Project light and low Samurai buggy

drkelly

drkelly

Dipstick who put two vehicles on jack stands
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Oak Ridge/Stokesdale, NC
I figured that I would start a build thread on this website since I spend so much time on here and there are so many knowledgeable people on here who can help. This site is also SUPER easy to upload pictures. Here is some history on my Samurai. I bought it 100% stock in March of 2005 for $800 from a guy up in Reidsville. I wheeled it stock several times over those first couple of years before starting the build process. That build was detailed in a thread on Zuwharrie.com: Another virtual lift

This build will be VERY slow.

Here is a picture of it not long after I bought it in the spring of 2005:

Samurai stock.jpg
 
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My neck hurt for a week after my last wheeling trip to the Flats in May of 2016, so I decided that it was time to build my Samurai into a buggy with air shocks and suspension seats for a much better ride.

Here is the build plan:
- Tacoma rear axle, non-elocker version (60" WMS, stock 4.30 gears), welded
- Home made modified stock Yota front housing that will be 5" wider (61.5" WMS), Lock Right
- Custom length RCV axle shafts
- 36-37" tires
- 15x8 aluminum wheels
- 4 link rear
- 3 link front
- Full hydro steering with double ended cylinder and Front Range Offroad keyed steering arms
- Suspension seats
- Fox air shocks
- New frame from engine mounts forward
- New frame from behind the seats rearward
- New cage
- Aluminum fuel cell/tank
- LOTS more wheelbase (stock Samurai is 80"), LOL, 102-108"

Here is what it looked like before I started taking it apart. I wheeled it like this for about the past 6 years.

Samurai end of days 1.jpg


Samurai end of days 2.jpg


Samurai end of days 3.jpg
 
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I ordered the housing spacers from Mayhem Metal Works (3" for the short side, and 2" for the long side). A stock Toyota front WMS is 56.5", NOT 55.5" that every website on the internet states. This front end will be 61.5" WMS to match with the Tacoma rear (60" WMS). I did not want to run wheel spacers or 2" back spaced wheels. I did that on my Samurai, and I never liked the way it felt, plus it is hard on everything due to the very large scrub radius:

Yota housing spacers.jpg


Spacers pressed into the housing. I am planning on having someone build a truss. I don't think I would trust this housing from bending without one. I have ordered a custom length set of axle shafts from RCV.:

Toyota font axle with spacers.jpg
 
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Here is the rig at ride height (17.5"-18" belly). I am trying to figure front axle placement a bit.

Ride height.jpg


This is with the front axle 8.5" forward from stock and about 4.5" up from ride height. The radiator is the limiting factor. I'm trying to decide if I should replace the radiator with something shorter and wider so I can achieve more up travel, or just go with this.

Front axle to lower radiator hose.jpg
 
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I came off the cash for some good seats in hopes that they provide a soft ride for my bad neck. They are NOT mounted yet.

Corbeau seats.jpg
 
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I ended up removing the dash, all the HVAC equipment, and cutting off the metal lip above the cowl. I'm considering ditching the stock steering column and going with a simple setup with removable steering wheel. Now that I have sat in the new seats, I am worried that I won't be able to get in and out of the thing if the steering wheel is in the way.

Dash and HVAC removal.jpg
 
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The lower suspension links will be rear axle track bars off 18 wheeler trucks because they were free. I have two different sizes of these things. These are the smaller of the two, and they are still way bigger than what is needed for a Samurai. They measure 3-3/8" in diameter. I've actually considered not using them and going with normal rod ends just for packaging concerns on the belly of the rig.

Here is what they look like stock:

Volvo track bar.jpg


I cut the ends off them, and drill a 5/8" hole. Next I will cut them in two leaving about 3-4" of shaft on each joint that will go inside a piece of tube.

Volvo track bar cut and drilled.jpg
 
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drkelly said:
Here is the rig at ride height (17.5"-18" belly). I am trying to figure front axle placement a bit.

View attachment 232052

This is with the front axle 8.5" forward from stock and about 4.5" up from ride height. The radiator is the limiting factor. I'm trying to decide if I should replace the radiator with something shorter and wider so I can achieve more up travel, or just go with this.

View attachment 232053
Click to expand...
There are a number of guys on pirate running a civic rad with some luck. I am in the middle of the same decision myself.

Keeping the 16v? 6.5s & 5.29s?
 
paradisePWoffrd said:
There are a number of guys on pirate running a civic rad with some luck. I am in the middle of the same decision myself.

Keeping the 16v? 6.5s & 5.29s?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on the Civic radiator. I will investigate that. Now that you mentioned it, I remember reading about a few guys using it, but I assumed it was for cooling purposes, and never realized that it might be for space reasons. The stock Samurai radiator is almost 18" from top of tank to bottom of tank. It has a good shroud and fan setup. I have never had any cooling problems with my rig even when wheeling in 100 deg heat at the Flats 2-3 yrs ago, so I am not motivated to change it for cooling reasons.

I am keeping the 1.6 16v motor for now. I may swap it for a Suzuki Aerio 2.3 motor some day (5-10 yrs from now?) The 1.6 16v motor in my Samurai only has about 75,000 miles on it and runs great. It moved my light samurai around pretty good. I am planning on keeping this buggy version as light as possible, so I am hoping I will remain content with the 16v for at least a little while. I am sure that once I ride in my friend Adam's Sidekick buggy with his turbo 2.0 that my 16v is going to feel inadequate, LOL.

I've currently got 6.5:1's in the TC and am keeping them. I ran the stock Samurai 3.73 axle gears with 34" LTB's, and the gearing felt pretty good on and of road. The Tacoma rear end that I am using has 4.30 gears, and I am trying to find a solid axle 4.30 third for the front. I think that gearing should be fine with a 36-37" tire (It will actually be just a little lower). 1st gear with the 6.5:1's is ridiculously low. Unless I was doing some technical crawling, I usually started out in 3rd gear, and I actually did some hill climb assaults in 4th gear.
 
Awesome!! I've always had a love for these things.
Not sure if it would be that much of an upgrade but the sidekick 2.0 (turbo) is a screamer.
 
drkelly said:
Thanks for the tip on the Civic radiator. I will investigate that. Now that you mentioned it, I remember reading about a few guys using it, but I assumed it was for cooling purposes, and never realized that it might be for space reasons. The stock Samurai radiator is almost 18" from top of tank to bottom of tank. It has a good shroud and fan setup. I have never had any cooling problems with my rig even when wheeling in 100 deg heat at the Flats 2-3 yrs ago, so I am not motivated to change it for cooling reasons.

I am keeping the 1.6 16v motor for now. I may swap it for a Suzuki Aerio 2.3 motor some day (5-10 yrs from now?) The 1.6 16v motor in my Samurai only has about 75,000 miles on it and runs great. It moved my light samurai around pretty good. I am planning on keeping this buggy version as light as possible, so I am hoping I will remain content with the 16v for at least a little while. I am sure that once I ride in my friend Adam's Sidekick buggy with his turbo 2.0 that my 16v is going to feel inadequate, LOL.

I've currently got 6.5:1's in the TC and am keeping them. I ran the stock Samurai 3.73 axle gears with 34" LTB's, and the gearing felt pretty good on and of road. The Tacoma rear end that I am using has 4.30 gears, and I am trying to find a solid axle 4.30 third for the front. I think that gearing should be fine with a 36-37" tire (It will actually be just a little lower). 1st gear with the 6.5:1's is ridiculously low. Unless I was doing some technical crawling, I usually started out in 3rd gear, and I actually did some hill climb assaults in 4th gear.
Click to expand...
I think that most of the 4runner elockers were 4:30 gear so if you wanted a selectable locker for the front just find a 4runner 3rd

Sent from my Z963U using Tapatalk
 
drkelly said:
Thanks for the tip on the Civic radiator. I will investigate that. Now that you mentioned it, I remember reading about a few guys using it, but I assumed it was for cooling purposes, and never realized that it might be for space reasons. The stock Samurai radiator is almost 18" from top of tank to bottom of tank. It has a good shroud and fan setup. I have never had any cooling problems with my rig even when wheeling in 100 deg heat at the Flats 2-3 yrs ago, so I am not motivated to change it for cooling reasons.

I am keeping the 1.6 16v motor for now. I may swap it for a Suzuki Aerio 2.3 motor some day (5-10 yrs from now?) The 1.6 16v motor in my Samurai only has about 75,000 miles on it and runs great. It moved my light samurai around pretty good. I am planning on keeping this buggy version as light as possible, so I am hoping I will remain content with the 16v for at least a little while. I am sure that once I ride in my friend Adam's Sidekick buggy with his turbo 2.0 that my 16v is going to feel inadequate, LOL.

I've currently got 6.5:1's in the TC and am keeping them. I ran the stock Samurai 3.73 axle gears with 34" LTB's, and the gearing felt pretty good on and of road. The Tacoma rear end that I am using has 4.30 gears, and I am trying to find a solid axle 4.30 third for the front. I think that gearing should be fine with a 36-37" tire (It will actually be just a little lower). 1st gear with the 6.5:1's is ridiculously low. Unless I was doing some technical crawling, I usually started out in 3rd gear, and I actually did some hill climb assaults in 4th gear.
Click to expand...

The civic rad is smaller, can't recall if it's width or height. A few said they had coming issues with it, but that was in summer desert conditions.

There are a few guys ive seen migrating to dual yota cases vs the 6.5. The gearing options of the yotas seem to be the reason. Doesn't seem like cost effective if you already have the 6.5s.

A good 16v has almost as much power as the worn out 22r. Throw a turbo on it or 2.3 in there and you'll be good, imo.
 
A 4.30 8 inch third is going to be hard to find. I think most of the 1st and 2nd gen auto 22R 4Runners were 4.30 as well as the 3rd gen with the v6. I can't remember if it's easy it possible but I'd look into an 8.4 (the non-TRD axle) third conversion.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
I rode with you at that open ride... and I can vouch for this not being a super soft ride...
but this thing just goes places you would not expect.. excited to see where it will go when you finish it.
 
XJsavage said:
Awesome!! I've always had a love for these things.
Not sure if it would be that much of an upgrade but the sidekick 2.0 (turbo) is a screamer.
Click to expand...

A turbo 2.0 would be a HUGE power increase. Here are the stock numbers I have researched:

1.3 carbed Sami = 58hp
1.6 8v Kick/Track = 80hp
1.6 16v Kick/Track = 95hp (what I've got)
2.0 Kick/Track = 130hp
2.3 Aerio = 155hp (what I want some day)
 
Bhudgins said:
I think that most of the 4runner elockers were 4:30 gear so if you wanted a selectable locker for the front just find a 4runner 3rd

Sent from my Z963U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That is a good idea. I've got a Lock Right for the front, but if I could find a reasonably priced 4.30 geared E-locker third from the rear of a Tacoma, I would buy it and sell my Lock Right.
 
Chris_Keziah said:
A 4.30 8 inch third is going to be hard to find. I think most of the 1st and 2nd gen auto 22R 4Runners were 4.30 as well as the 3rd gen with the v6. I can't remember if it's easy it possible but I'd look into an 8.4 (the non-TRD axle) third conversion.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yep, so far I haven't found one, but like you posted, they do exist. The 8.4 non-E-locker third is different than a regular Yota 8" third. That is what I am running in the rear, so I have both in my garage to compare. The mounting studs are 10mm vs 8mm. The third member mounting circle pattern is larger on the 8.4 as well (About 3/8-1/2" bigger from my quick measurements). I may end up just buying a set of 4.30 gears for my front third if I don't find one in the next month or two.
 
Elocker third just got posted for sale, not 4.30s but isn't a bad price.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
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