me and a friend (after he broke my truck) had an idea for a toy that we could build from known parts in the local junkyards or on hand. i will just rattle off what we have so far:

-samuri frame (bare frame, but has pretty green/blue paint on it)
-dana 60 rear/ 44 front about 4.56-5:13 gears
-leafsprings for simplicity,
-custom full cage (something similar to sandrail/rock buggy)
-2 bucket seats
-either a 302 or the 360 out of my highboy if i can find a diesel(BTW i know of a 7.3 for $1500)
-four speed
-probably a np 208 due to availability and lower lo range, maybe a 203 for all time
-33 or 35 inch tires as wide as i can find (probably retreads or junkyard tires so there cheap)
-get some short radiator(i think i know of one that would be perfect) so the front end isn't so high
-build a fire wall, some custom exaust that exits fairly high at the back of the vehicle
-one of the our major concerns would be weight distribution, what i had figure is if we could move the front axle foreward, and the engine and seats back a little

there you go, that was our brainstorm(and yes it can get pretty stormy) for a vehicle that we could use as a toy, some thing to go flying down the local trails and maybe be able to handle some mud or rocks (down here its mostly hills and sand). it probably will never be able to get plates put on it (i doubt i will bother with even getting a title), besides i hae a truck for the road, but we do think it will get a towbar like the jeep guys use.

so what do you guys think? anything to add to the idea?

 

pretty damn good start! I would build it then wheel it then fix what breaks and upgrade as needed.

-cutts-

 

Sounds like fun! Be sure to stretch your wheel base a bit. Zuk's are a little too short which is why most of those guys are moving axles outward. Infact for your project if you're going to go with an 8 cylinder and Danas you might want to keep an eye out for a small pickup frame, like a Ranger or a Toyota. Otherwise stick to a smaller engine and Toyota axles to help keep weight down.

Are you looking at building this to be a rock crawler?

I'm looking into getting another Zuk right now for a trail beater . . . so much fun! Keep in mind that if you can't get plates on it then you can't pull it with a towbar, you have to have a trailer.

 

I could see the width of the sammy frame being a headache-fabbing mounts for fullsize axles and the NP208 is a very wide T-case

 

was down at the yard and saw something, a 73-79 f150 4x4, no engine or box, the interior was gone and the cab was unbolted. would this be a better deal than building from the bare zuk? build it with the same ideas, but off the bigger frame.(btw the only other small truck frame that i saw was a bronco II, i dont think it would be a far cry for the zuk frame)

i dont really plan on building a rockcrawler, there isn't that much out here to crawl over, but i would like for it to be capable enough, what i will get to mostly w/ it would be more like prerunning, not exactly, but flooring it while flying across pastures and up some hills, maybe a little airtime, has always sound's like fun.

didnt know about the towbar issue, i wonder which would be better, trying to make it street legal, or getting a trailer.

some other stuff that i saw was a dodge ramcharger w/fulltime 4wd, one of the solid axle 1/2ton chevs and a mid 80's f150 4x4 with most of the drive train. might add later,gonna go back today to get a windshield for the highboy.

 

If you're not looking to crawl or do tight trails then I would go with the F-150. The only downside to the trucks is that you don't have much visibility when you're running trails (and of course the big trucks don't fit on some trails) where as with a Zuk you can see everything around you and fit anywhere. But for what you're looking to do I think the fullsize would be a much better idea and less hassle too.

 

If you use the zukis frame I been hearing some guys that have swaped in VW diesel engines in it.

 

VW, Vortec V-6, 350, Suzuki's 1.6L and now their 2.0L. There are a lot of engines people swap into Zuks for one simple reason. Their 1.3L engine SUCKS! I don't know why they have a 5 speed tranny because when you put it in 5th you can't hold any speed. I think a 302 in a Zuk would be awesome and scare the crap out of people but if you're planning on catching air with it you'll most likley end up on your lid.

 

LOL think a 460 would fit?

 

we have one heck of a nice 460 that i might be able to sneak for a few quick runs before my dad realizes that his truck doesn't have an engine...

keep in mind that i will not be using the truck body, i will be building a custom roll cage onto the frame, think 4x4 sand rail! i still plan on moving the engine back a little and to try to get the weight balanced a little better.

 

Go with the 80's ford chassis if it has the 9inch rear, for high speed floggin the TTB works great-lots of travel and sort of independent.everything in the TTB is the same strength as the straight axle 44-just one extra u-joint. I know a guy that has put a 460 in a sammie- I thought he was doing a 302, but I was told last weekend that its a 460,C6,205 and fullsize 1/2 ton axles. he hasnt finished it yet. he used to mud race a sprint car cage with all of those components stuffed in it-looked like ,,,,,,, well I dont know how to describe it-it wasnt terrible but it wasnt pretty either.

 

you could build your tube frame to be kind of rounded so no matter how you roll it will land at least closer to upright than totally upside down. i like the idea of usin the zuk frame, throw something high horsepower in it and see if you can get it to pretzel up. but in all seriousness, i would go for something with a longer wheelbase, you'll be more stable, as you mentioned a rail for sand, the rails are longer for a reason, so if your trying to compare, then, thats what you should do