Hey everyone, I got an 87 Samurai and have been working on fixing it up. Currently have the head taken off, there showed some signs of a blown head gasket to I'm working on that. I'm going to need to order a new gasket set at some point. But I got to thinking, the guy I bought the Samurai from mentioned that it had a new engine put in it. So, wanting to make sure I'm buying parts for the right year, I looked at the identification number on the block. Typed that into google expecting to have a quick answer aaaannnd "no results" popped up. So now I'm very confused. Anyone know how to decipher the ID number on the block? The number is G16K108658

Really appreciate the help!

Some folks will tell you that the K in the engine number prefix specifies the year of the engine, and a K would translate to a 1989 - personally I don't subscribe to that theory as my 93 Suzuki, which I owned from new, had a G13B engine and B translates to a 1981 engine year.  I also bought a used engine from a 1989 vehicle and that too had a G13B prefix.

What I can tell you with a fair degree of accuracy is that the engine in your Samurai most likely came from either a Sidekick or a Tracker - I can tell this from the G16 prefix in the engine number - Samurais came with G13 engines.  The next thing you need to do is count the number of valves, it's most likely an 8v engine, simply because swapping in a 16v G16 is a lot more work than swapping in an 8v G16.

Once you've determined whether you have an 8v or a 16v G16 engine, contact the folks at Low Range Off Road - they'll be able to supply you with pretty much anything you need for the engine, and for the rest of the vehicle as well - you can also pay a visit to Ack's FAQ (google is your friend) and you will find all sorts of good stuff there - service manuals for the Samurai and the Tracker the G16 came from

Interesting. Had always just assumed that the engine was from a Samurai. Must be they're all interchangeable.

It is an 8 valve engine.

I'll talk to Low Range and go from there!

I wouldn't quite describe them as "interchangeable", but the 1.6 swap is a fairly simple & very popular way to get a few more horses under the hood - I've never done it, but as far as I know, it requires an adapter to mate the Samurai bell housing to the Sidekick/Tracker block, along with I think modified engine mounts - you can then swap the fuel injection from the Sidekick/Tracker or go with a carb depending on your personal preferences - swapping the fuel injection is a little more work and can be challenging for those of us who are not handy with wiring.

The reason I mention this is your vehicle may have unique modifications depending on who did the engine swap, so you need to be prepared for some degree of confusion & head scratching - it's not going to be as simple as a 1987 vehicle with a 199x engine - yours could have the Samurai Hitachi carb or the Sidekick/Tracker throttle body injection, maybe a Weber carb, or one from another vehicle - a Holley from a Ford Pinto, or an Aisin from a Toyota Corolla - the combinations are endless - some folks have even used Harley Davidson carbs.

I'm not trying to scare you - the Samurai is a fairly basic vehicle, almost none of the electronics that make newer vehicles challenging - you just need to be prepared to spend some time figuring out what was done and perhaps redoing some of it.

Yes, I have certainly been doing some head scratching already. Whoever had the Sammy before me had made some interesting changes that I'm having to try and figure out. For the most part its been straight forward so far. Guess I'll see what else isn't original as a go.