What to watch out for?

[TurdFerguson]

Hey guys,

I'm going to look at a sami (tintop) this weekend and am wondering if there are any not so obvious things I should look out for before buying. This will be my first suzuki, (just sold my 4Runner), so other than rotten floors and usual rust anything else.

Also the guy said it is an 85 Samurai, so I'm guessing this would be the canadian 85, same as us 86-88. Is that correct.

If not what would be the big differences between and 85 413 and an 86 sami?

Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate any info info you can offer.

Cheers
Mike

[MuddMachine]

Take it for a drive and try to reach a decent hiway speed, the rads are small and often clog. Look for smoke too!

[TurdFerguson]

Thanks, I'm gonna check it out tonight, I'll let you know what it's like next week.

[longy442]

85's can be wierd, usually a combo of parts from pre 85 and after 86. check if its a 1l or 1.3l the number of trani gears should give this away. 1l had 4sp. 1.3l had 5sp. Also likely the axles will be narrower than the 86 on's. May also have a t-case break. my 85.5 did. Lots of differences and I remember I had tonnes of problems finding after market part for my 85.5, no one had lists before 86. Many parts are the same but some are different. I remember I couldn't get break pads and ended up switching all my parts to 86 and up. Good luck.

[john1974]

Yep get it up to highway speeds, test the 4wheel drive, make sure it doesnt overheat should know pretty quickly. also look for oil behind distrib housing which would be all over top of tranny and up to distrib, and valve cover leaks, oil pan leaks... all this is easy fix but if the guy doesnt know that you might be able to talk him down some. look behind tires where axles meet the wheels for leaks too.

John

[BIGZOOK69]

i had a 85 tin top,from what i remember it was such a pain in the ass!i couldn't find parts,the rear axle was fubared and 86-87 stuff didnt work.i ended up putin a 88 axle which looked bad cuz it was wider then the front.then i traded it for 91 excel..in MY opinon i would go with a 90+fuel injected model.its newer, parts(somewhat) are around,less wrenching to bring up to par.

p.s 85's have a weird e brake gizmo on t-case,i've only seen one that works!
good luck to you...

[TurdFerguson]

well I picked it up and it is sweet. I actually think it is an SJ413 because the production date is 11/84, and what I think to be the original manual says so. However there is also a "samurai" manual outlining the 4x4, and a samurai badge on the dash that is definately factory. Plus when i registered it it came up as a 1985 Samurai. The rear springs are mounted about 2" offset outside of the frame, and the fronts are flush with the frame.

So I tuned it up-oil, filter, air filter, plugs, yada yada-andi rebuilt the original carb and got the high and low idles dialed right in, and then replaced the clutch because the throw-out bearing was hooped. She runs pretty sweet, and will pull a 120 no problem on the highway, @3700. Plus I pulled all the carpet up and was amazed to find that 98% of the floor is mint, I was shocked.

So now I am hoping to get a header and new exhaust and then a simple spoa and x-over steering. Anybody recommend a certain kit that will work on this truck, or should I just start making my own?

Thanks again guys.

[vanbdan]

It will be cheaper to do it yourself,if you know what you are doing,plus the satisfaction factor.Congrats on the find!.

By the way,what the hell does your signature mean?

van:hubba:

[TurdFerguson]

I'll post a pic of it as soon as I can find some where to host them heres a link to another page though:
mikes sj413 (http://www.4wheeler.ca/index.php?showtopic=29394)

The sig and name are from an old SNL sketch of celeb jepeordy with andy macdonald playing burt reynolds, and he make trebek call him Turd Ferguson, then he wear this giant foam cowboy hat. Trebek says "that's not funny" he responds with my sig line. It's way funnier if you see the sketch.

I 'll have to take a good look at how those springs are slung, and decide if i want to make some thing or just buy it and mod it if i have to.

[BIGZOOK69]

well I picked it up and it is sweet. I actually think it is an SJ413 because the production date is 11/84, and what I think to be the original manual says so. However there is also a "samurai" manual outlining the 4x4, and a samurai badge on the dash that is definately factory. Plus when i registered it it came up as a 1985 Samurai. The rear springs are mounted about 2" offset outside of the frame, and the fronts are flush with the frame.

So I tuned it up-oil, filter, air filter, plugs, yada yada-andi rebuilt the original carb and got the high and low idles dialed right in, and then replaced the clutch because the throw-out bearing was hooped. She runs pretty sweet, and will pull a 120 no problem on the highway, @3700. Plus I pulled all the carpet up and was amazed to find that 98% of the floor is mint, I was shocked.

So now I am hoping to get a header and new exhaust and then a simple spoa and x-over steering. Anybody recommend a certain kit that will work on this truck, or should I just start making my own?

Thanks again guys.
breezeindustries.com

[TurdFerguson]

Sorry brainfart - it's norm macdonald in the sketch.

And thanks I'm getting some info from breeze today.