The Matt Black SJ Project.
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:41 pm
Hello all
I recently purchased a G reg SJ samurai with 65k on the clock in a fair condition, it had been painted half decently in matt black by the previous owner. My plans were to do a few little mods to use it as a green lane toy......... we all know that doesn't happen. So here is the story so far.
Here is the SJ as i bought it
I had all the interior carpet removed, checker plate door cards, the front and rear bumper had been cut down and a stupid scoop added over the air intake for the heater matrix.
So i realized that for it to be any good off road i would need some decent rubber, but wanted to go fairly big, therefor a suspension lift was required, not wanting to spend a small fortune i opted for an add a leaf kit, i installed this along with a full poly bush kit from lamma 4x4. This is how it looked afterwards.
Next on the list of to do was to find some tyres after searching the bay i found a set of kumho venture MT tyres in 235/75/15 for the bargain price of £160. I wanted to go a little bigger but these were to cheap to pass up so i went ahead and got them installed and this is how it looked.
I then went out and did a few lanes over a few weekends, i ended up pulling a few other people out and realized i needed a decent front bumper, i opted for a Super trux winch bumper as one came up on a facebook traded page fairly cheap. it required a new straight section of tube welding into the bull bar, this was done then the chassis mounted were fabricated and the bumper was installed. I then needed somewhere to mount the front lights, i opted to weld two small sections of box onto the bumper and drill the to take some LED lights i got off ebay. this is how it looked after the bumper was installed.
This is how the Sj stands to date.
Future plans include:
Snorkel (just trying to work out what size pipe to use)
Solid rear bumper with tow points.
Extended shocks due to the 1.5"-2" lift from the add a leafs.
Internal roll cage.
Extended Axel breathers
Rock Sliders/side steps.
Winch.
In the summer a fresh paint job if i haven't rolled it by then.
I recently purchased a G reg SJ samurai with 65k on the clock in a fair condition, it had been painted half decently in matt black by the previous owner. My plans were to do a few little mods to use it as a green lane toy......... we all know that doesn't happen. So here is the story so far.
Here is the SJ as i bought it
I had all the interior carpet removed, checker plate door cards, the front and rear bumper had been cut down and a stupid scoop added over the air intake for the heater matrix.
So i realized that for it to be any good off road i would need some decent rubber, but wanted to go fairly big, therefor a suspension lift was required, not wanting to spend a small fortune i opted for an add a leaf kit, i installed this along with a full poly bush kit from lamma 4x4. This is how it looked afterwards.
Next on the list of to do was to find some tyres after searching the bay i found a set of kumho venture MT tyres in 235/75/15 for the bargain price of £160. I wanted to go a little bigger but these were to cheap to pass up so i went ahead and got them installed and this is how it looked.
I then went out and did a few lanes over a few weekends, i ended up pulling a few other people out and realized i needed a decent front bumper, i opted for a Super trux winch bumper as one came up on a facebook traded page fairly cheap. it required a new straight section of tube welding into the bull bar, this was done then the chassis mounted were fabricated and the bumper was installed. I then needed somewhere to mount the front lights, i opted to weld two small sections of box onto the bumper and drill the to take some LED lights i got off ebay. this is how it looked after the bumper was installed.
This is how the Sj stands to date.
Future plans include:
Snorkel (just trying to work out what size pipe to use)
Solid rear bumper with tow points.
Extended shocks due to the 1.5"-2" lift from the add a leafs.
Internal roll cage.
Extended Axel breathers
Rock Sliders/side steps.
Winch.
In the summer a fresh paint job if i haven't rolled it by then.