Hey guys...
total-complete newbie to Sammy's....think the 466-C6-205 combo in my bronco prolly weighs more than a whole 'zuk...but...
I find myself w/ the opportunity to pick one up...
its a 86...hard top :( I guess in real good shape...and comes w/ 2 sets of 5.29's and a lockrite...for $1200 obo.....
the catch....he says the motor smokes "pretty bad"....enough that it makes him "uncomfortable" to drive it everyday...so he's unloading..

so....my question (s)....
is a smoking 'zuk a common thing? he says he thinks it has ~130K on it. If it is common, what would it be...Head or rings? and how much are we talkin' to fix...I've heard parts for these aren't real cheap.
If that not the best way to go...how much (realistically) would I be lookin' at to do a cheap and dirty 1.6L (I think) 8v swap?
and finally, anyone just get done swapping out a perfectly fine motor that they'd like to unload??

I've wanted a sammy for a long time, kinda have big'n'littles w/ my bronco....but to convince the boss this will work, I have to work it in as a cheap driver first...

thanks guys...

--Berne
(lookin' for an excuse to buy a set of metric wrenches :beer: :beer: )

Valid Question's since your getting gearing with the sami safe to say reduing the stock 1.3 not a bad idea unlesss you really think youll need more power. ? will it be a daily driver or strictly offroad
or alittle of both. 1 option would be sell one of the sets of gearing to offset the cost of a 1.6 or talk with Dave at Asian auto and have him set you up with what it would take to make a better1.3
my02 your smokin is the rings also Welcome newbie:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Thanks for the newbie salute rockrat...

for it's duties....well, its gonna start being mostly a driver, and I'm sure slowly make the transition. I have no intention of just up and replacing the bronco....and no way I can support 2 hard wheelin' rigs....so its gonna start life as a commuter (short commute)...and go from there.
It seems Dave at asian auto is the prefered source for sami engine parts?? phone #??

and how low of gearing can you run in these and still get down the road ok?? and any issues w/ pinion getting too weak w/ really low gearing?

--Berne
learnin', :smokin: , :beer: :beer: :beer: !!!

first off welcome newbie:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:
second, what tire size are you running??? and how much for a set of those gears???
i'd say stick with the stock engine, mostly cause the swap kit for the 1.6 is about 150 along, and you have to buy the engine, and if its a DD, you don't need the power that the 1.6 pushes...... the stocker will be fine......
l8r.......newbie:flipoff2:

I run 33" with the 4:16 and 4:57 R/P and it does ok although I wish I had done the 5:83 at the time more for the wheelin aspect still not low ehough, but for street use they seem ok If you were to keep the 5:29 gears in it and when you really wanted low upgrade to a 6:1 t-case you should be pretty well set

well, at the time I think it has 29's on it.
I don't know that I could go through life driving a "4x4" w/ 29's on it...so I would prolly do a SOA in the not too distant future, and maybe some 32's or something of the sorts. the sami also comes w/ a calmini (sp?) body lift...don't know that I'd use it though...
the little truck comes w/ lots of parts....guess its got new exhaust and a header too....I just didn't want to drop $800+ on it right away. I need to find a good used runner that someone is swapping out.

so, w/ 5.29's it won't be geared too low to commute in w/ 29's? and what then if I go to a lower T-case?
Just can't fathom running gears this low to commute...the 4.56's in the bronco are terrible for the hiway...don't like spinning the bigblock at 3000+ all day...but guess 7.5 is a far cry from 1.3L huh??

--Berne
thanks for the help guys..
Oh...almost forgot the manditory :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

your rpms will be a bit high, prolly 3500 @65 mph, but keep in mind that a 1.3 is buit to run at a higher rpm. as for the engine, you can pick up a rebuild kit (rings, rod bearings, main bearings, ggaskets) for around 200. just my $02:flipoff2: oh yeah, welcome newbie!!

I run 33's, 4:1 Tcase, and 5.29's. In the sammi world lower Tcase gears lower the high ranege also, about 12% in the case of the 4:1. I run about 4400RPMs at 65MPH. It is fine that like that. Drive it and cruise along in 3rd or 4th at 4000rpm's to see what it is like. Remember these little 4cyl are built to rev. Sidekicks with a 1:1 tcase come with 5.11 gears stock.

I think Sammi parts are really cheap, but I guess it is all relative. Completely rebuilt 1.3's can be had for < $1000.

Welcome to the dark side :flipoff2:

OK...think I'm starting to get the idea....think somewhere between normal motor and motorcycle...
do they still get reasonable milage spinning that fast?


and its not that I think the parts are real expensive, just that they seem to be about on par for american v8's, even though the parts are smaller and there are half as many holes...

--Berne

Gas milage will still probably be double what you get in your Bronco...seriously. Last weekend I drove to a place that is about an hour round trip, wheeled for a couple hours includuing high RPM stuff in the sand, and drove home on less than a half a tank, and 1/2 tank on a Zuk is only 5gal!

Jim

OK....so now with gearing....
stock in the pigs is 3.73??

so, w/ 5.29's...that would be quite a jump....which is fine....but then if I go to lower T-case gears....the effective final drive ratio goes down even lower in hi range....and it sounds like it could get awfully low...I still wanna be able to cruise 60-65 comfortably.

so, instead, would the Calmini 5.8 kit, w/ its ~18% reduction in HI, which would change 3.73 to ~4.4 be good 'nuf??

4:1 + 5.29's are about the same crawl as 5.8 + 3.73's...and seems the 5.8 would be cheaper over all...(assming I didn't already have the 5.29's)

Is my reasoning on track here?

--Berne

now ya got the idea :D

One word: "SUMO" ! :D

so, rockrat...
w/ your 4.16:1 + 4.57's....you'd be right at where I'd be heading w/ the 5.8 case and 3.73...
how is it on the street for driver use...do you wish it was lower on the street?
and is ~80:1 w/ 32"-ish tires a reasonable crawl? I know everyone likes lower....but here in the NW...the rocks aren't super technical....and you usually need a little spin to churn the mud...

--Berne

Originally posted by Berne

and is ~80:1 w/ 32"-ish tires a reasonable crawl? I know everyone likes lower....but here in the NW...the rocks aren't super technical....and you usually need a little spin to churn the mud...

--Berne

Shift gears for more tire spin. :D

Unless I missed it, there is a key ingredient missing in this discussion, tire size. 5.29 and a 4:1 with stock tires would be a joke on the road, but it is fine with 33's. I think the calmini gears are setup to give you similar to stock gearing in high with 32's, so it would probably be a good setup for what you are trying to do. If you are going to leave the diffs alone, consider the SUMO 6:1 too.

You DO already have the gears though, but I guess you could sell them to offset the cost of the higher tcase gears and have less work to do.

well, I don't really HAVE anything yet....I'm just lookin' around, compiling my options....
I just found another sammy....yellow...in better shape, w/ less miles..runs "good"...and is a convertible one..which I would much prefer..
If I went that route, then I would have nothing...and would be starting from scratch....in which case things would obviously be different.
anybody else know of any good sammys cheap in the NW??

--Berne

Originally posted by Berne
Anyone just get done swapping out a perfectly fine motor that they'd like to unload??


I have an engine for sale ...

My setup (for now) rebuilt 1.3, rebuilt trans, rebuilt carb, cal mini 5.8, stock ring &pinion with auburn limited slip, petroworks springover, 32 x 11.50 swampers on 15x8 rims with 2" backspace, = 75 miles / day driver @ 75 mph , low and slow in the dirt, goes anywhere I need to go ... for now :D

Dave