Hey there guys & gals.

I know you have been asked some of these questions before & I'm sorry for making you go through it again. I just get a little confused since I have seen a couple of differing answers to some of these question.

I have a 88 samurai (round vents) that I am going to be fixing up when I get my taxes back. It is completely stock & a rust bucket, but the entire drivetrain is awesome. I want to do mild wheeling & be a daily driver mostly around town maybe an occasional trip on highways with 50mph limit.




Its going to get a lift & I think I have settled on a spoa conversion. I have seen quite a few of them & they all seem to have different features. I want as complete of a kit as I can buy. My question is... What kit from what manufacturer do you guys/gals run on yours?

I also have a set of rims & tires that I took from my retired ford f-150 that I want to use. They are the factory aluminum outlaw style & have the proper bolt pattern. The center hole is to small to see if they will fit but the plan is to have the center hole enlarged. The tires that will be used are the Firestone wilderness 31-10.5-15. Has anyone used these rims on a samurai? I want to measure the rims before I have the work done to enlarge the centers. Anyone know what I'm looking at for measurements?

The sami is also going to need a new clutch. Any ideas on what I should go with (stock, aftermarket, or ceramic)? How will it hold up to 31 inch tires? Will gearing correction help with clutch lifespan?

As I stated above... Its a rust bucket, but I'll be doing all of the body work myself. I'm also going to be putting fender flares on it, but since all of the fender flare brackets are either missing or rusted to death I'll need flares that won't need them or that have mounts that I can bolt on. Any ideas on flares? Does anyone have a source for tailgate hinges?

Last but not least... My speedo doesn't work & I assume that its the cable & will be replacing it. I'd also like to change it for a cluster with a tach. Anyone have any sources?

Thank you for reading my many questions & thank you in advance for any & all answers.

For the tach, I would give Hawk Suzuki a call.  Make sure you get the same year, if you do it should just be a straight cluster swap.

For a purchased SPOA kit I recommend the Stage 2 from Sky Manufacturing.  It has the best set of spring pads you can get for the conversion and includes brake lines, spacers and Cross-Over Steering kit.  Everything you need to get going safely.

http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/new/detaproduct.php?id=92

For the clutch, I just use stock ones.  Cheap and easy to get, and your right that proper gearing will help.  You can either get a t-case kit, which I recommend, or go with axle gearing.  There are arguments both ways but I think a 4.8:1 t-case kit is just about perfect.

You can play with gearing and see how the tires will effect things with a gearing calculator.  I use http://www.solemnwarning.net/transmission/ since it has most of the SJ gear boxes and aftermarket transfer case gears built in.  Makes it easy to generate up different gear sets. 

Drone has you headed the right way,

I have a 4.9 trans case gear kit from LowRangeOffRoad.
Also I have the Petroworks Clutch, Ceramic/Copper on one face, Carbon Combo on the other, and so far its been great.
I went thru 2 stock clutches (One was a bad pressure plate), but that was before the Transfer case upgrade.
You will really see the difference the 4.9 case does. I'm running 31x10.50x15's and got 5th gear back.
and have no problems "Trail Driving" anywhere.

CAPT

For the gauge cluster with tach I would keep my eyes out for one on Craigslist, eBay or on the forums. Expect to pay from $40-75 from one of those sources. I'm not sure what hawk charges for them but Im amazed at what some samurai salvage places charge for used parts, sometimes as much or more then new from the dealer.

Thanks for all the info. You guys are great. I'll be going with the stage 2 lift with shock mounts. The lift doesn't mention u-bolts. What have you guys been doing for u-bolts? I have a spring shop that will make them for like $80 a piece but it seems a bit high. The 4.9 case gears look like a good option.
Any ideas on the other questions? Tailgate hinges? Fender flare options? The ford rims I mentioned?

|removethispart|@Capt how much was your clutch?

Thanks again.

You can buy ubolts from various auto parts stores.   For all 8 of them, it should be less than $80.

As long as your F150 wheels are 5 bolt and off a 96 or older, it should have a 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern (which is the same as the samurai).  For the center hole diameter, it has to be big enough to fit over the lockout hubs (be sure to measure the hub where it bolts to the wheel hub, that is where the lockout hub is the largest).  Generally, 4 1/8" to 4 1/4" is the range that the holes are enlarged to.

You can post a "wanted" ad in the classifieds section on here, looking for tailgate hinges.  Or you can check with some of the various suzuki vendors that part out samurais.  You might even still be able to buy them new, from the dealer, if you want to go that route.

The tach cluster you need will come from an 86-88 samurai with the round vents in the dash.  You can also just add an aftermarket tach, if you want.

Lower gearing would be good.  Either in the axles, tcase, or both.  If you go with lower gearing, you should be able to just run a stock clutch and it should hold up fine.

For flare options, that may be difficult, if you don't have anything to attach them to.  You could try sticking them on, with some super strong adhesive.  That may work better than trying to screw/bolt a flare or bracket onto really rusty metal.  If the underside of the wheel wells are still in relatively good shape, you could get some rubber flares that just screw onto the underside of the wheel wells.

Originally for the U-Bolts I just flipped the spring pads over and ran stock shocks.  When I finally broke those I used u-bolts from a Jeep CJ and just drilled out the stock pads to accept the larger bolt.  Works great.

I had to dig back into my service file;
I bought the Clutch & Pressure Plate for $225.00,
Plus a new Pilot Bearing, Throw Out Bearing, And a New Alignment Tool.
The fee to the UPS man, Grand Total...$292.40.

And a tip; It's just as easy to pull the entire engine & tranny together, out the engine compartment, swap the clutch while it's hanging on the shop cherry picker, than to try to twist, yank, scarf your knuckles up, remove under body cross brkt, etc.........

CAPT

Pix are my retired rusty iron buddy, helping pull  clutch (actually his wife sends him over to save a AXE MURDER at their house)

I've got the tach cluster . $50

 As to the lift, Sky's stage 2 is a great kit .
 Don't forget to add the rear track bar . You will need it.
 I like the Spydertrax kit the best. Its simple, inexpensive, and it works well.
Look into re gearing the "T"case . Unless you hate 5th gear.
And shock relocate brackets. Or just pull the trigger on the Sky long travel kit. Money well spent...
Bushwhacker flairs are (IMO) the best bolt on flairs that don't require the origanal flanges.
 Now to the clutch. With 31's It kind of depends on your driving style .
If your allways going to be nice to it, stock will work.
I'm never nice to mine so I run a stage 2 Centerforce. Not only on my Zuke but on both of my Heaps (401 stokers) Never had an issue....
Have some fun ....Boxcar...

You guys are awesome. I really do appreciate all of your help.
The info on the rims I'm looking for is the measurments for backspacing (measuring from hub surface to bead surface). Whats the min/max I can use with the 31s & what is ideal?

I had to dig back into my service file;
I bought the Clutch & Pressure Plate for $225.00,
Plus a new Pilot Bearing, Throw Out Bearing, And a New Alignment Tool.
The fee to the UPS man, Grand Total...$292.40.

And a tip; It's just as easy to pull the entire engine & tranny together, out the engine compartment, swap the clutch while it's hanging on the shop cherry picker, than to try to twist, yank, scarf your knuckles up, remove under body cross brkt, etc.........

CAPT

Thank you Capt. I looked into that clutch & it looks just like what I'll need. As for the removal... I'll be removing the front clip to do some firewall repairs so that was the plan.

I've got the tach cluster . $50

 As to the lift, Sky's stage 2 is a great kit .
 Don't forget to add the rear track bar . You will need it.
 I like the Spydertrax kit the best. Its simple, inexpensive, and it works well.
Look into re gearing the "T"case . Unless you hate 5th gear.
And shock relocate brackets. Or just pull the trigger on the Sky long travel kit. Money well spent...
Bushwhacker flairs are (IMO) the best bolt on flairs that don't require the origanal flanges.
 Now to the clutch. With 31's It kind of depends on your driving style .
If your allways going to be nice to it, stock will work.
I'm never nice to mine so I run a stage 2 Centerforce. Not only on my Zuke but on both of my Heaps (401 stokers) Never had an issue....
Have some fun ....Boxcar...

Man that cluster looks nice. How much with shipping to Richmond, MA 01254? I'll look into the bushwackers, I like their pocket style flares but they seem a bit wide. Rear track bar? Its the first time I've heard that I'd need one. The axel wrap is that bad with a SPOA conversion?
Do you have a favorite kit for the track bar?

Thanks again for all of the help you guys are giving me.

EDIT: I've been reading about the benefits of re-gearing the diffs rather than going all transfer case. What do you think about doing all the gearing on the diffs? What ratio should I go if I do that?

Yea, as I mentioned in my earlier post...The Spydertrax kit. It's my pick. And on my rig.
Axle rap is allways a problem on any SPOA lift.
 I,m at 97103 . Pick your favorite shipping company and get a quote. Shouldn't be much. Will fit in a shoe box. Probably 3 or 4 pounds.

Re gearing the diffs can be cheaper.
Mine has both  and I did them at the same time, so I really don't have a good frame of reference for you.
 I do know that I did the 5/12 ring and pinion for both axles at around $250 .
The transfercase gears were around $600...Boxcar...

So I went ahead & ordered the sky stage 5 since it came with the shocks & mounts. I ordered it here for $100 cheaper than the sky site. http://www.roadlessgear.com/page/RGL/PROD/SU/SPOA-005
I also ordered the track bar here since its a full bolt on http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/new/detaproduct.php?id=95

I haven't ordered the gears yet because I'm still up in the air about what to do. I have read that if I do all of my gearing in the diffs it will take the strain off of all of the rest of the drivetrain. I really don't care if its cheaper to go with just diffs, what I'm really concerned with is longevity of the parts I put in as well as the parts I don't. The best I could come up with for diff gears was the 5.38:1 gears & that was still gonna put me at 4k on the tach at 60mph so all diff isn't gonna be an option.

Boxcar I definitely want that cluster. USPS for 5 lbs priority mail is just under $12 for USPS-Produced Box: 13-5/8" x 11-7/8" x 3-3/8" or 11" x 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", but I'd send you $20 just to be safe. How would you like the funds? PM me your info so I can get these funds to you.

My rims are a similar style as yours.

What is your backspacing & tire size & did you use spacers? BTW great job on your sami it looks awesome. Did you build the cage yourself?

The issue with going with diff gears only is you don't get the low range reduction along with it.  If your only doing dirt roads it isn't an issue, but for proper trails at least a 4:1 is required.

Thank you Drone637. I've decided to go with the transfer case reduction of 4.9:1 http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.php/suzuki/samurai/transfer-case/4-9-1-tcase-gears.html & will play with it from there. I'll definitely be adding diff gears later.