Your best bet is a 1.6 16-valve out of a Sidekick.  I have the engine in the khaki Samurai above.  It will do 75mph, but the handling isn't the best at that speed.  IMHO, the top cruising speed in a Samurai is 70 mph. 

Most Samurais do not have ac either.  I know a few people that have installed ac with the 16-valve, but I haven't seen any in person so I cannot comment on how well it works.  I usually drive mine open with just a safarai top, doors off, and sometimes even with the windshield down.  A fullsize atv.   

I would drive a Samurai to see if it is what you really want.  Samurais really are not much more refined or evolved from the old CJ that you grew up with.  Even stock they are underpowered, and depending on the strength of the engine, have a top speed of 60-70mph.  Much like the old Willys and CJ5s of the past.

A very good discussion, guys, with some very good points made, thank you both.

For example, here is an obstacle at Moab that can't be run with a Samurai with an 80" wheelbase.  I believe this is on Hell's Revenge. 

Discovered the name-Tip Over Challenge.  Yep.

Actually, that is pretty easy in a Sammy as long as your locked and have low enough gearing to not stall out.  While it was in 2004 we had three Sammy's that didn't have much of an issue.

https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay1
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay2
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay3
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay4
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay5

I had an SJ-410 with SPOA and 33" tires, other two where 31" tires with a 4.8:1 and 6.5:1 with a rock block respectively.  The only spot we really ran into issues was on the Rocker Knocker on Pritchet. 

This last time I ran with the White Rabbit build, and it was a bit more comfortable wheeling then the SJ. 

Awesome pictures!  I recognise almost everywhere but a few of the places on the trails.  I know the trails have changed a bit since I was younger and run the trails as a kid.

So, with 33s you were OK?  How did the guys do with 31s?  Any real difference on the trail between the two different sizes? 

Thanks,

Rob

So, with 33s you were OK?  How did the guys do with 31s?  Any real difference on the trail between the two different sizes? 

Thanks,

Rob

On normal trails the 31's where fine but armor was needed.  The 33's made a noticeable difference in the lines I could take and how we hit things.  A rig with 31" tires, a pair of lockers and some gears will go places a rig with 33's could never dream of.  I'm a huge fan of ARB's vs normal lockers or spools if you can afford the swap.

JR makes a lot of good points though, you will really want to ride in a Samurai before going down that path. Mine was much nicer once I did an RUF and 4-linked the rear suspension.  With the straight SPOA it was a bit rough of a ride.  I sold it before I could give Moab a second shot.

I appreciate the great info from both JR and yourself.  I have found a nice Sami close to where I live (60 miles) and I am trying to get up there this weekend to take a look.  I can decide then if this is something I want to drive on a daily basis.

The sad part is, if a Sami isn't good enough, I'm going to look at Jeeps.  My brothers new JK is very nice and could most likely tackle most of the trails in Moab as long as it fits through openings on the trail.  It is even fairly civilized going down the interstate at 75mph.  I just hate to spend all of that money on something that will sit in my garage most of the time and be used as a toy when we have a chance to go to Colorado or Moab.

I can build a very nice Sami up with lockers, gears, bumpers, winch, lift, tires and protection for less than $10k.  To step into a new JK I'm looking at around $40k to get the same.  Then I would also feel horrible if I damaged a new rig on the trail, I might not feel as bad denting/scratching a 25 year old truck.

Rob

Be careful with the Jeep thing.  I have an 05 Wrangler Unlimited. I love a lot about it but I detest its gas mileage. I got too spoiled by my previous Trackers.  The Jeep has averaged 15.6 mpg over two years. 

I am worried about that too.  My brothrs 2012 JK Unlimited Rubicon on 35s averaged about 14mpg for the entire trip to Moab and back.  Even with my cargo box on top and driving about 5-7mph over the speed limit, I still averaged almost 21mpg.  4 adults in the GV, fully loaded with a huge cooler in the back: with two cases of beer, 3 bottles of wine, two cases of soda, two cases of water bottles, food and a 20 lbs of ice.  Luggage for all of us and temps in Nebraska/South Dakota/Wyoming/Colorado and Utah over 100 degrees.  That was with all the backroads and wheeling we did too.  I have to say the GV did very well on mileage.

Rob

How has the GV done in general on gas mileage?  Is your GV a 4 cylinder or a V6?

I also get more nervous about wheeling the Wrangler than I did the Trackers from a damage perspective.

Mine is a 4cyl.  I missed the v6 by a year and I really wanted the v6 along with all the extra goodies you got.  The 4cyl were de-contented somewhat; no back up camera, puddle lamps, home link system...  They also took out the hill desent control. 

The GV gets an indicated 18.2mpg around town most of the time.  My trips are very short and if I drive more than 2 miles at a time, it always gets better.  I say an indicated 18.2mpg as I have larger tires on the truck and have to add 7% to make up for the difference.  It woks out to be about 19.4 mpg.  When I manually figure the mileage when filling up, I notmally get about 19.2 mpg so the computer is normally off about 2-3 tenths of a mpg. 

I don't drive very fast in town, only on the interstate/hwys.  Around Lincoln Nebraska where I live, we don't have a lot of hills and we are only about 1200' above sea level.  The conditions are right for decent gas mileage.

Going down the interstate at 65 mph without the box and roof bars on top, I see about 24mpg real numbers.  All in all, it does a nice job.

I'm going to be selling it once I find a good Sami to build up or at least that is my plan.  My wife may have other ideas about what we do.  She should be happy though, we paid off the new Lexus she drives last year so eliminating an other car payment would sure be nice.

Rob

How is the power with the 4 cylinder?  Adequate or slow?  I'd assume it is not fast.

I would say it still feels fairly peppy, even with the larger tires.  I notice the lack of passing power on highways the most troublesome.  The initial throtle tip in makes it feel quicker than it realy is.  I only had the stock tires on for about a month, but really didn't notice any negative effects other than braking distances and road noise.  Power still was good, traction was way up, cornering didn't suffer, ground clearnce was way better, it looks better and I actually think driveablilty is overall better.

Rob

just a few more pictures from the trip:

Quote from: Jonny Rash on August 07, 2012, 09:41:00 AM

For example, here is an obstacle at Moab that can't be run with a Samurai with an 80" wheelbase.  I believe this is on Hell's Revenge.  

Discovered the name-Tip Over Challenge.  Yep.

Actually, that is pretty easy in a Sammy as long as your locked and have low enough gearing to not stall out.  While it was in 2004 we had three Sammy's that didn't have much of an issue.

https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay1
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay2
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay3
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay4
https://picasaweb.google.com/105298426119042245963/2004MoabDay5

I had an SJ-410 with SPOA and 33" tires, other two where 31" tires with a 4.8:1 and 6.5:1 with a rock block respectively.  The only spot we really ran into issues was on the Rocker Knocker on Pritchet.  

This last time I ran with the White Rabbit build, and it was a bit more comfortable wheeling then the SJ.  

Nice pics.  I noticed some of the trails have very nice dwarf trees that can be transformed into beautiful bonzai plants.  A few of those plants can command prices up to 4 digits, enough to buy a nice looking sami.

Most of those cedar trees and sage brush are a lot bigger than you think, but some of the small seedlings could be twisted and tormented into a Bonzai fairly easy.

For those of you that haven't been to Moab, it is totally worth the trip.  Even if you don't spend a minute on the trails, the scenery is beautiful. 

Rob