Figured this needs a better title.....

A bit about me first & what I have in mind.

Ive been a bug nut since the 90's....   Ive owned 8 or 9 VW's in that time... 1 Manx,  2 bajas & the rest strreet.    2000+ VW toys or so in my colection.(last count was about 7 years ago)
 
   Ive always loved that  a highly moded VW motor can eat almost anything out there! (ferrari's mustang's, corvet's, etc.)  & even a mildly moded Baja can go almost anywhere a a jeep, toyota, sammy, broncos, blazers,  etc can go.      & yes Ive been there my self & proved it to many unbelievers.
Yah, Im a huge VW VW nut...  But am getting tired of having to rebuild the motor all the time. (I use my baja like a truck! Yes even I tow with it)

Here are a couple pics of the baja Ive been rolling. & as you can see I dont like the "norm." Nor do i fit in well with the local VW club.... they all either hate what I have done to my bug, think its wired, etc... I dont care what people think, I just do what I want & what I like.  It was bought as a wrecked rolling carcus...  As for the custom/fab work, Ive done it all my self & constantly am making changes....


if you want to see more pics you can check it out |removethispart||removethispart||removethispart|@ http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=124932&hilit=66+baja

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So, in looking at the samurai, it looklooked like it would fit the VW baja body prety easly. wheel track width is the same as my baja.   Frame & drive line (wireing,brale lines, etc) would need to be stretched about 15 inches   & it would look cool having a Baja sitting up on a 4X4. Not something you see every day. Or ever as far a s I can tell.  + I love working on projects.


This is the Samurai I bought.  It is all stock except a webber carb.





After getting it home it appears the motor is junk. It seems to have a blown head gasket acording to my mechanic friend (water in the oil & oil in the radiator) + burns lots of oil so it wouldnt pass emitions here in ADA County. :rolleyes:  It also has a remote silinoid on the fire wall for some reason. & after being ran it wont start again for about an hr or so,  till it cools down.  
Ultimatly I want a 1.6 for it & auto trans, but was hopeing to get by with this motor for a while. Guess its going to be a longer wate to get it going :lame:  Guess I way over payed for a vehicle again."shaking:


Anyway, I want a 1.6 & auto trans....  I also plan to run 31 10.5 tires.


Any help with what all I need or best/ cheepest ways to go about the motor, wireing, & trans swap  would be greatly appriciated.      OH  & I need this thing to be reliabal & pass emitions. It will be a DD/recreational off roader & need to tow a light trailer as well.

& I bought a set of new rear OME springs & will be getting some for the front.

There is a golf cart sitting on a samurai frame in Emmett that looks cool not too far from you, my brother lives near you and I would pass by it going to his ranch.

Nothing wrong with VWs.  I own two in addtion to all of my Suzuki stuff.  One is a 1956 Beetle that I brought back from Germany and the second is a 1981 Rabbit Conv my dad bought new.

As far as the lowest cost conversion-find a Sidekick/Tracker at a pull it yard and take everything off it or buy a rolled/wrecked one.

as clean as the sam's body looks you should be able to get a pretty penny for it! mine was half wrotted away when i got it, and everytime i found a "new" tub it was just as bad. so endless hours of sheet metal work later, its back to normal....ish. i like your idea though! should be a fun build.

dam thing left me stranded the other day. 
the starter was basicly toast. (& no it wasnt just the simple clicky fix)  I had to remove it, tare it down  & clean out all the grease,oil & dirt.  then needed to recut the com & clean the brushes.     Now it seems to start fine.



Going to try to get a "94" 16V  1.6 tomarrow.   But need to know what all I need to get from the doner rig...

here is what all I think I need:
~Motor, alternator, wire harnice & brain box......

Do I need the exhaust, starter  what else???

If the starter goes out, you can always push start it.     Done that a time or too when a battery went dead or the starter went out.

Did a VW convertable to Scout 800 swap 30 years ago. Yes it's been done allot.  The 800 is a closer fit.
 My daughter runs a 69 dub. Thought about doing the Vamy thing myself. I like the looks of the Zuke , so I shelved the idea.
You have a lot of work ahead of you. As I remember (it's been 30 years) you will have to loose about half the pan (tranny hump)
 build a fire wall (we used a steel wheelbarrow) and run the radiator out back.
The automatic will need to come from a tracker or kick so your gonna need another downer. Run the entire drive system from the Trackick. IE: engine, trans, and T case. As well as all the computers from the Kick.
Good luck....Boxcar...

Yes, I've seen several Suzuki Beetles on the web.  Here's one of the better ones.

http://www.hybridaction.com/bugzuki/index.htm

cool litle rig....  But still not a baja.

Just remove the fenders. 

I'll get some pics of one in my shop and post them 

picked up a 1.6 16 valve motor, starter, powersteering pump, alternator, air box, dizzy, computer & most of the parts needed for the swap.  still need to go back & get the harnice, power steering box.  find an exaust (they wouldnt sell me any of the exhaust!) & none of the local yards will sell the cat.  (they clame it may have a hole & would need to be preasure tested.  ) I think thats a load of B.S. they just want to scrap them for the $)

Jut need to sell off some more of my crap so I can buy more parts for this thing.

got my wire harnice today  and the starter + alternator I forfot |removethispart|@ the counter.  also realized I didnt get the tube that connects the airbox to the intake, so I got that.     but the speedo was sold ,  so Im on the hunt for one.

Got the title in my name.  Friday the inspector comes out to document the build & take pics of both rigs....  So hopefully Ill be getting to start workig on it soon.

Congrats!  Soon, no more garage space!