Author Topic: Samurai?? (Read 12104 times)

dirtman · « **on:** May 23, 2005, 02:23:07 PM »

what is the general consensus on samurai's? I ahve never wheeled one or seen one in action. There is a guy who wants to trade me my 86 yota for one. He has alot more done to his but im just not sure how they compare to the yotas. reliability etc...
any input would be appreciated

awhotrods · « **Reply #1 on:** May 23, 2005, 03:31:55 PM »

don't do it, sami's are cool, but yotas are alot better to wheel with. Parts are also alot cheaper and abundant for yota's. The wheel base on a sami is the main problem, they are too short to climb, and drivetrain is gutless and weak. Just my 2cents.

mudmaster · « **Reply #2 on:** May 23, 2005, 03:45:33 PM »

Agree. Too short and under powered.

WHITE_TRASH · « **Reply #3 on:** May 23, 2005, 03:53:36 PM »

Gut the sami and swap it all out to yota running gear and punch the wheelbase about 12" and it'll go more places then you'd think....

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #4 on:** May 23, 2005, 07:00:38 PM »

Quote from: dirtman on May 23, 2005, 02:23:07 PM

what is the general consensus on samurai's? I ahve never wheeled one or seen one in action. There is a guy who wants to trade me my 86 yota for one. He has alot more done to his but im just not sure how they compare to the yotas. reliability etc...
any input would be appreciated

Had one didn't like it felt very insecure wheelin it. Some of my club members have them from mild to wild and like them, they call them the bic lighters of 4 wheel drive vehicles but with some of the stuff that they have done to them I don't think that they'd be tossing them in the trash when they run out of gas.

MiniSimp · « **Reply #5 on:** May 23, 2005, 07:08:50 PM »

psychotoy · « **Reply #6 on:** May 23, 2005, 07:13:53 PM »

On e of my peeps' sammi's 36 tsl's, toy running gear etc.

psychotoy · « **Reply #7 on:** May 23, 2005, 07:14:23 PM »

one more pic

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #8 on:** May 23, 2005, 09:40:09 PM »

Quote from: psychotoy on May 23, 2005, 07:14:23 PM

one more pic

Hey a Samurai's favorite position.

awhotrods · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2005, 09:40:56 PM »

talk about a cold air intake with that K&N in the snow

kneedownnate · « **Reply #10 on:** May 23, 2005, 09:57:14 PM »

Quote from: WHITE_TRASH on May 23, 2005, 03:53:36 PM

Gut the sami and swap it all out to yota running gear and punch the wheelbase about 12" and it'll go more places then you'd think....

man, great minds think alike.....and so do we. I love em and would do it if I could, but other projects come first. I know where there's about a 73ish suzuki jimny just sittin there, and no I ain't gonna tell where.

dirtman · « **Reply #11 on:** May 23, 2005, 10:34:26 PM »

the main reason i was thinkin about it is that my yota is pretty uch stock except for a 2in body lift and some body armor. Plus mine has a shitload of miles on it. The sami has a spring over kit on it with 7in of lift and lockers front/rear, motr with 30k on it and brand new tranny and t-case. The interior is all rhinolined with drain plugs and it has a snorkel. But like you guys say, the wheelbase is shitty. I would probably put all yota running gear under it eventually but the new stuff on ti sounds good. thanks for the input. He is gonna send me more pics tomorrow so ill have to see.

Anglewood · « **Reply #12 on:** May 24, 2005, 02:24:59 AM »

My uncle has a semi-modified Sami (low transfer case gears and spring over)that he has taken places I wouldn't dream of taking my '88 Toyota (Mostly stock). He scored some body damage and scared the crap out of his kids, but they are damn capable rigs. Before buying my Truck, I was considering a Sami, but I was presented with a great deal by a neighbor of mine for my yota. All in all, Ii think that samis and toyotas are a lot alike; good aftermarket support, light and agile, and releatively cheap. I would stay with the Toyota for the strength of the parts (stock), but a well built sami can hang with the best of them IMHO. Just wait until I get an SAS and a Marlin then my uncle will be following me instead of the other way around.

Lates,

Connor

jr9162 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 24, 2005, 02:22:04 PM »

Put 79-85 Truck axles in it, a W56 w/tcase, and adapt a VW 1.6 or 1.9 diesel to the tranny. Now u have a wheeling rig.

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #14 on:** May 24, 2005, 08:20:36 PM »

My Sammi was a very capable little rig, and if you stay with Sammi parts they are very cheap to build. The $-pit starts when you start swapping in Toy axles, change over to coils, stretch it, drop in a sidekick motor, etc., etc. Once you're finished you end up with a very capable Toyuki but if you would have just built a Yota in the first place it would have cost less.

dirtman · « **Reply #15 on:** May 25, 2005, 12:45:22 AM »

yea i decided to just stick with building up the yota... the sami is just not gonna be powerful enough to use as my daily driver and i just really like my toyota

mr4x42u · « **Reply #16 on:** May 25, 2005, 01:04:30 AM »

sammi's are cool as hell when built right.i have seen many that do very well..The key is fuel injection,,low gears and toy axles..They seem to rock just fine set up like that..I have seen many built like that and kick a$$ on trails..

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #17 on:** May 25, 2005, 06:51:55 AM »

Quote from: mr4x42u on May 25, 2005, 01:04:30 AM

sammi's are cool as hell when built right.i have seen many that do very well..The key is fuel injection,,low gears and toy axles..They seem to rock just fine set up like that..I have seen many built like that and kick a$$ on trails..

True, but why go through all the hassle when a Toy comes with those axles, some come with fuel injection and at that point just add a Marlincrawler and lockers and off you go.

gonzo · « **Reply #18 on:** May 25, 2005, 07:03:40 AM »

Quote from: Rocksurfer on May 25, 2005, 06:51:55 AM

True, but why go through all the hassle when a Toy comes with those axles, some come with fuel injection and at that point just add a Marlincrawler and lockers and off you go.

Makes sense to me.

mr4x42u · « **Reply #19 on:** May 25, 2005, 11:37:36 PM »

to be different,,,believe it or not sammis will go places a toy wont,,and vise versa..different stokes for different folks..

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #20 on:** May 26, 2005, 12:06:47 AM »

Quote from: mr4x42u on May 25, 2005, 11:37:36 PM

to be different,,,believe it or not sammis will go places a toy wont,,and vise versa..different stokes for different folks..

This would be true for a Sammi that sports the original axles, but if you swap in Toy axles you are now just as wide as the truck. At that point the Sammi would only win in a short wb situation, where as the Yota would win or equal the Sammi everywhere else.

WHITE_TRASH · « **Reply #21 on:** May 26, 2005, 12:11:02 AM »

*cough* light weight, narrow tub *cough* There is a reason I dovetailed my truck. The bed is too wide to make many turns in the trees in the PNW and even with 10" bobbed from it I ripped out the tailights everytime I took it out. You guys that dont live near tree's dont need such things but around here they are vital for survival.

Rocksurfer · « **Reply #22 on:** May 26, 2005, 12:14:38 AM »

You have a point there, I could squeeze through things others had to climb over but ledges are fricken scary in a Sammi.

mr4x42u · « **Reply #23 on:** May 26, 2005, 12:18:22 AM »

they both have pros and cons..I'd build a sammi before i built a jeep,,or any like wheeler,,thats for sure..

kyle_22r · « **Reply #24 on:** May 27, 2005, 07:00:02 PM »

as much as i love toys, i think a sami is a better "out of the box" wheeler, since they have crossover steering. they're cheap to build, but i wouldn't spend too much money on one.

Skinny_Pedal · « **Reply #25 on:** May 28, 2005, 01:40:45 AM »

i could see myself completely gutting my 83 once it's done for a sammy. only because my 1st gen is nothing special so taking the goodies to swap into a sammy would be sweet. my only problem is there short wheel base. i was with white trash on a run and we kept watching this yellow sammy that was very well built, but that stub of a wheel base it had a fun time doing easy obsticles

longzuk · « **Reply #26 on:** May 29, 2005, 08:32:33 PM »

my 2cents

go for it. i have 43 in of travel run 33's on stock axles. the only thing you would need is fuel injection, and some more gear. just don't be to hard on the go peddle cause yuo can twist an axle with a locker. so far i haven't had that prob but am sure my time is near. been runnin the 33's for 4 yrs on the stock axles.

Add some yotas and your good to go for along time. they are easy to stretch by addin yj leafs all around. it gives 3 or 4 in more wb.

Sean,EH

camo89 · « **Reply #27 on:** May 31, 2005, 06:39:38 AM »

samies are cool i have had 5 of them in the past years my biggest complaint is if thay are used for aney thing outher than 1 pirson goting to work or 2 pepole wheeling thay are to damn small to be comfortable but for a all out wheeler thay work awsome with or with out toy axels just get t-case gears wich also lower your high range and your done

tanman2003 · « **Reply #28 on:** Jun 03, 2005, 07:14:21 AM »

check out sky-manufacturing and calmini and see what you can buy and how much it costs. sky sells some good priced pieces.

red90runner · « **Reply #29 on:** Jun 07, 2005, 02:13:00 PM »

samurais are awesome. I have one. Spring over axle lift, YJ leaf springs, 6.4:1 T case, dual lockers on stock axles. It crawls really well. It can fit through places nobody else can and it is fun to drive. There are a ton of aftermarket parts and are cheap. The one thing I wish I had was fuel injection, as everyone else has stated. Most people swap in sidekick engines and toy axles, but thats expensive. I will wheel it until I break stuff, and so far I haven't. Do what you want, you will be happy with either. I love both my 4runner and my sammi.

dirtman [OP]

dirtman [OP]

Related Topics