The CaddyShack Project

DMiller

DMiller

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2014
Location
Charlotte, NC
1988 samurai. Picked up this supreme golf cart from a fellow member on NC4x4..... not currently running, but mostly complete. Needs A LOT of TLC. Also jumping through a few hoops with the title, but everyone involved has been a good help.

Never touched a samurai...not even a toyota... all new territory, so the build thread is here for input and advice from fellow members on the form. I have met and talked to a lot of great guys in the sam/yota world already and am thankful for their help.

Also, picked this up today, 1.6l 16v from another fellow member of NC4x4. Now she has the donor.... at 4000 rpm, it has a whopping 98 ft-lbs of gut busting torque...

Anywho...

tearing down my 1 ton buggy, selling some parts and using others for the samurai build. Current struggle is finding the time and space to part out my current buggy and build this one. Been garage-bunking up with my good friend Chris (offroad cowboy) who has been helping me out with entire process and storing my chevy, even from DAY ONE of our move down to NC 8 months ago!

More to come.
 

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What are your plans? I wheel a Samurai too. Ive had it 10 yrs. the 1.6 16v motor is the hot setup in a Sami so you are off to a great start. Ive got one in mine too.
 
Plans are to run FJ60s on 37" grooved military tires. It'll be 3 link front and 4 link rear, and dropped as low as possible. coils and air bumps. trying to get 25% compression, 75% droop. Its going to be tagged for over the road, so legal and SAFE are big ones. Woman and I want something small that we can 'putt' along in to the trails and go camping. Also, these things are CHEAP to maintain and repair, so we won't be dumping tons of $$$ just to play on the weekends. The way we look at it, we'll be able to get way more use out of the little samurai than we would our full width buggy.

Not looking on dumping a lot of money into it, idea is to stay cheap. Not going to cut corners, so if its not affordable doing it the right way, it won't be done.

What I currently have...
Complete Samurai
1.6l 16v
complete 3 link & 4 link
2 8-stud military rims (need 2 more)
Fj60's pending help to frankenyoter!
led lighting all around
winch, batts, disconnect, little odds and ends...

What I know I need...
Engine adapter
Toyota steering box and power steering pump?
Glass/windows
New top and seals
37" tires x 5
Probably another 3 8-stud rims with 5 offset inserts
6.5 case or gears
clutch
coils

I am sure there's a TON of other little stuff but, my focus is on tear down and a clean restoration.

going from a v8 to a 4L, auto to a manual, and rig that can do dam near everything to this little guy...so itll definitely give us a new challenge out on the trail.
 
The 16v is a mean little motor mini stuck axles will be plenty unless you already have the fj axles
 
the fj axles are already in the works.... if it was offroad only, I wouldn't be concerned, but I would like to have the rear offset differential to match the tcase to reduce driveshaft vibrations on the road.
 
Got something similar going together now. '87 Zuki w/ 1.6 in front of a Toyota w56. Dual cases 4.7 in rear case. FJ80 axles holding up 39" TSL's.

ol'Jeep's has it at his shop now.
 
I see you mentioned 6.5:1 TC gears. Those are what i have been running for years without any trouble. My TC is supported with a Rockrat TC bucket that i customized to use some HD mounts i borrowed from work. I also raised it up to get a flat belly.
 
Yes. 5 speed sami. I'm going to brake into the trans and make sure everything looks good, fluid change, then upgrade the clutch before bolting it to the engine. any aftermarket clutch recommendations?

Glad to hear the 6.5s are holding up. I know there's 6.4s as well. If theres a significant price difference, I'll probably go with the cheapest as long as I hear good things.

you had room to bring the case up or was there body interference?
 
With 37 you might want assist o can't remember witch one but one of the fj box's is forward swing and that helps alot with wheele base
 
DMiller said:
you had room to bring the case up or was there body interference?
Click to expand...

I beat on the floor board/tunnel area with a mini sledge hammer, but that is all. I didn't do any cutting. I raised it as much as I could, which was probably about 1.5". I think I raised it more on the passenger side than I did on the driver side. I had to drill a hole in the floor board to get to the driver side mount, but it is a big rubber bushing I borrowed from work, so it does not mount anything like the stock mounts. I read a lot of reports about the stock mounts not holding up to heavy abuse. It has been a long time, so I can't remember all the details. I definitely recommend some kind of a HD TC mount setup. There are more options on the market now compared to when I first built my Sami. I also ended up breaking the transmission mount and am running some kind of HD version I found on the internet. With the 16v motor and 6.5:1 TC gears, you are going to need good HD motor mounts, transmission mount, and TC mounts just like any other trail rig.

With 37" tires and a front locker, you are going to want hydro assist or full hydro.
 
DMiller said:
Yes. 5 speed sami. I'm going to brake into the trans and make sure everything looks good, fluid change, then upgrade the clutch before bolting it to the engine. any aftermarket clutch recommendations?

Glad to hear the 6.5s are holding up. I know there's 6.4s as well. If theres a significant price difference, I'll probably go with the cheapest as long as I hear good things.

you had room to bring the case up or was there body interference?
Click to expand...

To save you some money, skip on the sami trans. The donor kick you have can be used divorced and the sami intermediate shaft should slide on the output shaft with no issues. You will just need to make a trans mount for the back of it.

For the case, I would suggest running the ZOR Snatch or something similar. The more places/bolts on the trans you can connect to the stronger the case is. People have broken shafts and gears in them, but alot of that comes from the alum case flexing/rocking.


DMiller said:
What I currently have...
Complete Samurai
1.6l 16v
complete 3 link & 4 link
2 8-stud military rims (need 2 more)
Fj60's pending help to frankenyoter!
led lighting all around
winch, batts, disconnect, little odds and ends...

What I know I need...
Engine adapter
Toyota steering box and power steering pump?
Glass/windows
New top and seals
37" tires x 5
Probably another 3 8-stud rims with 5 offset inserts
6.5 case or gears
clutch
coils

I am sure there's a TON of other little stuff but, my focus is on tear down and a clean restoration.

going from a v8 to a 4L, auto to a manual, and rig that can do dam near everything to this little guy...so itll definitely give us a new challenge out on the trail.
Click to expand...


I know you have some wheels and the tires are typically cheap, but I would suggest running a different tire/wheel combo. The hummer wheels/tires are really heavy for a zuk. An alum wheel with BFG MTs would be an ideal setup to me. If you stick with 16.5s, try to find the BFG takeoffs. They tend to be a nicer, better offroad tire.

For a PS pump, many guys have ran the stock PS pump with a toyota box with minimal issues, but I think with your tire size, you will want a better pump. I would suggest using a TC pump. There are multiple brackets out there to mount this pump on your engine, unless you want to keep the AC. Then you will be on your own.

For the suspension, I would shoot for some more uptravel. While low is nice for offroad, having more uptravel will make road driving more comfortable. Many ppl have used JK coils with good success as they are progressive rate, but I bet they are a little heavy for this.
 
Good info guys, I really appreciate it. I'll look into some hydroassist setups and see what I can come up with. Not using a/c...Unless it's a tin top...I can't imagine running one. It would make a nice engine brake tho!

Ben, I was really interested in your trans idea since I know the sidekick is working smoothly..although after doing an hour long search I have only come back with negative results from multiple forums. With a 4wd trans, there will be a lack of lubrication. Most guys are saying stick with a 2wd trans or use a 4wd as a doubler. also...the year of my sidekick could mess up the possibility. I Read somewhere pre 95? is not the same spline count as a samurai Intermediate shaft. (Idk what year sidekick I bought...but i imagine it is a newer with the correct spline) Anyway..if you have some better information I'd definitely be interested.

I agree 100% on the wheels. I love the advantages of the military rims tho. Beadlocks and being able to change a tire in seconds on the trail...plus the price. It's just the weight that's the killer here... and I have to run beadlocks since I'll have to airdown aggressively with the mts for the light samurai. its too bad their so heavy. I'm going to ponder on this one a bit and do some craigslist searching.

Not sure on suspension yet. ideally, a soft progressive spring would be great.... but theirs not too many springs made for such a light vehicle. I haven't done any research yet...I'm fixing to do it soon. Also planned on running some irregularly valve bilsteins to slow down up travel, plus ofcourse the airbumps. I'm definitely not going to a 50/50 suspension cycle...but I could sacrifice lifting it up a little higher to maintain a somewhat comfortable street ride.
 
And another thought...just running the valved bilstiens and some air bumps, I could probably get away with using non progressive coil springs.... I imagine those would be easier to find with the correct spring rate.
 
DMiller said:
Good info guys, I really appreciate it. I'll look into some hydroassist setups and see what I can come up with. Not using a/c...Unless it's a tin top...I can't imagine running one. It would make a nice engine brake tho!
Click to expand...

I agree with not needing A/C, even though its still nice at URE in the summer with no top. I converted my A/C into OBA. It isnt the best, but will air up tires. Didnt cost much either.

Ben, I was really interested in your trans idea since I know the sidekick is working smoothly..although after doing an hour long search I have only come back with negative results from multiple forums. With a 4wd trans, there will be a lack of lubrication. Most guys are saying stick with a 2wd trans or use a 4wd as a doubler. also...the year of my sidekick could mess up the possibility. I Read somewhere pre 95? is not the same spline count as a samurai Intermediate shaft. (Idk what year sidekick I bought...but i imagine it is a newer with the correct spline) Anyway..if you have some better information I'd definitely be interested.
Click to expand...

The year they are referring to is all about the kick tcase output splines. Yours should be a 96+. The kick trans output splines are all the same as the sami. There are a number of guys running the kick 4wd trans with zuk case without issues. Not sure where the lubrication thing comes with the 5spd as the kick trans to tcase mating is dry. The output of the trans is sealed, and input of the case is sealed. The auto needs an adapter for the sami shaft to fit the seal correctly. If I was really worried about it, i would build a flat plate that bolted to the rear of the kick trans, and had a hole for the factory sami trans rear seal to go in to help support the intermediate shaft.

If you are planning to stretch the wb some in the rear, you could always run a homebrew doubler setup.

I agree 100% on the wheels. I love the advantages of the military rims tho. Beadlocks and being able to change a tire in seconds on the trail...plus the price. It's just the weight that's the killer here... and I have to run beadlocks since I'll have to airdown aggressively with the mts for the light samurai. its too bad their so heavy. I'm going to ponder on this one a bit and do some craigslist searching.
Click to expand...

With the zuks being so lite, alot of ppl run low air pressure without beadlocks on them. Unless you are wanting to run a big brake setup, even a 15" weld on beadlock setup would be light compared to a H1. The benefit of yota, is there are always wheels/tires for sale out there.

Not sure on suspension yet. ideally, a soft progressive spring would be great.... but theirs not too many springs made for such a light vehicle. I haven't done any research yet...I'm fixing to do it soon. Also planned on running some irregularly valve bilsteins to slow down up travel, plus ofcourse the airbumps. I'm definitely not going to a 50/50 suspension cycle...but I could sacrifice lifting it up a little higher to maintain a somewhat comfortable street ride.
Click to expand...

Here's a link about guys running coils on them: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/suzuki/949618-samurai-coil-suspension-help.html. While it would be an adjustment for the trail, you could run jack bolts on your upper spring mount. That way you could lower the rig for the trails and jack it higher for the street. With custom valved shocks and air bumps you could get away with little uptravel but i dont think anything off the shelf will be setup for that. With the air bumps you likely should need to have a progessive rate setup, esp with low uptravel, you could set your bump to be your 2nd rate. Remember though, unless the coil springs bottom when the bump hits, you will be in a combined rate scenerio with the 2 of them, but the bump with be a rising rate spring.
 
Im pickin' up what your putting down on the kick trans, and it makes sense. I will have to find a more recent/reliable write-up.

I was thinking about the doubler, but, 'eh... I can always keep the tracker case and upgrade down the road if I feel necessary. But yes, its going to be moderately stretched, but nothing too crazy.

Ill explore the wheel world a bit more and see what I can come up with before going any further with rims and tires.

I also stumbled upon those QA1s later in the day, seems like that's the way to go. Definitely going with the jack bolt adjustments front and rear. Not sure how the air bumps will fall into place yet, I have a feeling that will become a trail and error adjustment while on and off road.
 
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