Suzuki Samurai restoration project

Here's what has arrived so far. Hopefully the chassis will be back rolling again in the next couple of weeks. I still have to get the dampers and figure out what I'm going to do with the steering linkage. At the moment all of the ball joints are tight and the boots are intact so technically they are fine... But at the same time I would like all new parts... What do you think I should do?

My plan for this evening is to have a good read of the manual and see what exactly I need to do with the axles.

YbFocus wrote: »

I'd say go the whole hog, especially if it was sitting up.
They would probably deteriorate rapidly once you have it on the road!

I think you might be right. I think is about 2005 someone put a lot of work into it. I think that's when the springs axles and brakes were painted, the clutch is also dated 2005 and I think the belt was done then too. I suspect the steering linkage might date from then.

Just realised I forgot to buy Jizer and black paint :rolleyes:. Back to Auto Care in the morning I suppose!

YbFocus wrote: »

Hey you're progressing far better than me
Fair play man I'm enjoying following this thread

Just set your alarm for early in the morning and start swinging spanners at that E36!!

Picture as promised! Not as many as I thought though, stupid new phone and camera did weirdness. Anyway.

Just as a reminder, here's the body as it stands.



The chassis is still in the shed, completely untouched since the last picture you saw of it Thankfully things are happening again



Mostly there is surface rust on the chassis, The plan is to remove all of the surface rust to prevent it from developing into something serious. I used a cup brush on the angle grinder to remove it.

Before:



During:






After of a different section:



I used a regular old hand wire brush to get into all the little areas, The arms are hanging off me this morning :pac:

After finishing cleaning off the top side I turned the chassis over to do the underside too. It's mad how light the chassis is! it can comfortably be picked up by 2 people.



During the process this little rust hole was uncovered. I suspect there was a manufacturing defect here from day one, the weld wasn't fully completed. I've yet to decide how the repair will be done.



I also did a spot of masking in preparation for painting.



The plan for today now is to clean the shed and the chassis so its as close as possible to a dust free environment for painting. The plan is to get the chassis in primer today.

So this is where we left off I think. Next job was to prime the chassis despite the little rust hole.



Chassis primed for the first coat







Two coats of primer on the chassis in the end. Should be enough I feel! Have to wait 3 days before applying the stone chip according to the instructions.

Next thing that was tackled was the springs with QVs help.



Here's QV himself working away :pac:



I gave him 2 wire brushes I thought were already worn out. He managed to get more life out of them and he swears he's not from Cavan :pac:



Here's a spring he finished cleaning.



Cleaned spring hanging up and waiting for paint.



One spring in primer and one waiting paint.

Time for a bit of an update again. Things have gone from strength to strength in the shed. The arrival of the trolly for my toolbox made it much more plush but I now have an old makeup table thingy too!!!:pac::pac:

I have the drawers for it also :P



The primer needed three days minimum to dry according to the instructions before the next layer of paint could be added. And yes I actually read the instructions! The next paint to go on is this 2 part mastic from Bilt Hamber.



Here it is going on.



Once the "top" sides were finished I flipped the chassis over to do the bottom. I think I'll go for 2 coats total. As it stands at the moment the side of the chassis have 2 coats done but the top and bottom still need their second coat.



I put a bit of tape over the VIN so it wouldn't get hidden



Next job that was tackled was on the rear springs. There was a metal outer to the old bushes that stayed in the springs. As you can imagine they got well stuck in there over time with corrosion and dirt. I had to cut them with a hack saw and then smash out a small section before beating out the rest of them. Quick photo here of beating out the insert after cutting it.

Hello again everyone. Sorry for not keeping this up to date. I've been tipping away slowly at the jeep the whole time but I've been busy with other stuff at late. Also I'm at the stage of prepping and painting suspension stuff which just takes for ever :mad:

Anyway. I stripped all the braking related stuff off the back axle so it can be prepared and painted.





For removing brake lines this is the only tool. I recommend everyone gets one!



Brake lines off.



Handbrake cables disconnected.







Next thing was to drain the oil from the diff. I wanted to do this before painting so that the paint wouldn't get chipped later. The bastards were very very tight. Much fire and swearing was required to open them. Didn't help that the prick that over tightened them rounded them out too. :rolleyes:



Finally got the fill out



Here's the tools that were needed to get it out :mad::rolleyes:

Got a few more small jobs done today. Didn't get pictures of all of them yet so expect another update soon. Also I'm going to try and update this more regularly as the work is done. It means I remember more and have a better record of what has happened to the car

First thing I did was paint a couple of coats of yellow onto the auto roll bar. Needs a couple of more coats tomorrow so I'll get pics then.

Next thing I did was mix up some Deox C. This is supposed to be great stuff for removing rust so here's hoping.



First job for it is the spring plates and U bolts for the back axle. Proper crusty:D





After about an hour the liquid had already started to change colour. Hopefully there's some good results for me in the morning.



I also bought some gear oil. Not a brand I've hear of but it's all the motor factors had. Still fully synthetic and the correct grade/spec. Can't really go wrong.



The rear diff takes 1.5L according to the Suzuki repair and maintenance manual, Usually you just fill gearboxes until the oil comes out the fill hole but since the diff isn't mounted in the car I just measured the oil in. I'll confirm the correct level again when it's back mounted to the chassis and on the correct level. This is the first litre measured out. I couldn't get a picture of filling it because I had to hold the funnel with my other hand:p



I also went to apply the second coat of cavity wax to the chassis but annoyingly the nozzle had blocked:mad::mad:. I cleared it out with a drop of petrol so it'll be good to go in the morning.

166man came down this evening and gave me a hand with a bit of wire brushing. A bit of help is always good for morel, plus be bought me ice cream

I too the U bolts and related parts out of the deox C again and gave them a quick wire brush. Here's the result of that.



More than clean enough for parts that will be under an off road vehicle.

They then got a shot of the zinc primer on each side.





Here's the U bolts from the front axle for a before and after.



166man then gave these a wire brushing. Hopefully that means the Deox C process will be a little faster than it was for the last set.

The petrol tank protector thingy also got a tidy up recently. Again it was clean of all the old paint and rust. Then it was a few coats of ink primer and some semi matt black to finish. It still has a small dent in it but it's good enough for the underside of the car!

Time for another update on one of the worlds slowest progressing projects :pac:

Some more back axle painting. A few coats of red on both sides.







Then it was time to reassemble the back suspension. I have yet to order shocks but everything else is there. Back axle and the rear springs put into position.



Bolts and shackles that will be needed.



The beginning of the reassembly!



Almost forgot to put in the bump stops! A reminder to always have the manual open.



Microfibre towels to protect the axle from the jacks. Don't want to chip that paint!





Getting the springs lined up.



Bolted in. So proud of myself I took loads of photos