Well, I finally bit the bullet and over payed ($1600) for a Samurai that has more wrong with it than right.
What she does have is 97K miles, an engine of questionable integrity, a good tranny and transfer case, good axles, good frame, and a mostly sound body. I call it potential.
The rest is broken, no exhaust, leaking brakes engine and radiator, no heat, no top, broken column switches, torn off bumper, rusted out floor pans, bent steering linkages, bald swampers... It was an interesting 3.5 hour drive home, especially once it got dark and i couldnt "hotwire" the headlights. I cant wait to get the wiring schematic and see WTF?! It didnt help that my meter was on the fritz and I had to borrow wire from the stereo.

Here's the picture from the ad:

I'll upload more pics as i go.

I am aiming for a reliable daily driver to possibly replace the KLR650 I currently dodge deer on every day.  She will also pull double duty as a weekend trail warrior in the forests of Virginia, Pensylvania and West Virginia. All for under $6,000. She is currently sitting on 4" of SPOA with 30" tires and probably wont get much taller.

For now I have ordered some stuff from Rods Suzuki Salvage, Lowrange and of course Ebay.
This is the list of things I have started with:
Fast back bikini top
new cables, hoses, belt
Over the top steering kit
Lowrange tri Y header & complete magnaflow bolt on exhaust
Driveline spacers
master cylinder grommet
bushwacker 4.75" flares
fold down windshield kit
$25 aftermarket headlights
Ill build my own bumper and strengthen the stock roll bar somehow.

Likely ... slightly over budget... improvements may include:
Transfer case gears, 4.9:1 Lowrange offroad
Transfer case mount, Mega mount Rocky Road
Shocks probably Doetsch 3000 series
Clutch and Ujoints while its apart.
Carburetor

Maybe... if I want to bust the budget... in the future:
Seats
ARB locker
Winch
1.6L upgrade
 
Today I drive up and get a pair of complete front and rear used axles with wheels for $100. If nothing else I can use the tires.

Wish me luck!

It looks solid in the picture, but sounds like a death trap to be driven right now.  I'm amazed that you made it 3.5 hours with the description you gave us.

I'm looking for a Sami right now.  So you will have to keep the thread going so I know all the things I will have to do with one that I find.

Thanks,

Rob

after you get thru the essentials, consider moving seats up your priority list if you are going to DD.
there are many threads about what fits and is comfortable, short list being neon, prelude, tracker, and my fave, cavalier.

P/S would be be a great addition to DD as well.

good luck!

Seats, although I want new racing seats very badly, have just been bumped by tune up parts. Yesterdays trip to Advance auto cost me nearly $200 in lubes, hoses etc...
I did come away from the local fire sprinkler shop with enough pipe for a bumper for $20, and picked up full front and rear axles for $110. The old tires on the axles are crap but one of the all terrains will work for a spare, and now I have spare everything wheel to wheel. Maybe I will upgrade to rear disc now... I knew I shouldnt have ordered that ebrake cable.

I ordered a set of Falken Rocky Mountains in 31x10.5 from tires direct today, I hope the positive reviews are correct. I really wanted to try the BF MT K2's but the budget keeps getting tighter and I dont want to give up the gears. Going with the Falkens saved over $350. 

I took some pics yesterday, today I wash it for a thorough inspection and replace the rusted floor pans.


My new sammy project











Im hoping I can fix that rocker without to much effort. Lots of rust in the rockers.





My new spare axles.



Hot air intake!

.


I'm hoping its just a hose leak





Bad windshield frame repair. Im going to put some aluminum diamond plate here when I find some.



I think I should have bought a bigger piece of metal.






Busted switch gave me hell getting her home in the dark. Suzuki must have switched the ground, because my plan to "hotwire" the headlights did not work. Ive got a new one on the way from Suzuki salvage.












A little rust in the wheel wells. Not sure how Im going to fix this yet.




I am pretty sure the PO cut off the exhaust to mask the knock in the engine. I asked him to put it back on for the trip home and when i got there he had jammed this on backwards with clothes hangers. I had to stop at auto zone to tape up the joint and help keep some of the fumes from coming through the holes in the floor pan. Didnt work, just added the smell of burning glue. Quieted things down a little though.
I have a Lowrange tri y header and magnaflow exhaust on the way.


Not sure how Im going to fix this either.



PO must have tagged a rock and further destroyed the frankenstein of a drag link. Replacing it with a Lowrange OTT setup.



More evidence of the impact, and I think I need a new bumper.




Any body have any suggestions for shocks? I am wrestling with whether I want to hold off for a couple months and go long travel or just get a set of Doetsch 3095's which are 1-2" longer than stock and run it as is.
I ordered my gears last night and think I can still get them to add them to the order if I call today.

multifunction switch always go bad; and yes, switched ground.

afa your front tube/shackle mount, you will find a 1 1/4 (if memory servers) black pipe fit right in both front and rear frame tubes and add sustantial strength

I used pro comp es100 from 4wheel parts, you will have to search for the chart that shows extended/collapsed and correct ends for your application.
you should flex the rig out to get extended/collapsed measurements, preferably after armor (bumpers, sliders, skid, etc.)

Whats "afa your front  tube shakckle mount mean"?

Look ma, more rust!









Gonna take a little more TLC than I thought.

I ordered some Chassis Saver for the rust.
Got my new tires and discovered that my left front wheel assembly is stiff. Im going to need to rebuild the steering knuckles and bearings. Son of a...

Makes me think buying the best Sami I can find is the way to go.  Maybe even one that is completely stock as long as there is no rust.

Yes. That is absolutely right. I am at $4500 in parts right now plus $1600 for the sammy. I will spend the next 3 weeks working on it almost everyday, and will never see my money back if I sell it, but when Im done it will be tits. All I can hope for is I love it, it loves me back and it doesnt get stolen or set to fire.

Found a cracked radiator inlet yesterday, lets see what I find today.

Holy crap! Why is it so hard to get the heater hoses off? I had to cut them to get to the heater core and blower motor. Guess I will also have new heater hoses when Im done.
Exhaust manifold came off easy!
Driveshafts were tough but there out, as is the Transfer case.
Mirror relocation brackets are fabricated and awaiting mirrors.
I ordered some replacement LED lamps for the instrument panel while I had it apart.

And, I found more rust, this time on the frame near the left rear forward spring perch, gonna need to weld on some plating.

Im getting there though, and I am currently ahead of schedule.





My poor mans garage.




Turn signals fit great for now!

Dedicated!

Everyone in my club tends to move the turn signals inside the grille.  Not exactly legal, but they don't get broken. 

Found more rust! Bad stuff where the cross member that supports the T-case hits the frame. Im not looking forward to fixing that. I am now certain that the prick kid who sold me the truck left it all muddy on purpose to hide the rust. I am also certain he cut the muffler off to mask the rod knock. Pretty slimy for a young kid. I thought country folk were supposed to be moral.

Pulled the tranny yesterday to replace the clutch, at least that went smooth.
Replaced the fuel filter and hoses.
Having a hell of a time finding replacement heater hoses.

I replaced the heater core while I was in the box replacing the blower motor. Although the motor turned out to be OK Im glad I did it cause it was full of crap.



I cut some 7/8" holes in the heater box to give me access with a shop vac without having to take the whole dash apart for cleaning it out in the future. happily I have plugs that fit perfectly.



I busted a bolt removing the old emergency brake cable, Ill never try to remove another bolt on this thing without applying some penetrant and letting it soak. One of the first things I did when I got it home was apply penetrant but I guess I missed some.

The mirror relocation brackets are on.




I have started building a set of lower shock mounts. I am running out of time and money reall quick so Ill leave the uppers alone, but since Im replacing the shocks and longtravel cost the same as short travel I had to do something.



I called up "the answer man" at Gabriel and he very quickly and painlessly gave me the part numbers of some shocks that should work great. The fronts are 22.5"- 13.4" and the rears are 24"- 14" both for some very light vehicles. I was going to order the Doetsch shocks but these were $85 shipped for all four and delivered in 2-4 days.


Lets see which parts come today!