Patrick's Samurai Build

Here's the latest build going on over here at Trail Toys.



Patrick has tasked me with building his Samurai. She wheeled pretty well as she sat, but 9.5” axles and links can’t hurt. I’ll be taking her to the roller stage and then handing her off to Patrick to finish up.

Here’s the breakdown:

Some year Suzuki Samurai
Dual triangulated 4 link front and rear
Custom subframe
Flat belly
New front tube clip
New frame from the firewall forward and the tub back
Fabricated 9.5” front
FZJ80 full float rear
Two piece front driveshaft

Here’s how she looked when dropped off. She’s gonna look a fair bit different when I’m done with her.

I stripped the rear axle in preparation for a full truss. Man that axle had a bunch of crap on it, and the factory welds look like crap.

The front clip is going away, but the hood will be staying. It sure was nice to have the entire front clip unbolt in one piece.

I tore all of the brake and fuel lines out as a fuel cell and all new lines will be added.

The lift sure does help. This is the first rig that’s had both axles removed by the lift in one smooth motion.

 

Here's the new axle placement. I'm stretching the wheelbase to 102". The stretch is symmetric back to front.

 

I designed a custom subframe/flat belly for the Sami. With the lower links and carrier bearing being attached to the belly it'll be a job to get it out, but the belly will come out if needed.

 

Now that the subframe is tacked in it's time to move her to the frame table and get to work on the axles and frame. I built a nice little table on top of the frame table to hold the belly. Funny enough the Sami balanced nicely on the table.

I wanted her up high so I had worm to work. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me in the ass.

 

Ok, so it's time to start putting the axles under this thing. It was clear from the start that the frame was going to have to move up if I was going to achieve negative lower links at bump. I couldn't adjust the frame until the axle was prepped, so it was time to build the truss. Of course no one makes a full width truss for the 80 series axle, so I had to design one myself. Here's the result.


I'll be tweaking the drawing a bit and will then add these trusses to the lineup.

Say goodbye to the rear floor and frame!



I started on the new rear frame tonight and will get it knocked out tomorrow. The Sami frame flares out towards the back so the new frame comes back straight which gives more room for the axle at bump. The frame will have a cnotch as well.

 

The new front frame is tacked in as of tonight.

 

The motor looks to be the next hurdle towards getting the front axle in place. I'm trying not to push her too far forward as I'm already looking at 40" lowers. The radiator and fan are gone for now, but will be relocated later.


The uppers are going to be a tight fit. The plan is to run some DOM sliders and mount the uppers to them outside the frame rail.

And she's gonna be stuffed. We're looking at at least 5" of up travel in the front with horizontal lowers at ride height.

 

The next step in the process is to get the front S&S fab axle housing kitted out. That means a truss and hydraulic ram mount. Here's the one off truss.


The upper links are going to live on top of the truss and make for a nice 4 link.


Here's the start of the ram mount. She should sit up nice and high to avoid those pesky rocks on the trail.

 

@NeonHeights

 

The hydraulic ram is safe and sound in it's new home. It's time to get started on the links. I'll start off by squaring the front axle and tacking it to the frame. That will get the jackstands out of the way allowing for more room to mock everything up.

 

What's advantage of stretching the wheel base?

 

Stretching the wheelbase improves the stability of the rig and allows the axle to clear the motor for more up travel. It also has to do with how much firewall and tub you want to cut out. If I had kept the wheelbase at the stock length the tires would eat the firewall.

 

Thanks man. All I was really considering was break over angle. You are obviously dealing with a lot more factors lol

 

Nice, these little 4x4s were like go karts on steroids. This was my wife's and it never broke. 1.6L, geared, locked, and loads of fun.

 

Oh yeah, that as well. The axles are placed so that a 37" tire will hit first, both front and rear.

 

The lower and upper links on the front end are now tacked in. I'm shooting to have both the front and rear links be the same length. That will allow Patrick to carry only two spares, if he wants.

 

While the front uppers are outside of the frame rails the rear uppers will be inside. That's due to the frame sweeping outwards as it goes towards the back of the rig.

 

A pair of 2000 Tacos came into the shop, one of which was rolled, so it's grill is going to be donated to the build. I think it fits pretty darn nicely.

 

this is literally art.

 

The rear of the slider is now tied into the frame. The b-pillar of the cage will be tied into this tube as well.

I'm going to sleeve the sliders with 1.5"x0.25" tube as well. Can't have them caving in on the first hit.