Topic: Not So New Guy From So. Cal.

[Rocksurfer]

  Hello, everyone, I’m not new to Marlin’s products but was lured to the dark side (Samurai) by some of my fellow club members. Well I learned my lesson and picked up a 1980 Toyota Longbed this week and plan on building it into a dependable and stable wheeler. I never felt comfi in the Sami, plus it seems something happens to someone in my club every time we go out be it roll-overs, snapped axles, engine fires and so on and so on I got rid of my Sammi about a 1 ˝ years ago but then had this beautiful 48 Willys dropped into my lap. It is really clean, but it just is not ready yet for duty. I took it to the Rubicon last July and am just now fixing it back to trail readiness. When it broke I needed to tow it from the slabs, had a broken frame, steering box and tcase. The vehicle that towed/dragged me back to camp, an extra-cab Toyota with Marlin Crawler gears. Well that settled it I was going to return to my roots, a Toyota. I’ve owned 5 now 6 Toyota’s, 2 Samuai’s, a Dodge Ramcharger which I wheeled after I broke the Willys and the Willys. You could say I’ve come full circle, and now realize what I feel most comfi and confident in, the Ramcharger is the only one that came close but it was just to big for most trails that I love to run.

  Anyways, again hello and I will soon start buying from Marlin, pretty much exclusively. I known him since my first TDS, we took his red early 80’s longbed and put both or is it all 3 tcases in low let it crawl through camp, then measured the distance it traveled vs. the time it took to travel that distance and pretty much determined that if we started it in the morning and let it idle across a football field we could return the next morning and shut it off before it reached the other end.

  One more thing, a good friend of mine, Steve Miller is the founding father of the 4Runner Jamboree, some of you may remember us Steve had the 87 gray runner, Paul Acosta had the white 85, I had the black 86 turbo and my brother had the 87 gray turbo with the 35’s under it and no top. I was glad to see the Tinbenders take it over this year.    

Edit: What's with the turtle with the gear stuck in his

[WHITE_TRASH]

Yup you came full circle alright.  Now its time to have some fun again.  Now its Mikey's (Marlins son)turn to build a truck.  You guys are starting your projects at damned near the same time, heck they are pretty much the same rig's too.  If you want some ideas of what NOT to do check out my $300 thread in the projects section.  I started out with a 81 shorty and it seriously evolved from there.  The turtles you are talking about float across your screen dont they?  Click on them and you will either be given points or have some taken away :rolleyes:  Mike thought we need a game to play I guess, but it keeps us out of trouble I suppose.

[Rocksurfer [OP]]

One of my main reasons for going back to a Yota is I know them inside and out, I took a 1985 that was a frame and cab only, completly stripped out and had it on Stone Canyon during Panamint Valley Days in 6 mos. My 4Runner was IFS but that didn't scare me I wheeled the hell out of it..... mostly on 3 or 2 wheels.

[WHITE_TRASH]

There is a huge gratification in know ing a rig inside and out.  I just got a 90 2 wheel drive road worthy after having everynut and bolt out of it.  Now its SAS'ed with a wiring harness and engine out of a 94, thats a hell of a lotta work.  But the satisfaction is what make the journey worth it.

[Rocksurfer [OP]]

I know what you mean, one of my Sammi's was a lowrider when I first got it. I went to get it smogged and it high-centered on the ramp. Once I was done with it I had 32's under it, lockers front and rear, so on and so on. I enjoyed putting it together but once I started wheelin it I had second thoughts. The main thing I did not like about it was there is a trail above Silverwood Lake in San Bernadino Nat. Forest and there are several up-hill ledges that I used to climb without hesitation in my Yota but opted out in the Sammi, then watched a buddy try in his Sammi only to stand it on its tail until it decided which way to fall. Don't know why I ever got out of a Yota, dang Sammi make me want to  Though a buddy of mine, the same one that rolled got a hold of a LWB Sammi (Canada), really did a nice job fixing it up, I think the wb is real close to a standard bed Yota.

[WHITE_TRASH]

This sammi was at Goldendale for the calrocs event a few weeks ago.  It is all yota under the skin, he used a sb yota and stretched a sammi body to fit.  It worked really well.

[yotaboy79]

welcome glad that you re converted back to yota

[Rocksurfer [OP]]

This sammi was at Goldendale for the calrocs event a few weeks ago.  It is all yota under the skin, he used a sb yota and stretched a sammi body to fit.  It worked really well.

Yeah, we also have a club member that stretched his sammi too, but he left it a sammi under the skin helped his rig alot to go for the longer wb. He learned the hard way about a sammi's wb rolled it at Truckhaven a couple years ago. Since I've been wheelin' I've seen 2 Yota's roll in almost 15 yrs., in the past 3yrs. since these sammi's started invading our club I've seen about 6 or 7 roll. More reasons I decided not to stay with a sammi.

...and thanks for the welcome yotaboy79

[84runner]

Welcome  an keep us up to date with a project thread 

[Rocksurfer [OP]]

Welcome  an keep us up to date with a project thread 

I would do one but it would be years in the making since I build as I play. I know I could just throw a bunch of stuff under it but that would take all the fun of it out for me. My first rig started out open-open on 31's and progressed from that point to a trustworthy rig over 3 years of wheelin' and upgrading. Like I said earlier, I had just gotten to the point to where I was talking with Marlin about putting crawler gears in it when I sold it once I cracked the frame twice in the same spot in as many runs. Plus I had the 4Runner with the auto and there is no crawler available for the auto unless I went to a GM auto trans which I had talked to Marlin about doing, just before I got talked into the Sammi.

I took it out to Azusa this weekend and was very impressed with it's capabilities with only Downey limited-slips and wore out 31's. Went anywhere I wanted to go, started out on the smaller less rutted climbs and moved on to the 44" tire rutted hill climbs and had no trouble at all.  Then behind us there were some Truckhaven type twisties that she just walked right through. I think I can say I'm in Yota heaven again, after a stint in poser's hell. 

 It is like "What Was I Thinking"!

[84runner]

Glad to hear you are happy with it  and it don't matter how long it takes to do a project  I know I will never be done with mine