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Propane Turbo Samurai

Adamwende

Adamwende

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
604
Messages
251
Loc
Arizona
All the build threads have inspired me to get another one going. Some of you may remember my old buggy build “Samurai buggy, less is more”. That was a long thread.

This one, will be short and sweet. I bought this out of a small town in the middle of nowhere, for 200 bucks. Didn’t know if it ran, or cranked...nothing. I knew it would roll on to a trailer. That was about it.

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I dicked around with the Holley carb on it, just to see if it would run, and sure as shit. It ran, and didn’t smoke. So, I kicked the carburetor into my neighbors yard and pissed on it.

Out came the glorious Gotpropane.com and the fab tool. Built a quick turbo kit, and shoveled it all into the little shit box.

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I loved your "less is more" sami, gonna love this one too !

Thanks for sharing !
 
After I knew it ran and drove well, I decided to put some lipstick on this piggy. I even put the girlfriend to work.

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I put a new top on it, and also installed a 4:1 case in it. The diffs are open front and rear, I’ll leave the hard wheeling to my buggy. 🤘

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So, with the new look, and new power, I used it as is. Some new 235 mud terrains helped with traction, and peace of mind. The old tires from the Clinton administration didn’t fill me with any warm and fuzzy feelings.

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Added a bumper, and also got a little gangster with some extra range on the tank. This Sami will do freeway speed, even up grades. So I wanted a dual tank setup. This is what I came up with.

The dual tank setup will get about 250 miles or so.

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That’s pretty much up to speed on my little samurai. Here’s some random pictures for y’all mothafuggas viewing pleasure.

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Looking good, dibs on the the tub and sheet metal when you get bored and start hackin.:smokin:
 
crisbee1 said:
Looking good, dibs on the the tub and sheet metal when you get bored and start hackin.:smokin:
Click to expand...

Ohhhh no. Not this one. Haha. I learned my lesson on the last sami I hacked up. Your sheet metal is in better shape anyway. This gem is a 10 footer!
 
Pretty sure there is at least 1 set of Sami Knuckles in a milk crate somewhere and a complete set of stock unmolested axles under a tree. Holler if ya need something.
 
Wilson has been talking about a turbo on his 1.3. Propane is definitely the easiest way, but not always practical. Especially when you want to want to retain a back seat.

How big of a difference did it make? Do you think it's comparable to an 8v, 16v or? Are you just running like 8 lbs boost?

Needs sxs tires :flipoff2:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Wilson has been talking about a turbo on his 1.3. Propane is definitely the easiest way, but not always practical. Especially when you want to want to retain a back seat.

How big of a difference did it make? Do you think it's comparable to an 8v, 16v or? Are you just running like 8 lbs boost?

Needs sxs tires :flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Those tires were 300 bucks installed! If there’s a SXS set that cheap, I’m in!

The turbo makes a MASSIVE difference. I couldn’t imagine driving it without it. I can cruise 70 all day. It’ll rev 5th gear all the way if I wanted it too. Feels like the soft top is gonna explode past 80ish...

There are obvious downsides to propane. But the way it run, and the simplicity, trumps all the down sides. It runs perfect. Tuning for the turbo is stupid easy. I love it. As for the back seat, you could run just one tank where the stock tank was. But I don’t like that idea for me. You might be able to get clever with some floor buffer tanks, for multi tank setups...
 
Adamwende said:
Those tires were 300 bucks installed! If there’s a SXS set that cheap, I’m in!

The turbo makes a MASSIVE difference. I couldn’t imagine driving it without it. I can cruise 70 all day. It’ll rev 5th gear all the way if I wanted it too. Feels like the soft top is gonna explode past 80ish...

There are obvious downsides to propane. But the way it run, and the simplicity, trumps all the down sides. It runs perfect. Tuning for the turbo is stupid easy. I love it. As for the back seat, you could run just one tank where the stock tank was. But I don’t like that idea for me. You might be able to get clever with some floor buffer tanks, for multi tank setups...
Click to expand...

$300 is pretty good :laughing:

That's awesome. I've actually never had a samurai on the freeway. My first I was 16 and just kept it around town and in the mountains. This latest one has been the same. I may have hit 50 down hill but I doubt it. I was fine with it being slow all summer as it was more fun taking it easy on the trails, end up seeing more stuff. Now that I have the tracks, it's like waaaaaay underpowered :laughing: basically stuck in 1st gear high range at 8-10 mph on almost any up hill.

The smart thing would be a 2.0/2.3 swap and turbo from there, but the 1.3 turbo would be neat.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
$300 is pretty good :laughing:

That's awesome. I've actually never had a samurai on the freeway. My first I was 16 and just kept it around town and in the mountains. This latest one has been the same. I may have hit 50 down hill but I doubt it. I was fine with it being slow all summer as it was more fun taking it easy on the trails, end up seeing more stuff. Now that I have the tracks, it's like waaaaaay underpowered :laughing: basically stuck in 1st gear high range at 8-10 mph on almost any up hill.

The smart thing would be a 2.0/2.3 swap and turbo from there, but the 1.3 turbo would be neat.
Click to expand...

You could go that route, it’s not a bad way to go. For me, the simplicity and the cost of the turbo propane is perfect. I just did a 100 mile round trip over the weekend. Half was freeway driving, and the other half was off-road.

I usually cruise at 65-70 on the freeway.
 
How are you swapping between the two tanks?

-Unplug one, plug in the other..

-Tee both into one line, manual valves (how Skittles is)

-Electric solenoid to switch between the two lines.
 
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