Recent content by stevec

The K6A is a 3 cyl., ~660cc engine, so about half the size of the 1.3L we got in the U.S., but with the turbo the power is about the same. Great little engine that Suzuki used in most of their vehicles back then. It was also a drivetrain option for the Caterham Seven. I wish we could get...

Less than 40 (mostly freeway) miles from home:

I'm not sure of your timeframe for purchasing, but have you checked into the new Bronco Sport? If they can come in below $30K like they claim, and have a real 4WD system, that could be a solid option.

Nice! Ours is AWD but we only had one engine choice, a 2.3T I believe. It isn't bad but bogs down pretty quickly with a full load.

We have an AWD 2017 Mazda CX-5 GT. Bought it new and 64K miles later not a single problem. Wouldn't take it on anything worse than a FS road but if that is all you are looking to do, then it'll do just fine. I don't remember a 250hp option, so that must be a new thing.

You might try ARB? Since Suzuki stopped selling vehicles in North America well before 2018, I can't be of much help on newer models.

If anyone watches Expedition Unknown, Josh Gates was driving one of these throughout the last episode (season 8, episode 2, "Searching For America's Lost Flight"). The episode aired Feb. 12th.

Since you won't be doing any rock crawling you should be fine. The weak link I've heard about is the aluminum front diff housing - if you change your mind and decide to wheel it hard, I'd suggest finding a steel one (out of an XL-7 I believe). You can also swap manual locking hubs on, but for...

IMHO, any year is a good year, especially prior to 2004. In 2000 you could have either the 2.0L 4 cyl. or the 2.5L V6 in the Vitara/Grand Vitara line. V6 has decent power but poor mileage (19-22mpg.) 2.0 is a little less power but great mileage (24-28mpg.) Both engines are pretty much...

As someone who owns two LJ10's, I can tell you they ARE street legal, even in California, because they were street legal when sold new. No restrictions on driving them on the freeway, although with a top speed of 50mph, you'll never see me driving mine on the freeway.

I ordered the Wraptor 2000 from Overland Pros back in early June, along with the walls to make an enclosure. I'm having some issues with them currently, but I will let you know how it works out.

I'm pretty sure you will need to fold a rear seat down to fit the ARB in, unless you are putting it in sideways. With the seat down you would have plenty of room for it. I don't have any pictures but I have friends who have had ARB fridges in the back of their Sidekicks.

If your Toyota regular cab 4x4 was too small then a Samurai probably isn't for you, but the 2nd gen (1999-2003) Grand Vitara or XL-7 might be a good fit. The GV with a 5 speed and the 2.0L will get 25+ mpg easily. The 2.5V6 is nice but we had an XL-7 with the 2.7 and only got 20-21mpg.

You most certainly are not crazy! I had a Kwik Kamp for years that I towed behind my Suzuki Samurai and LJ81. Weighed less than 300 lbs. empty. It came with 4.80x8 tires, which I quickly changed to 5.30x12. For what you plan to use it for, you shouldn't need to do much to yours. On mine I...

I would suggest doing some research before getting your bumpers. There are a lot of options out there these days, from a lot of vendors. I bought my rear Samurai bumper from ZOR a couple of years ago and love it. He has several different bumper designs, including the one I got that uses the...