Hey guys, I Live in rural Newfoundland, Canada, so coming across a Samurai is tough, let alone one that isn't a rust bucket. But I finally found one to start my project.

Its a 1987 with the 1.3L. The guy I got it from had bought it and stripped it right down. The frame is unbelievable, and the body is about 95%. He just did all the body work and its currently has primer on it, awaiting paint. Its got a SPOA lift plus blocks (i think 2-3 inches). It's currently got brand new 35" tires (not aggressive) on those little stock axles. It is regeared to 5:29 and has a detroit locker in the rear. Other than that it is stock.

Been reading a ton lately for research but want your opinions. I want to know what you guys would do to this current set up to make this the best machine possible. I will be using the machine for just around my small town, very minimal highway. Most of the offroad will be for hunting and a little mudding but very little rock crawling. So i'm not worried about highspeeds or being a hardcore rock crawler.I have a good job in the oilsands so cost is not a big issue without getting crazy.

Like to keep these axles at least for a bit because of the money already put in them, although i know a toyota swap would be better. Been reading about the longer springs, changing the gears of my transfer case and maybe changing the engine.

Any and all info is appreciated. Sorry for the long post but i'm pretty excited to get this project going.

The previous owner of mine was a kid, he had it on 35" mud brutes, stock axles.  Stock t-case.  Stock mounts.  He wasn't very bright.  It looks good though, sell those axles while they are fresh and get the rock assaults.  It's my plan, everytime I look at those axles I drool.

Sell it and buy a jeep.

Comedy, Rash...

You said "blocks"?  As in lift blocks?

If so, there is something that needs to go RIGHT NOW!

They might look cool on a mall-crawling full-sized Chevy or Ford, but they are dangerous if you actually off-road with them.

They tend to add leverage to any stress that you put on the suspension causing things to break.

My Opinion.  Your mileage may vary.  Product have settled during shipment....

Dump the blocks, swap the tires for some nice 33's and run the piss out of it. They love that.

realy you need to decide what you want the rig to do....

Sell the 35's. (IMO  anything over a 33" tire is way too big on a rig this small!)

If you think you want toyota axles, then Id look into selling the ones you have now wile they are fresh. get the toyota axles, trans, motor, etc.  Its much easier to swap it all at once.  + its usualy cheaper to do do it all at once.

On mine, Im keeping the stock axles because I need them as skinny as possible (need to keep 5.0 off me). Motor will be a 1.6 16valve for power & small size. Also going with a 4 speed auto (much easier to drive in traffic with a bad back & legs.)   Im going to do the YJ suspension just because of the better ride quality.  Tires will be 31x10.5x15  Mud Brutes (because I have a set of 4 that are like new) later if they look too small, I may change them to 33's. After deciding on tire size Ill do the transfer case gears.

 

Hey so my buddy wants to buy my 35's so I was wondering if dropping down to 33's is a big enough drop? I was also wondering what gear ratio I should go with in the tcase with the current 5:29 R&P? It will be used around town 50/50 on off road never going more than 50 mph.

I would say a 33X10.50Rxx.  T-case gears are ultimately up to you, what kind of trail driving will you mostly encounter? Mud, rocks, sand?  My plans are to go balls to the wall, maximum on everything, topped with 5.29's.  I will be mostly in the rocks, technical stuff.

Ditto on losing the blocks and going with a smaller tire size.

stretch it and make it a long wheel base version with a doner tub...

You didn't mention how he took care of the steering linkage, I'm guessing a z bar?  Look up the Mercedes High Steer swap, its fairly easy and cheap.  It will help keep you between the ditches with 33's or 35's.

A 1.6 swap, 16 or 8V is always a nice improvement, but run the 1.3 till she won't go no more and then find a swap motor to plop in there.

If you can see my little avatar pic, those are 33's on a spring over lift.  Its just about perfect.  2.5" back spaced 10" wheels wtih 33 12.50's. 

Rear disc conversion would be on my list of to-do's also, with those big meats you might want a little extra stopping power.

Go after it in steps that make sense. Start with a 6:5:1 TC because for the 33's or the 35"s it will provide you with much better off road capability. On the road you will still be able to drive the 55 mph you indicated.

Based on this switch you will know if you need want different differential gears or 3rd members.

The TC change is about a $500 purchase. Drive it and if you like it then you won't need to spend $400 - $800+ on tires. If you don't like the tires then make the change.

At that point comes a decision on how high you want to be and the suspension / body mods to get you there.

Yeah, I would take out the lift blocks but after I did the above. Even though I have never seen them come loose wheelin in mud on the rear of Fords, Chevy's, or Dodges. (Never have seen them on the front)

The main reason I would remove them is because there are better ways to lift a Sammi without any extra stuff such as the block. Likewise if you crawl on rocks any then I wouldn't trust their integrity under stress. The other factor is they might be fine for your application but not the next persons when you sell it.

Likewise once you decide the suspension mods you can change your steering if you find it needs to be changed.

Definately loose the blocks. Since you already have gears I wouldn't bother w/ tcase gears just yet. 33x10 or 12 tires on 8" rims w 2.5 BS or 1.5" spacers. Probably AT or mild MT tires since it's your daily driver. If your still on those stubby little sami springs you'd really appreciate the YJ conversion, trail tough and low range have some nice kits. OTT steering next.

Here are some pics of the suspension guys. Thanks for the info

http://s1157.photobucket.com/albums/p582/Tcor27/

Here's the paint job I just got done doing on my white samurai.  Something to think about.