Mikes Samurai build / use / fixing broken bits after abuse

[twiss]

I want to see some chopping too

Hope you don't mind mike i made you an avatar...

[basil]

Hi Mike,
What year is your van/Samuri ?????? mines a 1986 vintage but nowhere as rust eaten as yours
apart from drivers front floor/rear corners both sides....you must have spent a great deal of time doing all that work.....i congratulate you mate.......and i was moaning because i needed to replace both rear wheel cylinders ....great to see it finished
regards jim

[mike harris]

Not sure Scotty, it's always had more lock one way than the other. I've never bothered trying to fix it though. Always during flex it runs out of steering lock. No idea why must be as there's so much lift. I don't know if I'm honest.

Thanks for the avatar Chris I like it, door cards are ready when you want to collect

Il chop it soon, trying to get time after work or weekends is proving tricky.

My Suzuki is j reg mate, yeh it was very badly rotten. Il try and find more pics of when it came back from shit blasting. I remember the phone call from my mate saying he'd pretty much blown most of it away.

But at least it's 100% rust free now, and was reapaired properly all skins etch primed ect.

I seem to have massive lulls of not working on it then get lots done at once !! Trying to make time as I really want to start doing more challenge events. Be nice to have it done for the decider but I really need to be ripping the axles out and part to check them over as its been a little while now. That and making new spring packs and getting the winches set up again.

Il keep you posted

[ScottieJ]

You have a vit box mounted without a wedge don't you mike? Think I have read that they can end up with more travel one way than the other when mounted like that so could be part of the reason? Might be worth removing the pitman arm then centering the steering box and re-fitting the pitman arm? Might sort the issue out?

With the hi-steer I can't see the height causing too much of an issue. Maybe just compensate for a bit of extra steering lock each way when you do the trimming just in case you ever manage to get it sorted. Would be a nightmare to have to do two lots of trimming.

either way if it doesn't bother you I'm sure you can live with it. I know the feeling dude, I'm always working on other peoples vehicles recently so getting time to sort out the little niggly things on your own truck can seem to take forever to get sorted! I'm sure you'll get it sorted and out in some comps soon though if you can try and get it to wagtail, even if it's on the boggers if you still have them? pretty sure there will be space.

[mike harris]

Yeh might be, il look into it. There so many things I want to change and redo, but I think for now I just need to use it for a bit and then start to do things again. I want to repair the roof at some point, don't want a new cage to stop me from being Able to repair the roof.

Just recently I've started to worry that work and life in the next few years will leave less and less time to a use fix it and b use it !! It's cost me too much money for it to sit in my garage month after month.

Who knows we shall see

[mike harris]

The decider is now out of the question really.

Maybe now the wooldridge trophy?

Not sure depends where it's held.

[Matt]

Wooldridge is being held at Mud monsters mike

[mike harris]

That might be an option then. Getting a new road car in the next few weeks so money's will be tight to say the least. I went and watched the wooldridge last year and it looked really good !!

[twiss]

ROAD CAR? WHY? :p

Road legal SJ is the way to go mike

[mike harris]

As brilliant as my little Suzuki is I'm not sure it's up for what I need from a road 4x4 !!