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i need some opions

1

1978Blazerk5

1/2 ton status
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Well i am going to ask everyone here. i was thinking about setting up my truck to do mild offroading, winch, tube bumper, mud tires. but after looking at the price of tube bumper i am kinda changing my mind. do you think i am better off buying a toyota pickup or a zuki and set that up off road? it would probaly come pretty close to the same price. my truck i would just do mild stuff.

My truck
P8040029.jpg

if i were to build a toy it would be an extanded cab with 35s and a flatbed.

so whats everyones opion
 
if it was me i would use what u have, because easy to mild isnt too bad. just avoid anything that would cause the body damages. or get that special camper truck then be done!:wink1:

edit** ur missing top bolts for the bumper!chrome part
 
I'd keep the blazer. Looks real nice. How much off roading do you really do anyways? Slowly modify the blazer over time. I'd bet that chevy parts are about the least expensive parts around when doing upgrades or replacing things. I'll bet the toy or zuk are going to be just as costly in the long run than the blazer. Plus chicks don't dig Zuks.:D
 
basicaly if i find something i will try it, i am smart though i know not to push my truck to far. i got a friend with a farm who once in a while will let play around in the mud. i also like some trail riding, and like i said mud
 
I vote get a Tracker and beat on it/DD it in the winter. That's what I do.
I just can't bring myself to beat on Big Ugly to hard since it's in such good of shape. I'll use it and play with it but I'm going to protect the hell out of it and yeah, winters aren't happening until I move south.
 
thats kinda the reason i was thinking zuki and you can beat the living hell out of them and they are good in the winter. maybe i should put a winch on my truck and use as a tow rig/ recovory vehical. just like extreme 4x4's suburban gorrila exept with out spending $100,000:doah:
 
Sammies are bad ass. And honestly they are cheap to build and buy. If you can do all the work yourself you save alot more money.
 
my buddy has had one for 6 years it almost industritible and he only has 6 grand into it. ive helped build it for 2 of those years. i am accualy gonna be helping him build another samuria
 
If you are going to DD it consider a Tracker/Kick. They're SOOO much better for driving it's amazing. Lots more cabin space, more ergonomic, better power, and really, very good offroad.
Not to mention a lot of people are into the Sami thing now and they're rusty so they're harder and harder to find in good (or even worth starting with) shape for a decent shape.
Meanwhile a lot of people go, "Ewwww...a Tracker" upon sight of a Tracker/Sidekick.

Got this for $2000:
2186576_19_full.jpg

and have turned it into this:
2186576_67_full.jpg


I got a hell of a deal and the guy was sorta hurting for cash but even so they're undervalued. Even with the big tires (I regeared it) it gets 21-22mpg around town. 8 gallon once a week fill ups rarely touch $26.
Parts are also generally cheap as guys are either scraping them to get parts for Samis or building on their Trackers.
www.Zuwharrie.com and www.Zukiworld.com
 
by me you can get a very nice sammy for around $1000 toyotas are another story, ive seen decent soild axel toys going for around $3000:eek1: :doah:
 
Yeah, the Toys hold their value very well. Even with the rust issues. I'd strongly consider one instead of a Tracker for the bed to haul stuff but man, I just can't see paying $4000 for a '93 4-cyl 4x4 pickup with no options and some body rust. That's why I got my Ranger a few years back. Good truck but the mpg wasn't that great.
 
I would concider buying a ranger. i had a f150 2 years ago(first truck) it was nice truck 302 5 speed i think i was getting anverage of 17mpg which is pretty good for a fullsize truck, and i only paid $900 for the truck
 
I see alot of guys driving around in Sidekick/Trackers. I"ve always wonered how good they were offroad....


I think one would be a fun toy to fool around with. And I have heard of guys just scooping up extras for a few hundred dollars as backups.
 
They're pretty damn good actually. A few years back a friend got a '93 and even on stock HT tread tires he could follow us around with it on the 2 tracks and small hills. I bought it, put "big 29" muds" on it and it was even better. Some skid plates and maybe a rear locker and it would have been great for just about anything. Got 25mpg all day long too.

I was planning something similar with this one but I got such a deal on this thing already lifted on big tires with a sound system that I couldn't pass it up.

I just sold a '90 with a dead engine but solid body and everything else to a friend for $250 and help installing my 5.12 geared 3rds. With that one and two others he had he's built a wheeler on 31's and a 27mpg DD on road tires.
They're great little rigs. People just don't give them credit for so many reasons it's funny. Honestly, they're wider and longer than a Sami and with the coil springs all around they ride better and are more stable on the road. Off road the MacPherson strut IFS actually has decent travel and is pretty resilient up to 31" tires and moderate wheeling. Beefing can be done with junkyard parts and they'll wheel hard all day long with care and said beefing.
Samis are great but they ride like crap, are cramped inside, lack power, and when stock they have less travel than the Trackers do, IFS included.

Can't beat either for parking on campus though. The Tracker's a winter warrior. I fit in all the small spaces, spaces people parked screwy next to, and can even climb into the ones where the plow guys dumped snow half into. Not to mention with the bedliner no one wants to ding my doors...not that I car if they do.
 
How much lift is that??

And can you do a solid axle swap on things??

I mean I know somebody CAN do the swap, anythig is possible, but is there a kit out??

And Calmini (is that correct) has a bunch of stuff for these things too right??

I was looking at buying a sammy before I bought my first truck. Those Zuks have a good amount of aftermarket backup....
 
samurias do know but when my friend built his everyting was custom done. what i like about zuki is that toyota axels will bolt right in place no modifcations needed(if you already did a spring over)
 
I know this is COMPLETELY of topic, But I remember looking for pictures of sammys, and found a really winner...

It was a show truck, and the guy 3 or four staked chassis, and a one or two inch block in between each one.... Made me chuckle, I wish I could find the pic again...

I tried searching for it about a week or two ago, and couldn't find it again. I'll try again later on...
 
On mine it's 6". 3" Calmini body lift and suspension lift combo.
If I had built it I'd have gone another route. Either an OME 1.5-2" lift or Boondox 3" lift and a 2" body lift with some fender cutting/hammering to fit 31's on less backspacing. Hey, I got it this way.

Calmini's got a so-so reputation. They make stuff and some people swear by it but they also make crappy stuff and sometimes their service is bad. Also famous for unveiling stuff they're bringing out and then never bringing it out...sorta like their SAS kit.
It's decent quality but their instructions suck and I can say for one that their coil springs ride rough. They intend for you to put a big bumper on each end and have a large spare hanging on the back with a winch on the front. I have none of that so my 3" suspension lift is more like 4", alignments are fun, and it rides pretty stiff. If you ask them about this phenomenon they say you're crazy despite people knowing about it for years now.

There's several companies either working on SAS kits, with kits, or purporting to have one. Lots of folks have done it themselves using Sami front axles, Toy axles, and stuff like Waggy axles. Even seen one on Rockwells.
Toy axle pads are about perfect for doing leaf springs on a Tracker.
Honestly though the trend right now is beefing the IFS. Do a search for a guy named Mark Hagan and you'll be surprised. Widened A-arms and mounts, Toyota axles, steel 3rd housings, BEEG tires, and a Tracker that eats Wranglers for lunch. Low unsprung weight, lightweight parts, good travel, able to go fast, etc etc etc.

Heh...there was one on eBay a while back down in Florida that had more lift than should be legal on an original WB Sami, a blown V6, neon paint, and 38" TrXus STS's. The leaf springs looked sorta like GM 20" lift springs.
---> U :doah:
 
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