Hey guys im new member here, been lurking for a couple of weeks now. There is a lot of info in here to sift through. I do have a couple of question though. Ive been looking to get a Samurai for some time now and have finally saved up enough dough to actually begin to go out and wheel and deal on one. Im looking for a good stock daily driver in good condtion. It wont stay stock for long. I plan on adding a small lift that can comfortably fit tires not larger than 30's. Im also going to add bumpers, winch, and a few engine mods like a weber carb, elec fuel pump, and maybe a header. And a few other small bolt on things for now. In the long run I want to add a cage, but ill wait on that. Keep in mind I "plan" on driving this a few times a week to work and back. Round trip is about 75 miles, with 10 of it being interstate. I also plan on loading up the wife and kid on weekends a doing a little off roading. Nothing to rough just some trail riding and stuff like that.
My original plan was to get a Yamaha Rhino, but then I got to thinking about it, and I think the Samurai will be more fun, street legal, and I think a much smarter purchase all the way around.

Im not looking to spend over 3000.00 on the rig, and about 2500.00 on mods. The area I live at has several for sale, but not many people do much with them so Im fairly confident I can get what im looking for for that price or lower.


1. What are some of the things I should look for, or should I say watch out for when doing a walk around, and test drive. Minor thing I can deal with, but nothing that will take to much time or money to fix.

2. The mods I plan on doing. Can I do them on my own? I am mechanically inclined, have basic tools like most men, jacks, jack stands and a garage. I dont have any specialized tools like welders, benders or anything like that.

I know you guys know everything about these, so i fell like this is the best place to get all the info im searching for.

I know ive asked alot, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

i would go with a hard top, i have a soft top. 1988.5 had taller 4th and 5th gears.  skip the idea of the webber carburetor, go with fuel injected if you can afford it. or an aftermarket carb that suits your needs. i have a webber and its more of a "race" carburetor then something you can take off road. i dont like it and get about 17 mpg.  i like my 2" body lift, and can fit 30X9.50-15 im going with a RUF lift eventually. full exhaust header back by dynomax is a must do for the 1.3 (low range off road)

I would look for a sidekick 

really though.....if your looking at a modified one, really look it over for crappy work including wiring! "stereo genius" owners (idiots) are the worst to clean up after. (most kids put in one stereo and think there a pro)

check all steering,brake,any welding mods for general shit work.

its hard finding a unmolested Sammy, I would lean too a clean stock one vs. a modified one personally, then slowly build it (correctly) the way you want it.

I love that.... "Stereo Genius"...  man how many times have I seen that?

Unmolested is good!
Molested with the right mods done correctly is better...

Define what you want -  IE - Daily Driver / Occasional Wheeler
                                     - Hardcore - Toy Only
                                     - Purist - bone stock & I like it

Define your Price - Set a high / low and stick to it.

Look for - Oil Leaks
            - worn areas
            - repaired areas
            - hidden rust
            - low fluid levels
            - broken items (glass , mirrors, etc.)

Check    - lights
            - turnsignals
            - heater
            - radio
            - brake pedal pressure
            - emergency brake
            - steering wheel play
            - seat adjusters
            - shifter play

Drive     - bad vibrations?
            - steer hard or has play?
            - turns fine?
            - brakes work well?
            - gauges work?
            - accelerates good?
            - noticable uncommon noises?
            - exhaust smoke?

These are a few general items to review for your vehicle purchase.
 
           

Thanks guys, I think I may have found a really nice one, but need a little info. I found a 91 with fuel injection. 112000 original miles. All original nothing done to it all. No rust anywhere, new interior, new top, very very clean. Does have a few small dings here and there. But over all it is the nicest one ive looked at, and everthing works on it. heres the kicker though. This guy im thinking of purchasing this from has something like a samurai grave yard. The one im talking about is only a 2 wheel drive, but he says we can do a 4x4 swap right there in his shop. He has all the parts, and he said it will only take about half the day to do it. He said its very simple, and everything just drops out and the new one slides right in. I wheeled and dealed with the guy, and im also getting a 6.5x16 foot 1 ton trailer too. All  it needs is new wood in the floor. I know thats a simple fix, ive done it before. I need a trailer and other than the floor its in very good shape.

Is the swap as simple as he said, and will it still work as he says? I do think he know what hes talking about because hes got several that he has restored or modded out side his shop. This is what he does for a hobby I suppose. Anyway the whole package for 3200.00. What do yall think?

if you were to buy a 7'x18' dual 3500 lbs axles, electric brakes, needs nothing, great shape, is worth here in utah, i bought for 1400.00. his trailer i think is worth around 600.00

a stock samurai in clean stock shape, 66000 miles needs nothing, i bought for 2000.00 with emissions already done. i think his samurai is worth as is, 1400.00 parts to make it 4x4 transfer case, two drivelines, cross members, plus his labor 600.00 TOPS

if i bought another one, id buy untouched, hard top, needs nothing for 2400.00

lets see some pictures

well this is the only one i took.

its already been 16 minutes since you posted, have you done any mods yet     get to it!

Samurais trannys only had different 5th gear ratios...not 4th and 5th.
86-88 samurais had a .795 5th gear ratio.
88.5-95 samurais had a .865 5th gear ratio (makes the engine run about 300RPM higher at 65, compared to the 86-88 tranny).

To convert a 2wd samurai to 4wd you need...
front axle assembly.
transfer case...complete with shifters and 4x4 indicator switch.
front driveshaft.
4x4 gauge cluster (or at least the 4x4 panel for the 2wd cluster), if you want to know when the tcase is in 4wd.
It is a remove old, install new, procedure.

90-95 EFI samurais are nice.  I'll take one over a carb any day.  The only "common" issue with EFI samurais is that the ECM capacitors go bad.  They damage the circuit board (which can usually be repaired).  Best thing to do, is to go ahead and replace the caps, before they go bad, with some good quality ones.

Skyhiranger: Thanks for the info. I do get all the drive line that you talked about, but can you please explain in more detail about the 4x4 cluster, and all that? Because he told me it would be 4x4 when we got finished with it, but it wouldnt have an indicator light in the dash. Is this something simple I could do later on my own, or does it need to be done right now for the 4x4 to work properly? He does have several parts samurais, so im sure I can also get the part, but it will probably cost extra because he didnt mention it in his quoted price.

If not whould you please tell me exactlly what parts I would need to do this on my own.. Thanks in advance.

Skyhiranger: Thanks for the info. I do get all the drive line that you talked about, but can you please explain in more detail about the 4x4 cluster, and all that? Because he told me it would be 4x4 when we got finished with it, but it wouldnt have an indicator light in the dash. Is this something simple I could do later on my own, or does it need to be done right now for the 4x4 to work properly? He does have several parts samurais, so im sure I can also get the part, but it will probably cost extra because he didnt mention it in his quoted price.

If not whould you please tell me exactlly what parts I would need to do this on my own.. Thanks in advance.

The 4x4 will still work fine, even if you don't do anything with the 4x4 indicator in the cluster.  All it does is light up and indicate that the transfer case has been shifted into 4wd.  All he has to do is hook up the switch on the transfer case to the wiring harness that is underneath the samurai (the plug and wires are already there, even in a 2wd samurai).  Then he just needs to remove the instrument cluster and change the "blank" to one that says "4WD" and install a light bulb.  If he has messed with samurais as much as his "collection" would indicate, then he should know how to do this.  It is simple to do and the only reason not to, is just because he is being lazy and doesn't want to do it...in my opinion.
If he is not willing to do it, it is something that anybody could do at a later date.  There is nothing special or hard about it.  To do it, you need the 4wd indicator switch and ball that goes in the transfer case and the light bulb and small 4WD faceplate that fits in the instrument cluster.