Aftermarket parts and accessories for your Suzuki.
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VINTAGE SUZUKI's conclusion of
project 'Mr. Mutt.' |
GRANTS PASS, OR. —Our Final installment as we follow Ted Holman from
Vintage Suzuki as he builds a samurai from the ground up for exploring the rugged trails
and scenic vistas of the West.We Join Ted as he has finished his Samurai mechanically
and has driven to several events and places in it's less than glamorous appearance.
| By completing "Mr. Mutt", as my pride and joy had been
christened, in time for the Rubicon Run in 1999, I found myself totally burned out. The
rig ran, it wheeled and it was street legal enough for me to use as a daily driver. Eric
Bewley’s never ending tirade on the rough appearance was just irritating, but not
enough to get me going again. I just ignored his reproach until early winter of 2000. |
| He and Sara came to down to Grants Pass without his rig, as he was
rebuilding the drive train to be axle busting bullet proof. We had a big snow that week
and in a generous rare moment, I offered him my 90 Fuelie to accompany us up to Spencer
Creek. |
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| Within hours, I was buried in three feet of snow with a busted
Birfield joint and Eric was pulling me out. That was it. |
| Ted used the roll bar and some
nice cable ties to make this door catch. |
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| We got the rig home and after washing the mud off, I
hauled it to my long-suffering painter, Jim Dangelo. He literally turned and hid as I
pulled into his shop. |
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Why he agreed to paint "Mr. Mutt" is often a conversation
he has with anyone that will listen. It was rough. Jim spent the next four months staring
and working on it’s previously totaled body. He is magic. Along the way, I dropped
off a "new" grill, for a SJ410. |
| I failed to mention it was just a close fit and that
he would have to adapt the body to accept it. He just moaned. |
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To protect Ted's soft head, extra
padding was needed on the roll bar. |
| Jim finally called and told me to come pick the rig
up. I was blown away. It was gorgeous! The body was straighter then new,
the grill looked factory installed and the rest was in ten boxes. |
| I had six weeks to get it finished for the ZUKIWORLD.com Sponsored
Rubicon of 2000. No problem. Right! The doors are artwork. I spent about six hours apiece.
They close as well as a ’92! I had one of Hawk Suzuki Part’s
famous "Bucket of Bolts" to replace all the missing hardware that I had
misplaced over the past year and the job went relatively smoothly. Every Suzuki enthusiast
should get one! |
 
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Here we see the vehicle almost
completed. |
| Finally, I loaded my just assembled, unblemished,
frame off restoration on to the trailer. Immediately upon hitting the trail with my fellow
Samurai enthusiasts, I realized I had over done it. |
| How lame is it to take a beautifully painted Truck onto the
Rubicon, a large collection of rocks and boulders left purposely to tear up man made sheet
metal. I think the group collectively laughed under their breath. |
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| Eric’s famous quote was, "If you want to jinx a rig,
toss a new paint job on it". Well, we escaped with a minor dent on the rocker panel,
but the trip would have been a lot easier on me if I had used a can of primer instead of
paying to have it painted. It certainly would not have upset Jim Dangelo. |
As with every other on going project, this one will never be done. This weekend
I swapped the wheels and tires for 15X10’s with 33X12.50 Super Swampers. Last weekend
was spent installing a Wheelersoffroad on board air system. I am still scrounging around
for a 1300 FI air cleaner set up to replace the K&N hanging on the intake casing and
that should be it. Well, that’s really not the case as I just saw one of
Calmini’s new C3 front winch bumpers. Ok, after that it will be done,
Anyone want to buy an over restored Samurai?
 ZW
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