Brand new Sami's now available (kind of)

[lneil]

For all you Suzuki fans that would like to buy a brand new Samurai, I quote the following from a very recent (I got it today) Suzuki NZ press release:

"The Farmworker is a very capable and robust 4WD that is sure to have considerable appeal in the rural community. They are only available in Silver and come with the following features:
• Fuel injected 1.3 litre engine
• 5 speed manual with dual range (2H,4H,4L)
• Long-wheelbase separate chassis with leaf springs
• 15" Maxxis Trepador All Terrain Tyres
• Not road registerable
• 24 month / 40,000 warranty

The vehicle is specified for the rural market at a relatively basic level to achieve the lowest possible price point. That means it doesn’t have power steering, air conditioning, stereo (optional), or a heater (although parts can be supplied to fit).
As mentioned the Farm Worker will be available from Suzuki in three variations.

Option 1: BASIC MODEL
Complete with rear seats and canvas package the BASIC MODEL has new Maxxis Trepador tyres fitted here at Suzuki before dispatch.

Option 2: WELL SIDE MODEL
The well side also has Maxxis Trepador tyres fitted as standard along with fibreglass rear bulkhead and roof. A steel work bar is also fitted to help protect the fibreglass cab. This is not a
rollbar.

Option 3: FLAT DECK MODEL
The Flat Deck also has Maxxis Trepador tires fitted as standard along with fibreglass rear bulkhead and roof. A flat deck is fitted and this measures 1600W x 1550L x 230H. The flat deck has a hoop that does the same job as the work bar on the well side, and incorporates a tow bar as standard equipment."

Its a pity they're not able to be registered on the road, but I'd love to have the coin to start a project on a brand-new LWB Samurai!!!

[suzookyman]

There has been one sitting out the front of our local Suzuki dealer for about a month now.They look impressive being new and all .Good to see they havn't gone to IFS .When I have finished my re-build on my Samurai (3 more weeks should do it) I want to get some photos of them side by side and chuck them on here.
Al

[Swamped]

isn't it a maruti not a sammy?

[lneil]

isn't it a maruti not a sammy?

Yes it is, but the Maruti (named for Suzuki's Maruti plant in India) is just a licence-built Samurai.

[lilpigzuk]

I assume it is definetly the samurai axles under them? ie last of the leaf spring ones?

[lincooln]

I assume it is definetly the samurai axles under them? ie last of the leaf spring ones?

yeap its full leaf sprung.

picture of it here: http://www.suzuki.co.nz/News/ALL/2011/0 ... rm+Worker/

[suzukisport]

Awesome will be good to see more of these around again instead of dying off. Good to see that they are going to be injected as well. Price is a little high, but I guess it would probably be worth it. Would be around the same price as a new ATV but it comes with a heater!

There has been one sitting out the front of our local Suzuki dealer for about a month now.They look impressive being new and all .Good to see they havn't gone to IFS .When I have finished my re-build on my Samurai (3 more weeks should do it) I want to get some photos of them side by side and chuck them on here.
Al

Once you let me teach you how to put photos on here

[lilpigzuk]

I assume it is definetly the samurai axles under them? ie last of the leaf spring ones?

yeap its full leaf sprung.

picture of it here: http://www.suzuki.co.nz/News/ALL/2011/0 ... rm+Worker/

Yes Ive seen one, but want to know if its the identical axles to the 88-95 samurai, ie off the shelf chromoly axles, not some hybrid shit axle

[Swamped]

Maruti is not a samurai. The model is the Gypsy I think and its based on the SJ but isn't one. I've heard they are kinda a bitsa truck in the U.S. with parts being used from multiple samurai models but they still love em there.
One was used to test interest at the fieldays last year.
No idea as to WT diffs. They have the flares like the samurais so maybe. As a farm truck its still cheaper to buy one of those gay little white daihatsu or similar farm truck things. We considered one for the farm then just bought a lwb vitara and slapped muds on it.

[UBZ]

As they have the large wide body flares , It should be WT same as the Sammy .

As Swamped said they are a bitsa, and the Maruti build quality and steel quality are questionable .

??? Would be what diffs / gearbox / transfer / etc etc etc
Word in Aus is that just about every one is different.

But should mean a new supply of factory parts , ie roof and rear windows , softtops etc
Would be interested to know why they fail compliance as the Sj is just about a vintage car know being 30yrs old in 2015

[lneil]

Would be interested to know why they fail compliance as the Sj is just about a vintage car know being 30yrs old in 2015

Because they're a new vehicle they would have to comply with frontal impact standards and emissions standards. If they were used cars over 20yrs old they could be imported!

[wjw]

Burkes Metalworks have one, that they are chopping up into a ute. Looks really good and had plates???!?!?.....

[UBZ]

Would be interested to know why they fail compliance as the Sj is just about a vintage car know being 30yrs old in 2015

Because they're a new vehicle they would have to comply with frontal impact standards and emissions standards. If they were used cars over 20yrs old they could be imported!

But a current issue landrover defender you can buy off the lot doesnt comply with frontal impact for example
And the farm worker has the G13bb engine which is EFI and all emissioned up the Buggery
You can also get these road legal in Australia , even in Queensland!!!

Sounds more like Suzuki Nz can't be bothered with the process .

Basically I could buy one of these , pull the body off, swap it and all the running gear / engine etc onto the LWB chassis I have at home and then re-vin it no problems at all as a body swap

If you can't rego it , you can't even put a A-class on it and legally drive it up the road from the farm to the paddock .

[Swamped]

Burkes Metalworks have one, that they are chopping up into a ute. Looks really good and had plates???!?!?.....

At the fieldays I was told they were only bringing in utes. Have seen pics of a panelvan type but never seen one here.

Would be cool to run one of those engines. Better than the pos carb ones I have

[wjw]

Burkes Metalworks have one, that they are chopping up into a ute. Looks really good and had plates???!?!?.....

At the fieldays I was told they were only bringing in utes. Have seen pics of a panelvan type but never seen one here.

Would be cool to run one of those engines. Better than the pos carb ones I have

If Its still there next time I'm passing I'll take a pic. I doubt it will be there though, helped Jason glue the roof on while i was waiting.

Not sure who it was for, but they used to modify Jimny's but the client wants to try these so this one was the first for them to make up templates etc.

[pandasport]

I have sold a few of these... mid ninties ones not new, they are Maruti Gypsies with the badges changed, basically a SJ410 made under licence in India with some random bits......

Samurai guards, SJ413 Springs, 410 interior, 410 axles and diffs i think (could be wrong but have swapped a heap of this stuff over in the past) 410/413/samurai doors etc

Suzuki Japan have bought into the indian Maruti brand or vice versa....

Word on the street is Suzuki NZ got a rap over the knuckles for cutting down Jimnys into flat decks and selling them as a new vehicle by Suzuki Japan. So this is the new option to compete with people like me..... I sell New Suzuki farm trucks.

I'm not sure why they can't register them in NZ, the frontal impact laws as they currently stand don't affect full ladder chassis type vehicles as i understand it? again correct me if i'm wrong. Emmision laws would be the only issue if they are running the G13B (early JB33 jimny engine) rather than the M13B (later JB43W jimny engine) they can't be registered as they are "too pollutant" according to our fearless leaders of the past (labour/greens)

However i can Low volume cert and register my Farmworker with a 2 litre turbo Mitsi engine and Hilux diffs..... WTF

[lneil]

I have sold a few of these... mid ninties ones not new, they are Maruti Gypsies with the badges changed, basically a SJ410 made under licence in India with some random bits......

Samurai guards, SJ413 Springs, 410 interior, 410 axles and diffs i think (could be wrong but have swapped a heap of this stuff over in the past) 410/413/samurai doors etc

Suzuki Japan have bought into the indian Maruti brand or vice versa....

Word on the street is Suzuki NZ got a rap over the knuckles for cutting down Jimnys into flat decks and selling them as a new vehicle by Suzuki Japan. So this is the new option to compete with people like me..... I sell New Suzuki farm trucks.

I'm not sure why they can't register them in NZ, the frontal impact laws as they currently stand don't affect full ladder chassis type vehicles as i understand it? again correct me if i'm wrong. Emmision laws would be the only issue if they are running the G13B (early JB33 jimny engine) rather than the M13B (later JB43W jimny engine) they can't be registered as they are "too pollutant" according to our fearless leaders of the past (labour/greens)

However i can Low volume cert and register my Farmworker with a 2 litre turbo Mitsi engine and Hilux diffs..... WTF

It is definitely standards issues that prevent them being complied here. Yes, you can register your old 1970s shitter that's already in NZ, but you can't import a NEW vehicle that doesn't meet the emmissions and frontal impact standards.

Don't worry, if SNZ could get them complied they would, it would make it so much more attractive as an ATV alternative for cockys.

And what I heard about the flatdeck Jimnys was that the panelshop in Wanganui that was doing the conversions was sold, with the new operators not interested in carrying on with them. I know Hollands in CHCH will still get the conversions done locally, but it costs around 7 grand!

[flyingbrick]

I helped develop the new sami's fiberglass pannels and have noticed a few things about the vehicle.

They are starting to rust in unusual places after virtually zero exposure to the elements. Just a spot here and a spec there.. but its certainly enough to question rust protection measures.

They seem very heavily sprung at the rear.

The maxxis tires look tits on them I bet it would go well.

They have more than enough power for around town driving...and more than I expected frm the 1300cc motor. Feels much much better on the road than the late model jimnys I have driven.

there are no free-wheel hubs to play with.

Steering is not power assisted and is very heavy with the maxxis tires at low speed. not so bad on road tires.

The only color they have is metalic silver.

If i was in the market for a quad or side-by-side i'd definately buy one of these instead.
Remember if for some reason you need hte open-air feel of a quad this little suzuki can be turned intoa convertable very quickly and the front windscreen folded forward. (though at the moment this is not possible as the fiberglass pannels are glued on, not clipped)

[flyingbrick]

. I know Hollands in CHCH will still get the conversions done locally, but it costs around 7 grand!

That is rediculious. Someone could buy the samarai conversion panels, a grinder and some glue and fit it up in a single day for less than $2k total.

[HedgeBoar]

The Jimny utes that Hollands have done look like they are a factory jimny flatdeck though... they don't look at all like a quick conversion has been done.

I'd say the trepadors are a good choice -- I have a set of the 31"s on my samurai and they go very well in both boggy stuff and wet grass etc.

[wjw]

The Jimny utes that Hollands have done look like they are a factory jimny flatdeck though... they don't look at all like a quick conversion has been done.

I'd say the trepadors are a good choice -- I have a set of the 31"s on my samurai and they go very well in both boggy stuff and wet grass etc.

Burkes Metalworks have been doing those, the first one they did would have cost loads. I know Jason was quite happy to do a prototype on the new indian ones.

[pandasport]

Interesting this.... have just talked to my local suki dealer, he claims there are several types coming which we knew

A couple of them must have the G13 engine which would prevent it from being registered due to emmisions. Well deck and cab chassis types. These are being sold mostly through the Bike shops.

Aparently a 3rd type will be registerable as a flat deck (must have M13B engine? (same as JB43W Jimny (later model)) this is one that the local suzi car dealer will sell .

Jimny and SJ410/farm worker/ SJ413/ maruti gypsy all have the same chassis (if you ignore spring mounts and a few other bits) so frontal impact couldn't be it. Remeber the Great wall utes are ladder chassis and they don't have air bags etc either. and we have all seen too many of those on the road.

Also heard from the horses mouth that the current "new" Jimny flat deck cut downs were tendered out on the down low and in southland at least the guy who has got the job is doing a full cut down to cab chassis level for (supposedly this bit) $1000+GST incl paint??? i guess once the patterns are made it wouldn't be too bad but $1000.... he can have that job!!

I suspect that this cut down jimny may actually be the third type my dealer is talking about .... time will tell.

Cheers

[pandasport]

... they don't look at all like a quick conversion has been done.

I'd say the trepadors are a good choice -- .

i hope you are joking??

go and have a breif look at one close up, some of them are absolutley awful. I am amazed they can Cert them...... take one perfectly suitable Jimny that Suzuki Japan has spent Millions developing, let some joker in NZ remove almost all structural integrity and sell to some other joker who is likely to be using it in a situation where it could roll over.... hmmmm

Trepadors are the cheapest... by lots.... this is the only reason, i'm not saying they are a shit tyre i sell a few of them and they go not too bad but if they could have found any other tyre for less that fitted the "farm use" bill they would have put those on instead.

[HedgeBoar]

i hope you are joking??

I wasn't meaning that they were nicely done, just that they still looked like a jimny as opposed to a jimny with a 410/413 body as the previous poster was talking about. I can't say I've ever had a close up look at one.

Trepadors are the cheapest... by lots.... this is the only reason

Cheapest reasonable one, yes. They could have put some crappy hankooks on it if they really wanted to find the cheapest rubbish.

Their price was one of the reasons I initially bought them, but after using them for a few years I'd never buy another radial for a light truck.... They out perform every other radial tire I've seen on a zuk over a wide range of terrain. On the other hand, I'm not sure about the 35" radial version, lugs don't seem to be any bigger/wider spaced than the 31"......

[pandasport]

true

they look good from far but far from good, once you get up and have a bit of a scratch around you realise they have been done with price as the main driver.

pleased you've had a good run out of Trepadors

[flyingbrick]

crazy. I've seen the ute jimnys on trademe and from the pics they looked factory as. I thought they were factory till recently

good point about structual integrity.

[UBZ]

Jimny and SJ410/farm worker/ SJ413/ maruti gypsy all have the same chassis (if you ignore spring mounts and a few other bits)

actually quite alot of differences , farmworker and gypsy are a LWB chassis of varying setup configurations
the only thing inter changeable between 413 and 410 are the leaf springs , ie different crossembers , engine mounts , body mounts etc etc
Jimny are a totally different platform all together. nothing is compatible with the earlier models.

as to structural integrity of the body work all of them have fark all to start with , a roll bar is mandatory for any offroad work.

the couple of cut down jimnys I've looked were very professional and tidy work , hard to tell they wernt factory unless you knew were to look.

[haydgq]

what I heard about the flatdeck Jimnys was that the panelshop in Wanganui that was doing the conversions was sold, with the new operators not interested in carrying on with them. I know Hollands in CHCH will still get the conversions done locally, but it costs around 7 grand!

It was Steve Taylor panel and paint who was doing these for Suzuki NZ and his land were the panel shop was situated got brought out by McDonalds, The business wasn't sold it was just closed down and he's now semi retired so there are no new operators involved.!

[pandasport]

Sorry dude i beg to differ, put a jimny chassis beside a SJ chassis then tell me how different they are. The main north south beams (Rail road) are all but identical and the new parts listings for both has heaps of cross over bits, right down to engine mounts

[UBZ]

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Cars/Suzuki/auction-372091518.htm

they look like the Indian made Maruti gypsy , badge and rear tyre cover are the give away

but Wide Track samurai diffs