1988 Samurai
 

I found one. Barn Find. Been hiding since 1994. This will be a project. I am going to attempt the Vermont registration on this. Kansas will make me wait 4 and 1/2 more years for it to turn 35 before I can register it. That may be okay. Gives me time to work on it.:D

:)



I bought an '87 in 1989 and explored every dirt road within 1000 miles for the next few years. I sold it to my brother with close to 200k on it; he still has it, but he has modified it quite heavily.

This one is showing 73K. Likely original as it appears to have only been on the road 6 years. The drivers side kingpin bearings are gone. That may be why it was parked.

Congrats! I'm looking for a Samurai just like that for my daughter. I'm looking forward to following this thread.

lol. coincidentally i have been talking to this guy in middle tn about this one today, well a x-90.
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LOL Me too. She would like a Jeep but I'm not paying the Jeep price. I would like to find something like that so we can work on it together fixing it up.
I found an 1988 too. It didn't look too bad. https://neworleans.craigslist.org/ct...624921317.html

I love Sammys. I never owned one but worked on a few when I was an auto tech. Always wanted one all original early 90's with the hard top in silver.

Well I think I calculated $100 to send the state of Vermont. I swapped two more tires today. One of the ones I did yesterday went flat. Probably the valve stem.

Front axle rebuild kit is $130 on Amazon. I have been waiting over 20 years for one of these to appear.

This is going to take alot of work and new parts to get it back on the road.

Congrats Kato! I love the little zooks and trackers. My Tracker ZR2 has survived the culling of all my vehicles, lol. Fun rigs to cruise around in and you can park them anywhere!

I plan to send off for the Vermont registration tomorrow. Hoping that it works.

The X-90 is based off of the Sidekick/Tracker but still a cool little rig none the less.



Looks like the Sami is in great shape to start with!

It is rust free. The frame is clean and body is straight. Just some minor body work is needed. Mostly needing mechanical things. I think it will be best to tear it apart and clean everything up first. The carpet will likely just go. This will be a summer fun rig that will be parked inside. Top will go too.

Mail off the Vermont registration paperwork tonight. We shall see in a couple weeks if I get plates.

I think one of the next steps is to clean out the interior. Remove seats and carpet and power wash it.

Samurais are very popular here on the peninsula. I remember going to a drive in movie one time in a Samurai.

Shoveled out 3 trash cans of debri from the interior tonight. Cut the rear carpet out. I plan to remove the seats and pull the front carpet next. Then it will time for the power washer and purple cleaner. Hoping that by the time I get the thing cleaned up my Vermont tags will be here.

I built an early tin top (1985 ) for a customer around 1990 ,engine was garbage so he had me put a Buick v6 in it I happened to have along with the rest of the Jeep driveline .I wanted it but it was sized perfectly for a midget so I had to pass .

I have not even sat in it yet. Too disgusting. Its a good thing I can drill new holes and move the seat if needed. Today a 96 Tracker appeared for sale. Tempting, but I think my wife would say no to a 4th vehicle in a week.

The tracker would be the engine swap you want .

I've seen the 1.6/1.9 VW TDIs swapped into the sammys before. They run real good and get nearly 40mpg with 31 inch tires.

The tracker is an hour away. Not sure if I will be able to get to it. We will see if it sits all week. Would be a great donar vehicle. Seats, wheels and tires, engine maybe.

I can only turn the engine about half a revolution by hand. Feels like something in the bottom end.

Looks like either a full rebuild or an engine swap.

I believe I will have Vermont tags in about 2 weeks.

Could it be a valve stuck open hitting a piston?

Maybe, but I believe these are non-interference engines. I didn't try to force anything. Would rather pull the engine apart.

I'm not sure if they are interference engines. It's been a long time since I have even seen a Sammy. I'd pop the head off before pulling the engine. It could be a rust ring in one cylinder that had the valves open. I've run into that on old four cylinder cars that have sat.

Another reason it may not be turning all the way. The oil dipstick says the engine is full to the top.

I am going to drain it out tomorrow and give it a try.

Any milkshake under the oil cap?

No oil cap. It was missing. Need to get one of those.

No signs of water in the oil. I drained about 2.5 gallons out. Oil smelled alittle gassy, but it now turns over with compression. Oil came out of 3 of 4 cylinders. The plugs were pretty bad. I will see about picking up a new set tomorrow. Looking more promising now. Not expecting much until I get the wiring sorted out.

That sounds like a bad carb needle and seat. Is the 88 a carb model? That could be it. Fuel flooded the engine. Or somone years ago tried to start it with a bad carb and literally flooded the crankcase with fuel. I've seen it before.

It is carbed. I plan to change the carburetor for a better non computer controlled unit from a toyota. Straight bolt on no wires. Simple. All the carb wiring is chewed from rats. This will clean up the engine bay and eliminate the need for the computer. I am going to try and start it on the original carb.

I bought a new cap, rotor, plugs and wires today. Also an oil filter. Will put some fresh oil in there and start with get the ignition system operational. Will likely end up being push button start since I have no keys.

Which Toyota is the intended carb from?

Early 80s Corolla. New ones can be had pretty reasonable. The starter is not engaging. Probably need to clean it and check connections.

Still waiting on Vermont.

We can officially move forward. I got a Vermont License plate.

Awesome! I wish I had a work-around like that.

You don't have to be a Vermont resident. Maybe the will send it to your US address.

It is possible, but that's only part of it. I'd then have to try and explain to the border guard how I registered a vehicle in the US without an American driver's license. I guess the worst case is that I just sell the vehicle in the US and call it a draw.

hell there is a work around like that in sask but this sammi is a year too new to make it work. Anything older then 87 is platable as an antique and does not require inspection.

Color me dense here, weld, but why would you need a US drivers license to title and tag a vehicle?

How about someone in the US register it and then "sell" it back to you.

Only if I found a good deal on a vehicle in the US that did not have a title. If there is no title, I can't cross the border with it.