Project Wicked Zuk

I've been driving my tin top Samurai since 2004 and I have it upgraded to where I like it. I find myself wanting to do more rock crawling, so I'm going to build a Samurai Buggy. The tin top will get more upgrades in the future, but this year I want to be driving a full on rock buggy.

Early in 2005 I bought another Samurai to start my new project. It has full width axles, VW 1.6L TD engine, hydro-steering, seats, custom dash, and a few things.

The Plan

• 37-40" tires on 17" rims.
• Full Width Axles (Corp 10/14) with spool/lockers.
• Full width axles, Dana 44/Dana 60 - welded.
• Full hydro-steering.
• Four link suspension F/B.
• 14"/16" SAW Coilover shocks.
• Full Tube Chassis.
• Full Skid Plate bottom.
• VW 1.6TD Engine.
• Toyota Transmission.
• Marlin Crawler Transfer Case.

Deconstruction

Here it goes. Deconstruction. I now have it down to a rolling chassis. I haven't been able to find a new frame for it, so I'm thinking about buying a full tube chassis instead. Might get interesting around here.

Pipe bender and Marlin Dual Transfer case on their way. I'm hoping to see them today.

It's the beginning of the end. Wicked Fab's Two Seater Malvado Chassis, #1.

More progress: Engine mounts, placement, rear axle cleaned up, purchased D44 front

OK, so today I welded on the mounting brackets for the t-case cross member and bolted up my engine mounts. Next I need to measure everything and get the engine mounts finished up.

Milestone 1

Today was a good day! I finally have the engine mounted in the chassis. It's all bolted in and ready to go. Now I can finally move on to the next step.

My Garage is finally DONE!

Here is a photo of my bender stand.

I had a slight set back this weekend. After thinking about it, and after trying to get things aligned up right, I decided that the engine was in the wrong place.

First hint was that there was no leg room. I needed a cargo area, so I didn't want to put the seats back too far. I'm thinking about putting the gas tank right behind the seats. So I need some space back there.

Next was the drive shafts. The rear was too short and the front was too long. My original thought was to center the t-case so that both drive shafts were the same length. That way I just need one spare.

So this weekend I cut everything off and re-did it all.

I finally found out what's wrong with my shifter. Well, the problem is that my shifter won't fit into my Marlin crawler box. It just won't go all the way in. Everyone told me just to push it in and get the retainer ring on it. Well When I did that, I busted the end of the shifter off.

So I got a new shifter from Randy and I tried to put it in. Same thing. It would not go. I try it in the back, and it works perfect. Both of them work in the back no problem. So I take the top cap off and found out that the small bit that they welded on is welded on wrong. So I'm going to have to grind it open a bit so my shifter will work. UHG!

I've been working on it again. Finally started to make some money. I'm saving up so I can have someone build the suspension for me. I just want a rolling chassis now.

Milestone 2

I now have all the parts to finish my Wicked Zuk buggy. I purchased a parts buggy from Dead&Company on Reno4x4.com. It has everything I wanted for my Zuk buggy. It didn't have any axles on it, but it has the full four link plus hydro steer from POS. There is a few problems with it, but that doesn't matter. I'm going to be tearing it down starting now in September 2007.

I think that I'm on track to finish for summer of 2008! Oh, and I have a new job now, so I think I can afford to do it finally.

Dr. Smash

The buggy is now at Dr. Smash's shop. I'm paying Smash to get the buggy running. What I would like to get back is a buggy that Runs, Turns, and Stops. I would like to be able to go from Smash's to Prison Hill do some wheeling, all without breaking.

Wednesday the 30th of April 2008

It's been a long time coming. Forever really. But things are finally starting to move on the buggy. Dr. Smash is taking care of me.

And now there is suspension...

Updates for June 1st.

Updates for August 1st.

Updates for August 16th.

Well, it's running and it's doing good. Still have a few more things to work out. There is a lot of rattling. A lot. So I need to get the rubber in there to quiet that down. The Diff gears are way to high and I need to upgrade them to like 5.38's. The rear seal on the engine is leaking pretty good. Going to try some stop leak on that. The steering valve is still giving me problems with turning left. Looks like I need a new one. Then a few other misc things. Always going to be something.

Updates for August 30th.

Got the buggy to the Rubicon! But the engine puked on me before I made it to Cadillac Hill. Thank you Tim for pulling me back to staging.

Thank you to LD on Reno4x4 for the replacement Engine. I now have another 1.6 VW that I'm moving all my turbo stuff to. So far the engine looks great.

Anyway, it's all good now.

Updates for September 21st.

Almost made it to the Rubicon again with my buggy for the Marlin Crawler Roundup. The new engine started puking oil in the water just like last time.

So now I'm looking for a new engine... Again. I need a 85 or up VW diesel. I'd like to find the 1.9TD, but a 1.6TD 85 and up would be fine.

Everything else is great. Hope to be wheeling by next year.

Updates for October 19th.

Had Smash do the sides, so pretty much the body work is done...except the fenders.

Updates for October 30st.

Ends up that my engines were fine. It was the oil cooler that was bad. It was letting oil into the water. After getting the new oil cooler on and replacing all the hoses I'm back running again.

I tried to go to the Fordyce trail, but my injector pump blew out. Fuel was just pouring out. So after getting back I took it apart and tried to put a new o-ring in it. After getting it put back into the buggy I could not get the engine to start. I think I messed up the IP somehow.

Updates for January 1st.

I still haven't had a full wheeling trip yet. I'm still having engine issue. Still leaking fluids all over the place. I tried to find a shop that would fix it up for me, but nobody wants to do it. So looks like I'm going to have to do it myself. I purchased the seals, gaskets, and stuff to repair the leaks. Now I have to put them in. Not looking forward to that. The buggy still hasn't ran since Fordyce. Well, maybe I'll have it running before summer. I can't believe it's been four years already. Gotta get this done.

Updates for March 29th.

Got the engine all ready, painted, new stuff. Dropped it in the buggy. I'm now having issues getting it timed. Still has the oil leak out the back. Wondering if I should just dump this engine and go with something else.

I'm thinking that something got messed up in the pump and I just can't get it timed right. It's smoking a lot, noisy, and no power. I had to replace a o-ring in the pump because it was leaking. So I had the back all apart on it. Probably needs to be tuned.

I seen online that I can get a new pump for $400. But I have found Sidekick engines on eBay for $600-$800. I could probably swap a Sidekick engine in for like $1000 all said and done. A new VW engine is $2000.

Updates for April.

Went wheeling!

I'm going to swap my Diesel engine for a Suzuki 1.6L Gas engine. I'm not happy with the Diesel for wheeling around. It's loud, vibrates really bad at low RPM's, and hard to launch up ledges because it has no top end. For just straight crawling around it's great. But doing the harder stuff isn't that great. So I'm searching for the 1.6L engine, transmission, and wiring harness/computer.