Hi all,

I'm not currently a 'zuki owner, but considering the buildup of a short wheelbase 4by rig in the future (i.e. a project car for next winter).

I'm trying to decide what platform I'd be better off getting. Note, my numbers below are ROUGH estimates, correct me please where I'm grossly mistaken (I also prefer to overestimate ). I'm also not counting the suspension/gearing/tires into this cuz I'm figuring that cost is equal across the board.

1) a cheap 88.5-90 samurai, and spending dough and time on body work (i.e. rust). Probably have to sink money into the engine too (swap?). I calculate this as $1500 for the platform, probably $1500 for body work, $1500 for engine swap plus exhaust.

2) get a 91+ samurai, again probably some body work(but could search for one not so bad). Possibly live with the FI power output (some mods to boost it). I figure this at $2500 for platform, $500 for body repair, $500 for engine mods.

3) get a newer (say '99 or '00) sidekick/tracker platform, with a good body and enough power. This is gonna run me around $6000, but only have to concentrate on lift/tires/etc.

No matter what option plan on $2000 for suspension driveline and then $1000 for tires/wheels.

I'm a DIY guy, but rust repair is just no fun. If rust repair panels are available, then it isn't such a big deal.

This would be about 90% offroad usage. I'm looking at it as an ATV that I can drive (<30 miles) or trailer to the ORV area ...

My problems ...
#1 starts to be a huge undertaking (frame-off restoration comes to mind ...)
#2 paying more money for a still underpowered rig
#3 paying a bunch for a box that may not be suited for the type of rig I wanna build. (plus I don't want airbags or ...)

Upsides ...
#1 least outlay, I rebuild it *all*
#2 get to the trails quickly at a lower cost. Easy sourcing of buildup stuff
#3 easiest way to the trails (comfort and time wise ...)

So say you had an $8k to $9k budget to build with, what would you do? (I don't figure anyone here will say "spend the *k on a jeep   )

Rob

Oh... and right now I leaning towards #2 ...

Have you actually started pricing your options? I picked up a reasonably good '97 Geo Tracker (4-door, manual) for $4200. I see them varying somewhat around that price for that model year. The 2-door variety appear to go somewhat cheaper. Where are you located?

I'm in the pacific NW ...

My pricing has been rough ... I figured If I wnet with a tracker/sidekick, I'd probably go for a newer model.

I just dunno if an irs would suit my purpose well or not ...

Also, I should comment that the "body work" is flexible ... I'd be happy to just have a trail beater (as long as the fenders dont have to be drug home)

SideKicks are IFS not IRS, and you need
to decide if you can live with the system
you want to build, if you like on road manners
and good handling, IFS works well, if you need
36" front travel, I'm not sure the Track/Kick
will do that, altho Mike is probably getting close  

Why don't you find a So Cal Trucklet without the
rust, then you don't have to worry about the body
work, the 94 or 95 came with 16V engines, which
was an improvement in power from 80 to 95 and
with propper gearing gives the Trucklet good pickup,
not fantastic, but respectable.

Good Luck,
Darrin

I hadn't really looked into a mid 90's sidekick/tracker ...

hmmmm ... that would seem around $4k for the truck (plus my guesstimate $3k for suspension/drivetrain/tires). It's in the ball park.

Am I right thinking a sammy is easier than the ifs? Lift choices, costs, etc? Or is that just falicy on my part? I won't care about road manners (not a "driver" for me)

I dunno, I never lifted a Sammy,
I think the suspension mods are
less $$ for the Sammy tho.

In my oppinion, the biggest advantage to the tracker/sidecick platform is the nicer daily driver comforts.

This would be about 90% offroad usage. I'm looking at it as an ATV that I can drive (<30 miles) or trailer to the ORV area ...

I think option 1 would fit what you are looking for but you could even consider earlier Samurais.

1) a cheap 88.5-90 samurai, and spending dough and time on body work (i.e. rust). Probably have to sink money into the engine too (swap?). I calculate this as $1500 for the platform, probably $1500 for body work, $1500 for engine swap plus exhaust.

I live in the PNW and i paid $1000 for my 86 Samurai and bought a Calmini 5" lift off ebay for $450.  The body is straight, rust free, and almost ready to paint.  But mine is a daily driver.  If it was 90% trail, I wouldn't bother with paint.

Other lift options include spring over or lifted springs or both.  You can really spend some $$ and get a coil kit if you want but a basic lift can be pretty cheap.  A lift for a tracker/sidekick is going to be an IFS lift which means more engineering and parts which means more $$.

As for pre or post 91, I would love to have EFI on my 86 but I don't believe it would add that much power.  You will probably still want a 1.6 engine swap so you might as well buy the cheaper platform.

Gears are easier and cheaper on a Suzuki than a J**p.  Partly because the axles have a removable third member.  You can put it on the bench instead of pulling the whole axle out.  Also, many just regear the transfer case which doesn't require all of the tools and experience that differentials require.  And if you want to upgrade a Samurai axle, Trail Tough has an axle swap with a bolt in rear axle swap and third member upgrades for front and rear, including gears for less money than you'd pay to have one set of gears installed in a J**p.

And as far as being an ATV that you can drive to the trail, that is the #1 reason I bought a Samurai.  I take the top and doors off and fold the windshield down and use it as an ATV  to haul a weed sprayer and tools around on ly property.  Actually it's better than an ATV because the ATVs I was looking at were $4k or more and didn't have stereos.

I don't mean to ramble and this is just my opinion, but I hope it helps.

For 8 to 9k I would buy two built samurai's and wheel one of them real hard  

Sounds like a simple samarai will get me what I want the cheapest. I'm not in a hurry to pick the vehicle, so I'll just hunt till I find a decent one without the rust. The little looking I've done has revealed nothing but rust buckets. Probably a matter of just finding the right one (and not assuming they are all that way   )

I sorta figure my $ guesstimates are high, but I like to over estimate ...

As for the $8k budget ... I want a $6K "toy" and am willing accept I'll probably end up at $8K. If I can really get it done at $6K, I'll be happy!

I know so many people who build up a vehicle spending $10K and end up realizing they've got a $7k vehicle (not counting their labor). If you ask 'em, they'll only talk about the big ticket items (and not the $100 here and there).

I like the buildup, I like the fact it's *my* choices for various aspects ... that is something you can *never* purchase!

jonald, I lived in Corvallis for 8 years ... loved it there, lots of nice trails up near Alpine!

Picked up my new tracker  in socal for 400 bucks. new clutch battery cables fluids and the basic tune ups and she runs like a champ... It even has those super cool bushwacker wide body flares.. Can't wait to see the super swampers tear those bad boys off!

total investment so far about 600.00 and about 25 hrs of work an so far one bottle of kalua, one 12 pack of tecate, and a case of corona.. Limes from the back yard!

check out socal it's pretty cheap I mean shit we are almost in mexico!...

speaking of which I went to a local wrecking yard and found 3 rather excellent samurais and no sidekicks!

Later
Hutch

Do what we are, SAS a kick.
Get the best of both worlds.

Snofalls, check out www.traderonline.com to get an idea of local, regional or nationwide prices for Samurais and Trackers. Don't rule out traveling a little to pick one up. Almost anywhere in the snow-free parts of the Southwest should have virtually rustfree examples.

Speaking of junkyards, I saw some nice Samurai bodies in a junkyard in Denver a few weeks ago. I hated to leave them there. They would have been excellent starting points for rebuilds, but it would have required locating lots of stuff, like drivetrains, engines and interiors. On the other hand, you wouldn't have to worry about tossing parts if you wanted some custom stuff instead of stock.