expo'ing my samurai

[szabotage]

instead of posting another build in the vehicle specific section, I thought this would be the appropriate forum to show off my project

here's the truck:





this was my DD for 4 years, nothing more than SPOA, hi steer, front panhard, rear traction bar sitting on 29" BFG's powered by a cammed n headered 1.6L 8V EFI'ed. simple, yet capable setup

unfortunately, I had another project this past year and was desperate for a motor so instead of finding a new one, I opted to pull the one out of my tintop. for extra funding of that project, I sold the front axle to a friend so now I have this shell of a truck.



so now the fun begins!

[szabotage]

as much as I loved this lil truck, it didn't fit my needs any more than getting to work and back with the occasional weekend wheeling. the wheelbase made for a less than tolerable ride although this was the best riding samurai I ever built/ ridden in. although the motor was sufficient for hi speed road driving, I needed more, especially if I wanna load this thing up with gear to last me more than a weekend.

this was a build I've been planning for some time so here's what I accumulated over the past 2 years:

-pair of toyota axles
-22R engine
-W56 tranny w/top mount 23 spl. t'case
-OTT doubler toy to D300
-D300
-york air compressor
-YJ leafs
-34" LTB's

things I still need:

-driveshafts
-dana-to-toy driveshaft flanges
-lots of steel
-mechanical locker for the front
-selectable locker for the rear

here's what I had in mind; firstly I wanted to lengthen the wheelbase, something around the 100" mark, wanted a flatdeck with removable roof rack
slideout drawers or some sort of storage space. finally, comfort, reliability, and beef.

[szabotage]

here's the truck, got her gutted, chopped the center console, and motor is test fitted where I want it

[The Adam Blaster]

Is this rig going to be carrying only you and your junk/supplies?
Are you going to pack a normal ground tent?

I like the flat deck idea. What could be a possibility is mounting some drawers on the flat deck, then a frame on top of that to support an RTT if that's the way you want to go eventually...

Do you have an idea where the spare LTB is going to be mounted?

[szabotage]

I'm gonna go with an RTT on the roof rack. As for now, I think I'm gonna keep the flatdeck empty. once I start getting out with the truck, I'll figure out needs I'll have and where it can go. underneath the middle portion of the deck, I was thinking of a slideout cabinet coming out the rear. underneath the front of the deck, I was thinking of the fuel tank, airtank, and if room, small cabinets on both ends. for a spare, I was gonna use a 34" TSL SS and just leave it on the deck.

[loveofjazz]

I've just started looking over the expedition section. Yours is the first Samurai I've seen. I'm kind of partial to Zuks, and I can't wait to see how this build goes.

[szabotage]

thanks, I wasn't gonna bother updating the thread due to lack of interest but I'll post any requests you might have.

didn't bother with pics since I decided to ditch the idea of documenting the build, but so far I built my own twinstick shifter column, built the t'case mount and started on the tinwork. needs new inner rockers, floors and tranny tunnel. I also decided that the front clip wasn't worth salvaging so I think I'm gonna build one from tube and wrap it with sheetmetal to keep it somewhat stock/street friendly.

[ruffryder]

pictures are cool man. different is cool too. Post them up!
It should be pretty cool seeing you try and optimize the space / functionality of the vehicle.

just a noobs point of view though...

[wanderer-RRORC]

I thought you abandoned it!!!


PIX and updates man!! always!!!!!

[reddwarf]

22R in a Sami? Hell yeah wheres the updates?!

[BCzuk]

I agree, pics are cool. Im just finishing up a toy motor swap in my zuk too. We have similar ideas for a DD/wheeling/adventure zuk

[szabotage]

well I ain't got much but here's a few of the t'case. I know nothing about these dinosaurs and figuring out how to twinstick them was like learning how to walk again. either way I found out that the detent ball (or pill) was in the aluminum casting and was a PITA to remove. soon after finally removing it, it rolled off the table and dissapeared under the compressor.



here's the mount for the t'case. poly bushings on the ends and sidekick rubber body mounts as the isolators







I'll get some more up later tonight

[szabotage]

Originally Posted by BCzuk

I agree, pics are cool. Im just finishing up a toy motor swap in my zuk too. We have similar ideas for a DD/wheeling/adventure zuk

yeah, I've been following your build thread and been taking some pointers too! I love the longbody, it's coming along really well. I had(have) a LWB with the samurai super trim package back in the day. here's what it used to look like.



technically I still have it, but it ain't a samurai super nor a longbody anymore

[szabotage]

got more progress shots:

[szabotage]

some more progress:

built a brace when I chop up the rear half of the body



marked where the cut will go



new floor:









going christmas shopping, so I won't be in the garage til tomm. hopefully I'll have some new pics by then or the next day.

[szabotage]

more tinwork

[loveofjazz]

Post more pics, man. I'm lovin' it.

[szabotage]

thanks, I don't think I wanna do the other side yet. that took a lil longer than I wanted it to. I needed something more stimulating to do than tin work tonight

some demolition

[BCzuk]

Nice work on the sheetmetal

[sami-stine]

this thing looks good man. but i need to see more of how the engine and trans fit the frame how close the motor mounts are and the such. i will be watchin this to see what you do.......

here is what i am workin with here....





it wheels very well but the power is crap. and now there blown. any how keep the pics coming..

[szabotage]

sorry for the late reply, sami-stine I'll snap some shots of what I ended up doing.

[szabotage]

so I cut the rear section off and had to cut the roof section. why I did this, I'll update with pics to explain

[szabotage]

so basically, the body lines don't match up front to rear once I got the gutters lined up. the rear end gets narrower and had to weld in a strip.









on the roof line things also didn't line up and found that I had to notch a small v into the middle roof section on both sides and close it together to match the tapered slope on the rear section.

[szabotage]

since the interior sheetmetal didn't match up front to rear, I had the pass. side skinned for just the outer shell. I"m gonna reskin the interior sheetmetal once I get the rear door fit in and welded.

[loveofjazz]

Looks like you'll have a real nice Zuk once you finish up.
I know you weren't intending to document the build, but keep the pics and info coming if you can.

Thanks, and keep up the good work!