Mazda Bongo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message.
This article has been tagged since October 2005.

First-generation Mazda Bongo

The Mazda Bongo is a van made by Mazda Motor Corp. of Japan. Since 1978, it has been exported as the Mazda E-Series and as the Ford Econovan.

1 1966
2 1978
3 1983
4 1989
5 1995
6 1999
7 Trivia
8 Common Problems
9 External links

[edit] 1966

Mazda introduced its small van, the Bongo, in 1966. It featured a 782cc water-cooled 4-stroke engine driving the rear wheels.

The rear engined Bongo was produced in two versions, the F800 and the F1000 between 1968 - 1978.

[edit] 1978

The next Bongo van appeared in 1978. It was a mid-engine rear wheel drive vehicle. Ford sold this version of the van as the Ford Econovan, while Mazda sold it for export as the E1300, E1400, and E1600, depending on engine size.

Engines:

1978 1.3 L TC, 60 hp
1978-1982 1.6 L NA, 80 hp
1979-1980 1.4 L UC, 70 hp

[edit] 1983

The Bongo was redesigned for 1983 with new engines. The Bongo Brawny was a long-wheelbase version.

Engines:

1983-1988 2.0 L FE
1983-1988 2.0 L RF Diesel
1983-1988 2.2 L S2 Diesel

[edit] 1989

The SS platform Bongo lasted from 1989 until 1998. This van would also be sold by Nissan as the Nissan Vanette.

[edit] 1995

The SG platform Bongo Friendee was introduced in 1995. Ford began selling the Bongo in the Japanese home market as the Ford Freda.

Petrol Engines:

2.0 L RS-V I4
2.5 L RF-V V6

Diesel Engines:

2.5 Turbo (the same engine is found in the Ford Ranger Pickup in the UK)

The Mazda Bongo Friendee van SGL, is an eight seater MPV. Although never sold new in the UK it is now increasingly popular. Some have Mazda factory fitted kitchen units, but many others are imported & converted to camper vans in the UK. All of them have fold down seats downstairs to make a double bed, and on many models there is also an "Auto Free Top" elevating roof where you can sleep 2 more. Flat-top versions (or "Bongolows as we have come to call them) are also available. First made in 1995, they are usually (but not exclusively) automatic, and come in 2WD (SGL3) and 4WD (SGL5) versions. 2.5 turbo diesels are common in Japan, although V6 petrol engines are starting to appear, and they are absolutely outstanding. Later (post 99) models are a different shape and have different engines. Aircon or climate control, and electronic blinds are fitted as standard. In fact, all the trimmings of a luxury Japanese vehicle.

[edit] 1999

An updated Bongo was released in June, 1998 as a 1999 model. At the same time, Mitsubishi Motors began reselling the Bongo. This was branded the Mazda Access in some markets.

Engines:

1.8 L F8-E SOHC I4
2.0 L R2 Diesel I4

[edit] Trivia

A first generation Mazda Bongo was used in the movie Mad Max — it was the personal vehicle of director George Miller, who sacrificed his van to a crash scene to keep the budget low.
The Bongo's submodel Brawny and Friendee are commonly mentioned in websites as a joke concerning car model names.

[edit] Common Problems

On the Mazda Bongo and Ford Freda, there is a common problem with the water bleed pipe that is connected to the water cooling system. The pipe is under pressure when the engine is running and the clip that holds the pipe to the frame of the vehicle is unreliable. This can cause the pipe to break and the engine to overheat. A common fix to this problem is to use an additional cable-tie to further secure the pipe.