'86 Samurai Micro Expedition Rig

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
I got my little sammi, Rosie as she is so named, about 3 years ago and she has been a work in progress ever since. I am sure that she will always be a work in progress, which is fine by me! :smiley_drive: :safari-rig:




It had a few modifications done to it when I got it, the PO used it as his hunting rig occasionally, but not much else:

-15 Gallon gas tank upgrade
-2" Calmini shackle reverse lift
-1.6 8v Sidekick engine
-Homemade rear cage-ish thing

Then I started working on it, and making improvements where I saw the greatest need and where the funds were available:

-The 8v blew, so I scored on a 16v Tracker engine with wiring harness and everything else needed. I got a new Petrowerks mount kit for the engine and transmission to lower everything to make the engine fit




-1" body lift to help the engine fit
-Replaced the Transmission and Transfer case, both of which had not been rebuilt properly and blew up on me.




-I made a new rear bumper and rock sliders





-Spartan auto locker in the rear
-Stereo, most important improvement so far!
-Roof Rack
-100amp GM alternator
-Electric radiator fan
-Bedlined the outside




Everything has run great since the changes that I have made for about 2 years now, been driving every single day!

As for the future, these are some ideas I have:

-I will make a new front bumper with a winch on it
-All LED lighting
-Spring over lift (soon!)
-Spartan locker in front
-Dual battery setup
-The list will probably be added to!

And here she is today!




I also have a plan in the near future to build an expedition trailer, because camping with two people is hard with all the gear. We do a Suzuki camping trip in November in Eastern Oregon in the snow, so we have to carry a lot of gear to keep warm! :ylsmoke:
 

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Last edited:

Kmrtnsn

Explorer
I got my little sammi, Rosie as she is so named, about 3 years ago and she has been a work in progress ever since. I am sure that she will always be a work in progress, which is fine by me! :smiley_drive: :safari-rig:

It had a few modifications done to it when I got it, the PO used it as his hunting rig occasionally, but not much else:

-15 Gallon gas tank upgrade
-2" Calmini shackle reverse lift
-1.6 8v Sidekick engine
-Homemade rear cage-ish thing

Then I started working on it, and making improvements where I saw the greatest need and where the funds were available:

-The 8v blew, so I scored on a 16v Tracker engine with wiring harness and everything else needed. I got a new Petrowerks mount kit for the engine and transmission to lower everything to make the engine fit
-1" body lift to help the engine fit
-Replaced the Transmission and Transfer case, both of which had not been rebuilt properly and blew up on me.
-I made a new rear bumper and rock sliders
-Spartan auto locker in the rear
-Stereo, most important improvement so far!
-Roof Rack

Everything has run great since the changes that I have made for about 2 years now, been driving every single day!

As for the future, these are some ideas I have:

-I will make a new front bumper with a winch on it
-All LED lighting to reduce the work on the small alternator
-Spring over lift (soon!)
-Spartan locker in front
-The list will probably be added to!

I will add pictures soon to this to show what I am talking about, otherwise it's hard to see what's happening.

I also have a plan in the near future to build an expedition trailer, because camping with two people is hard with all the gear. We do a Suzuki camping trip in November in Eastern Oregon in the snow, so we have to carry a lot of gear to keep warm! :ylsmoke:

All that typing and not a single picture? Come on, man! Fix that!!
 

Rivers

New member
That's actually a really good looking Samurai. Wish I could find a clean one near me. Thanks for sharing!
 

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
I got pretty lucky with it. It had very little body damage and now that I have been maintaining it and doing a few drivetrain fixes, it runs like a dream as my daily driver and adventuring rig!
 

realwarrior

Realwarrior
Nice Clean Sami.
I've got one w/ 16v and auto tranny. I love that little booger. I've built 5 tracker/sidekicks and 2 sami's. Im subscribing to this thread. Thanks for sharing
 

AFBronco235

Crew Chief
VERY NICE! I've been looking for a similar project for my girlfriends DD. She wants a small 4X4 for her own, preferably one with better gas mileage.
 

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
VERY NICE! I've been looking for a similar project for my girlfriends DD. She wants a small 4X4 for her own, preferably one with better gas mileage.

I would highly recommend one for a small 4x4 project. It isn't as cheap as you would think (still not terribly expensive) and some parts might take a little bit to get/find, but in the end they are so much fun to work on! I have had mine as a DD and wheeler for years and it always gets from A to B.
 

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
Awesome Samurai! Glad to see another person camping out of their Samurai as well.

Yours as well! I have been following your thread! Been stealing some ideas :D It's always fun trying to get the gear for two people, which doesn't seem like a lot, until you try to pack it into a Samurai haha
 

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
I am very excited, I have a spring over kit on the way and some pieces for a minor engine rebuild! I will be posting as it goes soon!
 

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
SPOA

Alright! I have had all the pieces for the lift for a little while now.

SPOA parts.jpg

And I have been needing more flex for a long time!

Wheeling no flex.jpg

So I started with disassembly of everything.

no axles.jpg

Old parts.jpg

Empty rear axle spot.jpg

I also picked up a spare rear axle with a locker in it locally that I am going to swap into the front, because I already have an automatic locker in the rear.

Both rear axles.jpg

Not much progress, but cleaning and repainting things takes a long time!

To be continued!
 

CoolMooseMan

Samurai Investor
SPOA

So then it came to the leaf springs.

I got new bushings and all new greasable hardware, hopefully to make the bushings last a lot longer. Getting a 30+ year old bushing out sucks!

Pressing spring bushing.jpg

The I took the springs apart and cleaned them all off and repainted/put new wear pads and bushings on.

cleaning leafs.jpg

Old V New leaf.jpg

New blue paint for the shocks. That is the theme for the underside, black hammered paint, and a dark blue on a few things.



To be continued...
 

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