Trail-Gear ZukiToy Buildup

[TGMarketing]

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.



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.....

[TGMarketing]

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.



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.



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.


BTW: Great pictures from the comp. I didn't realize you were the guy running around with the big camera.

[TGMarketing]

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.



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.



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.

[TGMarketing]

Originally Posted by TC

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.

[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

[TGMarketing]

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.

[ZukIzzy]

Originally Posted by 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.



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.



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

[TGMarketing]

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.



Next I ground and sanded the opening.



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.



I used 3 plates to completely cover the hole.



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

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

[TGMarketing]

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



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



Here is a photo with the diff guard installed.

[TGMarketing]

Dean has a 3 link with panhard rod.

Here is the panhard rod:



Right side link:



Left side links:



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?

[TGMarketing]

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.



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!



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



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!

[TGMarketing]

Originally Posted by Gettintheretoy

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.

[TGMarketing]

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.

[TGMarketing]

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.

[TGMarketing]

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.



Front axle and springs are removed.



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.



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

[TGMarketing]

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.



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





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.

[TGMarketing]

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.



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.

[TheBandit]

Originally Posted by Chris Geiger

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]

Originally Posted by TheBandit

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....

[TGMarketing]

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.

[TGMarketing]

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





Here is one that is allready reverse rotation...

[TheBandit]

Originally Posted by 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.

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:

[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.

[TGMarketing]

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.

[TGMarketing]

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.

[Irork]

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

[TGMarketing]

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



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.



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

[TGMarketing]

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



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.



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.



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.

[TGMarketing]

With the Warn 9500i winch in place:

[TGMarketing]

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:



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.



With the axle in place:

[TGMarketing]

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.





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

[TGMarketing]

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".



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



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



Installed photo:

[locktup]

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

[TGMarketing]

Originally Posted by locktup

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?

[TGMarketing]

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.



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





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

[TGMarketing]

Originally Posted by tanman2003

any possibility of a production samurai 4 link suspension?

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????

[TGMarketing]

The rock race up Sledgehammer is ON!!!