Thinking of getting a Sami, need help

[jeepinkeller]

Hey guys, first of all I want to say that when it comes to Sami's I'm a total newbie, I;ve been a jeep guy for a long time. I'm thinking of selling my TJ and looking inot getting a Sami. But I need info. Which years are the best to look for? I want to get some edjumacation on Sami's and need someone to point me in the right direction to get started. Info, websites, or any info would be awesome. Thanks for the help.

 

[Caleb]

I'll be the first to say, even though you may be saving money you are going to be VERY disappointed. I bought one in hopes to hold me over till my project was complete...its lasted for about two months, I got tired of not being able to keep up with traffic on flat ground even, down hill I had a chance but still not likely most the time. I had an 87, I dont know what years are good and what years are to be avoided. I ended up selling it cause it wasn't worth having around.

 

[jeepinkeller]

thanks for the input, If I got one it would most likely be for wheelin and not a daily driver, I know how slow they are on the street.

 

[SammiGrrl]

It depends on what you do to your sammi. before I put in the t-case gears, I was passing people on I-70. Just over 80 mph...

 

[RockMonkey]

Man, you do need help...

 

[Cruiser]

later models had EFI GET AN EFI ONE, then put toyota axels on it!!

 

[utahxjer]

It depends on what you do to your sammi. before I put in the t-case gears, I was passing people on I-70. Just over 80 mph...

yours also doesn't have big ol' tires.

 

[Maverick]

Hey guys, first of all I want to say that when it comes to Sami's I'm a total newbie, I;ve been a jeep guy for a long time. I'm thinking of selling my TJ and looking inot getting a Sami. But I need info. Which years are the best to look for? I want to get some edjumacation on Sami's and need someone to point me in the right direction to get started. Info, websites, or any info would be awesome. Thanks for the help.

Big Sarge told me about one yesterday, '94, $3K, 5" lift, gears
thebigsgt@hotmail.com

 

[spiderman]

I would suggest driving one first (off-road), before considerig buying one. They are cheap, but still, if you are not happy with it, it's not worth a penny. They are definitely different, on and off-road. Snag an efi one if you can, but 95% of them are carbureted, years 86-88 are the most common. Watch for rust under the plastic rocker guards and at the windshield corners. They are WAY underpowered, but if you set it up right, they are lots of fun!

 

[jeepinkeller]

cool thanks for the info everyone

 

[SAMI]

i'll sell you mine for somewhere around $2,700ish..... offers welcome... you can drive it whenever if you're interested....

 

[Wanker Delux]

MILES!!!!

unless its been rebuilt (or you want to rebuild it) miles is a serious issue. I lucked out on an '88.5 with only about 60k miles on it, the tranny is a little rough, but the engine and t-case are in very good condition. A lot of stuff starts wearing out at around 100k, mostly the bearings (all of them).

If you can find one with EFI and under 80k miles then snatch it up.

The only reall other option is to get hard or soft top. For a trail only rig try to get soft. The rear hatch on hard tops can get screwed up if you wack the top-side too hard. I have a soft half-cab/tanu setup and I love it.

I also suggest getting t-case gears as your first mod, they can run about $450 but for the 12% reduction in high range its turned out to be the best money I've spend on the thing. It actualy makes 5th gear usable ...

 

[Kris K]

I love my samurai and i don't want to get anything diffrent but why sale your jeep to just get a Samurai and put Jeep,scout,toy axles under it why not keep what you got and build it better and stronger. I have an 87 sami with the 6.5 T-case and i just have it SPOA with Missing links. If i was going to do it again i would get something that already had atleast D44's front and rear or the equivilent already under it. but if your not plannign on doing that hard of stuff and don't really want to go over 32" tires the get a samurai there cheap to build and try to get a fuel injected one.

 

[Rabidray]

i just bought my 4th one today

i like em a lot!!!!!!!

87 soft top 44 k miles drove it home for 500 bones........

they are a very simple little truck and very reliable .....

if you want too run the stock axels keep your tire size at 31 inches and breakage wont be an issue.......

these truck only weigh about 2200 lbs so you wont need a lot of ponies under the hood to have a good time on the trails.......

just for the fun of it run the stock 205x75x15 tires and a spring over axel setup

you will be surprised at what it can do with just a spring over.......

talk too brent at trail tough he is a straight shooter and wont steer you wrong....

as for mod,s well there are a lot of them just for the heck of it t-case gears

4.16
4.89
5.89
6.1
6.5
8.1
yes it is true all of this is available for the lowly little sammy

if you are wondering about suspension,s

every thing from leafs to full on coil and link suspensions are available in kit form...

check out

spidertrax,s

trail tough

petroworks

even rocky road outfitters {infact i think they are in the slc general area but i dont remember the name of the town}

i say go for it there is more after market support for the sammy every year.....

 

[cheapzuk]

You want a soft top. The center of gravity is a lot lower than the hard top.
Also I put 30x9.5 on mine right after I bougth it and the little extra clearance under the axles helped ALOT. Rocky road is in heber witch is about 45 min out of SLC.

 

[Spork]

I had a tin-top sami for a while. Lots of fun on the trail. I was using it for a daily driver going back and forth over Sardine Canyon. If I had the $ and the space I would get another one...