RPS just picked up this little gem and I know absolutely nothing about suzuki's. If you guys were gonna start over, build from the beginning knowing what you know now, what would you do with this little stock gem. We are lookin for a very capable and practical wheeler. This is for a fairly new to off roading individual so we want this to be streetable and economical. :beer in advance and I am gonna start with my searching proicess ;) Just figured you guys might have fun fantasizing about starting over :flipoff2:

Keith give me a call.....or come over and check out the zuk....Ill show you what to do and what not to do!

Originally posted by RudeZuk
Keith give me a call.....or come over and check out the zuk....Ill show you what to do and what not to do!

Sweet. Thanks Shane. Between you and Donovon I am hopin to build this thing cheap and well from the start. Problem is I know nothin about them, and I need to learn stupid basics like bolt patterns and dumb stuff :laughing:

About how much do you want to spend? How i would build mine from scratch and cheap dont have anything in common :)

Honestly not too much. We want it to be a capable rig on 33's maybe. I am thinkin SOA, but what about axles? Are toyotas really the way to go? YJ springs? Are stock springs sufficient enough, or are they junk? What about gearing.....what is in itcase and diff wise? Ideally, I would like to go SOA, cut the fenders and dump 33's on it, but will those mini axles hold up? What other issues do they have? Steering probs? What breaks the most, etc? Thanks!

Originally posted by Keith Strong
RPS just picked up this little gem and I know absolutely nothing about suzuki's. If you guys were gonna start over, build from the beginning knowing what you know now, what would you do with this little stock gem. We are lookin for a very capable and practical wheeler. This is for a fairly new to off roading individual so we want this to be streetable and economical. :beer in advance and I am gonna start with my searching proicess ;) Just figured you guys might have fun fantasizing about starting over :flipoff2:

For a very steetable/offroad samurai, I would just do a Spring over with 31's and a GRSII(with 2LO option) and lockrights at both ends.

Will 33's kill those axles? We arent opposed to cuttin it up (as a matter of fact it is planned for this weekend :D ) but will those dinky axles handle 33's?

Originally posted by Keith Strong
Will 33's kill those axles? We arent opposed to cuttin it up (as a matter of fact it is planned for this weekend :D ) but will those dinky axles handle 33's?
Not if you wheel hard at all!!

if you want cheap, go toys with YJ's......very functional!

For a budget hardcore wheeler, here's what I would do:

YJ springs front and rear, SPOA, 32's, 15x8's with 2 inch backspacing, 5.38's and a 4:1 (or maybe stock gears and a 6:1?), and lock-rights front and rear.

I think this would be a real good set-up for some decent trails. I ran a ton of tough trails here in Colorado (Mt. Blanca, Independence, Holy Cross, etc) with a similar set-up and did really well. Simple and cheap. ~Steve

Ive been running 33's for 4 years on stock axles and have yet to break ANYTHING. Ive had birfield rings on my shelf for years waiting to break and put them in. But thats here in WA, i dont know what the wheeling is like in your area. Obviously in the rocky moab type areas zuk axles break left and right.


Here is my cheap zuk buildup. of course you can save money by fabbing your own parts.

YJ spring conversion SPOA
body lift or trim the fenders heavily to fit 33"s
all new shock mounts
longer shocks
longer brake lines
driveshaft spacers
2x sidekick front 3rd members with 5.125 gears
2x lockrites
4.16 or better tcase, easy to find used
xover steering
toyota power steering
beef up your tcase mounts
2" backspaced wheels to clear springs when turning
hand throttle
cage
winch and bumper to mount it to

Keith. Do yourself a favor and ditch the stock axles. I have stock axles w/33's and they work (with birfield rings a VERY light foot, and lots of worrying), but I would ditch them in a heart beat if I didn't have so much dough into them and they weren't relatively worthless as far as re-sale. Since you will be starting from scratch anyway, invest your money into Toyota or Waggy axles. Then, you have a platform with the sky as the limit. OR, buy my stock axles and fund MY dana 44's :D

I know that I am going to get FLAMED for this , but---
This is what I have and this is how it performs.

I started with a stock 1990 EFI
I built mine the begining of this summer.
Wagoneer springs front and rear, mounted springs as close to frame as possible and used 3" shackles. Had to extend front and rear frame 3 1/2 inches to mount springs. No body trim at all.
Am running 33x15 boggers- no contact-no bumpstops. Lots of flex.
My bumpers are made out of 2x4 tube as are the frame extensions. They are welded air tight so I can use them for air tanks foe my york air compressor.
I did my own driveshaft extensions. Lucked out on the rear. The front vibrates at about 20 mph in lo range.
I added a custom pan hard.
I need to put in hi steer to get rid of the major bump steer that I now have with the z-link.

Check it out. http://customzuke.bravepages.com/index.htm

I run a combination of mud and rocks. This machine is not driven on the road.

My axles are stock and I don't even have any birfield rings in them, although I do plan on putting them in. I just want to see how much abuse the stock setup can take. So far I am really impressed with how strong they really are. When I start breaking axles or birfields, I plan pn putting in 1980 -1985 Toy axles in.

As far as gearing and motor goes, It depends on the terrain that you are driving in.
If you run mud, The stock Zuke motor does not have the power to spin theese 33x15 inch meats fast enough without redlineing to properly clean the tread. The motor is red lineing to get you through the mud hole. First gear has plenty of power but no wheel speed in the mud and second almost has enough power and almost enough wheel speed. I have stock diffs. and a calmini 4.18 gear set in the t-case. I need to go lower.
This setup has enough power in first gear for the rocks and hills, but does not crawl slow enough in the rocks. I burn the clutch trying to go just a little slower.

Basically what I am trying to say is that,
If you are driving in the rocks, The stock motor has enough power IF you are running stock diffs. and lower than 4.18 in the t-case- Maybe a GRS 2.

If you are going to run mud, you are going to need more horsepower.

Cost:
Zuke- $500.00 from a junk yard. Needed an injector.
Calmini 4.18 gearset. $550.00
Steel- $200.00
Springs- Free
Brake lines $90.00 from napa
Welding cutting and grinding expendables $100.00
Cheep napa shocks. $48.00.
10 inch rims. $100.00
Used boggers and spare with rim $130.00
New warn m-8000 winch $660.00
Custom cut Glass for windshield $100.00


Total $2478.00

The real question is how hard are you going to wheel this????

Id go with some toy axles,stock gears Welded, maybe an ARB in the front for steering......Power steering from a kick, 6:1 case, some YJ springs, 2x4 bumpers and 1/4" sliders.........put some 33" boggers on some 10" wheels are call it good!!!!


This will get you a long ways!!!!


First gear 3.65x6.187(tcase, Sumo) x 4.10 (stock toy gears)

~92:1 with 33's......that isnt soo bad!!

Originally posted by RudeZuk
The real question is how hard are you going to wheel this????

Id go with some toy axles,stock gears Welded, maybe an ARB in the front for steering......Power steering from a kick, 6:1 case, some YJ springs, 2x4 bumpers and 1/4" sliders.........put some 33" boggers on some 10" wheels are call it good!!!!


This will get you a long ways!!!!


First gear 3.65x6.187(tcase, Sumo) x 4.10 (stock toy gears)

~92:1 with 33's......that isnt soo bad!!

That sounds closest to what we are lookin at. Are toys relatively easy to bolt up? I doubt we will spend themoney on cases and shit like that yet, he needs to elarn the hard way like we did :D However, this will be mainly for rockcrawling (Con, fordyce, hammers, etc) so it needs to be strong.

Originally posted by Keith Strong


That sounds closest to what we are lookin at. Are toys relatively easy to bolt up? I doubt we will spend themoney on cases and shit like that yet, he needs to elarn the hard way like we did :D However, this will be mainly for rockcrawling (Con, fordyce, hammers, etc) so it needs to be strong.

He wont be going very far with out a case and 50hp!!!!

But yes toys are cheap and easy to put in.....Front spring width on the axle on a toy i think is 29" and the stock is 28"....So just move the springs a bit when you put them in.

Originally posted by RudeZuk


He wont be going very far with out a case and 50hp!!!!


Why? Is the gearing that bad in a stock case? What am I lookin at in the diffs and case stock? Its an 87 if that helps.

Why? Is the gearing that bad in a stock case? What am I lookin at in the diffs and case stock? Its an 87 if that helps.

http://www.off-road.com/suzuki/samurai/86samuraispec.htm

Transfer gear ratios
Low (4WD) 2.268
High 1.409
Differential ratio 3.73:1

Let's just say they're not that good once you add big tires.

Thanks again for delivering the springs this weekend
:beer:

Sweeeeeet. Thanks for the link Mike....that helps with a few basic ??? I had ;)

I run 33" boggers on stock axles w/4.16 case and can do the con with no problems. It only can't do stuff like the sluice and such. If you're gonna spend the $$, go with the 6:1 case. Go to toy axles if possible in your budget. I'm going to Toys 4.88s and rear spool. The Sami axles will work OK open, but I took my locker out after breakin an axle. SOAC, shackle reversal, 2" body lift, rear springs up front. Flexes like crazy Just my .02$ Good luck

Originally posted by SJ410Bark
I run 33" boggers on stock axles w/4.16 case and can do the con with no problems. It only can't do stuff like the sluice and such. If you're gonna spend the $$, go with the 6:1 case. Go to toy axles if possible in your budget. I'm going to Toys 4.88s and rear spool. The Sami axles will work OK open, but I took my locker out after breakin an axle. SOAC, shackle reversal, 2" body lift, rear springs up front. Flexes like crazy Just my .02$ Good luck

I ran 33" boggers, 5:43's and a 4:1 case.....Broke plenty! 1 rear axle, 6 birfs, 2 r&p's, 1 hub, and 1 locker.......and a calmini steering setup.....change to toy's!!!

like I said, I'm going to toys, and he should too, if budget permits

years ago we ran the Rubicon in my totally stock LJ80 ( we bypassed around the little sluice ) this was with P235's, open diffs , 4 wheel drums 792cc's 30 horses...... and all our camping shit in the back....... Chris and I ( both of us are 6' 220 lbs ) pushed , dragged and literally picked up and moved that little thing until we got through....and then we drove it back to uncle tom's where the we parked the "tow rig" ( a Fj55 "cruiser ) I'd say before you cut it up and do any "neccesary" mods ..... go 'wheel it stock!..... then you truly appreciate how far you can take a Suzukihttp://bc4x4.com/fv/2000/ben/ben-3.jpg

Toys are the way to go. But if you treat your stock units gently and don.t let your wheels start hopping, especially while your stearing is at full lock, you shouldn't have a problem. Remember some people, (My son) can break anything. It doesn't matter how beefy it is.

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I picked up some Waggy axles and YJ springs for it. Now I gotta figure out gears (tranny and case) I am reading on the different swaps, and learning that I am confused :laughing: What recomendations do you have for gears that are cost effective and relatively simple swaps?

6:1 sumo case for the tcase gears......Keep the stock tranny.....And i went 5.38's in my waggys.....but if this is a trailer queen...go 5.89's!

That will put you about 130:1!!!

And step up to 35+ tires.....

Originally posted by RudeZuk
6:1 sumo case for the tcase gears......Keep the stock tranny.....And i went 5.38's in my waggys.....but if this is a trailer queen...go 5.89's!

That will put you about 130:1!!!

And step up to 35+ tires.....

This will be driven for the time being. The waggies have 4.11 and they have to stay for now with $$$ being an issue. How much does a 6.1 case run?

I think you can get the gears for about 800 bucks or something like that. Call brent from Trail Tough, he will treat you good!