Trail-Gear ZukiToy Buildup

[Chris Geiger]

This is the second Samurai build-up I have done. The first one was way back in 1993. That little Sammy retained the stock axles and wheel base. It was a great little trail rig but not surprisingly, it was never able really climb over big rock piles using what was then state of the art off-road hardware.

This buildup will not be held back by the limitations of the factory tire placement. We are going wide and long. Using Toyota axles under a Samurai has become a very popular way to give the mico trail rig stability, reliability and capability.

With the price of gas climbing ever higher I believe these smaller, lighter, cheaper rigs will become even more popular. Using Toyota axles under the ultra light Samurai is like using Dana 60 axles under a Toyota. It’s a full step up in strength. Toyota axles are often used when building much heavier rigs with tires up to about 39”.

The goal is to build a capable trail rig that will do just about any trail around and still be semi-streetable.

Over the next few months I’ll post progress photos on a regular basis of the buildup as it comes together.

Our first photo is of the front and rear axle sitting on the floor at approximately 100" a part.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy1.jpg

I weighed each axle before bringing into the shop. The front axle was a 238 and the rear was 205. Both weights include the 4Cyl 3rd members. The front axle did not have hubs or calipers at the time of weigh in. Figure another 20 lbs for hubs as calipers.

With a little imagination.....

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy2.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Up front I’ll be doing a simple spring over conversion. In the rear I’ll be creating a 4 link suspension and moving the rear axle back for increased wheelbase. This will also help reduce the angles of the drive shaft.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy3.jpg

The first step in prepping the rear axle is to cut off the spring perches with a torch. Using a grinder, I removed the last traces of the perch.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy4.jpg

Removing the axles and brake hard lines makes it easier to access the welds on the perches.

[TC]

Looking foward to seeing more. I'm putting a Samurai body on a Yota frame using TG front and rear lifts, nothing sexy, just going the KISS route. Are you using the Zuk engine, trans and case?

[tj40ounce]

Nice.. Keep the pics coming.

[Shoyrtt]

Chris, why not link the front? The Sami at Cougar Buttes had a nice setup.

http://www.trail-gear.com/events/2006-prorock-1/2509.jpg
BTW: Great pictures from the comp. I didn't realize you were the guy running around with the big camera. :D

[Chris Geiger]

It was really nice of the Above All Team to roll over right in front of me so I could get a few shots of the front and rear suspension without bothering to kneel down under the truck. He's using a 3 link rear and ford bronco style wishbone front arms.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/2514.jpg

I really like how well Dean Bullock's little yellow samurai has done over the years. It shows how simple design and good driving gets the job done.

Bullock's front end is a 3 link with a pan hard bar.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/2631.jpg

Honestly I have never built a link suspension before and doing the rear is a lot easier. I will also be experimenting with Air Springs. If they work well in the rear then I may try something similar in the front later on.

[Chris Geiger]

Are you using the Zuk engine, trans and case?

Summer here in Fresno is really hot and I am not going to want to do a bunch of wrenching in the summer. So I am going to try and get the Zuk in basic trail running condition before the heat of summer hits. This way I can run it this summer and have some fun. Then, when the temps start dropping I can spend some more time on it again.

So to save time, it's going to start with the stock motor, trans and tcases. Later in the year I want to switch out the motor for an injected 1600, Toyota L52 transmission and dual transfer case setup.

I figure it's going to take 2-3 weeks to get the axles together, then about the same time to get them mounted under the truck. With a little bit of armor added on I should be ready for some of the lighter trails very soon.

[Shoyrtt]

Chris, don't expect to win any drag races in the Sami. My old rig had the 1.3 with a 1.6 head and it was really SLOW. I like that you are going with a 100" wheel base. :D
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/10/web/550000-550999/550431_13_full.jpg

[zooky]

linking the front of sami is EASY. If you link it and use a FJ60 steering box you can push the front axle as forward as you want

[Chris Geiger]

On the front Toyota axle hubs I wanted to show how to remove and replace the dial O-ring seal. With the dial removed from the hub body use a set of snap ring pliers to remove the snap ring on the back. This allows you to separate in inner and outer dials and access the O-ring. The purpose of the ring is to prevent dust and water from entering into the axle. If the O-ring is damaged then water and such can get in.

After removing the old seal, I installed a new one in the lip of the inner dial. Apply axle grease around the O-ring before reassembly. When putting the inner dial into the outer dial there is a small spring and detent ball. Push the ball into the hole upon reassembly.


When I had the inner and outer dials apart I painted the inner dial red and the outer dial black for a factory look. I used a sanding stone to remove the paint from the lock and unlock labels.



http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy5.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy6.jpg

[ZukIzzy]

It was really nice of the Above All Team to roll over right in front of me so I could get a few shots of the front and rear suspension without bothering to kneel down under the truck. He's using a 3 link rear and ford bronco style wishbone front arms.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/2514.jpg

I really like how well Dean Bullock's little yellow samurai has done over the years. It shows how simple design and good driving gets the job done.

Bullock's front end is a 3 link with a pan hard bar.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/2631.jpg

Honestly I have never built a link suspension before and doing the rear is a lot easier. I will also be experimenting with Air Springs. If they work well in the rear then I may try something similar in the front later on.

Dean built both those rigs. The coil overs on Above all's rig are new this year. It was quarter eliptical last year. They also run a HP d44 off a Ford, hench the Ford stuff. If you are runnin toy stuff a K link like Troy Bailey runs would be easier to build and much more tuneable. I am fond of front leafs though. KISS.

Wayne

[Chris Geiger]

For getting the most clearance under the axle, it's a common practice to cut and plate the bottom of the housing. Assuming you rotate the rear pinion up so that the pinion points toward the t-case, you can gain about 1" of clearance under the housing. One inch may not sound like much but that is about the same gain you get from switching from a 35" to a 37" tire.

I started by cutting a hole in the bottom of the housing where I planned to plate.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy7.jpg

Next I ground and sanded the opening.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy8.jpg

I installed a differential into the housing and put on a couple of nuts to hold it in place. With the differential in place you can see from the side how much clearance there is between plate and the ring gear. I prefer to have about 1/4" of gap to allow gear oil to flow.

Using sections of 2.5" wide 1/4" flat bar steel I formed small plates to cover the hole. This takes a bit of work with a hand grinder and bench grinder. Using a bench vice helps in bending the plates. Clamp the steel plate in the bench vice and hit the exposed section with a 5 pound sledge hammer. This causes the plate to bend right above the jaws of the vice.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy9.jpg

I used 3 plates to completely cover the hole.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy10.jpg

Tomorrow night I will finish the welding and grinding.

[Blueballs]

Nice start and keep posting...

I did 3-link w/ panhard front and rear with 37" Krawlers on toy axles with full hydro steering, tube front clip, flush winch bla bla....

How did Dean do his links... I've never seen good pics of them... Mine are really nice and clean but it wasn't easy..... My lower links are almost flat too for a neutral ride... also my zuk rides at the same height as it did on 31's :D

Any idea on Deans links ???

[TC]

Chris, I e-mailed ya some pics of the rear I just did ( I'm a 'puter doofus and don't know of any other way to post them). I think it came out pretty good, maybe you guy's can duplicate it and sell it as a kit by simply adding a few pieces of metal.
Keep the pics coming. TC

[Chris Geiger]

Using the torch I trimmed the three plates down a bit and then welded the plates inside and out.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy11.jpg

Starting with a curved diff guard I cut off the bottom to match the plates.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy12.jpg

Here is a photo with the diff guard installed.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy13.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Dean has a 3 link with panhard rod.

Here is the panhard rod:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/dean1.jpg

Right side link:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/dean2.jpg

Left side links:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/dean3.jpg

I don't think there is enough room on a stock toyota axle to get the coilover shocks on the outside of the frame like he did.

[TruckTrader]

Come on Chris, post some pics of the new project vehicle already! I know you have one... that is if it didn't fall off the trailer on the way home! And don't forget to post pics of the "cage" too :eek:

It was nice meeting you, I look forward to seeing this baby built up.

[Gettintheretoy]

Chris, so what front springs are you going with?

[Chris Geiger]

On Sunday I picked up a donor vehicle for the project. It's a little red 1988 model. I would like to thank Vince Martin and Roger Mcfadden for locating this little zuk. Vince and Rodger specialize in locating and saving Samurais for resale to those that want to use them for offroad projects. They also have a huge supply of used Samurai parts. If your looking for parts or a complete rig you can contact Vince at 626-252-3750.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy14.jpg

This particular sammy had a custom cage in the back installed by a previous owner. I have seen marks left in metal from worn dies but never anything like this!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy15.jpg

Interesting... I have never seen a cage welded directly to sheet metal. The cage will be coming off very soon!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy16.jpg

Just checking a couple of starting numbers. The clearance from the bottom of the frame to the ground is just 11 inches. Doing a one wheel articulation test resulted in a maximum height of 14 1/2" under the left front wheel with the other three wheels on the ground.

Both of those numbers will be going way up!

[Chris Geiger]

Chris, so what front springs are you going with?

I've got a set of 3" stock length springs coming. This would give about 5" - 6" of lift setup as spring over axle. I also could move the axle forward on the perches. Even with massive fender cutting (removal) I don't know if the 35" tires are going to fit. I have been thinking more and more about linking the front sooner than planned.

Today I rolled the 35" tires up to the truck, they really highlight just how small the Samurai really is.

[Chris Geiger]

When I was picking up the zuk, Vince removed a few non essential items that I won't be needing. Vince will find deserving homes for all of these little items I am sure. We put each of the items on a bathroom scale to get an idea of how much weight we were removing. The doors are 35 lbs each (including glass). The back seat is 32 lbs and the tail gate is 26 lbs.

The factory says the rig is 2094lb in stock form with the soft top. I am guessing the top with it's bars is about 50 lbs. I also removed the bumpers, side molding, carpet and assorted useless plastic interior panels. This brings the total weight removed to just about 200 lbs. So as it sits now the rig weighs approximately 1900 lbs. I am guessing that I will be adding somewhere around 600 lbs with larger axles, tires, and a huge exo cage and roof rack.

[tj40ounce]

NIce work!

[fenderbmxer86]

going to be a sweet build.

Good job shaving that axle, it looks great.

Haha iv seen some pretty hokey cages but wow.

[Chris Geiger]

Tonight I put the Zuk up on a set of jack stands. I chose a frame height of 24" as the target ride height. I removed the rear axle and slid the Toy axle and 35" tires under it about where I think it should go. Now I can start looking at the layout of the rear 4 link.

It's clear that major body cutting is going to be needed for the tires. Tonight I cut off the bottom of the rear fender and removed most of the inner fender well. This could allow some of rear body to remain in a dovetail configuration.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy17.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The spring mounting points on the Samurai are nearly the same as the Toyota front axle. The Toyota spring pads are 29" apart (center to center). The Samurai springs are 28.5" center to center. So the difference is only 1/2". That's close enough that in a pinch the axle could be used as is. Another solution would be to remove the perches and install a new set 1/4" further in. Keeping the springs and perches aligned will help flexibility and bushing life.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy18.jpg

Front axle and springs are removed.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy19.jpg

I found it difficult to keep the truck on normal jackstands with both axles removed. I took a couple of minutes and welded up a special stand for the front crossmember. Funky looking but stable.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy20.jpg

In the rear, the fuel tank gets removed. The floor and fenders are cut open like a can of sardines.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy21.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The Samurai rail are not parallel in the rear. At the very back the frame rails are 4" winder then they are in the middle of the truck. They are also right were I want to put the shocks.

Using a procedure derived from medieval torture machines, we will adjust those little frames rails into place. The first step in adjusting the rails is to cut out and remove the crossmembers. There is a round crossmember at the rear of the frame and the stock upper shock crossmember. Both are cut out with a torch and the frame is ground clean with a grinder.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy22.jpg

Using a drill press, I drilled a single hole in the stock fuel tank guard.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy23.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy24.jpg

I used a trailer strap to squeeze the frame rails together. A come-a-long or high lift jack can also be used to accomplish the same thing. Once the rails are where I want them, I bolted the stock tank guard back in place.

I'd guess it took about 400 lbs of force to bring the frame rails into position.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy25.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

After removing the stock rear crossmember I created a replacement that was narrower. For this crossmember I used 4" X 2" square tubing, 3/16" thick. Using a chop saw and torch I notched out a section of to make room for a receiver hitch. I don't plan to tow on the road with the sammy but sometimes it's handy to be able to move a trailer around camp. It will also make a good pull point. Later the cage will tie into this crossmember for strength.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy26.jpg

Here is the crossmember installed. Later I will create cover plates for the ends and large gussets will be installed at the corners to help connect it to the frame.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy27.jpg

[TheBandit]

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy25.jpg

Are there crossmembers or did you add support to prevent the rest of the frame from bending when you did this? Did you check to make sure both sides moved in evenly, rather than just one side bending inward and the other side remaining stationary?

[tj40ounce]

Are there crossmembers or did you add support to prevent the rest of the frame from bending when you did this? Did you check to make sure both sides moved in evenly, rather than just one side bending inward and the other side remaining stationary?


I'm sure he checked for square, etc....

[Chris Geiger]

The left frame rail has slightly more bend then the right rail. Now that the rear crossmember is in place I can heat up the right side rail with a torch. The pull from the left rail will bring it in straight. It's 1/2" off right now but with just a bit of heat and a few minutes of time I can get it right on.

It's not a critical issue as the 4link setup will not be atached to the rear part of the frame. The rear part of the frame serves only to support the upper shock mounts and fuel cells.

[Chris Geiger]

Matt here are the photos of the box I am looking for but with reverse cut gears instead.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/box.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/box2.jpg

Here is one that is allready reverse rotation...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/box3.jpg

[TheBandit]

The left frame rail has slightly more bend then the right rail. Now that the rear crossmember is in place I can heat up the right side rail with a torch. The pull from the left rail will bring it in straight. It's 1/2" off right now but with just a bit of heat and a few minutes of time I can get it right on.

Cool. I was just curious if it had affected the frame much forward of were the body attaches.

Looks like a fun project. Thanks for posting the pics of the axle shave over on PBB.

Oh, and this picture is just hilarious! Begging for some photochopping:
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy2.jpg

[miltonseven]

looking good, cant wait to see more.

[Mikey_]

FJ60 and I think some Scouts use forward facing pitman arms.
Not sure if you can find one of those boxes cheaper than getting a box reversed.

[Chris Geiger]

Yep early scout is a comon box on comp rigs. I am now looking closly at the FJ60 and FJ80 steering boxes and a chevy pump to handle the steering. I must have looked at 200 different steering boxes in the past two weeks.

[Chris Geiger]

I just got back from Moab yesterday and put a couple of hours into the project. I removed the front clip, Targa top and stock roll bar. Tires are set at 101" of wheelbase in this photo.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy28.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy29.jpg

[Irork]

Project is coming along nicely Chris! Fun to watch the progress of a major build like this!

[Chris Geiger]

The heater/defroster is the next item on the hit list of parts to remove....

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy30.jpg

Here it is with out the heater. The origional battery was located on the right side inner fender. The new location will be where the heater was located.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy31.jpg

The new battery is a light weight dry cell battery from Odyssey, part number PC925. I have used these batteries twice before with great success. Here are the specs on this little battery...

# 925 cranking amps for 5 seconds
# 870 cranking amps fpr 10 seconds
# 765 cranking amps or 20 seconds
# Short circuit current over 2400A
# 28 amp hours
# 50 minute reserve capacity with 25amp load
# Length 6 15/32"
# Width 6 7/8"
# Height 4 7/8"
# Weighs 23 lbs

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy32.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Tonight I started on replacing the front crossmember and mounting the winch.

For the winch mount I used a prefabed unit from Datin Fab www.datinfab.com

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy35.jpg

I placed a strap around the frame and tightened it down to hold the frame in place. Then I torched out the stock front crossmember. The weight of the motor tends to seprate the frame rails and the strap keeps them together during the replacment of the crossmember.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy37.jpg

The front frame rails point down at about 15 degrees. In order to create a level mount for the winch, I torched off a small section of the frame. This allowed a flat mounting surface for mounting the crossmember.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy38.jpg

For the front crossmember I used a section of 2" x 4" X 3/16" square tube. Next I welded the winch mount to the top of the crossmember. Later side plates will cover the ends of the crossmember and will blend into the frame for added strength. Additional gussets will also be added between the frame rails and the crossmember to better secure the winch mount.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy39.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

With the Warn 9500i winch in place:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy40.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Next up is the front suspension: I just received the first shipment of suspension parts from www.PolyPerformance.com. I started out ordering just enough parts to link just one end of the truck. After thinking about it, I have decided to link the front as well.

Fox Air Shocks, Currie 1 1/4" shank Johnny Joints and 5 degree axle link brackets:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy36.jpg

The front axle is not finished yet but I did a quick install of Trail-Gear high steer arms, 2" wheel spacers and a tie rod on the front axles. This allowed me to roll the axle under the truck and have a look at how the lower links will be installed.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy34.jpg

With the axle in place:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy41.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

For lower link mounts I designed some custom plates that will securely attach to the frame. I took my cardboard cut outs to our in house engineer Chris Dunbar. He drew them up in solid works. Note the brackets are made with a 5 degree angle in them. This allows the links to angle in a bit at the frame. Brackets will be made from 1/4" plate steel.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/linkmount1.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/linkmount2.jpg

All four lower link mounts should be done and ready for install in about a week.

[Chris Geiger]

Today I mounted the battery. I started with a strip of 1" flat steel and a bit of 1" angle iron. Both are 1/8".

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy42.jpg

After an hour of grinder work and a bit of welding this is what I came up with.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy43.jpg

Using a right angle drill, I put two holes in the tunnel for the 1/4" all thread.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy44.jpg

Installed photo:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy45.jpg

[locktup]

Chris,
Why did you leave the stock rear frame if your going to link it?

[Chris Geiger]

Chris,
Why did you leave the stock rear frame if your going to link it?

I am moving the rear axle way back on the frame. The stock frame is in a great place now to mount the air shocks and propane tanks.

[tanman2003]

any possibility of a production samurai 4 link suspension?:D

[Chris Geiger]

Today I did a little clean up on the front axle. I removed the stock shock, sway bar and steering stablizer brackets. I installed Trail-Gear upper axle gusset.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy51.jpg

The Pollyperformance axle link brackets fit very well! They are tacked in place on the axle.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy52.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy53.jpg

From www.DatinFab.com a pair of Maltese Cross head lights arrived. These will add a unique look to the front of the rig!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy50.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

any possibility of a production samurai 4 link suspension?:D

At least some of the parts, yes.

[tattoo]

Bling
Bling
That THING is starting to look hopeful.
Wonder if you are still going to be willing to break it up rock racing me????

[Chris Geiger]

The rock race up Sledgehammer is ON!!!

[Chris Geiger]

For Samurai's with Toyota axles use front (Female to Female) lines for both front and rear. Two lines are required for front. On line is required for 88 1/2 and later Samurai's. Two rear lines are required for 88 and older Samurai's.

Chris Dunbar fired up his CAD software today and created this beautiful set center link mount brackets.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy54.jpg

Using a tube to align the plates, they are tacked onto the rear housing.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy55.jpg

The rear also received a pair of 5 degree Polyperformance angled link brackets.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy56.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The FJ60 steering box came in today and it looked like new is was so clean. Thanks Troy!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy58.jpg

Here is the approximate location of the box.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy57.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Here is the CAD drawling of the rear upper link mount. It's upper pivot will be a 18mm shackle bolt with polly bushings. The lower bolt will be 1 1/4" with a brass bushing.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy59.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Today I installed a pair of Trail-Gear shock mount tabs on the top of the rear axle. These shock mount tabs feature a 3" radius on all four sides. This allows the mount to be used either parallel or perpendicular to the axle.

I am setting up the shock up with the mounting bolts perpendicular to the axle. Heim ends inside the shock mounts allow for small angle changes as the axle travels up and down.


http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy60.jpg

Soon the rear fenders are going to get in the way of setting up the rear suspension so I notched the body work above and below (using a grinder) where I wanted to dove tail the rear fenders in. Later additional body work and trimming will be done to mount the fenders. The flair lip will also be removed.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy63.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy62.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy61.jpg

[LoneZuk]

With all that work are you going to run a RingR/Tiny-T combo From SOS and a Toyota W56 with 4.x or 5.0's in the transfer case ?

Used to have Toy axles under a 86 tin top a few years ago.

Fun Project.

I am looking for 4 door Kick with 16 valve 1.6 & manual to go with my Toy drive line and SOS RingR that I have been saving.

LoneZuk

[Chris Geiger]

This project is mostly self funded and I can't afford a motor swap at this time. For now I plan to drop a set of gears into the tcase and drive it. Maybe next year I can consider a different motor. I am going to try to get it together for this years Rubithon, it's just 7 weeks away!

[84_Yota]

http://i1.tinypic.com/wvpu1j.jpg
Sorry but that pic was askin for it.

-Andrew

[Chris Geiger]

:) Rotflol

[Chris Geiger]

I was planning to just plate the driver side frame rail and install new sleeves for the steering box. After removing the stock hardware I ended up with a section of frame that looked like Swiss cheese. I cut out the section of frame and replaced it with some fresh 3/16" 2X4 tubing.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy65.jpg

For the steering shaft I removed the sock Samurai shaft and cut off the end that goes onto the steering box and replaced the end with a Toyota universal joint that mates to the FJ60 steering box.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy66.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy67.jpg

Before I install new sleeve in the frame and finish the frame welding, I test fit the steering shaft, pitman arm, and drag link. Later a flat pitman arm will be installed.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy68.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

As for the color of the hood, it's just a color test spot. I still don't know what color I am going to paint it. Here are the three color spots on the rig now...

Orange
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy69.jpg

Rustoleum Brown Hammered
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy70.jpg

Dark Red
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy71.jpg

[Gettintheretoy]

I like the orange.

[miltonseven]

I like the orange.

X2, i like the orange also

[locktup]

RED Chris RED

[Shoyrtt]

Brown with the Trail Gear artwork would be different. There are too many orange Samis out there.

[84_Yota]

I agree, to many trucks and samis run that caltrans orange. I like the RED

[Chris Geiger]

caltrans orange

That's funny!

[Chris Geiger]

Using our new JD2 tube bender I formed the front stinger for the bumper and cage. I used 1.75" X .120 DOM tubing.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy72.jpg

The forklift came in handy to hold the stinger in place while I tacked it up.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy73.jpg

Later the exo cage will come around the front fender and tie into the stinger.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy74.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Using some 1.5" .120 wall DOM tubing, I bent up the start of what will become upper rear shock mounts.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy75.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy76.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The tabs to make the frame link hangers came in from Ed Datin at datinfab.com. After removing the under coating on the frame the plates were assembled and welded to the frame.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy78.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy79.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

For the rear upper 3 link mount, I cut a section of 2" X 3" 3/16’ wall tubing as a crossmember. Before putting it in place, I use a pair of Trail-Gear rock slider gusset plates to reinforce the frame rails. These plates cover the inside of the frame and wrap around under the frame as well.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy80.jpg

For the rear upper link mounts I used a pair of Trail-Gear frame tubes, bushings, bolts and shackles. The shackle ends were cut down and welded directly to the crossmember.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy81.jpg

Crossmember is tacked into place between the frame rails.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy82.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Last night I finished the upper V link. In order to cycle test the rear axle, I quickly cut up a set of mock lower links just for testing (I am still waiting for the link material to arrive).

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy83.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy84.jpg

I am getting 30" of articulation as measured at the drum. I had ordered 14" shocks for the rear, and now realize that was a mistake. I now have a set of 16" travel FOX shocks coming. I'll also have to rebend the shock hoops for the taller shocks but this combination will net event more travel.

I also see now that most of the fender will have to be removed to clear the rear tires.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy85.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The first set of hoops were removed and replaced with a set of taller hoops for the 16" shocks.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy86.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy87.jpg

Tabs are added to near the top. The tabs are offset forward to angle the shock forward. This position will keep the shock out of the way of the tire at full compression. I cycled the suspension with tires installed and added another 5" to the 35" tire diameter. This will give room for up to 40" tires!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy88.jpg

Next project is the rock sliders. With the longer wheelbase I have all kinds of room for the sliders. I bent up a pair of outer hoops to start with. These will fit around the outside of the body. Another pair of bars will be cut and bent tomorrow that will go under these bars.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy89.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Rear shocks are installed for the first time.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy90.jpg

Today the 2" DOM 1/4" wall DOM arrived for the links. This material is just huge! The links made from this material will be bomb proof! The front lower links are assembled with jam nuts and Polly Performance tube ends

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy91.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy92.jpg

I used a pair of Trail-Gear shock hoops up front to mount the 14" Fox shocks. Gussets and braces will be added later to strengthen this section.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy93.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Today I replaced the temporary rear lower links with the new material to match the front. Here is a photo of the material and the insert before it's welded together.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy94.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy95.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Using a flat headed drill bit and a center punch I removed the spot welds on the rocker panels. After the spot welds were removed, I pealed off the outer molding mounts so I could install the rock sliders and keep them close to the body.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy96.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy97.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The outer rail of the rock sliders has been welded into place. This will serve as the foundation for the exo-cage.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy98.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy99.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy100.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy101.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy102.jpg

The basic bracket holds both the upper link and the panhard bar. This is just the skeleton. If this works like I expect it to, the whole assembly will be plated and gusseted.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy103.jpg

There is 9” of vertical separation between the top and bottom link mounts on the axle.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy104.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

I installed the 14" FOX air shocks on the front and lifted a tire to see how everything is working and fitting. I got 36" under the front tire before having the passenger side shock contacting the upper link mount. Some minor adjustments to the angle of the hoops will resolve this.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy105.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

This evening, I readjusted the front hoops and twisted it up again to see what the limit was. This time I measured 42" under the front tire. This was with the other 3 tires on the ground and 20 PSI in the tires.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy106.jpg

For comparison, the same flex test netted only 11" when it was stock...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy16.jpg

In order to provide some temporary ability to move the rig around I cut up a Toyota drive shaft and welded it to the back of the Samurai shaft. This was a total hack but it will allow me to move the rig under it’s own power.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy107.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

I have been asked how the normal guy can make custom brackets like I used on this project. Here are some photos of the panhard bracket I used on the driver side. I started with 3/16” plate steel that was 3” wide. For any brackets that will grind over the rocks I use ¼” plate, but this bracket will never contact rocks so I used the lighter plate.

I cut out cardboard samples of the bracket I want to make. Then I trace the cardboard on the plate steel. Next I cut it out using a torch. If the brackets need to be the same, I clamp them together in a vice and grind them to finish shape using a grinder.

It took about 30 minutes to make these two brackets.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy108.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy109.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy110.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Tonight I mounted the propane tanks in the bed. I started with two pieces of 1" square tubing. The brackets are welded directly the square tubing. The tanks are mounted as far forward as possible to make room for an ice chest on the back of the bed.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy114.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy115.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy116.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The upper front shock mounts are a pair of Trail-Gear Tall shock hoops. I plan to tie these hoops into the exo-cage.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy119.jpg

Here are a couple of photos of the panhard rod.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy120.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy121.jpg

Jay from YotaMasters.com assembled the 3rd members and the rear unit gets installed. Jay set these gears up extra deep. This makes the diff run hot until it's broken in. I filled the diff with oil and installed the temporary drive shaft. I placed the rear end on jack stands and ran the motor in first gear for about 10 minutes. The created noticeable heat. I plan to run the diffs for short trips of about 10 minutes each, until I get an hour of time on the diffs.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy117.jpg

[FatAzzRunner]

Chris,

Can we get a couple CLOSER up pics of that rear link? I am interested in that joint for my future suspension change and would like to see how that was put together better.

The rear truss/mount would be simpe enough but are you gonna sell them??

Thanks,

Aaron

[Chris Geiger]

I'll be out of town but next week I will shoot a close up photo of the joint. It's very simple. The joint is nothing more than a SAS frame bushing, and 2 shackles all welded togeter. This one was a hack job but our cnc version with brass bushings will be top of the line. Yes we will be selling these, price is not set but they will very reasionable, I'd guess under the cost of two rod ends.

[FatAzzRunner]

cool, Lookin forward to the pics. You think it will hold up to a 4runner and being beat on pretty good?

[Chris Geiger]

I am ok with bending simple items like nerf bars but when it comes to something complicated like a roll cage, I would have needed a lot of sleeves to make it look right. I went to the DatinFab shop. Owner Ed Datin (left) and apprentice fabricator Jared Ayears (right) knocked out a great looking exo-cage cage in just one day.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy122.jpg

The first hoop of the cage took about 3 hours to complete. This hoop had a total of 8 bends in it. Once this first hoop was completed, the rest of the more simple tubes came together very quickly.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy123.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy124.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy126.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy127.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy128.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy129.jpg

[84_Yota]

That exo is sweet. was it worth the drive??? hah

-Andrew

[Chris Geiger]

That exo is sweet. was it worth the drive??? hah

-Andrew

It sure was, it came out looking better than I thought. I came in with one cage in mind but after talking with Ed we did it this way. I am really happy with it.

[Chris Geiger]

Here are some additional tubes I still need to add...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy134.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy135.jpg

Still considering what to do for side protection. I don't want tube doors but I want to be able to get in, still thinking about this one....

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy136.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy137.jpg

[FatAzzRunner]

NICE!!!!!! I would love to build a sammy some day.

It would definately look sweet with some 38's and a 2" wheel spacer would really make it nice and wide.

Thats just my .02.

[Chris Geiger]

Yep the 35's are a bit small. Bigger tires are coming this summer.

[Chris Geiger]

For head lights I used a sort section of 1" tubing between the stinger and the front shock hoops with a small light tab welded to it. These lights are designed for street use and have both high and low beams. I cut off the factory headlight connector and connected each of the thee factory wires to the three wires coming out of the light. These light come with 55/60 watt bulb but can be swapped out for all kinds of different after market bulbs. The light and light tabs came from www.datinfab.com

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy139.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy140.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy141.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy142.jpg

[TheBandit]

Great work so far Chris. Only thing that has me leary is the upper panhard mount. Hope you are boxing it in some more.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy136.jpg

I don't like this look at all. I think you could come up with something that looks a lot better and makes entry a little easier. The bar going up to the B piller is mainly what I don't like. But that's just my opinion. We've all got 'em and nobody has to agree.

[Chris Geiger]

In my estimation the panhard mounts will withstand between 50 and 150 lbs of force before they fold over and fail. The panhard rod needs to be able to counter all of the force generated by the steering box and then some. When I remove the front axle for the 3rd member install and knuckle rebuild, all of the mounts will be welded and gusseted. It's just too hard to get in there and weld stuff up while it's still on the truck.

[TheBandit]

Good to hear.

I know this is off topic, but thanks for sending all those parts to the paralyzed victim build. Definitely a very good cause!

[FatAzzRunner]

Chris,

Hate to be a pain to you again but do you have the pic of that rear joint yet? I am very interested on this matter.

Thanks

[Chris Geiger]

No problem at all. I took a fresh set of photos for ya...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy143.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy144.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy145.jpg

This prototype was made by welding shackle plates to a frame tube. The production unit will look much better than this.

[Chris Geiger]

Here are a couple of photos of the forged flat pitman arm we are working on...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy146.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy147.jpg

[supazuk]

build looks great as i've said every where

now get those flat arms for sale!!!!! :D
I need one! (wish you sold them a month ago, my trail-grear drop arm is still wraped in plastic)

[Chris Geiger]

Today I received the second box of the Propane kit from Cary at www.GotPropane.com

http://www.gotpropane.com/images/cary_logo.jpg?s=1089252898

The kit includes the parts below along with a tank bracket and air filter:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy148.jpg

I started the installation process by attaching the regulator to the firewall. I drilled a couple of holes and attached it using the provided bolts.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy149.jpg

Next I mounted the tank T connector. I used a shock tab from Polly Performance to mount the "T" to the top of the rear upper link suspension. For safety, the propane line needed to be protected as it is routed from the tanks to the engine. I kept this in mind as choose the route for the hose.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy151.jpg

I marked the propane lines for the length I needed and tried using a pair of side cutters to cut the hose. I had assumed that the hose was like water or fuel hose. The hose laughed at the side cutters. Ok I put the hose in a vice and brought out the Sawzall, that got the job done. After cutting the hose, I found the hose has a steel layer that really makes this hose tough.

There are two lines that are needed for the instalation. One from the tanks to the "T" connector, and a second hose that goes from the "T" connector up to teh regulator on the firewall.

Once the lines were cut, I installed the ends that are provided in the kit. These are easy to put on. Each end is made from two parts. Starting with the larger outer shell, this get twisted onto the outside of the hose using it's left handed threads. Next I placed a dab of grease on the smaller inner tip. This is threaded into the larger part with the help of a wrench.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy150.jpg

[84_Yota]

clean set-up, have you started up the FEROCIOUS suzuki engine yet?

[Chris Geiger]

clean set-up, have you started up the FEROCIOUS suzuki engine yet?

I drove it before the project started and the motor ran good. I drove it for a short time after the suspension install. I owned a Samurai before so I know how little power it has on the road. Part of the problem is the vacuum operated secondaries in the carb. They just don't like to open at rpm's under about 4K. That makes it even worse. I liked the power much better with a webber carb and header but then it would not run on any kind of angle.

I hope the propane system will fix that without having a complicated EFI system. I really like how the propane system works on our Formula Toy. I think I am about 1/3 done with the install so it should be running again in a few days.

Later I expect to be upgrading the power with a 1.6 sidekick motor.

[Chris Geiger]

Today I installed the throttle body base. This unit has a single hole that leads to the primary and secondary holes in the intake manifold. The material between the primary and secondary openings is right in the middle of the fuel/air flow down the center of the throttle body. For this reason Cary at Got Propane recommends removing this section of the intake manifold for best performance. The photos below show the interference between the two plates and the flow.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy152.jpg

I used a standard 4" grinder to remove the material from between the ports. I first stuffed two small rags into the intake manifold ports. Next I cut out the section with the grinder. Then I used a flat hand file to finish the edges. Photos below show the new opening. I also cut a new gasket to match the opening.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy153.jpg

The lower section of the throttle body bolted into position...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy154.jpg

[84_Yota]

4 days since last post :o whats this world coming to?? j/p got that wheel stud and stuff in the mail, thanks -Andrew

[Chris Geiger]

I just finshed doing a solid axle swap on my Dad's 89 Pickup. I'll be back on the Samurai tomorrow.

[locktup]

Will the ZukiToy be ready to run the Sluice Box for the Rubithon.
I think I'm going to pull my doors, I always seem to smash them in the Box no matter what line I take.

[Chris Geiger]

No it will not. It won't have Tcase protection and will only have stock factory gears. I won't be taking any options on it's run. After I get some gears and tcase cover installed and a few gussets on the cage, I'll be ready for it.

[Chris Geiger]

For tools and spare parts storage I, picked up an aluminum tool box from Ebay for $80. It's 24" wide X 12" tall X 12" deep.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy160.jpg

To mount it I ran a pair of 1" square tubes between the frame rails.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy161.jpg

The floor is lined with 1/4 plywood. This should better distribute the mounting load when the truck is inverted with a full tool box. 5/16" bolts go through the plywood, box, and the 1" tubing below.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy162.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy163.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Using some 3/16" X 4" X 8" plate steel, I covered over the rear corners of the frame where the new crossmember connects to the frame....

Before:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy164.jpg

After:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy165.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The front axle came out for it's finish welding and gussets. For the differential a set of high pinion 5.29 Yukon gears were cryogenically treated. This was combined with a Detroit Locker and assembled by Jay at YotaMasters.com. The housing is ready for a set of axles.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy166.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy167.jpg

The pan hard brackets also received some additional plating...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy168.jpg

[miltonseven]

3 days and no update!

[Chris Geiger]

I just received my drive shaft adapters from rock4xfabrication.com. These well machined adapters allow a Toyota drive shaft to bolt onto the Samurai flange. After bolting the adapters on I removed the shocks from the suspension. I then cycled the suspension from full extension to full compression. I found the slip travel was only 5/8" though the range of travel. The links are really doing a good job of keeping the axles in place.

The first step is drilling the stock flanges for the adapter.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy169.jpg

The adapter bolts on with 4 bolts.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy170.jpg

Now it's ready for driveshafts.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy171.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Here are a few install photos of the propane system. For hooking up the throttle, I used the factory Samurai throttle cam. After drilling a couple of holes in the cab, it gets bolted to the throttle plate.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy172.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy173.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy174.jpg

[TheBandit]

You might want to improve the quality of that Trail Gear stamp at the bottom of the pictures. The pixeled edges make it look like it was done in paint. I know you have the Photoshop skills to fix it. Try feathering your selection.

[Chris Geiger]

You might want to improve the quality of that Trail Gear stamp at the bottom of the pictures. The pixeled edges make it look like it was done in paint. I know you have the Photoshop skills to fix it. Try feathering your selection.

Sure I could make it sharp but I was tring to make it look like the mountian was on fire. I actually spent a lot of time to make it look like that.

I guess I need to rethink the look if that's how it comes across. Thanks for the input.

[TheBandit]

Sure I could make it sharp but I was tring to make it look like the mountian was on fire. I actually spent a lot of time to make it look like that.

I think I see what you were going for now that you've explained it, but I would still change it.

If you are using Photoshop, you can make a simple 2 color black & white of the logo with the part you want in black (the mountain outlines in this case). Select only the black and copy/paste it to the image you want to watermark. Change the layer mode to "Hard Light". Then do a Filter>Stylize>Emboss. Here is an example of one I did: http://thebandit.xtremefabricator.com/frontbumper/frontbumper43.jpg. I think the crisp "Trail Gear" lettering would look good done this way.

Also if you don't alredy know, you can create an Action in Photoshop to automatically add the watermark so you don't have to do it manually every time.

[Chris Geiger]

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy175.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy176.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy177.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy178.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The drive shafts came back today from Fresno Drive Line Service. I purchased a set of stock core shafts from Marlin Crawler and took them to Fresno Drive Line. They retubed them with .156 wall DOM tubing. The stock Toyota slip spline was retained.

The lower photo shows the rear shaft installed. I have had a few people ask if I had any drive shaft vibrations due to the centered Toyota diff. I am not seeing any vibrations and don't expect to. If I tried to retain the stock wheelbase the drive shafts would have been very short and thus the angles would have been larger on the U-joints.

For the photo and the road test today I added air to the shocks and lifted the frame to 28" above the ground. This is much higher than my planned ride height of around 24" on 35" tires. Even with the extra height there was no sign of vibrations.

Just looking at the shafts you can see that the angles are not saver at all.


http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy179.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Tonight I started experimenting with the shocks. Out of the box the shocks come with 19.8 cubic inches of shock oil. They can hold a maximum of 24.4 cubic inches of oil before hydro locking at full compression. The shocks come pressurized with 200 psi of nitrogen. The shocks can be run anywhere between 10 psi and 500 psi.

I found that the shocks were way to soft once installed and normal trail items were added to the rig. The effective spring rate of the shocks can be increased by adding oil. Ride height is controlled by the shock pressure.

These shocks are designed for a maximum of 3000 bs of un-sprun weight. With the Samurai at about 2500 and 500 of that in the axles, I have around 2,000 lbs of sprung weight. Add to that about 1000 lbs of passengers, food, camping gear, tools and parts. That comes to about 3000 lbs of weight supported by the shocks.

The front end is heavier then the rear so I started with the front shocks and added 4 cubic inches of 5W motorcycle fork oil to each shock. This is nearly the maximum you can add to the shock. To add or adjust the shocks, they must be at full extension. Using our forklift I lifted the front end until the tires were unloaded. I removed the nitrogen in the shock and removed the valve core from the shock. Using a cringe I found at pep boys, I added the oil through the valve.


http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy180.jpg

Once the oil was in, I used a Poly Performance nitrogen fill kit to recharge the pressure in the shocks. I started with 180 lbs but that was too much and dropped it down to 100 psi at full extension.

In the rear I added only 2 additional cubic inches of oil and put the charge at 180.

I was surprised how different the shock works with just a small change in oil. I think it is actually a little on the stiff side now. As I have time I plan to experiment more with the oil level and pressure in the shocks to get it tuned just right. I am thinking the rear is just right. The front seems to need a little less oil and a little more pressure. I really like being able to change the ride height and spring rate so easily.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy181.jpg

The Polly Performance nitrogen kit and comes with a precision pressure adjuster. Using the tank you can get your pressure very close. With the precision adjuster you can drop it very accurately and it's easy to use.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy182.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Ok I have driven the rig around the block a few times now and it's starting to feel like it is coming together. It's first major trail ride is now just 10 days away. It's time to pick the high priority items that are needed to make it trail ready.

The biggest item yet to be done is some form of power steering. I ordered a PSC power steering kit for the Samurai 1.3 motor. The kit includes the parts below. This kit features a 1500 psi pump with a volume of 4 gallons per minute.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy183.jpg

Not included in the kit is a crank pulley and steering box fittings. I also ordered a set of Toyota steering box adapters. These adapters have a metric fitting on one end and a -6 end on the other. The Toyota metric fittings are hard to make lines for. The adapters allow standard hoses from just about any hydraulic store to be used. Here are the fittings installed into the box.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy184.jpg

Still on the way is a crank pulley that has an extra groove for the power steering belt.

[95toyota]

Its coming together nicely Chris!! Great job.. I like it..

[Chris Geiger]

The pump bolted to the bracket in just a few seconds. No bolts were provided to mount the bracket to the block. Looking around the shop I found that the bolts used to hold on Toyota spindles on the front axle fit like a charm on the larger lower 2 bolts.


http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy185.jpg

I am not sure what PSC had in mind with how the bracket fits on the block. The lower two holes are simple enough but the top two holes have a 1" gap between the bracket and the engine block (see blue lines below). Tomorrow I plan to cut a short section of 1" square tubing to fill the gap. With a couple of holes for the bolts drilled through, it should fill the gap.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy186.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Using a torch and grinder I created a tab that I welded to the backside of the shock hoop to hold the reservoir.

With the reservoir in place, and the pump centered in it's travel slot, I took the truck to a local hydraulic shop and had a nice set of new lines made to connect everything up. Still waiting for the crank pulley before I can test.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy187.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy188.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

So how do you weigh a truck that is 11’ long on a scale that is only 3’ long?

Wood Pallets!

Today we stacked a few pallets on the shipping scale and then zeroed the scale. Using a (Toyota) forklift we placed the Samurai on top of the pile of pallets and took a reading from the scale.

The weight came to 2499 lbs with a ½ load of fuel and about 30 lbs of tools in the tool box. I still have about 50 lbs of parts still waiting to go on to the rig, so the final unloaded weight will be just a hair over 2500 lbs.


http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy189.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy190.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy191.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The pulley came in yesterday. I called Trail-Tough and let them know that the pulley was holding up the truck at this point. They looked up my order and found that it had been returned to them after being sent to the wrong address. They sent out the pulley again via 2 day air. The pulley is a well made machined piece. The stock pulley has just one V-belt groove for the alternator and fan. This replacement pulley adds a serpentine belt out side of the stock V-belt. The pulley has a thinner than stock backing plate and I was not able to reuse the old pulley bolts as they were too short. This could have been the result of the repair work done by the previous owner. Two the bolts were loose and the other two had bad threads. Looking at it, I think someone just stuffed in some bolts they found on the floor from a previous repair. So I went to the parts store and picked out some longer bolts that could reach through the new pulley and well in to the crank.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy192.jpg


Next I installed the pulley on to pump. This required the use of a special pulley installer. The installer, threads in to the center of the pump shaft. It takes three hands to operate, as you have to hold two wrenches and keep the pulley from turning while you press it in to position.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy193.jpg

Once the two pulleys were installed I was happy to see that they were in alignment with each other. I slipped on a belt and put in a quart of the synthetic steering fluid and started up the truck. It took less than 10 seconds for the power steering to come to life. The steering is working very nice now. I look forward to not having to fight the steering wheel on the trail.

[88WILDRUNNER]

cool build chris. are we gona see this thing in action on the dusy trail run

[Chris Geiger]

Yes it will be on the Dusy trail run. Just brought it back from the Rubithon. Blew up the motor so that will need to be replaced before I go!

[Max Volume]

Yes it will be on the Dusy trail run. Just brought it back from the Rubithon. Blew up the motor so that will need to be replaced before I go!


You blew up the motor?

Are your lips sore?

J/K Chris, so wheres the pics? How was it?

[Chris Geiger]

Well… lets just say, the motor is now fully vented!

The white spot on the photo below is sunlight showing through the block. The number one piston rod pushed holes through both the right and left sides of the block. Major block cracking broke the engine mounts clean off. I really don't know what's holding the motor in place. When I extract the motor I will post more photos of the carnage.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy194.jpg

The other problem I experienced was the steering fluid overheating. After about 30 minutes on the trail I removed the belt running the power steering. It seems that a huge steering cooler is required with this setup. I'll be adding one before the next trip.

In the sluice box, I pulled a tire off the rim. Took a little starting fluid to remount it.

The suspension worked very well. The front shocks were a little stiff, but that’s easily adjusted by removing some of the shock oil and replacing it with nitrogen.

The propane system worked extremely well. I was really surprised at how far the truck would go on propane. I started out with 2, 8 gallon tanks. One tank was 3/4" full and the other tank was completely full. I unloaded the Samurai at Loon Lake and started driving on the tank that was 3/4 full. I drove all the way to Rubicon Springs, back to Buck Island Lake, back to the Big Sluice, then headed back to Loon Lake. The motor failed at Walker Hill, so I was near to finishing the trail. I used about 5 gallons of propane over two full days of driving. I never used the full tank at all. That’s just fantastic!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy195.jpg

[tanman2003]

any chance of shoe-horning a toyota 22r and drivetrain package in there?

[birfield buster]

any chance of shoe-horning a toyota 22r and drivetrain package in there?

ill 2nd that!

[95toyota]

I think thats his plan but he wanted to be able to drive it for the summer so that was his next winter project.. ;)

[locktup]

Chris, you going to ready for the Dusy run?

[Mikey_]

1.6 16v would make more than enough power, and be a whole heck of a lot lighter than a 22r

OTT can mate a Trackick 3sp auto to a Toy t-case :cool:

[Chris Geiger]

I have a line on a cheap 1600 motor that I'll be putting in. I'll be up and running in a few weeks.

[Chris Geiger]

Well I should be pulling out the old motor but it is really hot out here in Fresno. It's been over 100 degrees most days now.

Something I missed on my first run was music. I brought my PDA GPS and it has built in MP3 player but you can't really hear it with the engine running. So it's time to put a stereo in this rig.

I picked up a cheap JVC stereo from Bestbuy and brought it back to figure out how to mount it. I have seen the stock plastic mounts rip apart on simple dirt roads, so I know I could not use that. The stereo came with a super thin din mount. It was the right shape to hold the stereo but not nearly strong enough to work as a standalone mount.

I sent the flimsy din mount off to Ed Datin @ datinfab.com and Ed used the mount to create a stronger version made from 16 gauge steel.

I took this new mount and welded the factory upper radio to it's top. On the bottom of the mount I welded on a mount for my CB radio.

Now after a bit of wiring, I'll have some basic trail tunes that won't fall off at the first bump.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy196.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy197.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy198.jpg

[locktup]

Now you can listen to Kenny G. really loud rollin through the Box on three wheels.

[Chris Geiger]

Today, I pulled out the old motor and got a better look at the damage. The #1 rod removed a lot of the block. Looking at it out of the truck, I wish I had just removed the bad rod, cut it down and installed just the rod caps back in the motor. Pulling the pan and doing it from the bottom would have only taken an hour or so I figure. Pulling the truck out of the trail added about 2 hours to the drive out. I think it would have been faster to removing the offending rod and continue.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy199.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy200.jpg

I removed the intake, propane mixer and distributor from the old motor and transferred them to the new motor. The distributor housings look similar but are different. The 1300 housing fit on to the 1600 motor and allowed the use of the 1300 distributor. The 1300 distributor is allready wired to work with the truck, the 1600 dist uses different wires and connectors.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy201.jpg

Here are all the parts that make up the EFI system on the 1600 motor. The propane system replaces all of this:

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy202.jpg

[Kris K]

How much was the PS kit from PSC?

[twotoyota]

i just bought a sami for 200 bucks and it had a hole the same place as your block.. do you know what cause it do blow a hole right there?? is it common for the motor?? i was reading some of the past post and they talked about putting 22r inside.. i have and extra everything toyota .. axles .. trany.. t case.. so i was thinking about doing the complete swap .. do you thin this a good idea?? thanks a lot

[Chris Geiger]

How much was the PS kit from PSC?

The kit runs about $400 from PSC. You will also need a pully for $45 from Trail-Tough and a huge tranny cooler.

[Chris Geiger]

i just bought a sami for 200 bucks and it had a hole the same place as your block.. do you know what cause it do blow a hole right there?? is it common for the motor?? i was reading some of the past post and they talked about putting 22r inside.. i have and extra everything toyota .. axles .. trany.. t case.. so i was thinking about doing the complete swap .. do you thin this a good idea?? thanks a lot

In my case I would have to say it was the negligently abusive driving style that killed the motor. I took in a good amount of water and locked up the motor. After the water ride, I had a nasty rod knock. The rod broke and pushed through the side of the motor about 3 miles later.


Many people have done the complete Toyota swap with motor trans and tcase. It requires a lot of sheet metal cutting as most of the floor will have to be removed to make room for the larger engine and transmission. Also the Toyota power will be about 200 lbs heavier than the Samurai power plant.

[twotoyota]

besides sheet metal.. is there ay huge thing i should know about the swap before i consider it?? what about the drive shafts and the angles?

[Chris Geiger]

besides sheet metal.. is there ay huge thing i should know about the swap before i consider it?? what about the drive shafts and the angles?

It depends on how far you are going to move the rear axle back. I would cut out the floor, then place the motor in the bay and see what you drive shaft angles look like.

[twotoyota]

cool ill see what happens and let you know thanks a lot...

[BCD]

I like it alot, always thought sammy's would be cool with a full toyota drivetrain, shoot, 2500 pounds with a 1600cc motor will do wheelies! Good idea on extending the wheelbase never thought about that to fix the compound angle on the rear driveshaft. Keep up the good work

[twotoyota]

hey bcd i sent you a pm im from new mexico too maybe we can get together and go wheeling sometime

[Chris Geiger]

Progress continues on the 1600 tracker motor install. The temp today hit 110 degrees but the wife and kid were out of town so I spent the entire day working on the Sammy.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy203.jpg

Over the years I have put more than a few motors in to cars and trucks, but this one had to be the easiest water-cooled motor swaps ever . The whole motor with manifolds and all the accessories weighs about 150 lbs.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy204.jpg

To adapt the stock 1.3L 5 speed tranny I purchased a 1600 conversion kit from Pretroworks. The kit arrived two weeks after placing the order. The fit of the motor mounts was exceptional. They were easy to bolt on and when I slid the motor down between the frame rails, the frame bolts dropped in easily. I was able to start all 4 bolts by hand. Stabbing the motor in took only a few minutes once all the tools and parts were in place.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy205.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The swap kit did not include instructions but each of the parts had lables on that that clearly identified where they needed to go. With the engine and transmission in front of me, it took about 1/2 hour to figure out where every thing went.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy206.jpg

With the front stinger on my rig, I choose to install the engine first, then bring the trans in from under the truck. The transmission weighs just 65 lbs, so it was easy to lift in to position.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy207.jpg

The PSC power steering pump kit was designed for use with the shorter 1.3L motor. The taller 1.6L motor uses a different bracket. I'd rather not purchase a new adapter plate so I looked at what I could do to reuse the original adapter on the new motor.

The first thing that was needed was to flatten the backing plate. This was bent from the number one rod pushing against it. The plate was bent to about 10 degrees. Using a vice and hammer I was able to bring it back to normal.

Then I added two new holes to fit the new motor mounting holes. The upper holes were exactly the same. Front to rear alignment of the pump is the same with the holes drilled as shown.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy208.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Today I also added a set of bars on the sides to offer a little more protection for the driver and passenger. I angled the bar down to allow easiey entry/exit. I hate getting old.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy209.jpg

One funny thing about the 1.6L swap in the fan on the motor is offset to the driver side. I have started relocating the radiator over to the right, so that the fan can be effective. Using a torch I removed both the left and right radiator mounts on the frame. On the right side I plan to weld the vertical mount directly to the frame. This will result in the radiator moving over about 1.5", just enough to do the job. Tomorrow I'll fab up a bracket for the left side frame rail.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy210.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Passenger side rad support welded directly to the frame.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy211.jpg

On the driver side, I welded an angle bracket between the rad support and the frame. It just happen to land on one of 4 plates supporting the panhard bar.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy212.jpg

Power Steering Pump and Bracket are back in place on the side of the motor. The redrilled bracket worked well.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy213.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Before I installed the transmission I blasted it with a pressure washer. To make sure I did not have any water inside, I changed the oil. I was surprised that there were no magnetic drain plugs in the transmission.

Magnetic plugs capture tiny steel particles in the oil as the oil passes by the plugs. When changing the oil, simply wipe the plugs with a rag to remove the mound of accumulated steel. Keeping these steel particles out of the oil helps bearing and other moving parts to last longer.

Stock plugs on the left, Toyota magnetic plugs on the right.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy214.jpg

I noticed that drain plug looked similar to a Toyota plug. I walked over the shelf and pulled out a coule of magnetic Toyota plugs. The were identical, including the gasket.

I installed the pair along with new aluminum gaskets. FYI if using this style plug on an aluminum housing you should use an aluminum gasket. When using this plug on a steel housing such as a differential, steel washers should be used.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy215.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Scott from Rock 4X Fab (http://www.rock4xfabrication.com/
) came by our shop on Friday to personally deliver one of his Forrest T-case bucket kits. With it’s precut shape it looks easy to fold up and form around the t-case.

I’ll be doing a full series of photos on how this is put together as well as beefing up the supporting arms.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy216.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Here is the result of a couple of cans of spray paint.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy217.jpg

[dbrown]

updates? trail photos or action shots? You need a gallery.

[twotoyota]

have you done anything to it lately?? take and trips to the trail?

[Chris Geiger]

Yes, I am still working on the little zuk. last week I painted the windshield frame to match the body.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy224.jpg

My new e39.5" X 17" Iroc tires arrived today
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy225.jpg

A new set of t-case mounts from http://www.rock4xfabrication.com/ also arrived today...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy226.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

Scott from rock4xfab installed a set of prototype Trail-Gear 6.5 transfer case gears in to my case.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy227.jpg

To protect the t-case from trail damage, I'll be using a Forrest t-case Bucket...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy216.jpg

To fold it up, I used an adjustable wrench. Following the included folding instructions, I quickly got the basic shape.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy228.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy229.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy230.jpg

With a little adjustment, I ended up with a good fitting shape.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy231.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy232.jpg

Tomorrow evening I'll do a little grinding and welding to finish up.

[miltonseven]

it's about time we had an update, i thought this project was forgotten

[Chris Geiger]

Not forgotten, just moving along at a slower pace. I still have lots of work to do....

After folding the Bucket up, I ground down two points before I started welding it together.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy233.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy234.jpg

I started with a few tack welds, then welded the outside joints. I unbolted the bucket and then welded the inside too.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy235.jpg

Some quick paint and in it goes...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy236.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy237.jpg

[FatAzzRunner]

COME AWN Chris, Get a pic of that thing with the IROKS on it. I have been dyin to see this thing with biggah rubbah!!

Shoot a front view and a side view if possible.

Thanks

[Chris Geiger]

The tires are in storage. I have no way to mount them. The Iroc's are 17" and I have 15" wheels now. As soon as the new Trail-Gear wheels are completed, I will be mounting them up! Here is a photo of the wheels I am waiting for...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/wheel-6lug-600.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

When I built the suspension I knew I would need to make some modifications to the frame to get the most travel possable. Today I finished working on one of the point of contact. This is on the front right of the truck. In this case the upper link bracket contacts the frame. I notched out the affected area.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy238.jpg

Using 2" wide flat steel, I clamped it to pipe. Then with a hammer I molded the bar to the pipe.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy239.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy240.jpg

With a little cutting and grinding it made a great fit.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy241.jpg

After fixing this little problem, I rechecked the suspension travel. With 38" SX tires at 5psi, I was able to clear 49" under the left rear tire.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy242.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

I have been working on making this rig drivable on the street and this week I installed a pair of tail light in the rear crossmember. I used a common 6" long boat trailer LED light assembly. At just $18 each they are a great deal.

Using a torch, I ruff cut the holes for the lights. Then I used a 4" grinder to finish the openings.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy243.jpg

Next I pushed in the rubber gromet and then popped in the lights.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy244.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy245.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

One of the other guys here at the shop was looking to buy a trailer and I had been thinking about ways to make my trailer lighter. I pull the rig with my FJ80 Land Cruiser (Inline 6 Cyl) and the lighter I can make the package I pull the better. I ended up selling the trailer and building a new one from scratch. I started with a 3,500lb Dexter Torsion Bar axle. I built the frame using 2" .120 wall tubing.

I would not recommend a single axle trailer for pulling most trail rigs but the little Samurai is so light that it works well and is well under the maximum load of the trailer.

I connected the axle brakes up to a controller in the FJ80 and the Dexter Axle brakes are the best trailer brakes I have ever used. Once the controller was setup correctly, the stopping power of the axle is incredible.

The low profile axle uses torsion bars inside the main tube to support the weight of the trailer so there are no leaf springs. Bed height is 13", so it is easy to drive up on with no ramps.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy246.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy247.jpg

[tanman2003]

cool, cost to build? what is the width and the length?

[Chris Geiger]

The bed is 79.5" wide and 11' long. It's just the right size for the Samurai. The tongue is a little longer then most at 52" from the front of the bed. This was done so that when used behind a motorhome you can turn tight with the bed hitting the back of the motorhome. It will be enclosed later to hold some extra parts and tools. It cost $900 to build.

[Chris Geiger]

Up till now I have been using a bungy cord to hold down the front hood. Today I installed a hood pin kit. I purchased the kit from Napa auto parts for $15.

I created a bracket to hold the pin in place on the cage under the hood.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy248.jpg

1/4" plate tabs on the front cage corners allow the stock rubber hood stops a place to land when the hood is down.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy249.jpg

Once the hood is closed, pins are installed to keep the hood down.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy250.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy251.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

The 30 Spline longfields have now been installed! No more worrying about breaking Birfields!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy252.jpg

Using a grinder, I ground down the inside bottom of the housing bell to allow the birfs to go in and come out easier. They can be a bitch to get out later if you don't open up the opening before installing them.

[Chris Geiger]

Tubing added to close up the rear of the cage and offer a little protection for the tool box.

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy253.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy254.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy255.jpg

[jackrista]

did you have any troubles geting the smog done with the propane conversion, since you still have plates on that rig??

[Chris Geiger]

Today I installed a Power Tank mount on the back of the rig. I welded the bracket directly to one of the cage supports...

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy256.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/zukitoy257.jpg

[Chris Geiger]

did you have any troubles geting the smog done with the propane conversion, since you still have plates on that rig??

In order to pass smog all the stock parts need to be installed. The propane system does not have a CARB sticker so even though it runs cleaner then gas it's not technically legal in California. I'll need to install a carburettor in two years when the smog is due again.

[Loki]

Pay no attention to the jackass that posted above Chris...that samy looks pretty good to me.

[Chris Geiger]

This week we installed a set of the new Trail-Gear heavy duty Six Shooter Knuckles and steering arms. These are the long awaited upgrade for the stock 4 stud system that is known for coming loose and breaking off studs. The system consists of new steering arms and knuckles that install just like stock knuckles but have an additional two studs on top of each knuckle. No longer will studs come loose after each trail ride.

These steering arms and knuckles are now available for sale!

http://www.trail-gear.com/steering.html

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/2.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/1.jpg

[sandy]

That is just too cool. Great job!!

[Chris Geiger]

I installed a set of Trail-Gear prototype high strength axles for the rear. These are designed for 86-95 Toyota rear axles. The fit just like factory shafts. I did a quick write up on how to change out the axles...

First Remove the C clip from above the retainer.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/3.jpg

Turn the axle assembly upside down and slam the axle shaft in to the ground a few times. After about 10 hits the retainer ring will come off and the backing plate can be removed.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/4.jpg

Neaxt push out the bearings and shaft seal...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/5.jpg

Pop in a new shaft seal...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/6.jpg

Press into place with the palm of your hand...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/7.jpg

Now you are ready to press the bearings back in place. Flip a brake drum over and set it in the bottom of a press.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/8.jpg

Slide a new bearing and the bearing retainer into place. Note, keep the beveled edge of the retainer up away from the bearing. Using a section of 2" tubing, press the retainer down in to position. It just needs to go far enough so that the c-clip can be reinstalled. After the retainer is in place, slide the clip on to the shaft and use the same pipe to slide the c-clip down in to place.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/9.jpg

Using a claw hammer, pop out the inner seal from the axle housing and replace with a new one.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/10.jpg

Remove and replace the housing o-ring.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/11.jpg

Slide the axle back in to place, connect the brakes again and it is done. It took about 1 hour to do each side.

[Loki]

i just realized you got a bobby long shift knob with your 30 splines too...tons of guys do, and i even bought the hub gears with my longs and i didn't get dick :confused: WTF

sorry...had to vent

[Napolian]

i just realized you got a bobby long shift knob with your 30 splines too...tons of guys do, and i even bought the hub gears with my longs and i didn't get dick :confused: WTF

sorry...had to vent

I just got my longs but didn't get a shift knob either:shout:

[Chris Geiger]

I just got my longs but didn't get a shift knob either:shout:

Come on down and fix the shop heater, then I'll give the knob I got with my kit.

[kamyota]

heh heh that could be taken two different ways......the sammy looks awesome, wish i had the funds to build another sammy

[Loki]

how about i come down and fix, you give me that shift knob and a set of sliders :psss:

[tanman2003]

how about i come down and fix, you give me that shift knob and a set of sliders :psss:

man you're into some kinky ****.

[Loki]

:sofa:
man you're into some kinky ****.

[camcruiser13]

wow, thats sweet. llike it alot

[Napolian]

Come on down and fix the shop heater, then I'll give the knob I got with my kit.
I'll try to be there this afternoon, but if I can't get off work early enough then I'll come on saturday if any one is around. Sorry I'm laggin.

[Chris Geiger]

The Trail-Gear 17" beadlocked wheels just came in so I was able to mount up my 39.5 Iroc's

http://www.trail-gear.com/images/2007-989-500.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/images/2007-1038-500.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/images/2007-1023-500.jpg

[Loki]

so i see TG is producing custom seat covers now *eh wheels look good

[jackrista]

so i see TG is producing custom seat covers now *eh wheels look good

look like a sweatshirt.

[Chris Geiger]

I need to recover those seats, they are totally ripped up.

[Lagen Wagon]

look like a sweatshirt.


No way it completly looks like a a custom seat cover to me!:rolleyes:

[Loki]

I need to recover those seats, they are totally ripped up.

nah...the foam on the seat pad looks pretty sick. I think it adds character to the zuki :sofa:

[Chris Geiger]

This last week I added hydro assist steering to the front of the Samurai.

The first step was tapping and drilling the FJ60 steering box for the hydro fittings. Sven punched a set of holes in to the box.
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/12.jpg

I bolted the box back in to place....
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/14.jpg

I mounted the ram on to the face of the pan hard bracket...
http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/13.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/15.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/16.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/17.jpg

[Loki]

that sits pretty nice all in there straight...hopefully i can get mine installed this weekend if i'm not moving. looking good. are you using one of the new prototype pumps?

[Chris Geiger]

Right now I have a PSC pump, but later I will be changing that out for the TG pump.

[Chris Geiger]

When I sold my Land Cruiser the new owner really wanted the winch I had on it after seing photos of it with the winch. So I removed the winch I had on the Samurai and sold it with the cruiser.

That left me in the market for another winch. I finally decided on the Warn PowerPlant winch. This winch is a 9000 lb winch and high capacity air compressor combined in one unit. The 4.6 HP motor powers both the compressor and the winch, so you can run both at the same time. I remove the stock 125' steel cable and installed a synthetic line from www.rockstomper.com The Warn roller faillead was tossed aside in favor of an aluminum fairlead from www.DatinFab.com

The installed weight of the winch is 90 lbs. The compressor puts out and impressive 12 CFP at 0 PSI and 5 CFP at 90 PSI. The compressor shuts off at 100 PSI. Warn has included a small 1/2 gallon tank inside the winch. I still carry my PowerTank for fast tire fills but this makes a great backup.

The PowerPlant winch is so tall, that I won't need to worry about coming up with a grill to finish the front end!

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/18.jpg

http://www.trail-gear.com/bbs/zukitoy/19.jpg

[88samurai]

hey i want to do a 4 link on my samurai with the same fox offroad shox that you got on that red one but fox told me you cant use them onroad but it looks like yours is goin to be onroad so just wanted to here your side of it

[Chris Geiger]

First off, I would recommend switching to the Racerunner shocks. They last longer and hold air/oil better. I continue to hear of people having problems with the fox shocks.

Yes, I drive my truck on the road but not on the freeway. If you plan to drive on the freeway, I would add front and rear sway bars to stabilize the truck. You may also consider coil over shocks as they can be set up with stiffer springs.

[TEXXCRAWLER]

Chris, You have done a sweet ass job on your Zuk from when u 1st started and I hope to get out there on the trail w/u soon.:thumbs: :driving:

[lostsamurai]

I really like what you have done on your sami, ive been thinking about the propane as i've had to move my gas tank anyway for my 9" rear stretch, and to make room for my three or four link (still undecided) But i heard you lose power, is that true or are they just jelous because there still paying 3+ bucks a gallon?:haha:

[Chris Geiger]

I just put it on the scale and I got 1,630 on the front axle and 1,420 on the rear. That is a total of 3050. This was 3/4 full of fuel, loaded ice chest, me, and my standard set of tools in the rig. I carry about 100 lbs more if I am going on an overnight run.

[Chris Geiger]

I really like what you have done on your sami, ive been thinking about the propane as i've had to move my gas tank anyway for my 9" rear stretch, and to make room for my three or four link (still undecided) But i heard you lose power, is that true or are they just jelous because there still paying 3+ bucks a gallon?:haha:

Yes, I believe there is some loss of power running the propane on a stock motor. Maybe a 10% loss of power. The propane system is extremely simple with a single power wire to hook up. It runs the same at all an