The

Project
 


The aluminum radiator came from Petroworks. It was an easy install and it made a major difference in the summer desert heat.
The rear locker is an electric unit seen mostly in the UK and Europe. It is made by KAM Differentials and comes with rear axle shafts that are 40% stronger than stock. They build them in-house to control quality.
The differential gears are 4.57's to replace the stock 3.73's. This really made a difference when it came time to hit the highway.
The 3" OME spring packs were ripped apart and reconfigured using CJ and stock Sammy springs to form a very stable 2" lift that took a beating on the trail as well as powering through tunr on the road. The stance was widened with 1" wheel adaptors from Spidertrax and MudBuster flares to cover the new tire position. The stance made it less 'tippy' in hard turns at higher speeds.
This was the start to achieving more power. Instead of going to a larger powerplant, we planned to beef up a stock 1.3ltr and cause folks to wonder. Matched rods, flat topped pistons, balanced crank, insane cam, and new...  everything.
OK, we did go larger, but it is still a 1.3ltr. We went from a 1298cm3 to a 1324cm3. This is what it looked like before a few other changes.

The 88.5 tranny was replaced with a freshly rebuilt 'early model' 87 that came stock with a higher 5th gear. This allowed for a higher top speed while running a lower rpm. There was plenty of power to push it...

We connected it to the engine with a Petroworks HD clutch. It combines organic and feramic pucks to give a streetable attitude that won't fail when it gets serious.

The transfer case got some attention. We removed the center detent ball to allow the installation of a set of twin sticks. This made true neutral and 2wd/low a possibility. These sticks came from Rock 4x Fabrication and got topped off with a Dana 300/Sammy hybrid boot.
We threw LED rock lights underneath, but made sure they were white so they wouldn't get confused with the 'ricer' crowd neons.
   

 

 The top came from Rally Tops. It is a newly designed remake of a model they sold back when the Samurai was available new. This model has a few new tricks and looks even better than the original.
Basic Specs

Year / Model - 1988.5 Samurai Convertible

Drivetrain - 1.3 ltr, bored 20 over , custom cam, flat top pistons, oversize aluminum radiator
                     Harley Davidson Screamin' Eagle 44mm big bore CV carb conversion (side draft)
                     Doug Thorley Header, 2" exhaust, early 5 speed tranny (higher 5th gear ratio)
                     TwinStick equipped transfer case, stock gears
                     Gusseted stock front axle housing
                     KAM rear axle shafts (40% stronger) in a custom housing
                     for the KAM electric locker
                     4.57 R&P gears
                     Custom rear drive shaft fed through a drive shaft disconnect

Suspension - Up Front: Custom 2" spring packs with Currie Tow Shackles
                                       OME Steering Stabilizer
                                       Extended gas shocks
                                       stock sway bar

                     Out Back: Custom 2" spring packs custom shackles
                                        Extended gas shocks

Wheels / Tires - 31/10.50/15R Courser Radial AWT
                            on 15x8" white steel Crawler rims

Bumpers - Stock with brush guard

Additional Accessories -- Fold-down/Removable windshield, Sport Hard Top from Rally Tops, Rock Biter Rocker Skids, Crab pumpkin hat in front, Spidertrax battery tie downs, removable doors, On-Board Air with air tank, Fully sprayed Vortex tub liner, LED rock lights.

Scheduled upgrades -- Always...

 
Additional Stock Tidbits:

Samurai Accessory Sheet
(with part numbers)

Additional part numbers:

OEM front turn signal guard set - 99000-99023-128