a consequence there were two small sections of frame that hit the floorbaords and needed raised slightly, but other than that the body plopped right back on and you could see daylight through every bodymount hole (meaning it lined up perfectly). There is so much more room in the cab than a traditional, it is ridiculous, and when you sit in it you feel like you are really really REALLY low, like your butt is on the ground.
My truck is for sale in the classifieds and I have a few pictures there, as well as a lot more build pictures on ssm under username Russ-D. One thing is certain, I will never waste my time with a traditional body drop any longer.
framedragger2
+1y
thanks man, yeah my traditional bd suked. ill never do another on. think ill just go ahead and build the frame like i wanted. itd look better and be easier for the setup im gonna run. soon as i get the rest of the body off ill take pics as the build up progr. oh yeah neone have a 302 ( 5.0) laying around?
elbine69
+1y
Stock floor FTW. Thats what im doing.