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Wanted 1.6 16v sidekick/tracker motor

johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
Diesel_Zuk said:
Sweet zuk! I saw that Sami on KSL a couple weeks back.

Are you wanting OBD 1 or OBD 2?
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Yeah, I briefly posted it, then my buddy said he was going to resurrect his old Sami and thought we should build them together, so now we’re moving forward. I’m hearing good things about the 16v sidekick motor, so that’s 91-94 4-door models, and 95-98 2 or 4 door (not sport model though, that came with a 1.8 that I don’t care for)

Diesel_Zuk said:
Doesn’t appear to have a body harness, but

Geo tracker rolling chassis
https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/65884362
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We called that guy. It’s the 8v motor, and has some hair on it that Bryson didn’t like. Since he’s my life coach on all this we decided to pass and hold out for the 16v
 
The_Lobbster

The_Lobbster

Well-Known Member
Specifically a sidekick motor? Because the 16v was available in Geo Trackers as well.

There was 2 door 16 valves available as well, starting in at least ‘95. I pulled a 16v from a ‘96 a little while back, but ‘96 is the first year of OBD2.

As far as the Suzuki EFI stuff, it’s actually pretty simple, just weed out all the unneeded stuff from the harness, and tape it back up. There’s quite a few wiring diagrams online. Even the OBD2 is pretty simple, I just have to run a cat with a second O2 sensor. The Sami cluster will need to be modified for a VSS, but it’s very simple to do.
 
johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
thefirstzukman said:
Is the 1.3 junk? If the engine is good just throw this on it.

https://www.jegs.com/i/Holley/510/550-552/10002/-1

I'm pulling the factory EFI off mine and going this route. the conversion to a Suzuki EFI is messy and the components especially the computers suck
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Head gasket is likely bad. That’s all the excuse I need to look for a little power upgrade.

Diesel_Zuk said:
Specifically a sidekick motor? Because the 16v was available in Geo Trackers as well.

There was 2 door 16 valves available as well, starting in at least ‘95. I pulled a 16v from a ‘96 a little while back, but ‘96 is the first year of OBD2.

As far as the Suzuki EFI stuff, it’s actually pretty simple, just weed out all the unneeded stuff from the harness, and tape it back up. There’s quite a few wiring diagrams online. Even the OBD2 is pretty simple, I just have to run a cat with a second O2 sensor. The Sami cluster will need to be modified for a VSS, but it’s very simple to do.
Click to expand...

Right, I’ll take any 16v, I don’t discriminarte tracker vs sidekick. Would love as new as possible, and I’m familiar with which years the 16v appeared in which configuration.

Any thoughts on the 2.0 out of a grand vitara? Seems like the extra power might not be worth the extra hassle
 
The_Lobbster

The_Lobbster

Well-Known Member
It’s a huge increase from what I hear, but also a ton more work. Trailtoughs “complete” kit really isn’t what they say it is at all. I’m very active on a Suzuki forum and there’s a couple people lately that have done it, and said it’s got great power, but there was lots of little things they found that TT didn’t document for the swap.
If you’re looking for something simple and fairly reliable, I’d say stick with the 16v idea. Another idea is to snag a wrecked donor from auction. I got my eyes on a couple in Idaho currently.
 
The_Lobbster

The_Lobbster

Well-Known Member
Stephen said:
I've had a Swift GTI 1.3 DOHC waiting to get swapped into my Samurai for about 6 years now. This is making me want to get working on that... 🤔
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My friend Tylor who used to work at LowRange had a Swift DOHC with a turbo and micro squirt. It scooted!!
 
thefirstzukman

thefirstzukman

Finding Utah
Supporting Member
Location
SPANISH FORK, UTAH
I've been through three 1.6 bottom ends and I have a 1.3 that has been abused so bad that its almost embarrassing and has been through 3 different Samurais.. I would find a 8v 1.6 head and throw it on that 1.3l with the Holley EFI and enjoy the 70 ish HP you will have. Either that or build and adapter to a K24 honda engine
 
johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
thefirstzukman said:
I've been through three 1.6 bottom ends and I have a 1.3 that has been abused so bad that its almost embarrassing and has been through 3 different Samurais.. I would find a 8v 1.6 head and throw it on that 1.3l with the Holley EFI and enjoy the 70 ish HP you will have. Either that or build and adapter to a K24 honda engine
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I love getting real world feedback on this stuff. I am extremely ignorant about what it takes to do any of this, so I’m just getting quorum consensus on the best path forward and relaying the plan to Bryson who has to figure it out. Is the 8v 1.6 head swap a common mod, or straight forward? I would love to use the 1.3, I just also want to not hate driving it, even if it’s just a toy and not a DD.
 
johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
Diesel_Zuk said:
:(
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Yep. On Saturday I went and drove a tracker to see if it would be a good donor motor. While I was puttering around in it, I started to get anxiety about all the little problems and issues it had, and it dawned on me that I hate old cars that need stuff fixed. The logical extension of that thought is that I wouldn’t be a good or happy samurai owner.

Sold this evening to an awesome 17 yr old from eagle mountain who is a massive Suzuki fan and was super knowledgeable on all things Sami. I was very happy to pass the keys onto him, he is for sure the right kind of owner for this little rig.
 
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The_Lobbster

The_Lobbster

Well-Known Member
Looks like it was really clean. I agree, Sami prices are nuts, but the last couple I’ve sold, I feel like I could barely give away. I sold a fairly straight tub with the front clip and frame, for like $350, after I had it listed for quite a while.
 
Spork

Spork

Tin Foil Hat Equipped
Location
Saratoga Springs, UT
Since we're in full hijack mode, I'm amazed how prices for Samurai's/Sidekicks/vitara's seem to be so high, the XL7 seems to be the cheapest but even those have been going up.
 
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