For $4,500, Join The Rotary Club

Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Mazda B2000 is described by its seller as a True Sleeper. That's because under its unassuming hood there now spins a lusty 13B. The question is, would paying this sleeper's price keep you up at night?

I don't know what it is about engine transplants and matte black paint, but both this Mazda and yesterday's Subie-rockin' '69 Beetle are so attired. It probably didn't help that the Bug seemed to be a little more roll your own than the ad let on, but regardless it dropped in a 61% Crack Pipe loss and straight into rattlecan Instagram irrelevance. Perhaps today's truck will fare better.

Mazda's B-series has spawned a slew of notable offspring including Ford's Courier pickup and a funky B2500 SUV for all you who are fit to be Thai'd. One of the Mazda's more infamous editions was the rotary engine edition based on the B1800, which combined small truck capacity with big truck gas mileage. Regardless of its drinking problems, the flared fenders and distinctive exhaust note transformed the truck from mild to macho, and is to this day a sought after commodity among Wankel wuvvers.

This ain't one of those, but it comes damn close, and has its own personality that may be even more beguiling. This 1991 B-2000 does sport a naturally aspirated 13B under hood, but also some of the plainest of jane bodywork potentially making it, in the words of its seller, a sleeper.

The little Wankel looks pretty lost in the truck's engine bay and the long hoses necessary to span the distance between it and the radiator look like they may add a couple of gallons to the colling system requirements. The ad says that the engine sports a 750-cfm Holley 4BBL, which in conjunction with the engine's love of revs and a an individual exhaust for each rotor should mean that the owner's gas card will be getting as much of a workout as the five-speed backing up the little hummer. The backend gets limited slip, but you might want to invest in a couple of bags of sand to also engender limited hop.

Just like yesterday's VW, this Mazda goes black and doesn't want to go back. The hipster rash color scheme does little to mask the fact that the B-2000's design was about as exciting as CSPAN. At least this one looks whole and without major flaw or egregious Walmart auto aisle impulse purchases evident. There being no interior shots we'll just have to assume it's not full of raccoons or anything.

If you like to travel on the DL, then having a ride that's all about the go (as long as you keep the revs up) and not about the show, then this Mazda may prove to be a killer B. Sure, the whole idea of a performance mini truck is a little whacked, but what the hey, it's a REPU that doesn't give a damn about its bad reputation.

However you might give a damn about its $4,500 price tag. What do you think, has the seller set a price for this custom Mazda pickup that Wankel-able? Or, is this a REPU that's not for you?

You decide!

Poke-oh noes! Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Biased_Waffles for the hookup!

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