Hello all.  I am a subaru outback driver, but after having to have a good bit of body and paint work done to it (not an off road incident, someone hit it while it was parked) I am thinking about using it as a road only vehicle, in order to preserve the shiny new paint.  To that end, since I can't afford the Land Rover of my dreams at this point, I am giving serious consideration to a tin top samurai.  I have been doing a decent bit of research and lurking here and a number of other places around the internets, and I have a couple of questions.

First, here is what I am thinking as far as mods.  I want to run 215/85R15 swampers, which appear to be the most readily available small skinny mud tire i can find.  Some people have claimed that these can be run with no lift, some have said you have to cut some sheet metal (which I am loath to do), and some say you need anywhere from a 1 to 3 inch lift.  I am also interested in doing a VW diesel conversion, but I have read that you need a minimum of a 3 inch lift for the swap to work well.  The only body mods I plan on making (other than the de rigeur roll cage, of course) are replacement bumpers and stout rocker panel guards.  I also plan on skidplating everything that there is a skidplate for underneath the vehicle.  I tend to be the type of person that goes off road in order to go somewhere (like a camping trip), and I tend to avoid obstacles instead of going over and/or through them, so I neither need nor want large wide tires.

My questions are-  do I really need a full 3 inches of lift to do a diesel swap?  How much lift do i really need to run the 285/85's without rubbing and scraping?  What is the best way to achieve that lift?  I am not interested in a body lift, as I have never thought they look particularly good.  Springs?  Shackle reversal?  I want to keep the sami's already poor center of gravity as low as I possibly can while still having enough room for the larger than stock tires.

Thanks!

I'm not sure about the 285/65 as they measure out to 29.5.  The standard large tire without any lift is the 235/75 R15 which measures out to about 28.5" of lift.  The most common body trimming is the front bumper and a bit of hammer work to the inside of the fenders.

For a light lift the OME 1.5" springs are a supposed to be a great choice.  And it is a small enough lift you don't have to use a drop pitman arm or longer brake lines.

For the diesel swap the reason you need the lift is for clearance.   Someone with experience with that swap should be able to chime in.

it's my understanding that the 3" lift is not required for the VW diesel swap, but is highly recomended b/c if you hit something hard enough you risk the chance of hitting the oil pan with the front axle. then again i am not speaking from experiance, this is just what i have come across from researching the swap myself...... good luck to you.

JLuck has a lot of experience and advice on VW diesel swaps ,
 
After a lot of personal searching, I gave up on the diesel swap idea. 1st, you are going to need a DEEP WALLET !!

CAPT

I'd like to find the guy that did a vw swap and recorded every single step he had to take. I've wanted a samurai for a while just for that reason. At stock height the 1.6 liter vw will just barely rub against the axle underneath it (according to his experience) and he made his own spoa lift to avoid it but you could do a 2 or 3" lift also to avoid it. The samurai really doesn't have that bad of center of gravity, that is a myth created by consumer unions. But a body lift is just as silly to IMO anyways.
I think rocky road has a nice 1.5" lift (correct me if I'm wrong) and if they don't someone does, there are many offroad sites dedicated or partially dedicated to samurais.

Hope this helps

I've done the VW diesel swap in a Samurai. You'll want the lift to clear the pan and to get big enough tires to help with gearing. I'd suggestg SPOA and 32" tires. Others may disagree but for me, the power of the vw diesel is less than acceptable and the mileage has been less anticipated. In my experience, the "get's me 35 mpg" Samurai is non-existant unless you want to drive 35mph everywhere. Anyway, mudding plus that diesel would be very boring. It just doesn't make the power. For the money, diffinetly go for either of the Sidekick 1.6 engine swaps. For example I have a smaller Samurai with stock r&p, 4.89:1 t-case, and 30 inch tires with a two inch lift... It's a great all purpose setup. Spunky and fun to drive. That ride seams to match up pretty good with what you described. In the story, it had the 29x8.5 swampers with the Calmini Shackle reverse lift.

From the archive: http://www.zukiworld.com/month_020103/feature_gijane.htm

On the diesel swap, you can see some detailed photos of the engine swap and how the pan interacts with the axle from here:
http://liberty-overland.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=11

Hope that helps.

-Eric

I've done the VW diesel swap in a Samurai. You'll want the lift to clear the pan and to get big enough tires to help with gearing. I'd suggestg SPOA and 32" tires. Others may disagree but for me, the power of the vw diesel is less than acceptable and the mileage has been less anticipated. -Eric

Was that a 1.6 N/A, my brother had one, it was only about 45bhp, something like 20bhp less than a stock Sammy.