Zuk on 38's

[Tan Zuk]

Hi Everyone,

I live in Pompano Beach, Florida and this is my 1987 Samurai JX Build.

(This is one of my Bucket List Builds so it is a bit over the top)


I have posted some of the build in the Welcome section as a preview. Decided to move the build over here for an appropriate build thread.


Hope you will be interested

I will start off with the before and in progress pics because it is still being built.





Finally got the front suspension together enough to roll the Rig outside for the first time in a year and a half.





My buddy stopped by today with his stocker. Thought that you would like to see what that looks like next to the big one while it was out.




For those interested in the lift dimensions:

Stocker is 15.5” to the bottom of the rocker panel.
Big one is 36” to the bottom of the rocker panel.

There is a 20.5” difference in lift from the stocker to the big one.

[Tan Zuk]

Here are the suspension and drive train stats:

88" wheelbase, 84 inches tall, 82 inches wide.

Front frame extended 8 inches rear 3 inches

4 1/2 inch YJ lifted springs

Toyo 38's and 16x12 wheels

85 Toy front axle with all Trail Gear inners including Trunion Bearing Eliminator
529 gears open and High Pinion, 6 Shooter Knuckles with High Steer and 1 inch
Space.r

Rear axle is Trail Gear offset Sami Toy housing, 529 gears open and 1.5 spacers,
Rear Disk Brake, Outboard Shocks.

FJ80 steering box, Panhard bar and Rancho 9000 36" length.

ZOR Snatch

6.5 Transfer Case Gears

The trans will also be gone through

No driveshafts yet

[Tan Zuk]

Here is the motor. I have a small machine shop and machined a lot of the parts for the
motor, suspension and steering mods.

Here is the Before Pic





After




Motor: 1.3 .020 over and deck shaved,


I used dish pistons because of the decking,

1.6 Reynolds ported polished and larger valves and shaved head.

Adjustable timing gear was used because of the shaving of the head and block.

I also had to make a custom timing adjuster wheel. It was too small in diameter and was unable to get the timing belt tight.

Internals are balanced and flywheel,

I'm going to use a Centerforce clutch this time.

The intake was made from a solid block of 6061. It started at 35 pounds when the machining was done it was 8 pounds. I also decided to machine the water ports in the manifold.

The carbs are 32mm Katana GSX-F.

The external accessories on the motor I have also machined up.

The distributor has been switched to mechanical.

[Tan Zuk]

Please feel free to click on the link to hear the motor run.



http://www.skyscomputers.com/pictures/friends/Zuk%20Motor.wmv

[Tan Zuk]

I also do fiberglass work ( Not By Choice)

After installing the front Shrock Work bumper it looked like it was missing something. I decided to make a lower valance to conceal the 8” frame extension. I’m also getting a bit older and needed an additional step. I decided to make some running boards for the 2nd step. The back tire is being used as the 1st.

The bumpers, fiberglass pieces and the body moldings were Rhino Lined to match the paint for durability.


Front Lower Valance




Side View Running Board




Rear Side View Running Boards

[Tan Zuk]

Front Frame Extension is 8” and is level to the ground instead of following the frame. I also smooth out all my welds. This tends to add a lot more time to a build just my preference.

[Tan Zuk]

The Rig is rather high as you can see. This presented some unique problems trying to get the steering geometry setup without a steep angle. I will go through the mods and the parts that needed to be made to correct the problems in the next couple of posts.


I also have an unusual steering set up with the FJ80 box, Lifted YJ springs and the addition of the Panhard bar just to make it more complicated. There is not a great deal of room to work with when you have to add a shock tower in the mix on the DS.



Steering Front View. I still need to do some welding and fitting yet.
The steering geometry is set at 5 degrees.




Panhard Bar was bent at one end to 5 degrees to shorten the PS mounting bracket. I have a 3/4 Heim in the DS and will be using a suspension bushing on the PS. This will help the bar from flopping with the bend in it.




Extended High Steer Arm was made from 8620 the same material the 6 shooter arm is made out of. These pieces will be tig welded together. The block started off at 30 pounds. After several hours of whittling I got it down to a more manageable 9 pounds.

[Tan Zuk]

To help eliminate one problem:

I started off by dropping the FJ80 box 1” to help decrees the drag link angle. The Frame was notched 1” and the holes filled in the frame before adding the frame plates. This was done to the inside, outside, top, bottom and the notch.

1" Frame Drop Mod




1/4 Outside Drop Plate




Outside plate mounted with DOM bushings and rosset welding holes.




Inside plate mounted

[Tan Zuk]

Now that I have the FJ80 box mod done. The next issue was mounts for shocks, panhard and bump stops. This took me quite a while to come up with something to incorporate all of this into 2 mounts.

Note:

These mounts were made to sandwich over the TG Shock and Ball support Brackets on both sides.



Driver Side (Side View) Shock Mount and Bumpstop Pad




Passenger Side (Rear View) Shock Mount ,Panhard Bracket and Bumpstop Pad that still needs to be added to the top.





Passenger Side (Side View) Shock Mount ,Panhard Bracket and Bumpstop Pad





Passenger Side (Front View) Shock Mount ,Panhard Bracket and Bumpstop Pad





Drivers Side Frame Panhard Bracket and Lower Bumpstop Mount




NOTE:

Thought I would add that I switched over to the 6 shooters after the pics were taken.

[Tan Zuk]

This is the side that got to be very congested.


Components:
Fj80 Box
Panhard Bar Bracket
Ford Shock Tower

Mods:
1" Frame Notch
Frame Plating
Bump Out for the Steering U-Joint and Box Plating






Drivers Side Bumpstop Mounting and Pad Locations. There will be additional bracing added to the Panhard Bar Mount for the stress of the Bumpstop Action.





FJ80 Box 1/2 Extension Block. I added this to lengthen the Drag Link. This will also cut down on the angle and decrease the rotational effects of the Panhard Bar.

Note:

The Drag Link length is 37 1/2 inches. Anything over 36 inches is ideal for a Panhard Bar applications.

[Tan Zuk]

This was 9 months of work in a few postings. There is a lot more to see if there is any interest.

Please let me know and I will continue with the build.

[chrome]

If this site had a LIKE button i would push it
some sweet machining work there mate

[Tan Zuk]

If this site had a LIKE button i would push it
some sweet machining work there mate

Thanks for the mention of the machining.

Here is my back ground

33 years experience in Tool and Die, Tooling Machinist, Job Shop Machinist,
CNC Machinist, CNC Programmer. Have also got a small shop of my own to putter in. Just a lathe and a mill for the big stuff all tooled up.

Things that I usually build consist of Hotrods, Custom Motorcycles and a few Rigs as far as automotive work.

[Tan Zuk]

Since there was interest in the machining here are a couple more pics of the intake.

6061 Aluminum Intake

( This ways a solid block and weighed 35 pounds )

When it was finished it was 8 pounds








This took 260 hours just for the intake. This was also done manually and no cad design was used.

[kbushnz]

Wow that's a sweat build, love the fabrication work...
Will be good to see it doing some trail work...
Keep the photo's coming...

[chrome]

jeez mate you said it was a little over the top....
what else is on that bucket list of yours
awesome skills. im only a fabricator chop and weld style for me

[klompy]

Great work Dude I thought Da Ram was good but this is amazing the detail you've gone to.

[crazyclark31]

hell yes. this is some awsome work. very interested in your build

[Tan Zuk]

Thanks for all the compliments. It always starts out a bit slow the more that is posted the more people get interested.

There is a lot more to come.

[Tan Zuk]

Here is another pic of the intake showing the throttle linkage, this was also made. The thermostat housing was pretty tough to make as well. That took 40 hours, way too much blending on that one.

[Tan Zuk]

jeez mate you said it was a little over the top....
what else is on that bucket list of yours
awesome skills. im only a fabricator chop and weld style for me

This is a bit off topic and it does pertain to Bucket List and fab work though.


This is another one of my ridiculous, impractical Bucket List Builds.

Stats:

1933 Willys Fiberglass body and I built the frame.



671 Littlefield setup for 1 to 1 ratio, 383 Chevy STROKER all the high dollar internals, 4L60E auto manual valve body beefed up to hold 1000 hp. 8 3/4 456 gears with a 4 bar suspension, Mustang II front, It has 800HP and is a beast.

Now for the Beast

[Tan Zuk]

Kept this one separate. It is called a Watts link. It works great for this type of application because it keeps the rearend centered at all times. There is only 2 inches between the frame rails and the back tires. If I used a panhard bar it would have been way too short and would have been pushing the rearend from side to side during the suspension cycling.

It took me a while to get all the info to make this up. It is a few different ideas put into 1. I also have Mustang II front inner and outer wheel bearings and seal in it and a cap for the top to keep the dirt out and to adjust and grease.

As I said this was a bunch of different ideas put into 1 and sealing everything off was mine to add. They don't make anything like this. It is a real chore to get it all set up correctly. It works great.

[Tan Zuk]

Just wanted to mention that Willys did make cars for awhile just incase you thought they only made Jeeps

Here is a rendering that was made before the build was started. This was done to give me a real time look at what the mods would look like. So, there wasn’t wasted time on something that looked bad.

This rendering has a pie chopped top and the dog house part of the front clip has been removed.

[SMOKEY]

Hi Tan Zuk and what to say but thanks ---- you are to much of a perfectionist --- but keep doing it, you can't be taught those skills you have to live them, feel them and be able to see around the corner. Both projects would fit right in here in NZ but a days wheeling and we would have that Zuk show pony knocked into shape . The Willy's is no stranger here in NZ, the Hot Rod boys and girls are on to them. Your Watts linkage is not new either although I have not seen it in the top mounted configuration before usually found on the back face of the diff banjo. Love your work and attention to detail , keep posting,

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME,

FITZY.

[tomsoffroad]

Wow

[pruggerdore]

yep second the wow. you spend a lot of time in your machine shop/shed. dont you like your misses
we try and keep our trucks lower than that in NZ as when actually taking them offroad the tall ones seem to fall over. we have hills and things. keep posting, amazing machine work

[Tan Zuk]

yep second the wow. you spend a lot of time in your machine shop/shed. dont you like your misses
we try and keep our trucks lower than that in NZ as when actually taking them offroad the tall ones seem to fall over. we have hills and things. keep posting, amazing machine work

wow is an excellent description. Thanks

Only work a few hours a day on the build. Yes i actually do have some other activities that I do.

Retired now and single so don't really need to ask anyone what I can do any more.

It is very flat in Florida and the flopping over really won't be an issue. It is always wise to try and build your Rig for its environment and what its intended use is though.


Good Point

[Tan Zuk]

Toy-Zuk Hybrid Steering Link

Here are the parts I used to attach the Zuk steering column to the FJ80 box.

Toyota 1980 4x4 Steering Slip Yoke Link

Zuk stock steering link

NOTE:

These pieces were shortened, machined the ends for a press fit then tig welded.

The reason I used the Toy slip yoke was to let the shaft be able to move under flex. I have seen other parts used I thought this would be a better solution. I have had a couple Toy 4x4 and the slip link worked well.

[Tan Zuk]

Here is a comparison pic:

Without Front Bumper and Valance

With Front Bumper and Valance

[Tan Zuk]

I have looked at a lot of build threads the past bunch of years. I haven’t seen anyone use this trick or they never showed it. This is what I do before I even think about spending any money or proceeding with any mods.

I hope this Helps out.

My build was starting with the 38’s. I needed to see if these were going to fit and what is going to need to be done to accomplish the entire mod.

The trick is making a 38” wood tire out of plywood. The next thing is to get it in the air enough to fit the wood tire. Once this is done you start making a plan of attack.

The plan was to move the front axle 4-5 inches forward and the back axle 3 inch to the rear. There was also going to be a stretched front frame that worked out to be 8 inches. I also wanted to cover the extension as much as possible with the bumper.

This was just the minimum plan of attack and was very subject to change.

Here are a couple of pics to give you an idea what I’m talking about.


1st pic is of the 38" wood tire. I got a lot of yea rite when some of my friends stopped by. They have all since changed their minds.





2nd pic shows how to lay out the stretch. I used masking tape on the flair and marked the position with a marker. I used string taped on the mared position with a nut on the end to get my axle positions. I also found out that my jack stands were not nearly tall enough. If I remember rite I needed to go up about 7 more inches





This was a cheap extension out of wood for the stands to fix my problem. It worked out well.