1987 Sammi

[warrpath4x4]

Last night I got the alternator bracket fixed but there's still not much room between the alt fan and the water pump pulley.

The wiring directions I found kept talking about a red/white wire but my wires were different colors and there was actually 3 wires coming from the plug but 1 was cut, so I started stripping tape back and find this lol

I am not sure exactly where this thicker wire goes, it runs into a bundle that then runs inside the cab, when installing a bigger alternator I usually run bigger wires to the battery, I am not sure if I should/could get rid of this wire or if I should just piggyback a bigger wire from alt direct to the battery.

and while tracing that wire I found these behind the battery, so I will fix them before they create bigger issues

 

[warrpath4x4]

We wired up the alternator last night, then the sami wouldn't crank. Took a little bit of troubleshooting and found when I was moving the wiring around I pulled the starter wire off. She has way better throttle response with the new carb and idles smoother, definitely recommend the carb swap.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Really didn't even touch the sammi this weekend, took my Son to the pumpkin patch Saturday and did some grocery shopping, Sunday we pulled the window A/C units from the bedrooms, I made bacon jam and jalapeno bacon jam, and smoked a roast.

Today I ordered a Prius electric steering column to adapt into the sammi.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Been out of the Suzuki world for a while but that's a new swap I've never heard of.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Been out of the Suzuki world for a while but that's a new swap I've never heard of.

its a pretty easy swap from everything I am reading, you have to build one bracket to mount the electric motor (it can either be mounted under the dash or replace the steering shaft), some people are bolting the rag joint to the Prius shaft and some are welding half the rag joint to the Prius shaft eliminating the rubber in the rag joint.

screenshot stolen from Fabbin Adventures

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Huh. So adds in power steering without having to swap in the old school p/s stuff?

 

[warrpath4x4]

Huh. So adds in power steering without having to swap in the old school p/s stuff?

Ya instead of hydraulic steering it’s electric, it will pull a little power but I gotta think it’s less of a drain than adding a hydraulic pump to the massive 65 horsepower lol

 

[warrpath4x4]

Got my auxiliary battery tray roughed out last night

its a little bit of a squeeze but the placement is almost perfect, it will be a really short run to power the prius electric steering.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Ya instead of hydraulic steering it’s electric, it will pull a little power but I gotta think it’s less of a drain than adding a hydraulic pump to the massive 65 horsepower lol

These teach you to do more with less.
Years ago I knew a guy with a FI GM 2.5L 4cyl and 5 speed out of a S10 in one. Thing ripped like it had a big block.

 

[warrpath4x4]

battery tray is just about done, I need to drill 2 more mounting holes into the fender, and drill the hole(s) for the hold down. I am planning on using one J-hook and a rivnut in the top flange of the fender for securing the hold down, then shoot it with some paint.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Still need to pull it back out and paint it and cut the J-hook down but here is the otherwise finished battery tray.

countersunk the bolts

used a rivnut and a 6M bolt for this side

its nothing really special but I threw a beadroll in the hold down, really stiffens it up

Now to start building cables.

 

[warrpath4x4]

finished the dual battery install, painted the tray with bedliner, put a strip of rubber between the battery and the hold down, built new #2 battery cables, installed the VSR battery "isolator". it cranks over WAY faster now

then I was playing with my new spot weld cutter and removed the (not sure what you call it) piece that holds the plastic trim on the side. Not as bad as I was expecting, sometimes there are rust holes behind here.

you can see though that its dented towards the front. I plan to add some rocker protection and remove the current steps.

I kind of bounced around on projects after getting the batteries done, I removed the jack holder from under the hood (again playing with my spot weld cutter) and will be installing the winch controller in that space. I made a bracket to hold the controller and I started working on the winch mount, but no pics of those yet.

 

[warrpath4x4]

the other night I bent up some scrap sheet metal and made a mount for the winch control box inside the engine bay where the stock jack holder was, took a couple nights of shooting it with bedliner and letting it dry. I mounted it last night but obviously the box isn't mounted yet, just sitting there to check out any clearance issues.

Started prepping the frame for the winch mount, I am making bolt on but trying to make it better than the 4 original bolts lol.

sleeved the 4 bolt holes with 1/8" thick tubing

capped the ends

as mentioned before I sleeved the tube crossmember with a piece of 1.5" pipe, I am trying to work out a way to tie into the crossmember to add strength to the winch mount (I have a plan but need to see how it plays out)

 

[warrpath4x4]

got the winch plate cut out, bent, and recessed for the crossmember.

its just squeezed between the rails right now, of course my goofball had to be in one of the pictures lol

 

[max 02]

Cool Suzuki!
I’ve always liked them, hard to find for a decent price though.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Cool Suzuki!
I’ve always liked them, hard to find for a decent price though.

thanks,

ya i have looked for one before but never liked the prices, This one just dropped in my lap at an awesome price.

 

[warrpath4x4]

I didn't get much time last night to work on it, had to get hay tarped before this storm that rolled in last night.

I did get the mounting holes drilled for the winch plate and got the grill cut to recess the winch in, I need to come up with something different for the front turn signals.

the winch is not bolted down, once I get the fairlead mounted I will probably slide the winch forward about half an inch giving it more room in front of the radiator, but I like how high and tucked in it sits.

13,000 pounds might be a little overkill for a Samurai lol but I already had it, it was this 13,000 pounder or another 13,000 pounder, an old Belleview winch, or a 2,000 ATV winch.

 

[warrpath4x4]

its not finished but its closer, I still need to drill the mounting holes for the winch, build the fairlead mount, cap off the ends of the tube, and paint.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Got the bumper mounted, winch on and wired, grill back in, i just need to decided what I am going to do for turn signals.

Tip for anyone who needs it, when trying to transfer hole locations to a template, I use soda boxes and a ballpeen hammer, tap where the hole is and it cuts it clean.

back to the bumper, I pulled the sammi out of the shed to get some better light and better pictures.

The turn signals were mounted behind the grill but after trimming the grill to fit the winch, there's not enough room. I could put them back behind the grill at angles but not sure I want to. I know there's lots of options for replacements, I just need to decide.

 

[warrpath4x4]

I forgot to mention, the original bumper on this weighed 80 pounds by itself, this one weighs 35 pounds and the winch is 40 pounds. So overall its 5 pounds lighter and has a winch now.