why a zuk?

[CaliZuki]

im posting this for a friend. he wants to know why people like zuks for crawling? is it because there small? there wheel base just seams way to short. like if you are flexed out that the tires will lift way to easy. he saw this on that had full size axles non cu. and he wants to do that. between me and my friend we got all the stuff. i even got the zuk. can anyone tell me why these are good. and how they do off road? he does alot of and dunes, hill climbs and is getting into rock crawling. he would also like to know how hard a 350 swap would be in one? ( likes to mud bog)

[MR_DIY]

if you wanna 350 I'd not get a zuk.  that in my opinion defeats the point of a samurai.

they are cool b/c they are somewhat cheap to build, simple, lightweight and are very DIY friendly.  plus they are convertible and removeable doors in less than 20min.

tons of fun if you swap in yota axles and extend the wb like 4".... which is super easy btw.  check out some zuk bbs' for more info like zuwharrie.com 

[79coyotefrg]

unless you like flipping end over end going down hills  i wouldnt even think about putting a 350 in a zuk,  if you have a zuk and want awesome power, get a toyota 4AGE from a corolla

[79coyotefrg]

i could take my old zuki  down any atv trail

[DTB]

plus you can park on sidewalks


..........and chicks think they're cute.

[79coyotefrg]

i saw one yesterday parked on a guys porch

[DTB]

......only in arkanslaw. that's hilarious coyotefrog!

[79coyotefrg]

haha  a wood porch at that 

[CaliZuki]

my buddy wants to do the 350 for alot of power. he has been looking at the onethat i got and  wants to make theframe arund the same lenght as a jeep. if not a lil longer. wants to make it look kinda likea pick up bed on the back. and taper the bed. ( think its called dove tail?) where the tail gate would be it would only be aroun 1 foot wide. he wants the bed to  make lke a  \_/. it will look like a yoda pick up. with a zuk front end. will a 350 fit in one? or would thee be alot of mods to be made to it? i do welding nd fab work so it wont be too hard

[79coyotefrg]

i dont think it would physically fit,  but i could be wrong

[DTB]

I think it would be damn near impossible to fit a 350 (call that a challenge) I do like the idea of the zuki front end with a toy-like pick up bed. sounds trick. Lots of good info on this board and the other zuk boards

[CaliZuki]

what other boards mite that be? i couldnt find any other ones.
ill have to look at tit. is smaller then a jeep up front. and i know a 350 is a stuff for a jeep. ill look into a v6 for one. i know you can get alot of power out of a 22r. but my buddy wants to build his own. one like no one has.

[Rocksurfer]

There is a V8 zuki in Temple City, CA don't know what manufacturer but it definitely sports one and from outward appearances you would not know it has one...... well except for the low rumble as it idles down the street.

I've been the zuki route and they have plus' and minus', setup right they are little dynamo's but since they have become popular I've seen more rolls involving them compared to other rigs including Jeeps. The best thing about them is for the most part they end up being able to slide through an obstacle rather than having to go over it. Once they start having to climb vertical is when I've seen there bad side. Also they don't do side-hills very well either. As to being less expensive to fix up I'd agree that would be a big reason to fix one up but as most find out down the road most everything about them is less than stellar in strength. I fixed mine up with all zuki parts and it did well for the most part. Once you realize the weak points and start upgrading to Yota axles, power-steering, toss out that 1300cc motor and go with a 1600 or worse a OBDII  motor you'll say  :bull crap: about it being cheaper since you are sporting the more expensive components you were trying to avoid in the first place. If for one moment you consider Yota upgrades are in the future of a zuki you should have just bought a Yota in the first place and never looked back. Now if you had to have that "Jeep" look which I considered desirable and want a more stable platform you may think about an Amigo, it is a short wb but not as short as a zuki, it has a wider stance and as FFC has just demonstrated they are and easy sas. Plus they come with a Dana 44 rear and if you do your homework and get one of the 4.3 V6's with an auto and instead of putting a yota axle under it get a  Dana 44 or even a 60 for the front. The Amigo even has a fully boxed frame just like a yota's  and are just as strong.

[MR_DIY]

350 in a zuk...... waste of time.  wouldn't be worth wheeling in my opinion.  all you need is a tracker 1.6 16valve with EFI and a low range tcase gearset and you'll have plenty of power.  good luck

[POWERSTROKEN]

  I bought one with a 4.3 from suzuki lightning conversions and I was raped big time with no KY at all.  It was an 11K rig that junkyard wanna bee's looked like they built it.  However I just purchased one with a 16V in it and after having and feeling the 200HP V6 I have the bug again.   It would take at least a 6" frontal extension for the 350.  The 4.3 is 434 lbs.  I am not sure if I liked the V6 or the auto tranny more?  I currently am seelling my just completed 16V rig so that I can do the 4.3 swap and stretch the wheelbase 100/105"   The 350 is way overbored but to each his/her own.  Good luck with whatever route you choose.  Jim

[Rocksurfer]

[SB: Someone enlighten me instead of just deleting it?]

[CaliZuki]

thnks for your replys. the reason for the 350 is not to have all that power. yes i could get a 16v and be fine. but my bud wants to be like no other. how many 350 zuks have you seen? not to many thats for sure. with a 350 and uncut dana 44 in front and 60 in rear. with 5.13 gears. and a np205 Tcase this thing would be bad ass. as far as up hill goes. it will have a longer rear half. adding around foot and a half to 2 feet. and will fabing 2 back halfs together i can make a lil bed for it. witch would be as wide ans the zuk up front. but only around a foot in the rear. this would be bad ass.

[Rocksurfer]

It would also be very nose heavy. Just don't slam on the breaks, it may flip even to stop for that traffic light that turned red faster than you thought.

[whiteman]

thnks for your replys. the reason for the 350 is not to have all that power. yes i could get a 16v and be fine. but my bud wants to be like no other. how many 350 zuks have you seen? not to many thats for sure. with a 350 and uncut dana 44 in front and 60 in rear. with 5.13 gears. and a np205 Tcase this thing would be bad ass. as far as up hill goes. it will have a longer rear half. adding around foot and a half to 2 feet. and will fabing 2 back halfs together i can make a lil bed for it. witch would be as wide ans the zuk up front. but only around a foot in the rear. this would be bad ass.

So now that you have emphasized, your really not building a normal Suzuki, it's more like a truggy/ crazy off road monster, in that case a 350 would be ok, your runing full widths, but sticking with a d44 up front so 37', maybe 38's but any larger and that front axle will be suffering.  If you are doing as muh work as you say, than almost any thing is do-able. 

[CaliZuki]

i juust looked at the axles i have in my shop. and i got a extra D60 for the rear. and a d44 up front. there both out of mid 70s chevy trucks. and yes he wants to build a monster.  the body will get longer ( around a SB yoda truck) and it will stay the same with. then with the full size axles it will be wide as well a chevy. this is going to be a hill climbing monster. and a beast in the rock. he has a duel Tcase set up for it that he build. wish i had a scaner to show some of his pics he has been drawing. they lok really good. and this thing is sweet. just gathering info on it. so we can start the build.

[rEdnECkwHeE1eR]

Sounds like you have am exact plan of what you want, not sure why you started this thread

[RockSlayer]

One thing nobody mentioned is the Suzuki is within a half inch in all dimensions with the Father of ALL 4x4 vehicles. The Willy's GPW. I have seen many of those with 350's and one with a 427. Never mind they had a 6 inch rear drive shaft. I don't see why a 350 couldn't be swapped into a Zuki. I saw a link somewhere on another thread about swapping a 350 into a Zuki.

[MR_DIY]

One thing nobody mentioned is the Suzuki is within a half inch in all dimensions with the Father of ALL 4x4 vehicles. The Willy's GPW. I have seen many of those with 350's and one with a 427. Never mind they had a 6 inch rear drive shaft. I don't see why a 350 couldn't be swapped into a Zuki. I saw a link somewhere on another thread about swapping a 350 into a Zuki.

it's do-able for sure... but it is also retarded IMO for sure      maybe if you were doing a 7.3 powerstroke it'd be revolutionary, but a 350 has been crammed into mopeds

[RockSlayer]

I was at Funny Rocks a couple of years ago and saw a pretty stock looking Sami with a Mercedes D240 diesel engine in it. I didn't get a chance to talk to the guy, but it was pretty cool. Unfortunately with the diesel torque, and those little stock axles, he shattered his stock Sami birfield climbing up the "V". What a bone shattering sound that was just 5 feet away!

[MR_DIY]

nice.... to get serious in a zuk you need at least toy axles.  they are fun as crap with 31"s and a welded rear though 

[high lakes wheeler]

my friend has a zuk and he is in the process of putting Land Cruzer axles under it with a 4 link with Arostar coils

[Rocksurfer]

nice.... to get serious in a zuk you need at least toy axles.  they are fun as crap with 31"s and a welded rear though 

my friend has a zuk and he is in the process of putting Land Cruzer axles under it with a 4 link with Arostar coils

Again defeating the purpose of getting the bic-lighter of 4x4's in the 1st place, if your gonna start swapping out everything that is Suzuki for Toyota parts, why not just buy a Toyota in the 1st place.

[MR_DIY]

just axles are a weakpoint for 33"s plus in the samurais... everything else is good IMO.  plus they are just as cool IMO.   

[longzuk]

i ran 33 on stock axles for over 3 yrs, never broke one. the only reason i am swaping to toys is that i am going to be running 37s. If you run 33's you will have to learn to be a lot more gentle on the throttle until you have to hommer on it.

Sean,EH

[MR_DIY]

i ran 33 on stock axles for over 3 yrs, never broke one. the only reason i am swaping to toys is that i am going to be running 37s. If you run 33's you will have to learn to be a lot more gentle on the throttle until you have to hommer on it.

Sean,EH

yea- it's possible but I'd grenade zuk axles on 33"s b/c I can't drive worth turd