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 Objavljeno: 28 Feb 2011 13:22 Naslov sporočila: Rick Gammie Samurai Story |
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http://www.ottindustries.com/Samurai_Story.html
Rick Gammie Samurai Story
Sami story
After some costly experience with a 1977 CJ7, I chose to give one of these Suzuki things a try. This was around 1991 and the suzuki was not a popular rig at this time, to say the least. In fact, I found myself to be the butt of many jokes until they saw it go. The fact that no one wanted them at that time allowed me to trade my rusty old jeep at about 300000k, that would only run on flat, smooth surfaces, for a rust free 1988 Samurai with only 90000k. The power loss was hard at first, from a 304 to a 1300, wow! And the camping space left something to be desired, but that aside, with only shackles and 30inch tires, this thing was great! It would go anywhere and cost nothing for gas,which was a nice change compared to the old CJ. Over a couple of years the rig improved. Some 3 inch national springs did away with the shackles (Thank god I could steer again, kinda) winch, bumper etc. But all the while the lack of space was really getting to me.
Then I saw my next rig. After a small transmission problem which was my fault, ( watch that shifter centering pin!), I was looking for a used gear. Needless to say the wrecker's were no help, suggesting that I "buy the whole thing or nothing". And being who I am, I was not replacing the whole thing for 1 bad gear. So I found a local suzuki guru, a Mr. Kevin Bland, owner of Kevin's Offroad Extras, who not only had my gear but had the coolest Sami I ever saw, it was so long! From that moment on I had to have one. And as luck would have it, a very short time later, on a cold,rainy day, I was run off the highway. The little Sami did a double roll and died, at least that is what ICBC decided. However, after a small battle with the insurance people, the hunt was on for a long wheel base Sami. This would prove to be a little harder than you might think.the price of used Suzuki's was on the rise, and with the very limited availability of the longwheel base Sami, looking for the right rig was long and hard. Then it happened. I found the silver Samurai, but it was bagged. The motor and all the wheel bearings were shot. It was moldy, with torn seats and bald tires. It was perfect! And the super bonus was that the seller had a full soft top, as well as the hard top, which was a very, very rare find. The deal was made.
The drive home was truly scary, and in the garage it went. Over the next 3 days it was torn to bits and many parts sold or trashed.At this point I dicover this truck had alot more rust than I had first thought. I was very upset, my old truck had no rust, and this thing was a bucket! Oh well, the build must continue. After many nights on the sand blaster in the Olsons back yard, at least the parts were looking clean. The first build was a fresh 1600 with a cam and header, 3inch lift sping under , 3 inch body lift, 32inch BFG muds, and a front locker. This did not work well, and did not last long. At this point Chris Olson was no longer working 20 hours a day and had a much more relaxing job. He was bored, so I let him loose on my truck. It was in the Olson's backyard for around 6 months. In that time we changed almost everything. Our first job was the rust. My rig was stripped down and cut up. Ben Olson cut some new wheel wells for the back, while Chris and I cut the front fenders untill the all the rust was gone.This is why the front looks the way it does, necessity is the mother of invention. The floor was patched and we finally had a rust free truck.
Next was first phase leaf over with reverse shackle, rear antiwrap bar, front and rear shock tower, and Toyota power steering. Now we were on the right track. The truck wheeled great, and the highway drive felt much safer. I wheeled the truck all summer, and like always, the weak links were found. Come fall we were ready for phase two. The truck was again in the Olson's back yard awaiting Chris's cutting torch, when for fun we rolled a toyota mini truck front end up to it. Now this I liked. I was never happy with the width of the Sami front and rear end, nor the ring and pinon size. We rolled a landcruiser rear end up to the back and the plan was made. One of the weak links I found was that the clutch size on the Sami transmission was too small, so I found a 4wheel drive Sidekick 5 speed. Chris's first reaction to this was to do dual transfercases. The tig torch came out, and before I knew it, the first Sami Sidekick dual transfercase had been created. The total time of this phase was around 5 months. The truck came out with a Toyota mini truck front end, and landcruiser rearend, Toyota driveshafts, Sidekick motor tranny transfercase to 1984 SJ transfercase, rear locker, front welded. The power steering was replaced with Toyota 4wheel drive steering (oops). The truck came out stronger than ever. The new low range was a dream come true and the width made driving a pleasure. However, over the next few months the weak links once again came through. The front to back Toyota steering was terrible, and the little Suzuki springs were just not cutting it. And so, with Chris being the perfectionist that he is, back to the yard it went. This time was the last time we were going to do this so extreme measures had to be taken.
The two main concerns were the springs and the steering. The only way to solve this was to cut the front of the frame out. In doing so we got rid of the Sami front frame bend. Running a much straighter 4x2 tubing allowed us to install the Toyota mini truck front end at factory angles, so that the drive would be much, much better. We also added length to the front frame so that we could install a longer, wider leaf spring, again improving the ride and life of the spring. We chose a YJ leaf spring which have worked out very well under this, now, 3000lb rig. In the rear end some simple cuts were made and rear spring hangers installed. I wanted to have a little fun with the suspension without getting into AirLJ territory, and in playing found that a Sami Conn-ferr shackle on the rear hanger, laid flat, would allow me to hang a Chevy shackle from the Conn-ferr to allow the rear suspension a little extra drop. The YJ rear springs were in.
In the front end we chose to do a standard buggy spring which would lock off for normal use. With the front and rear end now hung, things were looking good. The next step would be the steering. Now with the frame being at a much better angle, there was only one choice. A 4 bolt saginaw steering box with a pair of OTT Industries high steer arms. Now with the the weight of the truck increasing the need for a real winch was apparent. An 8000lb ramsey winch was acquired, and the front frame work completed to fit the winch. As suspected the truck rolled out as strong as you could ask. The ride was nothing like it had ever been. The steering so good that a damper would never be needed no matter how big the bump or how rough the road. The truck drove soft and true, there was just one little problem The rubber had become too small for this rig. The 32's had to go. I started using a set of 33's that Chris was not using and liked it, so the hunt was on. One night Chris called me, he had found a good deal on some 35BFG muds. My reaction was"you should buy them for the rig your'e building" and his reaction was "you should buy them for your rig". Mmmmmmm, I knew they would fit the back, but the front I was not so sure about. But after seeing them I absolutely had to have them. It turned out that I was right, they were not going to go. But to Chris, this was just a minor problem. And so, once again the truck entered the chamber of horrors, and the zip disks flew, and in a week or so the front wheel wells had been moved back 3 inchs, and the 35's were on. With the new tire size and ongoing troubles with the aspiration, it was finaly time to fuel inject. The parts were puchased and a week's vacation time from work later it was done. From Sidekick gas tank to injectors,the difference was night and day, and suprisingly it turned the 35's with no problems. Some months later, the GRS1 gear set was installed and the 120 to 1 low range finished things nicely. Over the years, many other little things were done, such as the swing away tire carrier, full roll cage, YJ mirrors, Honda SI seats,a fresh coat of yellow paint, and on and on. You know how it goes with the little things. Not a lot has stayed the same over the years since the silver Sami made it into my hands, but over the years we have truly built a strong safe truck that has given me almost no problems and hours of great wheeling. What's to come next ? Well, there are some things, but you will just have to check back. . . .
_________________
Suzuki Samurai is truly one of the most remarkable little vehicles around. It is not the most comfortable vehicle to drive, nor is it the fastest, or even the best looking, but it remains a true classic.
It's a cheap thing you wouldn't understand. |
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