Still working on the Tib, but lately found a new project. It's been pretty fun and I got to reap some of the rewards this hunting season. Didn't bag an elk, but got some great 4 wheeling in! Here are some before and after pics...





Picked it up for 1000.00 bucks. The drive home was quite scary. Many home made suspension parts that were ready to fall off. Literally.











Here's a pic of the home made shackles. Scary....







Here is 03tibE85 cutting off my front bumper mounts. Thanks for all your help Dave!







Small list of things replaced/Fixed:



Timing belt

Water pump

Oil pump

Crank and cam seals

Valve cover gasket

Oil gasket

Throttle cable

New wheel bearings front and rear

New shocks

New steering stabilizer

New 3" shackle lift front and rear

New heavy duty springs front and rear

New Tcase with 4.16 gearing

New Tcase cradle

New exhaust

New front and rear bumpers, custom made from Zuks off road in AZ

New LED tails and marker lights

New rag top

New rims and tires

Seats donated from an 03 Tib, thanks Dave!



Will post more as it happens.



























Will hopefully have some more trail pics next weekend.

 

Badass! That sounds like a fun project. Definitely more fun than these typical Jeep moneypits everyone keeps trying to build.

 

Haha! Thanks man! Still a money pit, just a bit more rare! I swear, every lifted truck and jeep owner rubber necks this thing!



Folks are really into them! Jumped on few forums and people absolutely love these things. It's so small, smaller then a jeep. I was able to take ATV trails with 4 wheelers that no jeep or truck had even a remote chance of getting on.

 

Planning any engine stuff? Supposedly, the Sidekick engine, harness and ECM go in without too much work.

 

Not at the moment. I live in Denver and need my vehicles to pass emissions unfortunately. The samurai passes emissions and runs well. It is underpowered on the street, but did great off road. I put money in the tcase gearing to not only have better control off road, but also give life back to the tired carbureted engine. Will probably run it till it croaks, will then look at options then.



The swap you spoke of is already on my shortlist.



Plans of now are tackling a few more drivetrain issues. Got something rubbing when in 4wd, so I need to diagnose and repair that. Front knuckles need rebuilt, and I'll do some minor cosmetic things, both inside and out.



Planning on finishing my winch setup soon. Using a receiver style hitch system so I can use the winch in the front or back, keeping it inside the vehicle when not in use to save it from the elements. Also looking to make some rock sliders with receivers built in so I can utilize the winch laterally if need be.

 

Those things cost so much here that they're off my list, but they're cool!



A guy I used to work with had one. He would take it places in the bed of his F350 and load/unload it with ramps like an ATV. It was great.

 

Thats friggin sick! Would like to see pic/video of that!

 

Unfortunately that was before the age of cell phone cameras.

 

I want to see vids of yours in action.

 

Haha! Hopefully this weekend!