Description

Here is Sammi, a 1987 Suzuki Samurai that I purchased from my friend Rodney in September of 2004.

The resoration took years. Unfortunately, the vehicle was lost in an accident in May of 2009.

The vehicle came from a public auction in Portsmouth, VA. The back story was it was towed from being stranded on the side of interstate 64, and was then subsequently impounded and sold at auction. Rodney purchased it mostly as a parts car, but he decided he didn't want it and I bought it for what he had into it, about $100.00.

After putting a battery in it, the vehicle started up, and actually moved under it's own power. The transmission was shot, however, having suffered the chronic Samurai ailment of the needle bearing between 1st and 2nd seizing up, locking up, and pretty much exploding the rest of the tranny.

After towing it back to Maryland, I was able to find a used transmission on eBay, and was able to pick it up locally instead of suffering the shipping charges of over 75 lbs. The seller even threw in some other small parts for it, like window trim.

I pulled the transmission, and at the same time replaced the clutch. After putting it back together, I of course had to take it for a test drive. After running it a while, it leaked oil from the front seal, and white smoke would come out of the exhaust. I replaced the front seal where the oil was dripping from, and replaced the valve guide seals hoping that's where the internal leaking was coming from.

That stopped the oil leak, but it still smoked when it got hot, and would blow antifreeze out of the overflow tank. After asking around, at the minimum it was a blown head gasket.

I pulled the head, and had a local machine shop check it, and the bad news was it was cracked. I decided to rebuild it at that point. The project took about 6 months.

I added upgrades: A weber carb, Doug Thorley header, new 2" exhaust, a 2" body lift, and a 2" Old Man Emu lift kit. I also had it painted, removing the rust magnet plastic bottom trim, and trying to keep it looking somewhat original I had black chip guard painted in its place. It did look good, and the local parts guy would refer to it as a 'Beast'!

Copyright 2011 Richard A. Todt.

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