1988 Samurai Tin Top.

[Toyman01]

I'm the new guy around and wanted to share my rig with you.


I started this build a couple of months ago so for starters I'll bring y'all up to date.

I bought this a couple of months ago as a backwoods camping rig. I get tired of noisy campgrounds and wanted to do some dispersed camping in the local national forest. This is how it showed up. The lift and tires were already done, the winch bumper was done, the interior was stripped and coated with bed liner. It has a 1.6L EFI engine out of a Sidekick rather than the 1.3L Carbed engine it came with.

I stared with the basics. Tune up, belts, hoses, and oil change. From there, it needed some gauges. The only working gauge was the fuel gauge. I like to know what's going on under the hood so I added these.

Next was navigation. I have a Nuvi that works pretty well on the street, but get it off the beaten path and it's looses it's mind. I also wanted a larger screen. Enter my Ausu 10" tablet running Backwoods Navigator Pro. It does a pretty good job. I have downloaded the Topo and Satellite imagery maps for my state so far, I will be adding the rest of the country as necessary. It takes up a good bit of dash real estate, but it's worth having detailed maps.

Next on the list was safety items. Flash light, fire extinguisher, tools, etc.

I also might need to take care of the odd bush or snake so I added this.

Next up was fuel, jack and spare tire. There was no where to mount it. So I built a swing clear rack for the back. It holds 5 gal of fuel, a high lift jack and will hold a spare tire as soon as the 5th wheel and new tires show up.

More to come...

 

[Toyman01]

I meant to add this photo to the last post. It shows how the rack swings clear so the rear door can be opened.

Next on the agenda was recovery. I don't have any friends that off road, so I need to be able to get myself out of a jamb. That meant mounting a winch. This one is rated at 8000 pounds. It should be plenty for my needs.

Next on the agenda was the axle gearing and the transfer case. The TC had a pretty good whine when I got it and needed to be addressed. I picked up a used one and swapped it in. While I was at it I extended the TC vent up into the engine bay to keep water out.

The axles had 3.73:1 gears. With the larger tires, 5th gear was useless. That meant re-gearing the axles. Both axles were also open diffs. I installed a set of 5.28:1 gears to solve the gearing problem. That should put my RPM range close to where it was from the factory. As much as I would love to have air lockers front and rear, that just wasn't in the budget. So while I had it apart, I installed a Spartan locker in the front axle. It won't be a good as air lockers, but it's better than nothing.

While the axles are out, I'm replacing the springs with Jeep YJ springs. They are softer than the factory Samurai springs, so they will ride better and do a better job of keeping all 4 tires on the ground. The rear axle is done. It required welding new front spring mounts in, and fabricating new shackles.

Shiny shackles fresh from the powder coat oven.

That's pretty much where I am so far. The plan for tomorrow is to finish up the front axle. While I have it out I am going to replace all the wheel bearings and knuckle seals. Those parts showed up today.

More to come as it happens.

 

[ttravis5446]

That's a nice samurai you have there. I always liked the tin tops as an expo rig but unfortunately I'm too damn big to drive one myself.

 

[zukrider]

ttravis5446, you would be surprised! they hold very big men quite well.

 

[Toyman01]

For some reason I've always been partial to small vehicles. My other money sink is a Triumph Spitfire. The sad part is I'm 6'2" and #270 so I don't exactly have lots of extra room in them.

The best part of the Samurai is it will fit down a fire break or ATV trail. That opens up all kinds of possibilities for camping and exploring.

 

[borison]

Looks great. Keep posting.

 

[khronus79]

is the white fb rx7 also yours??? Love the tin top, you mind sharing how much you paid for it????

 

[Toyman01]

Yep, the FB is mine as well. I road raced and autocrossed for 10 years before delving into the world of off road. The FB has a blown engine unfortunately and 12a parts are just about gold anymore. I keep thinking about an engine swap to a V6 or V8. Maybe.

Here's the Spitfire. It's also Mazda rotary powered and strictly a race car.

The tin top cost me a 8 X 20 enclosed trailer I no longer had a use for. The trailer was probably worth about $3500. Everything I've seen listed since is $4000 and up. I was pretty happy with the deal.

 

[EricM]

Zuk tin top. My favorite. With a family and a dog and a 4000 lb trailer just not an option for me. I am enjoying reding about your though, thanks for sharing.

 

[Toyman01]

That's another one off the list.

On board air. It's a necessity and a little plastic pump just wasn't going to cut it even if I could find a place to put it.

First up was where to mount it. Pitching a set of plastic air horns the PO installed and rearranging some wiring netted me a nice open fender under the hood. Air horns are fun, but I needed the space and the factory horn is tiny and just as loud.

Next up was separating the compressor from the engine heat so it wouldn't get cooked. Since I don't have a metal brake yet, I had to build a frame and screw the sheet metal to it.

And painted, bolted in and wired. The box is big enough to keep the hose and all the necessary fitting in it.

 

[SRN]

Very clean, I like it.

 

[fjatheart]

Very cool! Subscribed.

 

[Toyman01]

The brown Santa showed up today with presents.

Since I was already out in the shop, I got the spare tire mounted.

One step closer to hitting the trail again.

 

[eatthepeach]

It looks like you amputated the ditch digger since you last posted photos of the rear, too.

 

[Toyman01]

It looks like you amputated the ditch digger since you last posted photos of the rear, too.

It was in the way of the rear suspension and had to go. It was on the wimpy side and hung down way too far anyways. It will probably get another one eventually. I have plans for building a small expedition trailer.