88 Suzuki Samurai Build 5//11

[ExpeditionBound]

New member to Expedition Portal. Been waiting couple years for a worthy rig to post, i've had a couple trucks and 4x4 van but all were vehicles I built and sold.
Bought a samurai while ago..been chipping away at the build since late February.
My build is kinda all over the map...but as the pics progress hopefully u can follow.
Anyhow here goes the pics kinda narrated.

This is when we first fell in love.


I had to ditch the stock steering stabilizer setup. The death wobble and wandering was no good for 40 mile a day 6 days a week.
Not my pic but comparison of stock to aftermarket.



Calmini Drop Pitman Arm and Steering Stabilizer Upgrade. No more death wobble!!! Please disregard the upside down sticker.





Lights were in order as im afraid of logging roads in the dark. Calmini light tabs and ProComp 8" 100watt spots.
FYI...suzuki put directional windshield mount screws...8 hour removal project. Not cool.

[ExpeditionBound]

So I had a StowMaster 5000 tow behind setup on front of samurai.

I drive 40 miles round trip 6 days a week.
All together the removable tow bar and frame mounted bumper was making me the SlowMaster (haha).
All together the setup weighed roughy 80lbs.

I put a craigslist ad looking for a fabricator to build me a bumper. Being very weight conscious i couldnt find any bumpers that suited my needs.

My sami is built for 80% daily driver and 15% logging roads and 5% gnarly trails. I dont need a 70lb 1/4 inch steel bumper to hit rocks 10mph with.

I got a response from Wes, an offroad fabricator out of Rochester, Wa...so I met up with him at his shop and was immediately blown away by his fab work.
Beautiful YJs 4 linked with coilovers!
Exo caged turbo toyota tacoma, linked, coiled and ready for BIG rocks!
It was like an amusement park i must say.

I gave him my basic vision of what i was looking for and dropped the samurai off for a makeover.

Most important things i wanted in a new bumper were LIGHTWEIGHT, grill protection, compatible with branch guide-wires and roof rack, winch ready, and LIGHTWEIGHT
So a couple days later i threw my stock bumper to the wind and left my sami in Wes' hands.


I bought a Superwinch Terra 45 series with sythetic rope that i left with my rig. He fabbed up a super trick winch mount and cradle on his magic CAD/Plasma Table.





The winch mounted up like a dream.

[ExpeditionBound]

The pics are of my garage by the way. NOT his magical domain comparable to Narnia.
The bumper came out looking like something better than i could ever describe.





Wes talked me into building the bumper into a 2 piece setup.
Keeping the winch and bumper shell seperate would make working on front end way less tricky not having a winch attached to bumper.
In 5 minutes the shell can be pulled off if need be. Leaving the winch wired up and mounted.

I opted to paint it myself tho and was giddy and couldnt wait to mount it up.

[ExpeditionBound]

Ever since Ive been reading through countless build threads and magazines I have seen guys flex testing their trucks with forklifts.
With a brand new fork lift at work an after work flex test session was a check on my to-do-list

Not too shabby for stock springs and 30 inch tires.





Not much compared to my buddys TJ with 2.5" lift and 33s.



So wrapping up the build on mostly the front end of the samurai I took it on a little trip to the backyard in capital forest on Weds 5/4/11
More pics will follow of day trips that went on while building since Feb.






Trail-side fire with beer and brats. Dog is enjoying a delicious pig ear.



Great pic of Mt. Rainier in the Distance while heading back to town and another week slaving away at the salt mine

[Bigfoot1963]

Nice build, I need to find a hardtop For my '86. Really like that bumper.

[theicecreampeople]

looks great ,the bumper rocks ...love these things ..when i was younger we took my buddies everywhere ,i mean everywhere ..once we got stuck in soft sand ,a few of us just picked it up ..lol..very cool rig

[Sebas]

Your Sami looks great and very clean!

do you have a more shots of the rear window?? mine is broken and need ideas




Greetings

[ExpeditionBound]

Last night i threw 2 more lights on the front of samurai.
Pair of 5 inch ProComp 55 watt lights that I will keep the covers off at all times.

Washington state you can only have 2 spotlights with covers off if they are below the windshield.

I usually put low watt spots on the front bumper due to:
rocks,
inexpensive to replace at $20ish each,
if youre cruising backcountry roads with them on and come around corner and meet a car they wont think theyre being abducted and swerve into the light.

I ran into a major snag putting the second light on.
Dead drill and no charger!!! I couldnt stand not completing project so dug around wire scrap box and built this.



10ft of cord will reach pretty far if i need a trail drill or another driver does. I used some mini clamps for battery terminals that i can extend another 10ft with my jumper cables.



Success! 2 more lights to help with my "feeeaarrrr of the dark!!" Bruce Dickinson knows what im talkin aboutl

[ExpeditionBound]

Your Sami looks great and very clean!

do you have a more shots of the rear window?? mine is broken and need ideas




Greetings

Bummer. I could take some pics sometime...
So your back window is broken or whole hatch?
If its window...make a pattern and buy some lexan or poly and pop rivit it together.
Kinda case by case dilemma.

[Sebas]

Bummer. I could take some pics sometime...
So your back window is broken or whole hatch?
If its window...make a pattern and buy some lexan or poly and pop rivit it together.
Kinda case by case dilemma.

thanks, my rear window broken before i buying the sami, and have a "homemade" rear windows and was not very well...