Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi guys,

I'm new to these forums, though i've owned a two suzuki's and been a member of darwin4x4.net for a few years now...

My first Suzi was a 2000 Grand Vitara JLX which i recently sold and bought a 1988 Suzuki Sierra SJ50. She's a good car, although needs a little work, and not being too technical myself (but hoping to learn a lot with this car) i thought i'd post my current setup and my thoughts here, and get some thoughts and opinions.

Current:
1988 Suzuki Sierra SJ50
1.6L G16B EFI Engine (From a Vitara)
Vitara Power Steering System
2" Suspension lift - Enforcer Leafs and shocks
2" Body lift
2" Shackles (standard is 1")
31" Simex Centipede MT's
Monza Racing Bucket Seats
EFS Steering Dampener

What i need to do/Am looking at doing:

Making and Fitting Fibreglass Fenders - Looked at getting Jeep Style ones, but they are too expensive up here in Darwin ($800) and there's none at the wreckers...

I've taken off the Snorkel (that wasn't connected) as it was hooked up to the drivers side of the car, and the new 1.6L Vitara engine has the air intake going to the left side of the car. I've picked up a 1989 Diahatsu Charade Air Filter box that will fit nicely to the passenger side of the car, and will put a custom snorkel (as i'm told there are no left side snorkels made for sierras) out there (thinking of making it from alloy rather than steel, to reduce rust)

Running 31" Tyres severely affects the low range gearing, and probably doesn't help the engine sit in its efficiency range at high speed. Was looking at fitting either some reduction gears into the gearbox or changing the diff ratio's along with airlockers in the diffs. Not sure which option is best yet.

Also looking at getting a new Instrument Cluster in the Dash, thinking of fitting aftermarket sensors as well (oil pressure, oil temp, coolant temp) and also need to correct my speedo/odometer as the tyres put them significantly out

Also, Not too impressed with my downward travel at the moment, happy to lose a little upward travel (it scrubs on the top of the guards in a few spots when at full flex). Am taking the car to a good suspension shop tomorrow to get a few ideas. Cant really add any height to the car without getting it engineered, maybe swapping out a leaf or two might help.

Thinking of fitting extractors as a quick and easy efficiency/power boost, and also to maybe fix where my exhaust rubs on the body of the car

Also planning on welding up all the small holes in the firewall, repainting the inside of the body, and applying some noise absorbing mat (the adhesive "tiles" stuff looks alright, depending on its water resistance)

Thats about all i have planned at the moment,

Any comments are welcomed (especially about the gearing and wheel articulation issues)

Thanks

EDIT: Its a G16B engine as its an EFI, though the engine number started with G16A last time i looked... will check again in the morn

articulation - drop the load leaf from the packs - you'll lower the lift but should get a flexier pack... space down the bump stops to stop the springs rubbing. You can bash and smash the firewall and wheel tubs to stop minor scrubbing though.

gearing - tacse gears are easiest, but not cheap at about $1000.

engine - g16a is carby - my extractors helped when i ran them, but the weber carby made the biggest difference, youll just have to do the fuel float mod thing (see the bible).

dont bother with fibreglass flares - go to bunnings and get some garden edging or clark rubber etc - they have rubber flares off the roll so you can cut to length and screw on to the flares. Just last weekend i drove pretty much on my flares (deep rut and past 45 degree side angle on the zuk, so flares were holding me up) - i dont doubt fibreglass ones would have cracked under the weight.

not know about instrument cluster - the sierra one will work with the vit engine - but youll need to add some length to the spring behind the speedo to correct the reading.

but otherwise - read the bible - tons in there!!

alien wrote:
engine - g16a is carby -

I think all import 16v are still G16a. The last 6 that I have bought have all been G16a. My latest one is from a 97 X90 front cut and it too is a G16a

i would say maybe 5" of lift is overkill to only run 31"s.
The lower it is the harder it is to roll. The 31's should fit with 3" of lift and a bit of hammer work quite easily.

Gutless wrote:

alien wrote:
engine - g16a is carby -

I think all import 16v are still G16a. The last 6 that I have bought have all been G16a. My latest one is from a 97 X90 front cut and it too is a G16a

wow - cool - didnt know that?

are they EFI or SPI?

alien wrote:

Gutless wrote:

alien wrote:
engine - g16a is carby -

I think all import 16v are still G16a. The last 6 that I have bought have all been G16a. My latest one is from a 97 X90 front cut and it too is a G16a

wow - cool - didnt know that?

are they EFI or SPI?

Both.....

recycling the left over G16a bottom ends no doubt.... i mean - mines a monster right now with a g16a bottom end, jimny top end and vit injectors (16v)... so technically its still a g16a and my engine number hasnt changed.

i am looing at changing my intake for better flow and to fit a snorkel. where are you looking at mounting the charade air box i want to make room above the a/c compressor to mount a 2nd alternator.

Thanks for the replies. The guy at the Suspension center showed me a whole new problem with the car - I took him in to fix up the body lift (the centerline lift blocks were slightly off where they were supposed to sit on the chassis and it was missing some other blocks) and he tells me he's stumped because the chassis crossmember block mounts don't line up directly with the body block pressure points. (i may have to get photos but i dont have the car with me at the moment)

basically the blocks are bolted to the car body, but the two outer blocks sit about half an inch outside the chassis mount points and the two inner blocks sit about half an inch foreward of the chassis mount points.

I was thinking of getting a 2" square steel bar that stretches the width of the car, welding it to the chassis, and running a strip of rubber between the steel bar and the body with some solastik. - should easily be stronger than lift blocks, and alignment isn't needed. Lowering the bodylift will be much harder, but i believe the purpose of the bodylift was to allow more room for the engine - it also has a different bonnet that is raised in the centerline for the same reason.

Forgot to respond to the other comments

Alien -
Thanks for the garden edging idea, will have a look on the way home from work tomorrow
Not sure about gearing yet, i dont really understand what all the different ratios and such mean. I want to be able to get reasonable fuel efficiency at high speeds, and to be able to use low range gearing when offroading. Will start looking up reduction gearbox and diff gears soon.
Haven't looked at the load leaf yet, will talk to the guy at the suspension center when i get the car back, everyone i know has only said good things about him.

mrRocky
Yeah i don't mind losing a bit of lift, but it will have to be in the suspension, if i lose the bodylift i lose room in the engine bay and have to look at a custom bonnet. Alien already mentioned dropping the load leaf, which drops suspension height but increases flex. Sounds like its win-win to me... and cheap to boot!

Dominator
My engine bays a bit funny. I have a performance setup where there is a fuel pump near the fuel tank sending it to a small (about 1L) tank in the engine bay which is always kept fully pressed. A larger fuel pump in the engine bay sends it up to the EFI. That 1L fuel tank sits against the firewall on the left side of the engine bay, on top of the wheel guard. there is a gap between that tank and the windscreen washer reservoir bottle (which sits just behind the left headlight) and it fits really snugly inbetween those both, if i just make some brackets up for it to bolt to. Then by grinding back the EFI air inlet a few inches, it'll almost line up perfectly with the airbox (with about 15cm of flex hose) and the intake for the airbox lines up squarely with the side of the car.


Thanks for your replies guys,

sounds like you have a 1.3 body on a 1.0L chassis. The body mounts never line up.

I'd say shes been rolled pretty hard at some point.

welding the bar accross the chassis is illegal and just a bad idea too.

Gutless wrote:welding the bar accross the chassis is illegal and just a bad idea too.

Really? thanks, i thought it would a) be legal and b) be stronger than normal lift blocks

Well, next idea is to cut out the mount points on the body, and weld some new metal into those spots (to strengthen the areas) and drill them so they line up correctly.

i would swap chassie and diffs to w/t so it suits the body if it was me.

mrRocky wrote:i would swap chassie and diffs to w/t so it suits the body if it was me.

I'm pretty sure the chassis and diffs are w/t, if anything i'd assume its a n/t body, another reason why the tyres stick so far out of the body.

Will look further into it when i get the car back tomorrow.