1988 Samurai Tin Top.

[Toyman01]

Mr Ed, sorry I missed responding your post. The engine swap used the Samurai transmission and transfer case and a adapter plate.

The main reason I did a diff gear swap is the 5.38s 3rd members came with the Samurai when I bought it. At the time I figured a 3800 rpm cruise wouldn't be too bad. I was wrong about that. It would be acceptable for a trailer queen, but not for a adventure traveler.

My thought for doing a diff gear swap again are as follows. The 6.5 TC gear set, which is what I would need, is $600. They would give me a 3051 rpm cruise at 55 mph. The 4.57 diff gears are $378 for both. They would give me a 3110 rpm cruise at 55. The diff gear swap will also correct my speedometer. Granted the TC gears would give me a better low range gearing, but I'm not going to be doing a lot of rock crawling with this rig.

 

[mr_ed]

Gotcha. Well it sure is a nice Samurai man! I'm jealous of the lack of rust!

Ed

Mr Ed, sorry I missed responding your post. The engine swap used the Samurai transmission and transfer case and a adapter plate.

The main reason I did a diff gear swap is the 5.38s 3rd members came with the Samurai when I bought it. At the time I figured a 3800 rpm cruise wouldn't be too bad. I was wrong about that. It would be acceptable for a trailer queen, but not for a adventure traveler.

My thought for doing a diff gear swap again are as follows. The 6.5 TC gear set, which is what I would need, is $600. They would give me a 3051 rpm cruise at 55 mph. The 4.57 diff gears are $378 for both. They would give me a 3110 rpm cruise at 55. The diff gear swap will also correct my speedometer. Granted the TC gears would give me a better low range gearing, but I'm not going to be doing a lot of rock crawling with this rig.

 

[tommyp]

Sweet rig. What size tires are you running?

 

[Toyman01]

The tires are 285/75-16s. That puts them right at 33" in diameter.

 

[Toyman01]

Nothing new but I have put some miles on it.

I put about 150 miles on it this weekend. Exploring around home has been a lot of fun.

Here's a teaser.

The rest of it is here.

Ill be adding to that thread as the miles add up. I'll be adding to this one as the Samurai evolves.

 

[Hodaka]

Cool pics! The only things around here that old are rocks, some of the trees, and the odd pictograph.

 

[fjatheart]

Very cool. Subscribed.

 

[Toyman01]

I have added several circuits to the electrical system to power the air compressor, inverter, etc. When I wired them I used inline fuses and tied them straight to the battery. Elegant it wasn't, even if it was serviceable. I replaced all the inline fuses yesterday evening with this.

This, being a auxiliary fuse panel for a boat. It's mounted under the hood right beside the battery. Since it's a marine fuse panel, all the hardware is stainless.

One more little thing crossed off the list. :sombrero:

 

[JCMatthews]

Had a friend who had a Sammy back in high school. Loved that rig. I'd love to have one as clean and nice looking as yours.

 

[Toyman01]

Another update.

I've been hauling a canoe on the roof racks some, but if the family wants to go I need to haul two canoes, life jackets, cooler, and 4 people. That means hauling a trailer and that means I need a hitch. Unfortunately, I cut off the original hitch because it interfered with the rear shackle mounts. Time to dig out the welder. :ylsmoke:

I wanted a bolt on hitch that would be durable enough to be my rear tow point as well as accept a receiver mounted winch. This is what I built.

It started out life as a hitch for a Chevy Venture. It was 1/2 inch too wide for the Samurai frame. A little cutting and welding solved that problem.

It mounts up under the bumper nicely and is held on by 4 grade 8 1/2" bolts. It should be plenty strong enough for anything I use it for.

The trailer I will be towing is this one. It was acquired from a friend for free. Originally it hauled kayaks. I will be converting it to a camping/canoe hauler. It will be going under the knife soon. I will probably do a separate build thread for it.

More to come as it happens.

 

[krl81]

Nice! I will follow with interest.

 

[rabies]

very nice. i spy a kitty kat.
the plate the hitch ball bolts to, i would weld a gusset from it to the square tubing that slides into the receiver dealy. can tell its slightly tilted down

 

[Toyman01]

very nice. i spy a kitty kat.
the plate the hitch ball bolts to, i would weld a gusset from it to the square tubing that slides into the receiver dealy. can tell its slightly tilted down

That's my generator moving hitch. It was the only trailer I had with a 1 7/8 coupler. The camping trailer will probably end up with something like this.

 

[Toyman01]

Oh, and the cat is a stray that hangs around my shop, probably because I keep feeding him. :sombrero:

 

[krl81]

Either that or it likes your Suzuki.