Suzuki Samurai restoration project

Ded_Zebra

Long Time Lurker wrote: »

I'm watching this with great interest. I have one as a daily driver and its only a matter of time before I have to take it apart and do what you're doing. Either that or I'll sell it for something else stupid to drive every day :-)

Thanks man I would love to see a pic of yours, post it up! If you do ever get around to restoring it let me know! I'll be as much help as I can.

Bigus wrote: »

Wankel enjoined Suzuki samurai

http://bringatrailer.com/2016/05/28/mazda-rotary-transplant-1994-suzuki-samurai/

That's cool alright. I would imagine it's scary fast

Low Range Off Road do a performance camshaft that I'm vaguely tempted to buy...Make it better able to keep up with traffic. Realistically funds are probably too tight.

Had another busy day today at the jeep. I got the shed and chassis cleaned. Got 2 coats or primer on the chassis. QV called down and got to work cleaning the rust of 2 of the leaf springs. Both of those are now in primer too

Pics will follow tomorrow.

Ded_Zebra

So this is where we left off I think. Next job was to prime the chassis despite the little rust hole.



Chassis primed for the first coat







Two coats of primer on the chassis in the end. Should be enough I feel! Have to wait 3 days before applying the stone chip according to the instructions.

Next thing that was tackled was the springs with QVs help.



Here's QV himself working away :pac:



I gave him 2 wire brushes I thought were already worn out. He managed to get more life out of them and he swears he's not from Cavan :pac:



Here's a spring he finished cleaning.



Cleaned spring hanging up and waiting for paint.



One spring in primer and one waiting paint.

Ded_Zebra

In the mean time the chassis was welded up again and re-primed. No other pictures of the repair I'm afraid. The hole was just filled with weld and then grinder back smooth, It was just in the top left of this photo.



Next I got this bitchin' trolly to keep my tools on instead of keeping them on the floor. I love it anyway





We're almost up to date now, today I painted the colour coat onto the first 2 springs.

Coat one, just a light dusting so the next layer sticks.



Each of the springs got 4 coats of paint total. Here's one finished with it's new Polyurethane bushes.

Ded_Zebra

Time for a bit of an update again. Things have gone from strength to strength in the shed. The arrival of the trolly for my toolbox made it much more plush but I now have an old makeup table thingy too!!!:pac::pac:

I have the drawers for it also :P



The primer needed three days minimum to dry according to the instructions before the next layer of paint could be added. And yes I actually read the instructions! The next paint to go on is this 2 part mastic from Bilt Hamber.



Here it is going on.



Once the "top" sides were finished I flipped the chassis over to do the bottom. I think I'll go for 2 coats total. As it stands at the moment the side of the chassis have 2 coats done but the top and bottom still need their second coat.



I put a bit of tape over the VIN so it wouldn't get hidden



Next job that was tackled was on the rear springs. There was a metal outer to the old bushes that stayed in the springs. As you can imagine they got well stuck in there over time with corrosion and dirt. I had to cut them with a hack saw and then smash out a small section before beating out the rest of them. Quick photo here of beating out the insert after cutting it.

Ded_Zebra

The plan for next weekend is to hopefully;

Get the chassis fully painted.

Get the 2 remaining leaf springs prepared and painted and then get them reassembled onto the chassis!!! Then the fun will really start :cool:


An Australian friend of mind also brought some parts from the USA to me when he was coming. A lot of the stuff isn't needed for some time yet but it's good to have it :cool:



He also made a video of unboxing the stuff for me. I'll ask him if he minds me posting it

Ded_Zebra

Hello again everyone. Sorry for not keeping this up to date. I've been tipping away slowly at the jeep the whole time but I've been busy with other stuff at late. Also I'm at the stage of prepping and painting suspension stuff which just takes for ever :mad:

Anyway. I stripped all the braking related stuff off the back axle so it can be prepared and painted.





For removing brake lines this is the only tool. I recommend everyone gets one!



Brake lines off.



Handbrake cables disconnected.







Next thing was to drain the oil from the diff. I wanted to do this before painting so that the paint wouldn't get chipped later. The bastards were very very tight. Much fire and swearing was required to open them. Didn't help that the prick that over tightened them rounded them out too. :rolleyes:



Finally got the fill out



Here's the tools that were needed to get it out :mad::rolleyes:

Ded_Zebra

Oil draining.





The magnet on the drain plug didn't have too much metal on it. Hopefully that means the diff is healthy.



Next thing was to grind the old paint off the anti roll bar.



Anti roll bar waiting to get primer.



More springs being subjected to the grinder.



More primer on another spring too.



At the same time I got another delivery. The Chassis got all of it's cavities waxed. I've done the first coat of cavity wax and plan to do a second tomorrow.

Chassis still sitting in the shed as it was. I can't wait to start putting bits back on it. Just taking so long though

Ded_Zebra

Got a few more small jobs done today. Didn't get pictures of all of them yet so expect another update soon. Also I'm going to try and update this more regularly as the work is done. It means I remember more and have a better record of what has happened to the car

First thing I did was paint a couple of coats of yellow onto the auto roll bar. Needs a couple of more coats tomorrow so I'll get pics then.

Next thing I did was mix up some Deox C. This is supposed to be great stuff for removing rust so here's hoping.



First job for it is the spring plates and U bolts for the back axle. Proper crusty:D





After about an hour the liquid had already started to change colour. Hopefully there's some good results for me in the morning.



I also bought some gear oil. Not a brand I've hear of but it's all the motor factors had. Still fully synthetic and the correct grade/spec. Can't really go wrong.



The rear diff takes 1.5L according to the Suzuki repair and maintenance manual, Usually you just fill gearboxes until the oil comes out the fill hole but since the diff isn't mounted in the car I just measured the oil in. I'll confirm the correct level again when it's back mounted to the chassis and on the correct level. This is the first litre measured out. I couldn't get a picture of filling it because I had to hold the funnel with my other hand:p



I also went to apply the second coat of cavity wax to the chassis but annoyingly the nozzle had blocked:mad::mad:. I cleared it out with a drop of petrol so it'll be good to go in the morning.

Ded_Zebra

I don't know what the weather was like today in the rest of the country but it was pissing rain all day in Wicklow so sadly not very much was achieved.

I took the parts I had soaking in the Deox C out and gave them a quick rub with a wire brush. They've cleaned up a lot and I'm very impressed with the stuff. I put them in for another 24 hours to get them really clean. I've a lot more bolts and stuff to do after them too.

The liquid got really manky over night:



Here's the parts cleaned up:



Then after that I got the second coat of cavity wax into the chassis. Aside from drilling out a couple more sheered bolts the chassis is finally ready for reassembly. If we get some good weather in the evenings during the week I might get a chance to finish off the last of the springs and then reassembly can actually start. I really hope to be able to bolt something back together next weekend, I really need it for moral

Ded_Zebra

166man came down this evening and gave me a hand with a bit of wire brushing. A bit of help is always good for morel, plus be bought me ice cream

I too the U bolts and related parts out of the deox C again and gave them a quick wire brush. Here's the result of that.



More than clean enough for parts that will be under an off road vehicle.

They then got a shot of the zinc primer on each side.





Here's the U bolts from the front axle for a before and after.



166man then gave these a wire brushing. Hopefully that means the Deox C process will be a little faster than it was for the last set.

Ded_Zebra

I was going to work on the Jeep this evening after work but unfortunately I got delayed in work for 2 hours so the daylight was all wasted...

If I'm not going to get any actual work done I might as well update this thread!!!

Quite a bit has happened over the last while, a lot of hours but again it doesn't really look like much!

Time for the pictures (I've also got worse at taking lots of pictures!)

First, the continuation of painting the spring shackles and bolts.



Primed and ready for colour.



Colour coat on, I masked us the threads so they would still work properly. This is just a photo of the first batch I did, they are all finished like this now.







Then it was time to clean and paint the last leaf spring. Here it is, won't show the whole process because I've posted it before.



Putting the bushes into said spring.





I then had an exciting moment! Fitting the first new parts to the chassis! Some bushes, Red rubber grease is essential.









166man came down yesterday afternoon and set to work with the grinder on the back axle.





I then painted it up in it's first coat of primer.

Ded_Zebra

The petrol tank protector thingy also got a tidy up recently. Again it was clean of all the old paint and rust. Then it was a few coats of ink primer and some semi matt black to finish. It still has a small dent in it but it's good enough for the underside of the car!

job seeker

This is a credit to you DZ, keep up the superb work.

Thargor

Looking good DZ, might want to pick a better image host than Photobucket though, all the original pictures have been lost and these ones will be aswell, Photobucket delete everything after a while.

Ded_Zebra

Thargor wrote: »

Looking good DZ, might want to pick a better image host than Photobucket though, all the original pictures have been lost and these ones will be aswell, Photobucket delete everything after a while.

I saw that the early photos are gone alright.

Do you have a suggestion for a better site?

The early photos were actually on pix.ie but it's gone now I think...

Thargor

Imgur is probably the main one, my posts from 5-6 years ago are still intact with them, worth attaching them to each post with the paperclip icon aswell to make boards save them. Anything is better than Photobucket or Imageshack these days.

Ded_Zebra

Thargor wrote: »

Imgur is probably the main one, my posts from 5-6 years ago are still intact with them, worth attaching them to each post with the paperclip icon aswell to make boards save them. Anything is better than Photobucket or Imageshack these days.

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a go and see if it's better

Ded_Zebra

Time for another update on one of the worlds slowest progressing projects :pac:

Some more back axle painting. A few coats of red on both sides.







Then it was time to reassemble the back suspension. I have yet to order shocks but everything else is there. Back axle and the rear springs put into position.



Bolts and shackles that will be needed.



The beginning of the reassembly!



Almost forgot to put in the bump stops! A reminder to always have the manual open.



Microfibre towels to protect the axle from the jacks. Don't want to chip that paint!





Getting the springs lined up.



Bolted in. So proud of myself I took loads of photos

Ded_Zebra

Changed the oil in the front diff next. Just as hard to open as the rear one was. Heat and hammers was the order of the day again.







Then I started prepping it for painting too. The grease has been seeping out of the seals for the last 20 odd years and made quite a mess!









I did get as far as taking to old paint off one side but I need more wire brushes for the grinder to finish it. Haven't taken any pictures of that yet... They'll be in a future update .

Toyotafanboi

No contribution, but i'm quite enjoying this. There's a nice attention to detail about it.

Ded_Zebra

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

No contribution, but i'm quite enjoying this. There's a nice attention to detail about it.

Thanks man.

I'm going into way way more detail than I originally planned.... Keeps making progress slower and slower

The 166, 156 and CLK keep soaking up my money too

sogood

Another great restoration project Zebra. I know it's an effort sometimes to stop and take pictures but it really brings the whole thing to life for all of us. Keep up the excellent work and why isn't RTE looking for people doing restos like this? A real time, real life project, without all the madness, side plots, predictable disasters and looming deadlines that usually accompany such programmes.

They could feature a number of different projects, jumping back and forth as progress dictates.

Anyway, great work and thanks again for all the effort in sharing it with us!

Ded_Zebra

sogood wrote: »

Another great restoration project Zebra. I know it's an effort sometimes to stop and take pictures but it really brings the whole thing to life for all of us. Keep up the excellent work and why isn't RTE looking for people doing restos like this? A real time, real life project, without all the madness, side plots, predictable disasters and looming deadlines that usually accompany such programmes.

They could feature a number of different projects, jumping back and forth as progress dictates.

Anyway, great work and thanks again for all the effort in sharing it with us!

Thanks for the kind words sir!

It would be great to have some sort of a show like that. A youtube series would be the place to start.

I have the next couple of days off work so hopefully I'll get around to doing some more work on the jeep. That's depending on the weather not being too sh!t

Dr Turk Turkelton

Hi Ded_Zebra ,
Any updates on this project as I was really enjoying the build.

Thargor

All the projects I was following on Boards all seemed to die off a few months ago.

Ded_Zebra

Hi lads,

Glad you've been enjoying the build! Progress has been slow over winter. I'll post a few pics of the little bit that has been done. I think I lost some of the pics... So I'll explain what has been happening.

I finished stripping and cleaning the front axle. Then once that was done it was primed and painted red just like the rear one.

I also took apart the front brake callipers and left them to soak in Deox to remove all the rust. Once that was done I painted them black. Nice compared to the "race" yellow a previous owner painted them

I then cleaned up both the gearbox and the transfer box. Changed the oil in both of course and I also fitted new gear shift bushings in the gearbox. The change is tight and precise once again

I then mounted the front axle back on the chassis with the leaf springs.

I also such the transfer box back on.

I'll drip feed you the photos over the next couple of days, keep you entertained a little longer. :D

I'm uploading some pictures as I type this so I'll get some up soon

Ded_Zebra

Gear box, transfer box and stripped front axle:



Fitting the new shift bushings:





Stick out with one of the old bushings



The other bushing, you ca also see the "shifter bolt" is broken:



New shifter bolt, bushings and O ring.





Gearbox cleaned and masked up for paint :



Painted aluminium silver:



A before and after paint side by side:

wotzgoingon

Wow the paint job on the gearbox in the last pic looks amazing.

Ded_Zebra

wotzgoingon wrote: »

Wow the paint job on the gearbox in the last pic looks amazing.

Cheers

the paint is really thin special aluminium paint so the aluminium keeps all of the texture of the casting etc. Looks like brand new freshly case aluminium.

Ded_Zebra

I have uploaded a few more!

Filling the gear oil after the painting:



Painting the stick is also important





Transfer box



both boxes all finished



Transfer box back in its home for the next 30 years



I've forgotten where this next piece actually goes... I think it is something to do with protecting the fuel filler neck where it passes through the wheel well. I suppose I'll find out during re-assembly :pac:

166man

Love it. That aluminum paint is class!

I told you you have a natural ability for painting things

Ded_Zebra

Next thing was the front axle.

Here it is fully wire brushed:



After a few coats of primer:



First couple of coats of red going on:



Then I got side tracked with the front brake callipers :pac: they had got fair crusty over the years.





Pistons in reasonable condition:



They were also treated to a good soaking in Deox C and then painted black:



Refitted the brake lines onto the rear axle. The front axle is still existing it it's 1/2 painted state at this stage I got bored with all the painting.



I really wish I had a lift! Needed to jack the chassis to move the supporting wheels back so I can fit the front axle. The chassis without the axles are not at all heavy, 2 people can lift it handy enough! The jacks were just needed so I out move it by myself.



I have lost the photos of finishing the painting of the front axle. Here it is anyway being reunited with the chassis.







That's all folks, you are now bang up to date on progress I'm hoping to potter away this weekend if I have a little time! So hopefully I'll have something more to add soon.

Dr Turk Turkelton

Hey Ded Zebra I know it's been a while but any update on this project?
I had been enjoying it and i don't know what brought it into my head just now!

colm_mcm

Ded Zebra has been off boards for over a year.

Dr Turk Turkelton

colm_mcm wrote: »

Ded Zebra has been off boards for over a year.

Thanks Colm, didn't notice that.