'86 Samurai Micro Expo

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CoolMooseMan

Rank III
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Contributor II

528
Junction City, Oregon
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1737

I got my little sammi, Rosie as she is so named, about 3 years ago and she has been a work in progress ever since. I am sure that she will always be a work in progress, which is fine by me!




It had a few modifications done to it when I got it, the PO used it as his hunting rig occasionally, but not much else:

-15 Gallon gas tank upgrade
-2" Calmini shackle reverse lift
-1.6 8v Sidekick engine
-Homemade rear cage-ish thing

Then I started working on it, and making improvements where I saw the greatest need and where the funds were available:

-The 8v blew, so I scored on a 16v Tracker engine with wiring harness and everything else needed. I got a new Petrowerks mount kit for the engine and transmission to lower everything to make the engine fit




-1" body lift to help the engine fit
-Replaced the Transmission and Transfer case, both of which had not been rebuilt properly and blew up on me.




-I made a new rear bumper and rock sliders





-Spartan auto locker in the rear
-Stereo, most important improvement so far!
-Roof Rack
-100amp GM alternator
-Electric radiator fan
-Bedlined the outside




Everything has run great since the changes that I have made for about 2 years now, been driving every single day!

As for the future, these are some ideas I have:

-I will make a new front bumper with a winch on it
-All LED lighting
-Spring over lift (soon!)
-Spartan locker in front
-Dual battery setup
-The list will probably be added to!

And here she is today!




I also have a plan in the near future to build an expedition trailer, because camping with two people is hard with all the gear. We do a Suzuki camping trip in November in Eastern Oregon in the snow, so we have to carry a lot of gear to keep warm!
 

CoolMooseMan

Rank III
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528
Junction City, Oregon
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Great to hear from some Sammi enthusiasts! I will be posting soon the build of the spring over kit that is on its way! Also a minor engine rebuild! It's been a long time coming to do this work to it, so I am very excited!
 

CoolMooseMan

Rank III
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528
Junction City, Oregon
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Just a little teaser.

All of the parts are in to do my SPOA lift, another 4.5"of lift.
20170303_182128.jpg

Eventually go with 30" - 32" tires, as skinny as I can find them.

Also going to pull the engine out to replace the engine mounts that I snapped, and replace most seals on the engine without tearing it all down because it runs like a champ still, just leaks a little oil.
 

raundhaus

Rank III

Advocate II

Just a little teaser.

All of the parts are in to do my SPOA lift, another 4.5"of lift.
View attachment 18189

Eventually go with 30" - 32" tires, as skinny as I can find them.

Also going to pull the engine out to replace the engine mounts that I snapped, and replace most seals on the engine without tearing it all down because it runs like a champ still, just leaks a little oil.
If you want that height but skinny, check out 235/85 r16... it's something like a 32x9.5, which is hard to find. Not many other sizes include the 85 aspect ratio.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using OB Talk mobile app
 

ohiowrangler

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2,268
Newark, Oh
First Name
Ron
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Darling
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Nice ride, a few guy's in my 4x4 club run sami's. They're borderline unstoppable. The 235-85-16 is the stock tire for early gm 1 ton truck, Ron
 

CoolMooseMan

Rank III
Launch Member

Contributor II

528
Junction City, Oregon
Member #

1737

Definitely, even the way mine is currently set up, 2" lift, a lunchbox locker in the rear, and a little bigger tires than stock I have a blast showing up $30k rigs built up that can't make it up or around what I can.
 

CoolMooseMan

Rank III
Launch Member

Contributor II

528
Junction City, Oregon
Member #

1737

If you want that height but skinny, check out 235/85 r16... it's something like a 32x9.5, which is hard to find. Not many other sizes include the 85 aspect ratio.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using OB Talk mobile app
So I am not too familiar with tires and wheels, as mine don't often change sizes. If I were to go with the 235/85/16, I would need new rims as mine are 15". What size 16" rim would I have to go with? 16-8 or 16-10 or what?
 

ohiowrangler

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2,268
Newark, Oh
First Name
Ron
Last Name
Darling
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Check out tirerack they give rim recommendations in the specs section for tires. My dually wheels are 6-7 inches wide, I'll get a measurement and let you know for sure, Ron
 

CoolMooseMan

Rank III
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Contributor II

528
Junction City, Oregon
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1737

Alright! I have had all the pieces for the lift for a little while now.

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And I have been needing more flex for a long time!

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So I started with disassembly of everything.

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I also picked up a spare rear axle with a locker in it locally that I am going to swap into the front, because I already have an automatic locker in the rear.

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Not much progress, but cleaning and repainting things takes a long time!

To be continued...
 
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CoolMooseMan

Rank III
Launch Member

Contributor II

528
Junction City, Oregon
Member #

1737

So then it came to the leaf springs.

I got new bushings and all new greasable hardware, hopefully to make the bushings last a lot longer. Getting a 30+ year old bushing out sucks!

20170422_133149.jpg

The I took the springs apart and cleaned them all off and repainted/put new wear pads and bushings on.

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New blue paint for the shocks. That is the theme for the underside, black hammered paint, and a dark blue on a few things.

20170507_105828.jpg

To be continued...
 
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CoolMooseMan

Rank III
Launch Member

Contributor II

528
Junction City, Oregon
Member #

1737

Ok!

So shocks and springs were cleaned and painted.

Then came the gas tank skid plate that I had landed on one too many times. It had a broken mount that needed re welding, and it needed to be shifted back towards the rear of the vehicle as all of the mounts had bent towards the front end.

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Then came the axle.

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I cleaned it off where the perches and shock mounts were going and welded the perches on.

I mounted it to figure out where exactly I wanted the shock mounts.

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Everything was then welded on and tonight it paint night!

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To be continued...
 

darthyota

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

Looks good so far, but just so you know mount the shocks like this / \ is not very good for vehicle stability especially if you plan on carrying heavier loads or towing a trailer