Yes, I'm a toy guy, but I finally talked my room mate into letting me and some freinds build a sami for him. I'm looking for opinions and a few hints. Here's what I have in the works so far:

'88 Samurai
-Wagoneer D44's F/R
-Wagoneer rear springs on all corners
-SOA
-Spooled rear, lockrite front; 5.89's
-Calimini 4:1 transfer case
-High angle drivelines
-frame extension in the front, very similar to Scawfish's (I'm shooting for about a 93" wheelbase)
-35-38" tires
-Full exo

Any thoughts on this setup would be apreciated, he's kind of a wuss about breaking stuff, so I'm trying to overbuild everything a bit. I also need some advice on what you guys are running for power steering. Which pump is easy to run from the stock motor? I was thinking of running a Toy box and pump, but if there is a cheaper alternative or better alternative, let me know. I'll post pics wehn we get under way after Cal Rocs next weekend.

What kind of wheeling you going to do? For rockcrawling I would go with deeper gears for the t-case, especially if you want to run 38's.

He's going to end up being drug around with the rest of us, so Rubicon type rocks in the summer and hard core snow stuff in the winter/spring. we're probably going to start with 35's or 36's on it. Planning on building the whole thing for under $3000, including the purchase price. There's a huge price jump between the 4:1 and 5:1, which is why I chose the 4:1. I've also heard that the 6:1 case is grenading? Eventually we might add a Toy case as a doubler or just run dual Toy cases. Pretty much just trying to get him started and build a rig that should be able to cruise with out group. It seems like most people are doing toy power steering, so I'll just go with my origianl plan of toy IFS power steering setup.

That should work ok. I have some pretty short 35's with the 4.89:1 tcase and 5.29's in the axles, I feel a little overgeared on the steep stuff that I used to be able to crawl with the 33's, getting used to it now after a few runs.

WHo has "grenaded" the sumo gears? Gotta love rumors:)

go with a lower case. I have a grs1 and 5.12s and 33s and I am not near as low as I would want to be for the rocks but for washington it works out pretty good.:)

Do you need a another roommate????:flipoff2:

if you play in the rocks the 4to1 won't be low enough. some guys i know run 36 sx's with 5.38's and the 4to1 and it is not low enough. true you will have the 5.89's but it still will not be enough. just my op.

Why don't you go SUA?















Only joking
Sounds cool, exo is the way to go safety and room in the cab. (%" wheelbase sounds about right. How much of the bodywork are you going to keep?
When do we see pics?

No pics yet, unless you want to see a stock Sami, complete with" It's not easy being a princess but someboy's gotta do it" bumper sticker. After going to work today and seeing what Mike (Bent and Twisted) did with his Sami, the whole front clip is coming off, except the grill and hood. I'm going to incoporate tube flat fenders into the exo. As for gearing, I originally planned to use the 5:1 petroworks case, but he won't budge for the $$$. He doesn't quite realize that the rest of our group is seriously jealous that he is building a rig for about $3k, and the extra couple hondo's is worth it. He'll learn like the rest of us did, he's just off to a little better start since we can say "been there, done that" to some of his ideas. Probably won't be touching it for two weeks (going to Cal Rocs next weekend), then it's going to be two weekends of solid building to get it done in time for a big camping trip, before the snow disappears.

As far as I know, not a single 6.1 gearset has broken. I have the second set of SUMO 6.1 gears from Asian Auto Parts in the US and mine haven't broken yet. I'm notorious for breaking parts too. Since installing the SUMO gears, all I've managed to break is I sheared the hub bolts on one front wheel while pulling a hole shot out of a mudhole at about 7,000rpm. Plus, if you read my article http://www.off-road.com/suzuki/reviews/sumogears.htm you'll see the benefits of these gears vs. others that are available.

The only t-case gears I've heard of that had a tendency to break were Calmini's prototype 5.x gearset. But they were exactly that, a prototype. In terms of which gearset has had the most number of breaks, that would have to be the 4.16 gears, since there are more of those gearsets out there than any other. The reason I wound up buying a set of SUMO gears is because I managed to break my 4.89 gears.

If I were you, I would definitely go with the lowest gearset you can get, especially with tires as big as you're planning. I'm running 34 inch tall tires with the 6.1 t-case and 4.57's, and I'm just about perfect for my mixed trail and highway driving.

One other reason I recommend the SUMO gears: they have the best warrantee you can get! I felt screwed by Petroworks because after spending $1,300 for the GRS2, they wanted me to BUY a replacement. In contrast, AAPA has challenged me to TRY to break the SUMO gearset, because if I do break the gears, they're replaced in full, provided that they're installed properly in a housing that has oil in it. Plus, the SUMO gears are less expensive anyway.

I agree with zukiman about buying the lowest gears, otherwise your just going to take a bath when you sell your 4:1s and get what you wanted later on.

Having just done a major zuk build up I think the rest of your formula is great. Definitely ditch the front clip and go with tubing, I did, and I love all of the clearance, no need for bumpers, and EASY access to the motor. I had Tim Hardy enlarge my rear wheelwells, but if I was to do it again I'd put in a set of narrowed wheeltubs. Either that or cut the ass end off all together and tube it too. Low on big rubber is the shiat! Good luck!

I havent' bought the gears yet, how much are the sumo gears? I have prives for the petro 5 and calmini 4.

Originally posted by Wilson
I havent' bought the gears yet, how much are the sumo gears? I have prives for the petro 5 and calmini 4.

we're having a sale on our Sumo six point ones.....($800 cash, check or money order) none have had any trouble.

where did you hear some did? from your prives?

the SUMO gears are not the only 6.1's though

Originally posted by nuttzack
WHo has "grenaded" the sumo gears? Gotta love rumors:)

it hasn't been anyone we know.....

you would have to ask yourself,
who would benifit the most from that rumor?

hey az zuk, how can you be gotten ahold of? i have a buddy who wants to order a sumo 6to1 case gears already installed and he tried the # on the website and it is not working. anyway he needs one soon and needs to know how long the wait is. thanks

Originally posted by Arizona Zuk


it hasn't been anyone we know.....

you would have to ask yourself,
who would benifit the most from that rumor?

Ill stand up for daves gears!!! They turn my 37's just fine!

Everything that needs to be said about gears has been said. So now I would question the waggoneer springs. Won't they be a bit stiff for a sami?

Rear wagoneer springs are long, soft, flexible as hell and are very assymetrical, which is why I chose them. The center pin is maybe 18 inches from one eye and 30+ inches to the other eye, so they'll help me greatly to stretch the wheelbase out towards my goal, while keepign the vehicle relatively low. I haven't seen them on a sami, but I have seen them on the rear of a Cj and they are a bit too soft for the cj, so i don't expect any problems with the sami. That price on the sumos is about the same as I got for the petro 5's. Lifetime warranty sounds pretty good, I may be giving you a ring early this week, so he can set the gears next weekend while I'm at Cal Rocs. Anyone else have an opinion on the waggy rear springs?? Anyone tried them?

-BTW my signature isn't really my truck. I'm protesting the recent increase in :rainbow: IFS realted questions on the toy board. Hopefully this project will keep me away from there for a while.