Plastic automotive engine
Version one was based on Ford's 2.3-liter Pinto engine and weighed (vs. for its cast iron counterpart). It was designed to produce at 9200 rpm. It was composed of metal cylinder sleeves, metal combustion chamber tops, metal piston crowns, bearings, valves and seats, and a stock 2.3L Pinto crankshaft. Nearly everything else in the engine, including the block, rods and piston skirts, were made of glass reinforced Polyamide-imide thermoplastic resins manufactured at the time by Amoco Chemicals Co. The engine was never installed in a vehicle.
Ford Courier
The truck was available with front disc brakes, and a Ford-built 2.3-liter engine option (which was the same as that of the Ford Pinto & Mustang II and Mercury Bobcat & Capri). The key identifying feature of the Courier from the Mazda B-Series was still the singular headlights, although with park and indicator lights placed in the grille starting in '78 ('77s still had the turn signal lights in the bumper).
In 1979, the base model was increased in size to 2.0 liter (120.1 CID). The optional Ford 2.3-liter (140 cid) engine was produced in Brazil.
The Courier was never available with a diesel engine in the US. However, the 1980 Mazda B2200 was available with the S2, a Perkins-built 4.135 (four-cylinder, 135-cid) 2.2-liter diesel engine, producing 66 hp (49 kW) at 2,100 rpm. This same diesel engine was available in the 1983 and 1984 Ford Rangers, but it was replaced by the Mitsubishi 4D55T 2.3-liter turbodiesel (also used in Mitsubishi's own Mighty Max and the Dodge Ram 50) for the 1985 to 1987 Ford Rangers.