I bought a zuk to go with my fj60. I ain't tellin ya what i paid cuz i'm sure it was too much....oh hell $1900.00. Its an 88 carbed hard top with 150000 on it and very little rust.

how rare are the back doors for these things? I don't really need one horrible bad but if i can pick it up for the right price all the better.

Also its bone stock, what are the best first mods for the least $$$$? I want to do some work on it but I'm still drooling for a vortec in my cruiser. Priorities are in the way of both for a little while but i want to start looking for the parts.

And how hard is it to pick up a 1.6l or diesel VW? What are they in and what adapters are needed? Who sells them and If I haven't asked to much already where do i pick me up one of those SUMO 6:1's?

OH, and whats the ratios in a stock zuk?

:usa:

Spring over, find some axles. Toy or 44's seem to work well, I wouldn't bother using the stock axles if you want to run a tire any larger than what a 32".:)

What if I pick up a toyota P/U around a '93 and just take the whole drivetrain and put it in? Have you heard of any probs? I figure I could pick one up damn cheap if the bodies hashed and get my 22RE W/ a five spd.

The other idea is going with dana 30's since its light anyway and i'm not gonna use it for hardcore trails.

:usa:

RIGHT all of the above.........:D

If you want to keep it really cheap and get some good flex pick up a pair of front CJ springs and a set of 4 missing link shackles.

Just put the CJ's in the rear and move your rears up front with missing links on all four corners. Your axles will be slightly relocated forward (front) and rearward (rear) due to the longer springs. Then get the little stuff like shocks/shock mounts, brakelines, etc. I'm not sure if you will need a panhard bar for the front or not (some people do, some don't).

Actually, if you want to keep it really cheap (talking long run here, not just suspension), find a donor toy with a solid front axle and EFI (84-85 Toyota) that's all beat up for around $1000. For suspension, go SOA (Toy axles are already SOA) with a set of YJ leaves or something. But an SOA is a must for good flex.

Now for $2500 your on wider, stronger toy axles, a motor with 145 lb. ft. of torque, EFI, and a transmission/xfer that arent questionable with 33-35" tires. Plus you can double the toy cases for around $375-400 for the adapter from All Pro, and $50-200 for the second T-Case. 2.28x2.28= 5.2:1.

Although if you wanted to keep it cheap, you'd have to build just ONE truck. Not a '60 and a Sammy.

-----------------------------

Bobaki, care to check my numbers? :flipoff2:

Thx for all the rock solid info. I can't go with an engine earlier than the model year so I'm going to do the early model suspension and newer engine. Are there any Toyota engines to stay away from. Also is there any better than the 22RE to look for? I want to do it right the first time.

I found a "93 donor P/U for $1900.00 but that will only get me the engine through the transfer case. Speaking of transfer cases what years have the chain drives?


:usa:

Or you can go the other way.....
1.6 16v motor from a sidekick, Fuel Injection ($500-1000)
Toy axles....Or D44's
Sumo 6:1 case......(1200) And a reduction in high!!!

a little more money...but works very well

But I do agree 100% with yota_san if you do toy axles go with wranglers springs!!!!!

Originally posted by cruizerlover
Thx for all the rock solid info. I can't go with an engine earlier than the model year so I'm going to do the early model suspension and newer engine. Are there any Toyota engines to stay away from. Also is there any better than the 22RE to look for? I want to do it right the first time.

I found a "93 donor P/U for $1900.00 but that will only get me the engine through the transfer case. Speaking of transfer cases what years have the chain drives?

Heres the hard one..... can anyone post a pick of a missing link shackle setup installed?

:usa:

The only Toyota engines that I'm aware of that really had any problems were the head gaskets on the V6 (199?-1997 or so). A 22RE should be more than enough in a zuk though.

If you pick up a 93 donor, then grab that rear axle also. The late model rear ends are supposed to be tougher than the pre-IFS trucks. It's also slightly wider than the 1985 and earlier trucks.

You can get gear ratios and other useful info from the spec page (http://www.off-road.com/suzuki/samurai/86samuraispec.htm) at the www.off-road.com/suzuki site. Most of the specs did not change from year to year. I believe that the only significant change was to the ratio of 5th gear after 88.5.

I'm checking , but it dosent do any good...........:flipoff2: ......it might be too late for you,or maybe its me.....maybe not

If I grab the rear axle out of the '93 I'll get a 60" wide rear end. So if I use the front out of an '86 and earlier it is supposedly around 55".

I'll have to see if anyone comes up with an exact measure on the '86 and earlier front axle. From what I've read this seemed to be a best guess on the front axle.

Either way I think I'll be pulling the front and rear off the pre 87" so I have the same widths.


:usa:

You will actually want an 81 to 85. The 86 model year has IFS.

If you went with the 60 inch rear end then you would need to run a D44 from a Wagoneer (I think they had some 61" passenger drop at one time). Or some other 60 or so inch 6 lug passenger drop D44.

I'm not sure how wide, but I think the 86 rear end was a bit closer to matching the 79-85 front end. The 85 front end is definately the best choice since it was the last year available and it has more gussetting than the earlier years.

Just find a Toyota guy who's moving up to 60's.

best thing to do...

buy a GRS I (kinda like a marlin for suzuki -> 399,-), find some decent 31"s... go spoa.... and slap a locker in or 2... (LRight is fine)

you still will go circles around 95% of all other 4x4s...

and you still will enjoy your sami, when they are fixing their broken parts... jejejej...


ohhh.. yeah.. and don´t forget... samis came lightweight from the factory... keep em this way...

alfred

AXLE WIDTH: (86-95) toyota rear axles were 58" wide. 79-85 Solid front is 55" wide. IFS is 58" wide, hence the wider rear axle. Axle is identical to the pre-86 rear axle in every way except width.

TURBO 4-CYL: From 86-88 There was a turbo 4-cyl truck which had a beefier tranny & x-fer, which are the next best thing to unbreakable (23-spline input shaft on x-fer - same as a dana 300) but are hard to find... You can run those in front of a 350 wihtout problems.

6-CYLINDER: Bad idea. You get a chain-drive transfer case (ALL 4cyl. are the same gear-drive, 79-95) and an engine with a deserved reputation for consuming head gaskets, but otherwise trouble free.

EFI: On all turbo 4cyl's and V6s. For 4cyl, first year for EFI was 84. It was an OPTION until sometime around 87-88... so you will see some carb'd rigs with IFS, although they are rare. 84 & 85 were the only years with a solid axle and EFI, and are sometimes more pricey as a result.

If you have a line on a 4cylinder, EFI, IFS rig it may not be a bad idea to grab it if you want to use it. Swapping in the whole toy drivetrain will be more work than using a 1.6L suzi engine, but also pumps out 140 lb. ft. of torque. They both produce ~120HP AFAIK. You can usually find a toy front axle for around $150 if you look long enough. I paid $100 for the one waiting to be swapped into my 'Runner.

Originally posted by Alfred
best thing to do...

buy a GRS I (kinda like a marlin for suzuki -> 399,-), find some decent 31"s... go spoa.... and slap a locker in or 2... (LRight is fine)

you still will go circles around 95% of all other 4x4s...

and you still will enjoy your sami, when they are fixing their broken parts... jejejej...


ohhh.. yeah.. and don´t forget... samis came lightweight from the factory... keep em this way...

alfred

I'd have a hard time getting out of my laneway with 31's. Go big or go home!!!!!

Danna 44's , 36's, and all the gearing you can afford, or an Auto tranny, lockers, cage, missing links and 3/4 eliptic on SPOA.

Engine is your chice.:flipoff2:

Originally posted by Yota_San
AXLE WIDTH: (86-95) toyota rear axles were 58" wide. 79-85 Solid front is 55" wide. IFS is 58" wide, hence the wider rear axle. Axle is identical to the pre-86 rear axle in every way except width.


Learned something new. I wasn't aware that the only differences between the pre-IFS and the IFS rear ends was the width. I knew that the 85's had more gussetting than the pre-85.

I had read somewhere that the IFS rear ends were a little bit stronger (guess the info was wrong). I was aware that they were wider, just didn't know how much wider.