Got my new vehicle

[DieselScout]

The IH SV series is sort of like the Ford FE series. Serious fuel pigs.

LOL yeah, back in the age when fuel was cheap and engineering was expensive. We often joke IH stands for "It's Heavy."

 

[Redcap]

LOL yeah, back in the age when fuel was cheap and engineering was expensive. We often joke IH stands for "It's Heavy."

FE stands for "Fuel Eater".

 

[Muddslinger12]

Get Toyota axles (81-85 solid front axle) and 1st or 2nd gen toyota p/u or 4runner rear. Also could drop a 22re or 22r and be loving life extra Horses and still good mileage. The yota axles are WAY stronger to handle the extra power from the moter (The 22re is like the ruger 1022 of motors!! Super easy and cheap to build up and customize) As well as tons of options for aftermarket gears, lockers etc. for the axles. Plus it would widen in up beautifully. Just my two cents but Im a total toyota freak (and fords!) My Baby is a 86 4runner My Beast is a 97 Ranger (last year of TTB (Translation=bolt in Solid Axle Swap!)

Oh yeah YES the ranger with 33s and 6 inch lift follows every nook and cranny only place in really stresses me out (actually almost scares me sometimes) is hwy 30 to Astoria its tried to throw me off the side of the road a few times now

 

[Redcap]

Get Toyota axles (81-85 solid front axle) and 1st or 2nd gen toyota p/u or 4runner rear. Also could drop a 22re or 22r and be loving life extra Horses and still good mileage. The yota axles are WAY stronger to handle the extra power from the moter (The 22re is like the ruger 1022 of motors!! Super easy and cheap to build up and customize) As well as tons of options for aftermarket gears, lockers etc. for the axles. Plus it would widen in up beautifully. Just my two cents but Im a total toyota freak (and fords!) My Baby is a 86 4runner My Beast is a 97 Ranger (last year of TTB (Translation=bolt in Solid Axle Swap!)

Oh yeah YES the ranger with 33s and 6 inch lift follows every nook and cranny only place in really stresses me out (actually almost scares me sometimes) is hwy 30 to Astoria its tried to throw me off the side of the road a few times now

You obviously mean the smallblock Chevy.

 

[Muddslinger12]

Yeah they both are super cheap to build (oddly the chevy 350 is cheaper) But I aint a chevy person myself unless we are talking bout a 69 Cheyenne jacked up sky high with a 454 or a Old Chev muscle car Especially (55 to 57 2dr hardtop) But those are way out of my budget. I woud much prefer a Ford or Toyota of any year.

For this vehicle I would love to see it with a Chev 350 pushing some toyota axles I seen one on CL a while back and it looks like one mean machine! But just the same regeared axles with a 22re would be fun, practical, economical, and go anywhere you pointed it (as long as you can keep it upright lol) but the wider wheelbase will help that.

Like many others said dont go overboard on the lift sure I will be the first to admit it looks cool if done right outright Bad @ $ $ but on the trail its not gonna help much if the center of gravity is so high you cant keep the wheels on the ground. If you can widen the track width (off set rims, wheel spacers, or axle swap) and keep it as close to stock height as possible while being able to clear 31s (much bigger will just suck your MPG and it will feel gutless) (Also going up to 31s should give you a wide variety of tires to choose from that best suit YOUR needs) Whats the point in HUGE tires if you cant spin em? It will help its "stance" and lower the COG and be a VERY highly capable off road AND ON Road as well

 

[techieguy]

One thing I dont like about it is the ride quality on the freeway. It wants to follow every rut and crack, which is a little nerve wracking, especially after years behind the wheel of a big heavy pickup. Will larger tires and a slight lift improve this phenomenon or make it worse? Do jeeps and other short wheel base vehicles do this too?

My FJ40 was horriable as well when it was stock, like your Sami the front shackles are in front of the axle which is a poor design! By moving the shackles behind the axle you will have less wandering /tracking, smoother ride over bumps railroad tracks. There are bolt on kits for your Sami... I would avoid shackle lifts especially front.

I would rate the shackle reversal one of the top three mods I did to my FJ40 (Disc brakes all the way around, shackle reserval and power steering being the top three)

 

[DieselScout]

My FJ40 was horriable as well when it was stock, like your Sami the front shackles are in front of the axle which is a poor design! By moving the shackles behind the axle you will have less wandering /tracking, smoother ride over bumps railroad tracks. There are bolt on kits for your Sami... I would avoid shackle lifts especially front.

I would rate the shackle reversal one of the top three mods I did to my FJ40 (Disc brakes all the way around, shackle reserval and power steering being the top three)

It has less to do with the shackle and more to do with the caster angle of the front knuckle. While does make the ride a bit more choppy as the axle swings forward instead of back when the springs are compressed. However, if you're trying to climb an obstacle it forces the tire into it and gives better traction. My Scout, in fact all Scouts are shackle forward and while they don't handle like a modern vehicle they are not dangerous. Not the best comparison because of the weight and wheel base differences.

 

[CleverName]

I don't know too much about the Sami's but if it's an 88 it should have some form of fuel injection on it. Seems like swapping to a carb, while bumping up the power may kill the mileage you love so much. With the big thirsty IH V8's I deal with, putting on a very rudimentary TBI (fuel injection) system on it will improve you mileage by quite a bit. The other great thing about it is while off roading you don't have to worry about running the engine on steep and off camber angles. With an FI system it will run. With a carb it may or may not, and if the engine isn't running you lose your power steering and power brakes. Can make an interesting situation turn terrifying very quickly.

Mine currently is carbureted. The carb is the most ridiculously over-engineered thing I have ever seen, with a rats nest of vacuum hoses that I would like to get rid of at the soonest opportunity. Im hoping a simple weber swap woll do that.
Today I bought a set of Wildcat 215/75/15s from a buddy at work and bolted them on. They fit under the stock chasis with room to spare. RPMs are a little lower on the freeway, but so far I've not had any issues. They look great and are very grippy. I cant wait to try them out in mud!

 

[Redcap]

Mine currently is carbureted. The carb is the most ridiculously over-engineered thing I have ever seen, with a rats nest of vacuum hoses that I would like to get rid of at the soonest opportunity. Im hoping a simple weber swap woll do that.
Today I bought a set of Wildcat 215/75/15s from a buddy at work and bolted them on. They fit under the stock chasis with room to spare. RPMs are a little lower on the freeway, but so far I've not had any issues. They look great and are very grippy. I cant wait to try them out in mud!

Sounds like you have a Hitachi carb currently? A Weber will be a nice upgrade for your Sami. I ran DGV 32/36s on Subaru EA81/82s for years and they are great. They are incredibly simple carburetors too.

 

[coastal steelheader]

Hate to be the bearer of bad new......but you have just purchased one of the if not the most unsafe sport utilities ever made.....my best friend had one many years ago, and rolled it on a dry surface doing 45 mph..... This is because of the shorted wheel base and stance of the car compared to it's height.....please please please do not get bigger tires or raise it up as it will add tremdiosly to this tipping over factor.....please do some research and look up some more info on the vechile you just purchased...there's lots of story,consumer reportsand lawsuit, ect,ect....here's a start


Consumer Group Asks Recall Of Suzuki Samurai as Unsafe - NYTimes.com

The only thing wrong with the Samurai's are the clowns who can't comprehend that they aren't driving a mustang and roll the damn things.

 

[CleverName]

Weber carb kit ordered! That was next on my list of mods, along with installing header. Should be here next week. The stock carb has already had 2 vacuum leaks, and the choke isnt working properly. It is infuriating to work on and chokes up the engine bay, so out it goes and in goes the weber!

 

[sneakboxer]

Sweet rig! I always wanted to get one to swap a VW diesel 1.6 in. Talk about a crawling machine. ACME ADAPTERS Suzuki Samurai Turbo Diesel
Enjoy

 

[Redcap]

Weber carb kit ordered! That was next on my list of mods, along with installing header. Should be here next week. The stock carb has already had 2 vacuum leaks, and the choke isnt working properly. It is infuriating to work on and chokes up the engine bay, so out it goes and in goes the weber!

Take pics and document your install. Good luck!

 

[KalamaMark]

Weber carb kit ordered! That was next on my list of mods, along with installing header. Should be here next week. The stock carb has already had 2 vacuum leaks, and the choke isnt working properly. It is infuriating to work on and chokes up the engine bay, so out it goes and in goes the weber!

I ran a Weber on my tintop commuter. It was infinitely easier to work on and tune. I did see an increase in performance, but no increase in fuel economy. My only real gripe with the Weber carb was that the float bowl vents to the throat. I had issues with fuel slosh flooding the motor at the most inopportune times when wheeling...hillclimbs when you hit a rock or root, off camber bounces, etc. If I dropped the fuel level in the bowl low enough to solve this, I ran into fuel starvation issues instead.

I don't ever think I fully cured the issue, but I'm sure there is a fix on the Zuk forums by now.

 

[pdxcat]

My first car was a Suzuki Samurai. It was definitely not the best choice for the Higway, or for trying to be romantic with the ladies, but it climbed like a mountain goat. It was a very fun car to drive off road and easy to fix and maintain as well.
I wish I had kept it as a second or third car.

 

[Muddslinger12]

Yeah I think it would be sweet as a wheeler/off road only type rig they are really the poor mans side by side you could buy and build it to your style/needs for much less than a new side by side plus if you roll it, just roll it back over roll a 10,000 plastic side by side ehh need I say more....

That diesel conversion is sweet! Nothing quite like the torque of a diesel...Just what you need for a crawler! geared right you could almost idle over anything. (much like a 22re yota!) Plus not explosive like gas and much more efficient!

I personally love the idea of toyota drivetrain Sami!

 

[CleverName]

Got the Weber. Im going to try to get it in this weekend. Any ideas for an overhead rifle rack?

 

[CleverName]

Got the Weber installed. Instal went smooth. The hardest part was removing all the extra emissions crap from the stock carb. Man, what a difference. It idles smoother, more power and torque (still not a lot) the choke works better and it reaches operating temp quicker. next step is to install this header.

 

[Redcap]

Got the Weber installed. Instal went smooth. The hardest part was removing all the extra emissions crap from the stock carb. Man, what a difference. It idles smoother, more power and torque (still not a lot) the choke works better and it reaches operating temp quicker. next step is to install this header.

Soak the bolts/studs with a penetrating oil for a couple days prior to the attempt. Snapping one in the head or pulling threads out sucks.