Making a Mighty Mouse |
Reynold's Machine
creates a 1.3 monster! |
-Eric Bewley |
CORVALLIS, OR. —I have had several
different iterations of engines in my samurai over the years. The first was just the plain
old stock 1.3 that was so worn out, I could barely do 50 miles per hour. Rather than
rebuilding this non-oil burning good-compression engine right away, I decided to add a few
hop up goodies to see if I could get it to run better. In the course of about a year and a
half, I had installed the Calmini cam, header, Weber DCOE sidedrafts, and a 2 1/4 inch
exhaust. These modifications really helped the little trooper quite a bit but I wanted
more. At this time, the samurai was equipped with 32 inch tires, stock ring and pinion
gears, and a GRS2 transfer case. The next big mod that most people do is put a 1.6 liter
8-valve engine out of a Sidekick or a Tracker. This swap is nearly a bolt on proposition
that requires only a transmission adapter plate and a modified motor mount. Well, if
everybody else is doing it...
About two years ago I purchased a complete 1.6 8-valve engine along with
2wd sidekick transmission from a person that was upgrading to an even larger engine in
their samurai. The installation of this engine and transmission was quick and easy due to
the seller giving me every single thing I needed to put it in. The final configuration was
a stock long block, Iskenderian torquer cam, Weber DCOE sidedrafts, Calmini Header, and a
2 1/4 inch exhaust. I immediately fell in love with my samurai all over again as I could
easily do 80 miles per hour down the freeway with offroad performance being even better
with higher torque numbers and the larger Sidekick flywheel.
|
Needless to say, I was a little hesitant when approached with the idea of
going back to a 1.3 liter engine. The 1.6 seemed to be such a better choice, better built,
and longer lasting engine. However, when a company with the background and reputation of
Reynold's Machine states they can improve our situation, we listen. |
| The Owner of Reynold's Machine, Hugh Reynolds has been in business since
1963. He began his career working for pioneer drag racing and engine builder, Ernie
Hashim. He worked as a mechanic and machinist at Hashim's Speed Shop until 1975 when he
went on my own. He opened his shop as a custom engine and machine shop;
specializing in performance, street, and drag racing. Eventually this evolved into marine
and off-road applications.
Later, he began expanding to high-torque engines for tow vehicles. Now, his shop builds a
variety of engines including racing, street performance, off-road, and those used in
industrial applications. |
All Reynold's engines are custom built with the
highest standards.
|
The work that Reynold's does is impeccable. When the engine
arrived in the crate, it was immediately obvious the extra time that had been put into the
intake and exhaust runners. Also noted was the incredible level of cleanliness inside of
the crate and inside the engine.
Installation of the new engine was made easy with the help of Rick Hawkins
of Hawk Strictly Suzuki
who just happened to have an early bell housing from a rare 1989 1.3 liter Sidekick that
made it possible to bolt the new engine to my Sidekick 2wd transmission.
| Once the engine was placed into the engine bay, I hooked up a new header
from Calmini, brand-new 2
1/4 exhaust from a local shop with a high flow Dynomax muffler, placed my Weber 40 DCOE
sidedrafts on, and hooked up all of the doo-dads and whatnots that are needed to complete
the install. |
|
working on a cylinder
head
precision balancing a
crank
an assembled head
new oil pump, water
pump, belt tensioner, and belt. Standard. |
Hugh explained that there are some proprietary processes they employ in
the manufacturing of these engines but one could rest assured that the following steps are
taken with each engine that leaves their shop. All engines are torn down, crack
checked, and pressure tested before we start the machine process. They line hone the
mains, surface the block parallel to the mains. Bore and hone the cylinders 90 degrees to
the mains. They grind their cams to exact specifications and resize the rods to the same
center to center line (total length) The engine is then balanced and cleared for assembly.
After pressure testing the cylinder head, they install bronze valve guides and over sized
exhaust seats for larger valves. They then do a full port and polish with a racing valve
job on the head. The cambers are CC'd and corrected for the same size and the valves are
all set at a given depth and surfaced to the desired size to obtain the proper compression
ratio. The head is then checked and cleaned thoroughly and assembled.
Hugh also stated that his machine shop uses the following parts when building these
high-horsepower Suzuki engines: Federal Mogul rod and main bearings, single moly rings,
new oil pump, new water pump, belt and tensioner. High performance camshaft and valve
springs, retainers and hard locks, stainless steel exhaust valves, and power forged high
performance pistons and pins. All of the above parts are checked and rechecked for size
upon assembly. Every rod and main bearing is torqued in and clearance checked. All rings
are end gapped to exact clearance. All of this is done before the engine is completed.
 |
My First impressions of the engine could be simply stated
with the expression 'Wow!' It was hard to believe that this smaller engine could have the
performance of it's larger cousin. Keep in mind now that my Samurai has change a little
since the first time I had a 1.3 in it. The Samurai now sports 35 inch tall tires on Dana
44 axles, 5.89 ring and pinion gears, GRS2 transfer case, and the 2wd Sidekick
transmission all of which makes the Samurai tip the scales at a prosperous 2925 lbs. with
the trail gear loaded. Even with all this weight, the Reynold's Machine 1.3 can easily
motivate the Samurai to it's gear limited top speed.
|
Direct 'seat of the pants' comparisons between the 1.6 and the 1.3 give
the horsepower advantage to the 1.3 engine. I was completely amazed at how hard this
giant-killer pulled above 3500 rpms. Which leads me to the only drawback that I've seen
1500 miles into this engine swap. The low-end torque and 'luggability' of this high strung
1.3 is somewhat lacking making rockcrawling a little difficult. Unlike before when most
obstacles were point and shoot, I now need to pay attention and keep on top of my little
compadre. |
The real fun comes out when your in a mud hole, slimy
trail, or on the snow. The throttle response and quick-rapping nature of the 1.3 makes
flinging the mud an enjoyable art. If your thinking of rebuilding your 1.3 and you'd like
some major performance gains, give Hugh at Reynold's Machine a call. They can fix you up
right!
www.reynoldsmachine.com
 ZW
|
