Simple Sami Refresh

Simple'72CJ

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 4, 2021
Messages
276
Last Spring I acquired my first Samurai after trading some work on a buddies buggy. I know nothing about these things, but have always liked the size and simplicity. Supposedly, its an '88 and I got it with a blown head gasket. It came with everything I needed to put it back together, but unfortunately when reassembly started I noticed the cam was trash. Bought the cheapest cam off ebay, bolted up the certified machine 3k carb, changed fluids, and started using it!

Buggy I worked on

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How I received the rig. 32x9.5 nittos, open/open, stock r&p, power steering, lift springs (Old Man Emu), and I believe 4:1 tcase gears.

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Started in on some light mods over the summer while trying to put as little money into it as possible. Two of the nittos were pretty worn so found some coyote's on FB for cheap to throw on.

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Quick and easy kick panel/rocker protection to cover up the holes mostly.

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Scrap metal bumper and a 6k utv winch

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Only other mod I've done is I welded the rear end for cheap traction and threw on a set of 1" wheel spacers. Trying to keep it small and street able the best I can. Definitely gutless, but absolutely love this little thing!
 
Next round of mods that I are in the works is to ditch the front leafs for a radius arm setup with coil springs and finish out the belly skid I started to build.

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Also modified the factory tracker or whatever it is pitman arm to help with drag link angle. Reworked the steering geometry slightly to get stuff flatter before moving forward with the panhard mount and what not. Dodge 1 ton pitman arm for reference lol

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Radius arm brackets

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Spring plates for housing side.

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May end up shortening the upper link a bit to get a little more up travel

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Man that all looks great except the single shear heims on the steering. Not that you will ever actually shear them on a samurai but if anything rattles loose with the constant buzz of the 1.3 you could have some trouble. I like stock tierod ends and mercedes arm swap if you can find some. Hows the ride with the new front suspension? I've often wondered about using an off the shelf coilover meant more for drag car crowd since the samurai doesn't need anything huge with ton of travel.
 
350TacoZilla said:
Man that all looks great except the single shear heims on the steering. Not that you will ever actually shear them on a samurai but if anything rattles loose with the constant buzz of the 1.3 you could have some trouble. I like stock tierod ends and mercedes arm swap if you can find some. Hows the ride with the new front suspension? I've often wondered about using an off the shelf coilover meant more for drag car crowd since the samurai doesn't need anything huge with ton of travel.
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Single shear worried me for all of a few minutes if I'm being honest lol I keep having to remind myself that this is not my jeep and its just a fun dirt road cruiser at the end of the day. The 5/8-18 hardware is all torqued to spec and marked with actual torque mark. I'm pretty diligent on bolt checks and very curious if anything is gonna loosen up over time.

Ride quality is much better! The shocks that were already on it that I reused are very stiff so may swap those out down the road, but overall extremely happy with around town cruising. I was curious if the road manners would change and feel too squishy while cornering, but its corners no different than before. I'm very anxious to get it off pavement and see what feels like.
 
Simple'72CJ said:
Single shear worried me for all of a few minutes if I'm being honest lol I keep having to remind myself that this is not my jeep and its just a fun dirt road cruiser at the end of the day. The 5/8-18 hardware is all torqued to spec and marked with actual torque mark. I'm pretty diligent on bolt checks and very curious if anything is gonna loosen up over time.

Ride quality is much better! The shocks that were already on it that I reused are very stiff so may swap those out down the road, but overall extremely happy with around town cruising. I was curious if the road manners would change and feel too squishy while cornering, but its corners no different than before. I'm very anxious to get it off pavement and see what feels like.
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Your steering will be fine. I have the exact same hardware and setup on my Samurai with 37s and have never had a problem. I run safety washers just in case but the rod ends let you know when they're ready to be replaced long before they separate.

I want to know if/how bad those radius arms bind when you flex. They're simple and I like it.
 
DirtRoads said:
Your steering will be fine. I have the exact same hardware and setup on my Samurai with 37s and have never had a problem. I run safety washers just in case but the rod ends let you know when they're ready to be replaced long before they separate.

I want to know if/how bad those radius arms bind when you flex. They're simple and I like it.
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There's definitely a little bind, but it still feels better than with the leafs. I think the combination of very firm shocks and the extended shackle played a big part in the harsh ride. I would also get lots of popping and creaking while steering with the leaf setup and now that has all gone away. I used bushings that I already had lying around which are very hard and not much material between the sleeve and barrel. Im relying on the the frame side Johnny joint to give me most of my movement.

I think radius arm setups get overlooked far too often because of the "binding" reputation they carry. Like you said, the simplicity it damn hard to beat and I think a perfect solution for a mild build. If someone is trying to build the most capable trail rig/rock crawler then there's obviously better designs out there.
 
Man, Im half way through a radius arm setup for my sami and am going to change it after seeing how yours came out! I was trying to keep the coils inline with the link mounts and it has turned into a packaging nightmare. you do some fantastic work!
Curious what you used for material for the tierod/drag link? Thanks!
 
1-1/4" .120 wall on steering components with 3/4" heims with 5/8" misalignments to get the hardware back to a reasonable size
 
Simple'72CJ said:
I think radius arm setups get overlooked far too often because of the "binding" reputation they carry. Like you said, the simplicity it damn hard to beat and I think a perfect solution for a mild build.
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I have FJ80 radius arms underneath my FJ60. It does pretty well with the front swaybar disconnected but it weighs double what my Samurai and the arms are (presumably) longer, so I figure it can smoosh the bushings into submission a little more readily.

Glad to hear it works!
 
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