I've owned and wheeled my Samurai for about 6 years now, so I am fairly familiar with them. If you have any specific questions, I'll try and answer. Here is some info I typed up a while back, and saved.
Engine info:
All Samurai's came with 1.3 liter carburated engines until 1991 (I think) when they received EFI. The 1.3 liter was rated at 58-60hp I believe.
Popular engine swaps are the 1.6 liter 8 valve, and 1.6 liter 16 valve engines found in 90's Suzuki Sidekicks and Geo Trackers. I believe both 1.6 engines were EFI for all years in production except maybe the first one or two years in production of the 1.6 8v might have been carbureated, but I am not sure about that. The 8 valve engine makes about 80 hp. The 16 valve engine makes about 100 hp.
Trail Tough and Petroworks make engine swap kits that basically consist of a set of motor mounts, a bellhousing adapter plate to mate the 1.6 motor with the Samurai 5 speed transmission, and sometimes a transmission mount too. Trail Tough can also modify the wiring harness to be a simple few wire connection setup. I believe the Petroworks kit is considered to be the superior kit. It is what I have, and I have not had any problems with mine.
Suspension info:
Almost every Samurai you will see on the trail will have one of the suspension setups listed below. Since Samurai’s used flanged drive shafts, it is very popular to use ‘drive shaft spacers’ to effectively lengthen the driveshaft when needed. I was skeptical, but have been running them for a few years now.
1) Spring over with stock springs.
This can be done super cheap with perches from Northern Tool etc, and scrap steel. Many vendors also sell affordable kits to do this.
Basic kit:
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/suzu...-kits/basic-weld-on-spring-over-axle-kit.html
More complete kit:
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/suzu.../4-5-deluxe-weld-on-spring-over-axle-kit.html
2) RUF (rear springs up front).
The rear springs on Samurai's are longer (4" maybe?) and softer than the stock front springs. It is popular to obtain another set of rear springs, remove the overload leaf, then maybe add one or two of the bottom leafs from the stock front pack. Missing link shackles or longer shackles are usually required to complete this in the front. The center pin on the rear springs is 1" further from fixed end, so this will move your front axle forward 1". Usually RUF is coupled with longer shackles in the rear to match the 'lift' generated in the front.
http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,79796.0.html
3) RUF with Jeep CJ leaf springs in the rear
This is what is mentioned above, combined with a pair of CJ springs (fronts I think) used in the rear of a Sami. These require spring relocation brackets and longer shackles or missing links in the rear due to the much longer length of the springs.
4) Jeep YJ leaf springs on all four corners
This option uses a full set of four YJ spring packs on all corners. It also requires spring relocation brackets and/or longer shackles due to the much longer length of the springs.
5) Coil springs with linked suspension
Most people with this setup use 14" long 'coilover' springs mounted on the axles/frame with brackets and typical three/four link suspension design.
Power steering:
The cheapest and easiest power steering modification is to use the set up off of a Suzuki Sidekick or Geo Tracker. I believe it is generally considered to be adequate for up to about 32/33” tires. It worked great when I had 32’s, but seems to struggle just a little with the 34’s but I am getting by OK with it for now. The steering box, pump, and lines are needed. A custom bracket will need to be purchased or bought to mount the pump on the motor. A new ‘double row’ crank pulley will need to be obtained to drive the pump pulley. There are a few kits on the market. I used the Petroworks ‘Wedge’ mounting bracket to mount mine because it keeps the box in the correct position/geometry.
http://www.petroworks.com/drivetrain-steering.php
The other popular PS swap is to use Toyota truck IFS steering box and pump I believe. This is typically seen on the more built rigs with 35” tires and up.
Wheels:
The bolt pattern is 5 on 5.5, just like a CJ or F150/FS Bronco. I have heard that if you run about 33” tires on a typical 3.75” back spaced 15x8 rim, that the tires will rub the leaf springs in the front when before obtaining full steering lock. For this reason, many Samurai owners will run wheel spacers or buy rims with shallow back spacing. Typical BS used is 2” - 2.75”. My rims are 15x8 with 2” BS. I bought them from Day Motorsports.
http://www.daymotorsports.com/product/1307/BART-8"-MEDIUM-WEIGHT-BLACK-WHEELS
Transfer case gears:
The Samurai transfer case is unique in a couple of ways. The high range is not 1:1 like most TC’s. It is 1.4:1. Also, the typical low gear set will also lower the high range ratio as well lowering the low range. This typically will make up for larger tires not requiring you to regear the axles when stepping up to larger tires. I am running the 6.5:1 low range gears from Trail Gear, and felt it was geared perfect for 32’s. It still feels fine even with my 34’s. I bought them from Low Range Offroad. The low gears will allow the TC to rip the stock mounts apart. A good set of mounting brackets or ‘cradle/bucket’ bracket as some of them are called is needed.
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/suzuki/samurai/transfer-case.html
