school me on trackers

[frumpy]

I'm thinking of getting a vehicle more purpose built towards harder trails. I'd like something easily available and light, so tracker seems to be the best bet (samurai's were a close second but seems a lot don't have power steering, lots of rust, higher prices, less deserable engines).

The plan would to be to strip it down to the bear essentials, possibly even lose some of the body, keep it low and run 31-33s with a welded rear and hopefully under 2500lbs. Just looking for any tips, ideas, suggestions, etc.

 

[kerry]

I've got a 96 Sidekick Sport. Same as a Tracker. It has the 1.8L engine. I like it because it has a timing chain instead of a belt. I think all the other available engines had belts.

 

[Hondarider]

I've had 2 Trackers...I think a 94 and a 96 maybe...I kept the second one for 109,000 miles and it was all but indestructible. IN 109K miles, I changed the oil every 3 thousand miles, shook out the air filter occasionally, changed the spark plugs twice, and the front brake pads once. THAT WAS IT.

In the meantime, I 4-wheeled it through all sorts of trails, towed a trailer with 3 dirt bikes, a trailer with 2 snowmobiles, a Sea Doo, and anything else I could think of...at highway speeds, through a foot of snow, or through the woods. It never missed a beat. The soft top design was better than the YJ of the same vintage.

Aside from the lack of creature comforts and minimal aftermarket parts available, I can't think of one bad thing to say about that lil white Tracker. Calmini was the only vendor I remember. There's a link on youtube that shows just how tough these little things are. Just add alcohol. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbxBFb3A5ak

 

[frumpy]

Thats good to hear, I want something that is going to last me a while especially considering it will be kept out of the elements and only used for what its built for.

Is under 2500lbs a realistic weight for a tracker and will 32-33s on the IFS hold up? I'd like to try to just trim the fenders to run the tires so it keeps the COG low but I'm not against a small lift or body lift.

 

[compactcamping]

Frumpy, IMHO Sidekicks and Trackers are great little rigs. Although for 30"+ tires and hardcore offroad use, the IFS will be your weak link.

Here is mine

Here are some Zuk forums to check out
www.zukiworld.com
bbs.zuwharrie.com
zookpower.ca

 

[frumpy]

The IFS is the only drawback in my eyes. I may just stick with aggressive 31s and see how that works. If the ifs seems to be a huge issue I would eventually do a SAS.

I'm not going to be strictly into rock crawling, more mixed trails that will have some rocks.

 

[chet]

they are great rigs. I have had a few and the last one was a 4 door with calmini 3" susp. and 3" body lift on 31's with rear locker and other crap. it went lots of places. I eventually wanted to go bigger as I constantly dragged the belly and tore crap off underneath even with a skidplate!

I wieghed the options of a toyota solid axle kit from trail tough and all the other work required and decided to put all that work into a LWB samurai.

My ultimate rig would be a 4 door kick/ tracker with toy axles, 33's and a vw 1.9turbo diesel engine.

 

[compactcamping]

A light foot on the gas will go a long ways in helping reduce IFS issues with the bigger tires.

 

[frumpy]

As ghetto as this looks, its pretty close to what I'd like to do.

 

[compactcamping]

I like the concept, actually I've been playing with a similar idea for a while. I'd start by removing the body completely, then caging and adding some fiberglass. The Ford terrain-osaurus rex concept car is the type of look I'd be going for.

 

[Needcaffine]

This might be an option or something for some ideas.

Based on a Vitara drivetrain, heard good reviews about them offroad.

http://www.blitzworld.co.uk/products.php?productId=111

 

[compactcamping]

Yes, I've seen the Blitz cars, their idea of leaving the firewall definitely would make the build easier. It's funny, just as with lots of the cool expedition gear, a Blitz car like kit is only available outside the US

 

[FreeManDan]

The SUV Gods have spoken to me, they command GM to remake the tracker on the colorado chassis

 

[87FoRunner]

The SUV Gods have spoken to me, they command GM to remake the tracker on the colorado chassis

This would be cool. :drool:

as long as it is similar to the originals lines and has the I6 out of the trailblazers. :smiley_drive:

 

[Rosco862003]

Lets keep this thread going. I am interested to see some pictures of any setups, or some out on the trail. I like the reliability and mpg of this little platform. I am dying to get out of my Oldsmobile and get into something that has 4wd and gets respectable mpg. Love Jeeps and Troopers but as a 23 year old struggling with limited funds, I find that this would fit my criteria a bit better.