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 with Bill Johnston
We started with an 87 Samurai that had lockers (front and rear) and 4.16 gears in the transfer case. The SPOA conversion was on the 'iffy' side, but it kept the fenders off of the 31" tires. It was capable of doing many of the 'normal' trails in the area (Las Cruces), but we wanted to do more... More comfort, more flex, more safety... just more... |
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| Seats | ||
  First
thing to go were the shredded Samurai seats. The vinyl was torn in many
places and the backs were in tatters. We picked up a set of Sidekick seats
that were in really decent shape and made the (sawzall) adjustments. A few
minutes with the welder and a little paint and the cockpit had a whole new
look and feel. For more details on how to do this yourself, check out the
article by Mike Lewis this month. |
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  The
newer, cleaner (more complete) seats gave a fresh look while the
meaty side bolsters add to the comfort and security. The conversion lifted
the seats about an inch, but the stock Samurai mechanicals underneath
still allowed the seat to move forward and back like it was supposed to. |
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| Test Twist | ||
  Before
doing any suspension work, we put the tires up on a ramp to check the
flex. The vehicle already had a SPOA conversion done, but we still
couldn't get more than one tire up a ramp. A SPOA conversion can net you
much more flex than stock, but we wanted as much 'usable' flex as we could
get without going to something exotic. "Keep it Simple" but make
it flex...
You will also notice the new STC top with roll-up sides. That, combined with the 33" tires gave the Zook a whole new look. |
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  In
this front shot, you can see that the rear tires are on flat ground. When
we are done, both front and rear tires will be lifted at opposite ends so
that the tire lift will get to at least 32". This is achieved by
using a set of 16" ramps. But first we needed to get the 'stiff'
suspension gone... |
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| Front Suspension | ||
  Before
we could start playing with the suspension, we needed to stop the flow of
oil through the old and leaky axle seals. We talked to Rick Hawk at Hawk 'Stricktly
Suzuki' and he set us up with a pair of front axle rebuild kits. These
kits replaced all the bearings and rubber seals as well as the
felts. |
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  Staying
on the front end, we replaced the leaf springs with a set of (longer) rear
springs. This moved the axle forward about 1.5" to make room for the
33" tires we were going to add. To do this we used a set of Rocky
Road Outfitters Missing Links up front. This will not only give us a
smoother ride (longer springs) but it will also allow for more 'droop'
when getting through an obstacle. |
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  The
photo on the left is 'before', using stock springs in a SPring Over
Axle configuration at full droop. The photo on the right is also at
full droop, but is 'after' putting stock rear springs up front and adding
a set of Missing Links from Rocky Road Outfitters. This effectively moved
the axle forward approximately 1.5 inches. Longer wheelbase, more
stability. But it does bring up a steering issue. We will be using a brand
new product to take care of the concern. |
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| Steering | ||
  This
dropped drag link was fine with stock springs, but with the added height
of the new configuration the bump steer was really bad. Time to move the
steering linkages up higher. Andy's Samurai Steering is a relative
newcomer to the industry, but it effectively moves both the drag link and
the tie rod to a point above the springs. |
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  The
system includes a pair of arms that mount to the brake caliper using
longer bolts. It also secures to the original tie rod mounting arm for
support. |
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  Also
included are a new drag link and a new tie rod. The drag link uses
replaceable stock Suzuki tie rod ends. This allows a person to change the
tie rod end that connects to the pitman arm to whatever they need
depending on the kind of power steering system they have installed. |
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  As
you can see, this system moved everything up out of harms way. During the
trail thrash test (more details later) the new rods never came close to
the rocks... and although it doesn't completely get rid of the bump
steer issue, it makes it comes closer than most of the other systems out
there. |
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09/15/04 14:52
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