Back To My Roots: A Suzuki Samurai Project

Melbakid, this post is for you...

Since I have nice new stripes on the exterior, the 36 year old "UNLEADED FUEL ONLY" decal really looked out of place.
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Luckily I found an NOS one in Puerto Rico.
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First step, apply heat, then lacquer thinner, and scrape with thumb nail.
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Blue Tape for a perfect alignment grid.
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Peel and adhere.
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Remove Blue Tape Grid and admire your work.
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Much better.
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PERFECT!!!!!!! [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]
Now when can we expect shipment? I just need 24 hours to clear out a prime display area in the GarageMahal "Hall of Fame for Outstanding Suzuki Samurai's". I'm excited beyond belief to have this as our featured prime exhibit.
Very nice job on the build and restomod! [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]
Now I need to work on [member=6873]Zuki4x4[/member] to get him to display his Zuk in the "Hall of Fame".
If Dieselzuk ever finishes his Zuk I might extend an invitation to induct it into the "Hall of Fame" for longest lasting build time. [lol]
 
melbakid date=1629218945 said:
PERFECT!!!!!!! [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]
Now when can we expect shipment? I just need 24 hours to clear out a prime display area in the GarageMahal "Hall of Fame for Outstanding Suzuki Samurai's". I'm excited beyond belief to have this as our featured prime exhibit.
Very nice job on the build and restomod! [thumbsup]  [thumbsup]
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I think I'm going to keep it around a bit longer. At least until a Porsche 993 Turbo falls into my budget.

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I've been meaning to do this since I bought the Samurai....wash the frame rails. I finally got to it. It blows my mind how clean this thing is underneath.

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stuntnuts said:
I prepped the lower coolant lines to install prior to dropping the engine in to make it easier on myself. You can see the elusive early-AEB coolant pipe and the other coolant line off of the water pump. I've decided that I'm not running a factory VW oil cooler, so that pipe which used to tee off to it, now just continues straight up to the upper radiator hose. I'm pretty proud of this, as it seems like there was never a clean way around that Acme driver side engine mount bracket and this appears to do the trick and is pretty darn factory:

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At long last I'm finally making progress on my own ABA swap, but I need some help duplicating the hose configuration.  Do you have part numbers for the pieces above?

C|
 
The metal coolant pipe part number is 058-121-065-A
The little "L" shaped rubber hose that attaches to the pipe part number is 048-121-063

I don't have the other part numbers at my disposal, at the moment.
 
stuntnuts said:
The metal coolant pipe part number is 058-121-065-A
The little "L" shaped rubber hose that attaches to the pipe part number is 048-121-063

I don't have the other part numbers at my disposal, at the moment.
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Cool, thanks.  After messing around more I decided to go a little different route since my radiator/reservoir/filler setup is different.  And I think I have all the pieces to make it work.  Hopefully.  Lol

Although now I'm running into a problem with the oil filter mount.  I have an angled one but the mounting pattern is a bit different and it won't fit the ABA block.  I'll have to go back through your thread and see which one you used.


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cygnus x-1 said:
Although now I'm running into a problem with the oil filter mount.  I have an angled one but the mounting pattern is a bit different and it won't fit the ABA block.  I'll have to go back through your thread and see which one you used.
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The one that fits the ABA block is from a 1.8T Passat or Audi A4 with an AEB engine code. 1997-1999
 
stuntnuts said:
The one that fits the ABA block is from a 1.8T Passat or Audi A4 with an AEB engine code. 1997-1999
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Thanks!  I managed to find one on ebay for a not exactly small fee.  But at least I didn't have to order it from the EU.

C|
 
Next question... I'm battling with getting the engine to fit under the hood.  I was hoping to keep my existing mount setup but it's just too high.  With the 318 mounts, where does the transmission shifter end up?  Is it pushed over towards the passenger side very much?

C|
 
cygnus x-1 said:
Next question... I'm battling with getting the engine to fit under the hood.  I was hoping to keep my existing mount setup but it's just too high.  With the 318 mounts, where does the transmission shifter end up?  Is it pushed over towards the passenger side very much?

C|
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The shifter is kicked very slightly to the passenger side and slightly toward the dash.
 
stuntnuts said:
The shifter is kicked very slightly to the passenger side and slightly toward the dash.
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Hmm, interesting.  I've messed around with several mounting setups over the years and all of them end up with the shift lever way over to the passenger side, assuming I try to keep the left and right mounts close to symmetrical.  My latest setup used custom machined blocks in place of the stock frame brackets to rotate the engine so that the transmission is vertical, like it's supposed to be.

I tried some 318 mounts over the weekend, but it turns out not all 318 mounts are the same.  There is a thicker version and a thinner version, and I got the thicker ones.   ::)


I'm also wondering if maybe the adapter brackets have changed over the years.  Mine are from 2008, so quite some time ago.
Which brackets do you have?  I'm assuming the 1.6L brackets?

Thanks for the assistance and the awesome thread BTW.  It's been invaluable!

C|
 
Just a quick note to say the thinner 318 mounts make a huge difference.   [thumbsup]
I did end up slotting the center holes in the factory brackets by about 5mm to allow the engine to sink a bit lower even.  There are still a few other areas to address related to fitment (specific to my build), but getting the engine in place is the most critical part.  I'll stop spamming up this thread now and continue my own.   ;D

Thanks for all the pioneering work on the ABA swap, and for documenting everything thoroughly!

C|
 
Been a while since I posted.
Here are a couple pics from a Cars and Coffee event I attended over the weekend, as I was leaving. Believe it or not, this was the first time I've ever driven it in the rain. The wipers run SO SLOW, even on the high speed setting. I may need to address this, which means dash removal.

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