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Drivetrain
 The engine
started fairly stock. Early on, I did an ignition upgrade through some ties I had at Autotronic
Controls (you may recognize the product line they are famous for - MSD Ignitions!)
 With
help of the guys at Autotronics, we put in an MSD 6A ignition box, the 8.8mm wires and the
Blaster 2 coil. To use an MSD ignition in the Samurai you have to install a
"Tach Adapter" that MSD makes (pn 8910-HEI). Take a look at the installation
diagram for a better understanding of how this works.
The MSD equipment has now been removed...
The lack of reliability on the trail and on the highway has forced me
back to a stock ignition system. All is well again.
I wanted to take care of the larger stereo power needs and
hopefully a winch in the future, so I put in a dual
battery system using a pair of Optima Red Top batteries. I used the stock
jack mount platform to locate the battery isolator.
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I also added a GM alternator to take care of the
power needs. The little 55 amp alt from Suzuki just didn't handle the job well after the
stereo and extra lights. I first cut and welded the stock alt bracket but then found it
too rigid. I installed a bracket made by Steven Mathewson from up in Canada.
The bracket flexes enough to stand the abuse the heavier alt can dish out. 
The
upper alt bracket (above right) didn't stand up to the abuse... so we
played around on the C&C machines and came up with this massive
engineering marvel. Talk about overkill! The 'motor side' portion is
.5" thick and bolted into the head.