Anyone ever stretch a samurai hood and front clip?

Whenever I was driving my little one I always wanted to push the motor back into the firewall. I think that would be a lot better idea then stretching the hood

YotaAtieToo said:

I guess I should say I plan to rebuild the frame from the motor mounts forward anyway, so adding 2-3" to the sheet metal wouldn't be all that bad.



Lots of guys running them over here, plus I have one in the donor rig. 1.6s are getting really rare and over priced.



I find it really funny that you say this. Most guys would say the same about your build over here.

My sami is currently being used and working fine, but I'm always just brainstorming upgrades. Mostly because I get bored.

Not sure what build you're referring to, but A well built samurai with a small stretch on 35s will run circles areoun a stock samurai on 30s in big rocks.

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I don't think it matters what's going on with the chassis or motor mounts, 2-3" in the sheetmetal unbalances the look of the car in my opinion.

I have mo issue with an engine swap, I just think the J20 is a poor choice. Literally the only reason it's appealing is it can use Suzuki gearboxes. Other than that it's long, bulky, not very powerful and not well supported by the aftermarket. I agree G16's are now becoming too hard to find in good condition.

I didn't think this build was for driving over big rocks? It sounded like you were looking for a mild build. Like anything it's about having the right tool for the job, my car isn't overbuild for where I drive it, I have no interest in driving it on mild trails because unless I need it's capability it's just a whole lot of compromise to drive somewhere I could take my discovery.

If I can keep the hood from looking to gay, I think mine will look very proportional.

It's probably gonna look gay.....

Gwagensteve said:

I don't think it matters what's going on with the chassis or motor mounts, 2-3" in the sheetmetal unbalances the look of the car in my opinion.

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Maybe, I don't think 2-3" would be very noticeable by most.

Gwagensteve said:

I have mo issue with an engine swap, I just think the J20 is a poor choice. Literally the only reason it's appealing is it can use Suzuki gearboxes. Other than that it's long, bulky, not very powerful and not well supported by the aftermarket. I agree G16's are now becoming too hard to find in good condition.

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125 hp vs 80-100hp in a 1.6? Seems better in every way?

Not looking to move to a different transmission for this.

Gwagensteve said:

I didn't think this build was for driving over big rocks? It sounded like you were looking for a mild build. Like anything it's about having the right tool for the job, my car isn't overbuild for where I drive it, I have no interest in driving it on mild trails because unless I need it's capability it's just a whole lot of compromise to drive somewhere I could take my discovery.

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90% of the time it's not even in 4wd. Realistically a jeep TJ on 33s could do everything better. But that's not as fun to me, I have a soft spot for sami's and I'm a rock crawler at heart. It has been to trails like Fordyce and hoodoo that are big rocks. It's fun chasing rigs on 40-47s with 32s

I'd like to bring it on bigger trips as a sxs/backup rig to my 1 ton Toyota, so crawling ability is part of the equation.

Stretched at the back, dove nosed front and modified the middle to fit the tall engine