Suzuki Samurai

hawk2989

hawk2989

Location
Greenville, SC
Anyone have one of these? I have been looking around lately and seeing some nice sub-$7,500 ones popping up. I think it would be a neat little lake "jeep" that is smaller and lighter than a real Jeep and hopefully easier to work on/cheaper. Seeing if anyone has experience on this or wants/knows someone who may want to see in the SC/GA/NC area.
 
brapperdoodle

brapperdoodle

Location
Asheville, NC
My brother has had one for almost 10 years. Put a ton of miles on it, but we put a new engine in it shortly after purchase. They are great on the "cool" factor. But quite honestly they are VERY slow and underpowered. I would only recommend getting one if you plan on using it for a few miles at a time in town. Its able to do about 65 but that's with the motor screaming and completely floored. I love Japanese trucks and especially love the Samurai, but don't fool yourself thinking it will pull your family around or drive any sort of distance. Yes you can drive it as far as you want, but I think anyone would quickly realize that doing so is extremely inefficient. But if you want to rip around town and its just you and a friend, totally! One of my next projects is to rebuild the transmission in the Samurai, my brother thought driving it on the interstate was "no big deal" But the trans leaked just enough fluid and it got driven just enough times to ruin the input shaft bearing. I tried to tell him it wasn't made for the interstate... Not sure why some people like to think everyone else is just doing it wrong haha.



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kevbo

kevbo

Location
dfw
The first thing you will notice is that they have NO power, I mean a loaded UPS van will smoke it.. The second thing will be how easy they are to get on two wheels while turning right. Our city used them for meter readers, that's about all they were good for.
 
hawk2989

hawk2989

Location
Greenville, SC
@brapperdoodle really like the look of your brothers! Agree, that seems to be consensus for 0/no power. I was planning on getting one just for driving around the area we live (take kids to the park, soccer, etc). Really just a little run-about for small errands and weekend trips to the park. Just thought it would be something different than the massive $50K+ jeeps that are all around us now. Not that there is anything wrong with jeeps at all, just trying to have something different.

We have a fullsized SUV for towing boats, etc and trips
 
mikidymac

mikidymac

Location
California
The prices have gone up a lot this year but take a look at the Nissan Xterra. They are great for running around and playing off-road and are still relatively reasonably priced.
 
hornedogg79

hornedogg79

dodgin' bass boats
I used to own this white soft top and before that I had a green hard top. I sold everything I had at the time including my car so I could buy this boat. Found a samurai for $300 that was overheating. Changed the thermostat in the parking lot at school and drove it for 2 years. No power but so fun to ride around in. I could put it in low and move the boat around but not on roads with other vehicles. Launched and loaded several times then one day the ramp was wet and I slid backwards fast and made a big splash. Traded it to my friend for a bicycle and he drove it for several years after that. I always keep an eye out for another but the prices have skyrocketed.
 

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be_lain

be_lain

Currently sending it
Location
Oregon
The samurai was my first car in high school. Loved it. Definitely ran that thing through it’s fair share of fences, and probably had it airborne more times than my dirt bike
 
hawk2989

hawk2989

Location
Greenville, SC
That is the kind of optimism I like to see! But agree with @SUPERJET-113, currently anyone that is reasonable is gone within 24hours for $6-8K. Mainly just using FB Marketplace as Craigslist is now pretty useless for cars/trucks
 
naticen

naticen

Site Supporter
Location
wilmington, nc
I've messed with them and I think they are amazing but that was when you could pick them up for $1000 no problem. The divorced transfer case makes it easy to put whatever motor in you want. Swap it with a 100 horse whatever and put the axle under the spring and it's superior to most any side by side with a ton of flex and it's nearly impossible to get stuck.

I loved my 3TC yota motor with 32's and I'd probably do something similar again if I didn't already have a thousand hobbies. Even as overpriced as they are now, I think they are cheaper than a side by side and street legal and any car is gonna be easier to customize for cheaper.

Easy to build as you go and they're so simple that you can find a way to do anything you want with very little effort. But yeah, 64 horses stock won't keep you happy long

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hawk2989

hawk2989

Location
Greenville, SC
So I did a "thing" according to my wife- found a barn find up in the mountains of NC

1988 Samurai Project
200,000+ miles
1.6L 16V Swap
YJ SPOA Lift - 33inch tires
a bit roached from a rust perspective but has a pretty solid frame

Going to swap in new interior/headunit/speakers and get some new paint.
 

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brapperdoodle

brapperdoodle

Location
Asheville, NC
hawk2989 said:
So I did a "thing" according to my wife- found a barn find up in the mountains of NC

1988 Samurai Project
200,000+ miles
1.6L 16V Swap
YJ SPOA Lift - 33inch tires
a bit roached from a rust perspective but has a pretty solid frame

Going to swap in new interior/headunit/speakers and get some new paint.
Click to expand...

1.6L is the jam! Is it EFI or just the motor swap?
 
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