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Suzuki Samurai My First 4x4


Gummybr

21,678 views

Work from home with the curfew being imposed gives me a bit of time to write on my new vehicle. 

I have so far owned only cars and I have always been am ardent fan of 4WD's so I was on the look out for a vehicle when I was getting rid of the Fit Gp1. I wanted something that is reliable and something that could be used as a daily drive. This time I didnt mind going for a 3 door vehicle as my brother was going to be out of the country for a years period and I could use his vehicle to transport my parents. So I had a look at the quick ad website and found a Toyota Land Cruiser BJ70 (Short wheel base coil spring model) ex army auction vehicle. It was advertised at a home so I picked up the phone and called him up only to find that he had given it to  car sale in Malabe to sell. Asking price was also ok so I went and had a look, vehicle was very well restored but when I took it for a test drive I was shocked to see how bad it was mechanically. It would pull hard to the left when I pressed the brake at low speeds and it was scary. So what I did was I spoke to my relative running a garage and asked how much I will have to spend to sort out the brakes, luckily for me one of his wife's relatives is a big LC fan and he had restored one of these and I was told to get in touch with him. No sooner I told him the details he gave the full back ground story, and he asked me to look a round a bit more.

Look around was what I did and low and behold this Suzuki Samurai pops out from no where. I have been an big fan of the Suzuki's and I had so much of literature on the Suzuki's but this was something new as the ad said coil spring. So I did a bit of research and was happy to see that they came with electronic fuel distribution and 82hp engine. I dug into my stash and then I found the original brand new catalogue which bought me down to earth as it said 64hp and carburetor. I didnt want to let go of the chance so I immediately took a call to the previous owner and ensured that it was a personal vehicle and asked if he was in around Colombo to which he said yes and when I tried to go see the car he said that he didnt bring it and the vehicle is in Ambalangoda. So I asked my brother to accompany me all the way to Ambalangoda, at first it was going to be only the two of us but since they were going away for a year they wanted to go on an outing so the whole family went with me.

When I got to the previous owners place I got to know that he has a few more Samurai's / Jimny's with him and restoring these were his past time. So I asked if we could take the car for a spin to which he agreed. The first impressions were quite good it did have good pulling power and when asked he said that he has taken it on the highway and reached 120kmph. I of course didnt want to take a risk on a completely new 20+ year old vehicle with a very high center of gravity. So we did the negotiations and finally paid about 75,000 more than I anticipated but for that money I had a few off road goodies included which altogether was worth about Rs. 300,000/- which was a pretty good deal.

Kit Included,

1. 2" lift kit

2. Original Warn winch bumper

3. Whinch

4. Work lights

5. Original Suzuki for lamps

6. Roof rack

7. A brand new set of Maxxis Radial (In Australia they go as AT tires)

8. Working snorkel

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I was not a big fan of the external colour scheme and it was more of a "Thorombal Karaththe" look to it. I asked the previous owner why he went with that look and he said it was done during a phase of his life that he liked this colour scheme. Everyone has their own liking's. 

I took the car home through some scenic roads which included stops at some of my brother's friends and a waterfall and got back home in the evening. Very next day I took it to my relative and asked him if he could change the colour of the grille, door handles, wiper blades and mirrors as it was painted red and white instead of the original black. he agreed and so I proceeded to take off the stickers on the body.

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A change of plan came during the next week as the original book said Mettallic Blue, which according to the catalogue was a colour called Reddish Blue. So I went back and asked the garage to change the colour to the original colour as per the tag bit with a change only with the final coat which should be matt. There were a few loose ends that needed to be tied up and it was left at the garage for them to attend to all.

 

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The rains in October and November didnt help me one bit as it took them a long time to get it finished, and I was getting aggravated as I had planned to do the devil's staircase in November and was pushing them like crazy. It went to the extreme of me going and sitting in the garage on Saturdays observing the work. However two days before my trip I got the vehicle but disaster struck as the garage driver was stopped by police just taking the vehicle out of the garage without license and insurance. The next day I went and took the stuff and took the vehicle home and to fix a set of new wheels which I had planned. I took it all the way to bambarakanda but was not able to go up the devils stair case due to land slides etc. 

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I had ordered a set of new LED headlamps but they got delayed to come so I couldnt fix it on the first go.

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  • Like 4
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38 Comments


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edited as below.  -mods please delete this entry if possibe-

 

Edited by kav
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58 minutes ago, kav said:

 

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Awesome Project: What a fun ride to have around! And kudos on the excellent exterior!

Unlike most of the guys here I actually do like the interior - its probably my inner tuk-tuk driver expressing himself: But I really like the seats and headliner; sans the LED light strip, that's probably the only bit I would strip off. But even that'll come in handy when you're loading passengers in and out of the back at night, so really its all good! Even if you get tired of the colour after a while; like Devinda_Z and Supra_Natural have suggested its nothing a bit of leather/ PU paint can't fix once its time for a change...

Congratulations on your first 4x4: I'm looking forward to seeing what you get up to in it! 

 

 

Edited by kav
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13 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

@kav tell me you're joking?!??

 

(Got the old profile back so I'll reply under Kavvz) Nopes. I absolutely love it :D !!

However let it be known that I love two-tone 'Mas-kade' interiors in general including; but not limited to: The back and maroon BMW 'sport' interiors, the red and black RX8 interior and even the weird tobacco and black interior combo that's doing the rounds in cars these days... I love and embrace them all ! Current favorite interior accessory: A white shagpile rug style roof liner in a Tuk I encounted in Col3. It looked like someone had skinned a couple of persian cats and stuck them up on the roof...It was the bomb! 

Coming back to the Jimmy: From the pictures, I think the previous owner has done a bang up job converting the whole interior and it would be a shame to undo all that and revert. The previous owner has even gone and matched little details (seat belts, grab handles, the 2rd row's pivoting window latches etc.) along with the quilted seats and the headliner and I think it kinda flows! I'd love to see it in person and pore over it, but from what I can see in the pictures at least: Overall the interior looks pretty well done.

And judging from the condition of the seats, it should all hold up for a year or two at least...Again its probably the inner tuk-driver in me speaking: But if I was ever lucky enough to own this Jimmy, I'd totally get a kick out of having a very sober buttoned down exterior only to be greeted by an over the top customized red interior as soon as one opened the door! Imagine rolling up to the in-law's in that thing and looking over at them and going: Yes Amma, this is the car we're going to visit the Perera's in...Why?  :D 

Edited by Kavvz
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10 hours ago, Kavvz said:

(Got the old profile back so I'll reply under Kavvz) Nopes. I absolutely love it :D !!

However let it be known that I love two-tone 'Mas-kade' interiors in general including; but not limited to: The back and maroon BMW 'sport' interiors, the red and black RX8 interior and even the weird tobacco and black interior combo that's doing the rounds in cars these days... I love and embrace them all ! Current favorite interior accessory: A white shagpile rug style roof liner in a Tuk I encounted in Col3. It looked like someone had skinned a couple of persian cats and stuck them up on the roof...It was the bomb! 

Coming back to the Jimmy: From the pictures, I think the previous owner has done a bang up job converting the whole interior and it would be a shame to undo all that and revert. The previous owner has even gone and matched little details (seat belts, grab handles, the 2rd row's pivoting window latches etc.) along with the quilted seats and the headliner and I think it kinda flows! I'd love to see it in person and pore over it, but from what I can see in the pictures at least: Overall the interior looks pretty well done.

And judging from the condition of the seats, it should all hold up for a year or two at least...Again its probably the inner tuk-driver in me speaking: But if I was ever lucky enough to own this Jimmy, I'd totally get a kick out of having a very sober buttoned down exterior only to be greeted by an over the top customized red interior as soon as one opened the door! Imagine rolling up to the in-law's in that thing and looking over at them and going: Yes Amma, this is the car we're going to visit the Perera's in...Why?  :D 

I am speechless (mostly) ??

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4 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

I am speechless (mostly) ??

lol ! I guess my work here is done...Also, a quick look at my own car seats for comparison: I bet now those fancy red quilted seats out of the Jimmy don't look too bad huh? :D  

seats.jpg

Edited by Kavvz
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10 hours ago, Kavvz said:

lol ! I guess my work here is done...Also, a quick look at my own car seats for comparison: I bet now those fancy red quilted seats out of the Jimmy don't look too bad huh? :D  

seats.jpg

With my apologies to my old friend @Gummybr, i'll take the ripped bolster @Kavvz thank you kindly ?

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11 hours ago, Devinda_Z said:

With my apologies to my old friend @Gummybr, i'll take the ripped bolster @Kavvz thank you kindly ?

lol ! We might have to come up with some extreme conversion therapy for you; where we take away all your car keys for a week and assign you that 3-wheel driver from Colpetty with the shagpile roof for all your errands! :D 

Edited by Kavvz
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
4 hours ago, Kavvz said:

lol ! We might have to come up with some extreme conversion therapy for you; where we take away all your car keys for a week and assign you that 3-wheel driver from Colpetty with the shagpile roof for all your errands! :D 

What did I ever do to you to deserve that @Kavvz?!???

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5 minutes ago, Devinda_Z said:

What did I ever do to you to deserve that @Kavvz?!???

Ah! True. My apologies...To each his own. Conversion therapy practitioners are pretty much fraudsters anyways! :D

  • Haha 1
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Am an outdoor kinda person who likes to travel, this curfew was killing me so bad that I have been using the Samurai to go down to the the adjoining land. This helps the vehicle have a bit of running and for me to enjoy. So I thought of doing a video of it going through some obstacles. Sadly couldnt get more videos as I was relying on a cinnamon bush to hold the phone.

 

  • Like 3
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21 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Am an outdoor kinda person who likes to travel, this curfew was killing me so bad that I have been using the Samurai to go down to the the adjoining land. This helps the vehicle have a bit of running and for me to enjoy. So I thought of doing a video of it going through some obstacles. Sadly couldnt get more videos as I was relying on a cinnamon bush to hold the phone.

 

Cinnamon bush! Well played @Gummybr?

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