Suzuki Mud Buddy

7/25/2019 Suzuki Mud Buddy

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MUD BUDDYQUESTIONS: BRIAN DRIGGS | ANSWERS & IMAGES: TERRY ETHERIDGE


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Eventually, however, most of us grew up. We opted for larger,more powerful trucks. And just look where thats got us -crossovers. Ugh. Some car magazine even voted one of thosecar-based, shouldve-just-bought-a-station-wagon soft-roaders as SUV of the Year. Yet, every gearhead apparentlyhas a soft spot for these tiny off-road warriors. You might besurprised how well theyve held their value. Not accountingfor inflation, some are even wor th more today than they were

new!

So when I happened upon a picture of a Samurai on reda couple months back, I asked the poster if hed be up for interview so we could learn more about them. The origiposter never replied, but one excitable redditor put metouch with his father, who generously offered to enlightus.

Any American gearhead older than 30 remembers the commercials. BEEP, BEEP! HI! In 1985, the second generatiSuzuki Jimny arrived in the United States with the ironic name Samurai. Strange thought it might have been to nama Kei-class, micro machine after the quintessential Japanese badass, the plucky little ute was good to go, and w

bought almost 50,000 of them in the first year.


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bd] Introductions: Who are you, where are you, and what do you do

or a living, mate?

te] My name is Terry Etheridge. I live in Castleberry, Alabama. Thats about5 miles north-northeast of Pensacola, Florida, where I grew up. I work forgovernment contractor on Eglin Air Force Base, where I am an electronic

echnician and mechanical designer using Solidworks.

bd] Introductions: Tell us a little bit about your truck. How long have

ou had it, what have you done to it, and what do you do with it?

te] My toy is an 86 Samurai that Ive owned for about 10 years. It was alsohe first 4x4 vehicle I ever owned. When purchased for $850, it had 31ll-terrain tires, a 3 body lift, and 4 re-arch springs. After towing it to theouse and replacing the carb and alternator, I had it running.

With the 31 tires, it had no performance in the upper gears. To remedyhis, I installed a set of Calmini 5.13:1 transfer case gears. The gears werereat for restoring top end performance, as well as increasing the crawl

atio. My only complaint with these gears is that they are noisy.

till not satisfied with the performance, I installed a 1.6L [engine] fromGEO Tracker using a Petroworks transmission adapter, then added a

Calmini ceramic coated header and Weber carb. It is now capable of0mph (120kph) on the highway and crawling slower than I can walk.

wanted a more substantial bumper. I looked on the internet and locateddesign I liked. After I got a MIG welder, I built the bumper I wanted. Just

ecently, I retrofitted the bumper to install a 12,000lb (5,400kg) winchrom Harbor Freight. Overkill, I know, but the price was right.

With the lift, it had a lot of bump steer. So I built a track bar for the frontxle. It works well.

have open differentials and havent been able to afford lockers, so I add-

d a second E-brake lever and cable and split the E-brake to work like cut-ng brakes; not as good as a locker, but its marginally effective and free.

here is a privately owned off road park near my home. It is primarily amud bogg with miles of trails. We enjoy riding there.

My other vehicle is an 89 Jeep Wrangler. It is basically stock. We enjoy driv-ng it to the Smokey Mountains and just riding with an open top.

bd] Why did you decide to get the Samurai? How easy was it to find

nd outfit to suit your needs?

te] The reason I chose a Samurai was because a friend had one and I was

mazed at how capable it was. At the time, they were very inexpensive inur area. I actually had a Sami that my friend had given me after he had

aken the transfer case out of it. I was looking for a transfer case when Iound the 86 sitting in the weeds. I now have two running Samurais andwo spare parts vehicles. My two grandsons nearby and granddaughterll love riding in Grampas Samurai. It gives me something Ican enjoy to-ether with them and my wife.

bd] You mentioned being impressed by the abilities of friends Samis,

hen said At the time, they were very inexpensive in our area. Is this

o say theyre no longer inexpensive today? Why is that, do you sup-

pose?


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te] Thats correct. I guess the increase goes hand in hand with their in-rease in popularity. In the southeast US, prices today are higher, but oc-asionally a bargain can still be found. Their popularity with the off road

rowd is well known. With fuel prices through the roof, it makes sense torive an economy vehicle. They are ready to take to the trails right outf the box.

bd] A lot of us gearheads, once we find a vehicle we really like, tend

o pick up a couple; just like youve done with the three youve picked

p since. How robust is aftermarket support for these little trucks? Is

t easy to find off-the-shelf bits to build them up or do you really need

parts trucks, serious tools, and a devil-may-care attitude to bring

ut the best in them?

te] The Samurai does have good aftermarket support. It cant compareo whats available for the Jeep, but there are a half dozen or so suppliers

hat do a very good job. The hard parts we need are available on line.he best thing is that it is a simple vehicle, mechanically, that allows aerson to experiment without risking a large initial investment. That be-

ng said one can never have too many spare parts.

bd] Youve already told us quite a bit about how your truck got to

where it is today, but could you tell me about a time when something

went wrong or maybe about a particularly frustrating problem you

ad to solve with it and how you did so?

te] The factory carburetor is a pain. It is a 2 barrel with a dual micro-witch controlled, vacuum actuated, secondary that only engages in 5thear. It just starves the engine. The easy solution is a Weber replacement,

which I currently have.

I am currently prepping a 1.6L, 8 valve, fuel injected GEO Tracker engi

to install. I took a running engine and transmission, harness, radiator, afuel tank, and built a run stand for them. With the engine running othe stand and no dash fault indicators, I began removing unneeded wing from the harness. I now have the harness I need for a fuel injecteengine and just need a fuel delivery system and modified speedomesensor to integrate into the computer. Then I will have the reliability aperformance of a modern fuel injected engine.

Please understand, Im not special in this regard. I know many peopwho accomplish amazing things with common hand tools. When yodont have the money to spend you find a way to innovate. Commohand tools and a MIG welder are all I have.

. . .

[bd] We at Gearbox Magazine would like to respectfully disagree wpart of that last statement, Terry. We think youre pretty exceptionMaybe there are all kinds of Samurai owners out there building custowire harnesses after testing experimental engines on run stands in thgarages, but youre the first weve met. And that youre exposing yograndchildren to the simple joy of making an old machine perform best with common hand tools is certainly among the more noble thinwe think anyone can do.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, sir!


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