Hi everyone, hope I'm not boring you with a newbie question but...

Looking into getting a samurai for some off-road fun out in the deserts and sand in southern California, possibly exploring elsewhere in the west.

My only concern is the highway driving - between me and a lot of the offroading I want to do out here are several hours of freeways.

I've heard mixed things about how these cars act on the highway. I'm not expecting a fast, comfortable ride and won't be using it as a daily - but I don't want to get something completely unbearable and unpractical for longer road use.

Is this really a car that you don't want to be in on the freeway for 6-7 hours? Can I do 60-65 on the highway without destroying the car and/or the gas mileage? Comfort is not a big concern for me - more safety, reliability, and (to an extent) gas mileage.

And if so, does the VW diesel or 1.6 swap help with this?  I just don't want to be cursing myself when I'm on the road out to Death Valley.

level road no wind you might keep up with traffic on the hi way. head wind or up hill your gonna be lucky to maintain 55 and all that with stock size tires.

SoCal freeway is goign to leave you cursing the 1.3 engine... I would suggest the 1.6 16v swap.
keep in mind if you are getting a CA plate on your Sami you need to keep it smog legal on the engine swap.

You can set up the Sami to do whatever you want but just keep in mind all your requirements while you are making mods to it.
Be careful when doing gearing and tires as to mix and match so you can still fun a freeway speed and still wheel off-road.

Mine has alot of work and parts into it but it is very capable off and on road.
It is all in how you set it up and how much it will cost will depend on what work you can do yourself.

Also on some longer freeway drives you can easily flat tow a Sami so you can ride in comfort and then go wheeling.