Add a bottle of “ water wetter” from red line to your jeep. I never believed in it until i put it in my CTS-V. Absolutely lowers the engine and supercharger temps by 15-20 degrees. Its a polymer that.... does something lol. It works.
The Samurai needs up grading. Like what Tommy said, needs lockers, rear and front... maybe a.winch but definitely more,.much much more, aggressive off road tyres.
@@francesco1998 your front tire catches a rock and rips the steering wheel from your hand. If your thumb is inside, wrapped around, well, that is also ripped from your hand. Probably just break it really but it still hurts
Here in Australia we'd put a corolla motor in the zuk's for power and some 31inch muddies and they were absolute weapons. Jeeps, well we saw some in movies.
I know the 1.6 originally but I'm sure a few got the later engine. The corolla engine had heaps of potential for custom work and was a real game changer. 4wd burnouts and broken drivelines were common.
Best lines in the video... Tommy: "What the hell am I gonna do here?!" Roman: "That Samurai is like a mountain goat" 😂😂😂 Ya did good Tommy!...& you too Roman!👏👏👏. It was nice to see ya both cut loose a bit & not be so timid about pressin' on the skinny pedal & throwin' caution into the wind for once!👍
The low weight of the Samurai has a downside. I was following a hardtop Samurai on the Trans Canada Hwy in mountainous eastern BC. It was the early eighties and I was driving an FJ40. There was a considerable, gusty wind that day and the FJ was getting pushed around. We entered a tunnel which turned around 60 to 70 degrees as we passed through. When the Samurai emerged from the tunnel, a gust from the driver side hit it. The gust pushed the rear end sideways. The car rotated 90 degrees and fell over on the passenger side at 50 miles an hour. It proceeded roof first and slowly rotating. It made a shower of sparks and stopped quickly, still in its lane. In short, no injuries and little but cosmetic damage. The driver immediately turned off the motor. 6 passers-by and the driver actually returned the vehicle to its wheels and it departed under its own power after around 10 minutes. The most significant issue seemed to be the loss of the passenger mirror (or perhaps the loss of the personal composure of the passenger who seemed somewhat put out).
Yeah but apart from all those Jeeps, Nissan Patrols, Toyota Landcruisers, Daihatsu Fourtaks, Mitsubishi Shoguns Landrovers, Rangerovers etc etc there were hardly any 4x4s...…...
Lol. My first truck, IN THE EARLY 80S, after I got my licence was a 75 GMC 25 4x4. My current truck is a 78 Chevy 30 4x4. Over the years I've owned a few 70s 4x4. I agree, maybe for city boys it new. But us country boys have had them. I hear a lot of garbage about the old trucks. But There are reasons I returned to the old trucks. THEY ARE MORE RELIABLE. As much as b.s. as you hear. They fuel economy is really the same. 14mpg compared to 16 mpg. And even that is questionable. Just depends how you drive. I've drove coast to coast a few times. With what? 70s GM 4x4s And also I'm sick of hearing how the new engines are so much better. If you want to go 100% stock a 350 will take the new engine. If you want to go built, a 350 will take a new engine. Those are both in speed and pulling. If anyone wish to challenge this. By all means my 78 will gladly take you on. Stock I'LL drop a rebuilt 78 350 in it. If builds we can do that as well. $50,000 says I can win. Oh Btw, my truck running gears are stock for the truck. But be warned. They are STOCK for the truck, not for normal GM. Meaning due to what it started out as, it was standard for the truck. Which is kinda funny because my 75 was the exact same. 78 engine and the same running gears. And yes the 78 350 in some applications was "interesting " from the factory. If in the right vehical for the right reasons, even in California smog / emissions did NOT APPLY.
I also love how these guys go down roads like my 12 mile driveway and think it's 4xing. You ain't 4xing until your truck is stuck to top of the hood in quicksand and still sinking. ( that little fun thing ended up costing me engine, transmission, and transfer case. Lucky for me they didn't all go at once.) Complaint about carburated I love carburetor. I remember everyone wanted fuel injected. I suppose if someone said a dildo up your bottom was great everyone would want that too. You just need to know how to use a carburetor. HINT, you need to adjust it to what you are doing. 10 seconds under the hood. Now what is not crossing his mind is with modern vehicals. Yes it AUTOMATICLY adjust. But when you come back. Now you have a engine light on. And will now cost you thousands of dollars, because the stuipid pc doesn't know why it changed, then changed back.
Btw what the F is the problem. The commanche has something wrong with it. It basicly a Cherokee. I had NO problem with my Cherokee overheating ever. The 4.0 engine is a good engine. And the 4.2 was a good engine. I forgot about the eagle I owned as well. It had the 4.2 For those that don't know the 4.2 was the carburated strait 6 in AMC and first Wranglers. My current wrangled has the 4.2. But some DA put an electric fuel pump on it. So I need to redo the fuel line.
I have owned a Sami and seeing yours off road brought back such great memories! They really were very capable off road out of the box, as long as you were not concerned about hitting things every now and then.
I had an 86 samurai. Bought it brand new and took it everywhere from Northern California to Mexico. We took it to Rosarito Beach with 4 of us total and passed around a Jeep stuck in the sand going uphill. It was so stinkin light and I miss that thing but it was pretty gutless at altitude even in 4 wheel low. It was definitely a blast!
Gets wild @9:55! Sweet vid capture! @9:20. the Sammy is amazing, look at this trail. I used to take my Sammy up very similar trail, uses 4WD low, in first gear and ride the clutch. Do a wheel swap on these two beauts, give the Sammy the Jeep wheels and tires, give the Jeep the Sammy wheels and tires. Hopefully these guys treated that rust @4:10 would be an easy job and the proper thing to do. @4:20.. my Sammy towed my FJ60 for over 30 miles up and down the hills in the Texas Hill Country.. note:mostly in 2nd gear, 4wd high. Used a synthetic tow strap. One tow hook on the Sammy snapped open, the other held fast. the FJ60 likely weighed in at 5,500 pounds or so
This was one of my favorite videos you guys have done so far. The vehicles were great, and did amazing. The video tracking bars in the beginning were perfect!
I have wanted a samurai since I was a kid and seeing these videos makes me want one even more. I love my Toyota pickup but I wanna get something to be a dedicated off-road vehicle and not worry if I mess up my daily driver.
In the early 90s, my first truck was a 79 Chevy Luv 4x4 (1.8L 4cyl, manual trans), never had a problem off road in the Black Hills of SD and no problems handling the severe winters. Small, light, narrow, and would float across the mud/snow areas where big trucks would sink in.
I can’t wait to see what you do with your Samurai! I had a 1987 Suzuki Samurai that I lifted with a Calmini shackle reversal kit; I put 30x9.5 tires on it, and it was amazing off road. The shackle reversal really improved the on road handling. I also had a 1994 Zuk, andI put a 3” Trailmaster lift on it- the springs were harder than an unloaded 1 ton pickup, and the bumpsteer was terrible, even with drop pitman arm.
Comanche all day long. I have owned 3. Mid 20's for fuel milage, fairly comfortable on long trips, rated as a 1/2 ton, and worth upgrading. With the proper tires great on icy highways, and I pulled three deep powder snowmobiles on a flatbed trailer up into the mountains with no real issues.
First time I saw a Suzuki Samurai was at a monster truck show when I was about 10 years old. Dude was kind of the time filler, he drove the shit out of that thing on the washboard ramps, it bounced up and down so hard, it looked like it might do a front flip lol. Ran it with an open header, sounded like a hive of angry bees. The announcer of course was just ripping on him, screaming "ZZZZSSSUUUKKKKEEEEEE!!!!!!!" Always thought the Samauri, Geo Tracker, etc were a joke of a truck, until recently when I watched some videos like this and realized off road they will get you anywhere, even with small tires.
Now wait Tommy, I have to agree with old Dad here. Samurai not a Jeep. I had more confidence in Jeep's ability to go up that hill at end. But, little Suzuki did it too!
@Sandy Lee Jeeps are not good as they were once before in terms of reliability because they are using FIAT engines from italy. Some of them are actually made in Italy
@@arielsanca7956 I disagree. Ok, before I go farther. The old Wiley hurcalee engine was great. It was beautiful. But they were not made for speed. Now, the 4.2, 4.0, and the 4cyl from 80s after Chrysler bought jeep. We're all good engines. I do not like fuel injection engines. But I will say the 4.0 is equal to a small v8. They have lots of power. 4.2 was a good engine. I've owned a few. Now they are not equal to the 4.0, but are a good strait 6. And the 4cyl, well the one I drove for a while was nice no problems. Out of those three, I did have problem with 4.2, but after looking back at others. I think it was just a very worn engine. The only problem I had with a 4.0 and I've owned a few. Is the girl never did an oil change. When I repo it. The oil looked like mud. And the engine blew about 15 miles away. In all honesty, any engine would have blown. And I've had engines with more going for them blow. I really was amazed when I got it home, after it blew, and pulled the dipstick. It saddened me she took such poor care of the poor thing. I've NEVER seen oil that bad before, or after for that matter. Let's put it this way. When I pulled the dipstick. It looked like you used the dipstick to mix grease and dust. It was bad. Way I figured she had drove it for 2 years. And never did an oil change. And I also bet she put non detergent oil in it of a lower grade.
Damn this samurai is not crawling on rocks... it's bouncing everywhere ! "Rolling my way up like a goat B**ch " xD ahaha Tommy's Face @ 10:10 - Nice Video Btw !
4:24 You can absolutely pull the Comanche out with the Samurai. I have fun pulling stuck jeeps out with mine. Its interesting to see how much you have to modify a more normal 4wd just so it can keep up with a samurai.
I like both the commanche and the Samurai. But given the choice between the two, I'd still take the Samurai. I'm just a sucker for small, capable vehicles.
As a mechanic on your Jeep put a 1 lower temperature thermostat it will help with over heating and over time your radiator does get some corrosion on the inside and the fins get filled in with dead bugs and dirt And amazon usually sells bigger aluminum radiators for cheap as well and both of those things should take care of 80% of your over heating worries. Plus from owning one they run a little better a little cooler. Also if you want to go more cooler than that you can put on a higher flowing water pump in and gain a little power and cooler by adding a electric fan. And the samurai work much better with a 2” spring lift to something a little softer with some better shocks and that not so much you loose it’s small wheelbase. Also not a Milwaukee salesmen or anything but for like $150 they sell a portable cordless air compressor that will air all my truck 285/75/16 tires for 25 psi to 45 psi all easy on one battery it will air anything up to 120psi you literally turn it on screw on the end to the valve stem and input the psi you want hit enter and it will air it to that on its own. Also has little attachments so you can air football and air mattresses and stuff as well. Best wishes maybe some of this info helps ya out, keep up the good works and thanks !
Lower teperature thermostat will have no effect. The thermostat has zero impact on maximum temperature, it only controls minimum operating temperature.
My old 93 Toyota is running 36x13.50x 15 Super Swamper IRoks and a 3" suspension lift with a 3" body lift. Onboard air rock slider quarter panel gaurds with gnarley front bumper with winch mount n plow brackets
My first truck, bought when I was 15, was a lifted '78 F150 shortbed. It was fantastic offroad. I don't know what the crap this dude is smoking, saying there weren't really offroad vehicles in the 80s. This is the second video I have tried to watch with these dudes and the stupidity is astounding. No more.
I was thinking the same thing. The 80s had plenty of offroad vehicles to offer. Toyota land cruiser, 4runner, tacoma Ford pickups, bronco, bronco2, Dodge pickups and ramcharger GM/Chevy had K5 Blazers/Jimmys, Suburbans and the pickup line Jeep Wagoneer, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep CJ and Wrangler Honorable mentions go to Suzukis Samari, The Land Rovers. Looking further back, you coukd get willys or International Harvester 4x4.
@@scottwitkowski1298 Datsun and Nissan pickups, Pathfinders... Double tube chrome light bars with a full row of KC lights with yellow covers... I was confused by that statement as well.
Great video. Knew that the little Samurai had it in it. ;) Had a couple of friends who were stationed in Guam and they would go literately all over the island in their SJ40's. Virtually unstoppable. Samurai's got a bad rap in the US market because they were easily tipped over on the road. They were never meant to be driven like they were in the US. Same thing that ended the CJ-7 design and why the YJ came out. Their popularity played part in their demise. Too many people throwing them into corners and tipping them over. Had a 78 CJ-7 with the straight six myself. It rattled me a couple of times. Caused by my own stupidity by driving too fast for the conditions. The Jeep pickup was pretty awesome too, as it should be. Perhaps an upgrade to the cooling system is in order.
Properly maintained cherokee and Comanche cooling systems worked great. Over time the factory radiator crusts over, thermostats get loaded up, and you would be surprised at how much of the water pump fins will corrode away. Leaking or not just replace the radiator, thermostat, water pump, and flush the system with a cleaner to get rid of three decades of crap.
Cuz there the easiest to fix. Im not even a mechanic and i keep all my 30 year old xjs going just fine. Even drive them cross country on wims. Most reliable vehicle's ever.
well, like you said, in the 80's it was mostly 2 wheel drive. We couldn't afford those nice 4X4's so we learned real fast about picking lines and speed. We used to go to Azusa a lot and in order to get pulled out you had to have beer for payment, we also learned to carry lots of beer. LOL.
Another fine video from you two and the crew at TFL. Thank you. I like Tommy's shirt. Give your friendly, local Navy recruiter a call and ask him how you can commence a career in Naval Aviation. You've proved yourself a hell of a good driver with your own JK and many other rigs. Now, Fly Navy! "Join the Navy and see the world." Thanks for this video!
I'm sure you already know this but I feel a need to mention anyway. When running a little hot in a cherokee, turn defroster to full heat, full fan. Helps tons...
Back in the 80s we still had a massive number of straight axle Toyotas available for not much money and we had many more off roading areas available to us. I miss those days......
I was in tge Army in tge 1980s, My then wife and I bought one of the Comanche's. The second year edition, Yup it did come close more often than not to overheating. the first thing I did was to remove the thermostat in the spring and summer months, this was a common cure that helped greatly. The thermostat are very restrictive in volume flow of water, The second big thing was adding a modified Chevy heavy duty 4 core radiator. Modified by a reputable radiator shop to move the water hose inlet and outlets ports and adding the bottom seating mounts, and to securing bracketing to fit the Comanche. JC Whitney sold aftermarket electric dual radiator fans that when properly modified fit the Chevy 4 core radiators perfectly with custom made to shrouds. These greatly and I mean greatly removed any near overheating issues. Come the fall season I put the thermostat back into its housing, our engine had a four barrel aftermarket carburetor by Holly mounted to the stock intake manifold. These truck cabs were thinsolated meaning it got very cold without the heater running. We lived off base and had a long 20 minute drive to base then an additional 20 minute drive to my unit hq parking lot from the main gate. The thermostat was needed in the winter, for cabin heat and to warm the carb in order to properly operate. We loved our comanche very much, my wife worked at a small affees store on base and she had the closing shift so more than me she drove the jeep were I either drove the Ford pinto or my motorcycle. The four wheel drive system with installed Goodyear pg tracker tires was phenomenal on and off road in snow, slush, and ice with chains installed on extremely icy roads, But we had to put three big cinder concrete blocks in the back over each wheel to push the bed down compressing the suspension to make the rear tires bite into the road. Still a great truck. So much so when AMC came out with the Eagle my wife traded the pinto in for the wagon eagle with four wheel drive. Great vehicle as well.
The cooling issue with the commanche can be slightly resolved by making sure the clutch and electric fans work. You may also want to try to raise the hood at the brackets with longer bolts and washers .
A local radio station in MPLS had a contest. They were giving away a Samurai, they were known to roll over. So they called it the rock and roll over give away
The problem I have had with that 1.3 liter engine that the samurai has was not on the off road, or the highway. However, in dense stop and go city traffic on a very warm day that engine overheats whenever you use the AC unit.
Used to have a guy in town that would buy them up and modify them for 4 wheeling and resell them, he built dozens of them and sold them before he passed away. They truly were mountain goats, dang things would go anywhere, and worked great pulling those over-priced go-karts...err...UTV's (side by sides) out of the mud, off of rocks, back up to the trail off the sides of the mountain, etc. Wouldn't mind having an old Samarai. With the Samarai you had a cab to keep you dry and a heater....most UTV's don't come with a cab, or a heater, all over-priced add-ons.
@@bschell1969 The last one he built and sold he sold it for $13k, it had a semi-mild build, but did have lockers front and rear and if I recall a 4" lift and I think he did 33's or 35's on it and can't remember what tires he put on that one. That guy knew what he was doing, and had several people bring him their own Samarai's to build. When I saw the last one he built I wish I would have had the money to buy it, dang thing is still running around town quite often, and far cheaper than a side by side and is street legal where a side by side technically really isn't...at least here in Idaho, you can license a UTV but its a restricted license and you can't operate them on the highway...err legally you can't but obviously that only applies to certain people as I see them flying down the highway on UTV's all the time. I had a 2011 Yamaha Rhino 700 4x4 and previously a 2008 Yamaha Grizzly 450 4x4. both were ok, but terrible for bad weather use and after what the finance company pulled I'd never buy anything through Yamaha again, and I was not really that impressed with their machines either...for what I paid for each one I could have bought and built a far better UTV out of a Samarai or a Jeep Wrangler or Cherokee and been far more comfortable.
William Todd sounds like a pretty sweet set of wheels. I’ve pretty much always been a Yamaha guy but haven’t ever bought one new and never got a side by side. They’re too wide for most of the trails here in WNY and you can’t drive them on roads whatsoever, so kinda pointless here.
@@bschell1969 Never drove down any trails small enough that you couldn't fit a small SUV or pickup so never was an issue and still isn't. Today's UTV's are oversized now too so not much use buying those bloated over-priced pieces of crap that even the companies that make them don't stand behind them, sure they claim it has a 6 month or 1 year warranty but good luck once that thing gets dirty they don't want to work on it. They're not supposed to drive them on the highways here but many do...it will take a major accident of someone of high importance to get killed before they start enforcing the law regarding ATV's and UTV's on the highway here. Many trails here are now being closed because of ATV/UTV riders tearing them up, its only a matter of time before all trails get closed down rendering those ATV's and UTV's back to the farms and ranches they were actually designed to be used for :(.
Two of friends had samurai’s back in high school, we used take them Offroad where 4wheeler went. One was carbureted, had a Weber and pacesetter header...lol....slow as balls. The other was fuel injected, and that little thing screamed and it was basically stock if I remember correctly(this was over 20 years ago) Fun little toys.
$1500 into the sammy..... Pair of lunchbox lockers. Conservative lift with longer shackles/shocks (~1-2"?). Maybe stuff some slightly larger tires under it so you can air down and not bash yourself to death on the trail.
What is Tommy planning to do with the Suzuki Samurai? Here's his plan: th-cam.com/video/zI_ZtgB98eQ/w-d-xo.html
Keep the 80s intro theme please.
Sandy Lee you cant on a stock samurai. Locking HUBS are different than locking AXLES.
Man if you can not use stran valve you should not four wheeling and watching you drive up that hill is pain full how the hell did you get a channel
Add a bottle of “ water wetter” from red line to your jeep. I never believed in it until i put it in my CTS-V. Absolutely lowers the engine and supercharger temps by 15-20 degrees. Its a polymer that.... does something lol. It works.
The Samurai needs up grading. Like what Tommy said, needs lockers, rear and front... maybe a.winch but definitely more,.much much more, aggressive off road tyres.
One lesson we learned wheeling in the late 70's and 80's- Don't wrap your thumb around the steering wheel. :-)
13 people and counting know exactly why haha
Jack Hamrick
I don’t know why please tell me
@@francesco1998 your front tire catches a rock and rips the steering wheel from your hand. If your thumb is inside, wrapped around, well, that is also ripped from your hand. Probably just break it really but it still hurts
Jack Hamrick
Yea that’d be shitty wouldn’t it.
@@francesco1998 yes sir. The harder you hit the Rock, the more your thumb would hate you too. But one nice thing about it, you only do it once
“I don’t think I have the clearance. Oh well.” Goes for it anyway. LIKE A REAL MAN!
It's nice when you don't have a budget.
hahahaha not a care in the world
Those 80s graphics and music was on point.
Same thing I was thinking !
Awesome so the key to off roading in the eighties was momentum and neck braces
@benz merc that's 84$ per dent sir
For the love of God, put a small lift kit and rear locker on the Samurai!
...and tires
And a Sierra t case...
No, leave it alone. It’s a time capsule. How many unmolested Samurais still exist?
locking differentials or limited slip differentials as well as grippier (not larger tho) tires would be good
Here in Australia we'd put a corolla motor in the zuk's for power and some 31inch muddies and they were absolute weapons. Jeeps, well we saw some in movies.
1.8 chain drive or the older 1.6 belt driven? I've seen 22REs in Samurais but it's a tight fit. The Corolla engine sounds perfect.
I know the 1.6 originally but I'm sure a few got the later engine. The corolla engine had heaps of potential for custom work and was a real game changer. 4wd burnouts and broken drivelines were common.
Plenty of room for a small turbo under there. That little 1.3 is bullet proof.
You know what would be a good video? Suzuki samurai vs Isuzu trooper
Gopro Jock I second this!!!!! I Love my Trooper more than my own legs!
80's soundtrack is perfect
should have went with the jan hammer miami vice theme song
Synth Wave For TLF YESSSS!!!!
Best lines in the video...
Tommy: "What the hell am I gonna do here?!"
Roman: "That Samurai is like a mountain goat"
😂😂😂
Ya did good Tommy!...& you too Roman!👏👏👏. It was nice to see ya both cut loose a bit & not be so timid about pressin' on the skinny pedal & throwin' caution into the wind for once!👍
You made it a serious 80's flash back when you pulled out the Rambo knife!
You mean $7 harbor freight knife?
@@michaelm8138 you call that a knife? Now that's a knife.
EXACTLY! I have seen that. Rambo wannabe at best.
That's a beautiful Comanche, I daily one myself, 5 speed manual, 4.0L, favorite vehicle I've ever owned
Charles Garrity Hell yeah man i’ve wanted so bad i got a 84 XJ so i guess i’m cool but i don’t have a bed :/
Cable Nowadays I just bought an xj because I don’t wanna put tons of miles on my mj, it’s a 4.0 auto 2x4 but only 50k miles
The low weight of the Samurai has a downside. I was following a hardtop Samurai on the Trans Canada Hwy in mountainous eastern BC. It was the early eighties and I was driving an FJ40. There was a considerable, gusty wind that day and the FJ was getting pushed around. We entered a tunnel which turned around 60 to 70 degrees as we passed through. When the Samurai emerged from the tunnel, a gust from the driver side hit it. The gust pushed the rear end sideways. The car rotated 90 degrees and fell over on the passenger side at 50 miles an hour. It proceeded roof first and slowly rotating. It made a shower of sparks and stopped quickly, still in its lane.
In short, no injuries and little but cosmetic damage. The driver immediately turned off the motor. 6 passers-by and the driver actually returned the vehicle to its wheels and it departed under its own power after around 10 minutes. The most significant issue seemed to be the loss of the passenger mirror (or perhaps the loss of the personal composure of the passenger who seemed somewhat put out).
cool story bro
The wind also blows a Jeep Wrangler around.
"Quite unusual to have a vehicle that was 4x4 in those days" maybe for a city boy it was! Its tons of 1970-80 4x4s in use today!
Yeah but apart from all those Jeeps, Nissan Patrols, Toyota Landcruisers, Daihatsu Fourtaks, Mitsubishi Shoguns Landrovers, Rangerovers etc etc there were hardly any 4x4s...…...
Are you serious.... chevy k10s 20s 30s blazers ford f150 250 350 broncos gmcs that were copys of chevys there were a ton of badass 4x4 trucks...
Lol. My first truck, IN THE EARLY 80S, after I got my licence was a 75 GMC 25 4x4.
My current truck is a 78 Chevy 30 4x4.
Over the years I've owned a few 70s 4x4.
I agree, maybe for city boys it new. But us country boys have had them.
I hear a lot of garbage about the old trucks.
But There are reasons I returned to the old trucks.
THEY ARE MORE RELIABLE.
As much as b.s. as you hear. They fuel economy is really the same. 14mpg compared to 16 mpg. And even that is questionable. Just depends how you drive.
I've drove coast to coast a few times. With what? 70s GM 4x4s
And also I'm sick of hearing how the new engines are so much better.
If you want to go 100% stock a 350 will take the new engine.
If you want to go built, a 350 will take a new engine.
Those are both in speed and pulling.
If anyone wish to challenge this. By all means my 78 will gladly take you on.
Stock I'LL drop a rebuilt 78 350 in it.
If builds we can do that as well.
$50,000 says I can win.
Oh Btw, my truck running gears are stock for the truck. But be warned. They are STOCK for the truck, not for normal GM. Meaning due to what it started out as, it was standard for the truck. Which is kinda funny because my 75 was the exact same. 78 engine and the same running gears. And yes the 78 350 in some applications was "interesting " from the factory. If in the right vehical for the right reasons, even in California smog / emissions did NOT APPLY.
I also love how these guys go down roads like my 12 mile driveway and think it's 4xing.
You ain't 4xing until your truck is stuck to top of the hood in quicksand and still sinking.
( that little fun thing ended up costing me engine, transmission, and transfer case. Lucky for me they didn't all go at once.)
Complaint about carburated I love carburetor. I remember everyone wanted fuel injected. I suppose if someone said a dildo up your bottom was great everyone would want that too.
You just need to know how to use a carburetor. HINT, you need to adjust it to what you are doing. 10 seconds under the hood.
Now what is not crossing his mind is with modern vehicals. Yes it AUTOMATICLY adjust. But when you come back. Now you have a engine light on. And will now cost you thousands of dollars, because the stuipid pc doesn't know why it changed, then changed back.
Btw what the F is the problem.
The commanche has something wrong with it. It basicly a Cherokee. I had NO problem with my Cherokee overheating ever.
The 4.0 engine is a good engine.
And the 4.2 was a good engine.
I forgot about the eagle I owned as well. It had the 4.2
For those that don't know the 4.2 was the carburated strait 6 in AMC and first Wranglers.
My current wrangled has the 4.2. But some DA put an electric fuel pump on it. So I need to redo the fuel line.
As a Wrangler owner in the 90's I took great offense when Zuke owners told me they could hang. 20+years later I'm glad I didn't challenge them
One of the coolest videos you guys have ever made!
I have owned a Sami and seeing yours off road brought back such great memories! They really were very capable off road out of the box, as long as you were not concerned about hitting things every now and then.
Great intro dudes! I for one miss being a kid in the 80s...
Great video. I love seeing the common mans builds getting out in the wild.
I second, love seeing stuff that we can all do
You mean not sponsored instalanders???
I want to do a little offroad, but I do not know where to go. :(
I had an 86 samurai. Bought it brand new and took it everywhere from Northern California to Mexico. We took it to Rosarito Beach with 4 of us total and passed around a Jeep stuck in the sand going uphill. It was so stinkin light and I miss that thing but it was pretty gutless at altitude even in 4 wheel low. It was definitely a blast!
Could you put the heat on full blast so it could take some heat away from the engine so it won't over heat?
And keep the hood popped on the trail.
Yeah if you don't mind cooking yourself hahaha
jimny/samurai is a monster! great tiny machine
Tommy I must say when you first started doing videos you were derpy as hell, but now you are my favorite car reviewer
well, except for Sarah I liked her a bit more
He has come around
I laugh at the fake offroader Jeep guys who poke fun at the Samurai. But I know the real Jeepers respect and know how good they are.
Im really hyped about the Suzuki build... Please put a lunch box locker in the back! It's really worth the $200!
After owning a Land Rover I don't think I would make that my recovery truck. Samurai would be more trustworthy and reliable.
Wouldn’t be able to pull anything out though.
That's a low burn.
Are land rover really that bad?
Hands down the best video and best driving you have done...👏
Omg, this video was pure awesomeness. Wow
Brings me back to high school! Made me better offroad today; picking lines and focusing on the fundamentals..cool episode👍
Gets wild @9:55! Sweet vid capture! @9:20. the Sammy is amazing, look at this trail. I used to take my Sammy up very similar trail, uses 4WD low, in first gear and ride the clutch. Do a wheel swap on these two beauts, give the Sammy the Jeep wheels and tires, give the Jeep the Sammy wheels and tires. Hopefully these guys treated that rust @4:10 would be an easy job and the proper thing to do. @4:20.. my Sammy towed my FJ60 for over 30 miles up and down the hills in the Texas Hill Country.. note:mostly in 2nd gear, 4wd high. Used a synthetic tow strap. One tow hook on the Sammy snapped open, the other held fast. the FJ60 likely weighed in at 5,500 pounds or so
Tommy at 10.26 thinking he still had his glasses on lol. I feel you man
I've done that too quite often LOL.
Lol those things bounced off a ways back, he did better without them....
The Suzuki did pretty good considering it's on all season tires. They look like all seasons anyway.
Dang 80's, now I have to clean the VCR heads because the picture won't track!!!!! 😁😁😁😁
😁😁😁
This was one of my favorite videos you guys have done so far. The vehicles were great, and did amazing. The video tracking bars in the beginning were perfect!
I have wanted a samurai since I was a kid and seeing these videos makes me want one even more. I love my Toyota pickup but I wanna get something to be a dedicated off-road vehicle and not worry if I mess up my daily driver.
Jeep added an auxiliary electric cooling fan later to the Cherokee for the overheating. Might want to do this mod on the Comanche.
Or pull the entire front clip. Seen that before too. Seems easier in the long run to put a fan on, but heck, what do I know.
In the early 90s, my first truck was a 79 Chevy Luv 4x4 (1.8L 4cyl, manual trans), never had a problem off road in the Black Hills of SD and no problems handling the severe winters. Small, light, narrow, and would float across the mud/snow areas where big trucks would sink in.
Mod the samurai please. It's very thought trough the trails.
We are and here's the plan: th-cam.com/video/zI_ZtgB98eQ/w-d-xo.html
I can’t wait to see what you do with your Samurai! I had a 1987 Suzuki Samurai that I lifted with a Calmini shackle reversal kit; I put 30x9.5 tires on it, and it was amazing off road. The shackle reversal really improved the on road handling. I also had a 1994 Zuk, andI put a 3” Trailmaster lift on it- the springs were harder than an unloaded 1 ton pickup, and the bumpsteer was terrible, even with drop pitman arm.
Here in Brasil, the Samurai is a classic 4x4, and is a cheap price. The dificult is find one to buy.
Love watching these retro vehicle videos, more about driver skill then vehicle tech and you guys are fun to watch. Keep it up.
A cheap lunchbox locker would make both of these pretty great.
Well that bought back some memories. New clutch, wheel shims and tyres make the Suzuki a weapon.
The last part of the trail was epic. It was totally tubular and righteous 80's 4x4 action!
Comanche all day long. I have owned 3. Mid 20's for fuel milage, fairly comfortable on long trips, rated as a 1/2 ton, and worth upgrading. With the proper tires great on icy highways, and I pulled three deep powder snowmobiles on a flatbed trailer up into the mountains with no real issues.
First time I saw a Suzuki Samurai was at a monster truck show when I was about 10 years old. Dude was kind of the time filler, he drove the shit out of that thing on the washboard ramps, it bounced up and down so hard, it looked like it might do a front flip lol. Ran it with an open header, sounded like a hive of angry bees. The announcer of course was just ripping on him, screaming "ZZZZSSSUUUKKKKEEEEEE!!!!!!!" Always thought the Samauri, Geo Tracker, etc were a joke of a truck, until recently when I watched some videos like this and realized off road they will get you anywhere, even with small tires.
Jeep xj or mj . Sway bar disconnect and a locker + decent tires = good to go just about anywhere.
I dont know what their aversion is to lockers. A lunchbox in the front of that comanche would have fit right into their "cheap jeep " build.
@@jeepinbanditrider it would of done the world of difference in there
Now wait Tommy, I have to agree with old Dad here. Samurai not a Jeep. I had more confidence in Jeep's ability to go up that hill at end. But, little Suzuki did it too!
You guys crack me up with your enthusiasm of discovering the basics with analog tech.
3:40 Actually, everywhere else in the world, it's a Jimny.
I drove one when I was vacationing in Cape Verde islands
It would be awesome if they sold the new Jimny here in the states
@Sandy Lee Jeeps are not good as they were once before in terms of reliability because they are using FIAT engines from italy. Some of them are actually made in Italy
Suzuki sierra in Australia.
@@arielsanca7956 I disagree.
Ok, before I go farther. The old Wiley hurcalee engine was great. It was beautiful. But they were not made for speed.
Now, the 4.2, 4.0, and the 4cyl from 80s after Chrysler bought jeep. We're all good engines.
I do not like fuel injection engines. But I will say the 4.0 is equal to a small v8. They have lots of power.
4.2 was a good engine. I've owned a few. Now they are not equal to the 4.0, but are a good strait 6.
And the 4cyl, well the one I drove for a while was nice no problems.
Out of those three, I did have problem with 4.2, but after looking back at others. I think it was just a very worn engine.
The only problem I had with a 4.0 and I've owned a few. Is the girl never did an oil change. When I repo it. The oil looked like mud. And the engine blew about 15 miles away. In all honesty, any engine would have blown. And I've had engines with more going for them blow.
I really was amazed when I got it home, after it blew, and pulled the dipstick. It saddened me she took such poor care of the poor thing. I've NEVER seen oil that bad before, or after for that matter. Let's put it this way. When I pulled the dipstick. It looked like you used the dipstick to mix grease and dust. It was bad. Way I figured she had drove it for 2 years. And never did an oil change. And I also bet she put non detergent oil in it of a lower grade.
I see Samurai I click, the Comanche is cool too
Damn this samurai is not crawling on rocks... it's bouncing everywhere ! "Rolling my way up like a goat B**ch " xD ahaha Tommy's Face @ 10:10 - Nice Video Btw !
Now this is some awesome Father and Son activities i wanna do with my children
I hope you get to do it. I never got to go off roading with my father and he is the one who got me interested in it. Life goes by too fast.
I was very impressed with that little Samari.
4:24 You can absolutely pull the Comanche out with the Samurai. I have fun pulling stuck jeeps out with mine. Its interesting to see how much you have to modify a more normal 4wd just so it can keep up with a samurai.
The music with the scene of the samari on the final hill was awesome!! Great foot work tommy
Lol when is that Suzuki going to get some love and by love I mean small lift and tires. Great video!
80's trucks are AWESOME!!
I like both the commanche and the Samurai. But given the choice between the two, I'd still take the Samurai. I'm just a sucker for small, capable vehicles.
Everybody: Our Recovery Vehicle is Heavily Modified Wrangler or Landcruiser
TFL: Our Recovery Vehicle is 'Not So Modified' Disco2
The 80's rocked!👊🍻...we had lots of more trails and freedom ....
As a mechanic on your Jeep put a 1 lower temperature thermostat it will help with over heating and over time your radiator does get some corrosion on the inside and the fins get filled in with dead bugs and dirt And amazon usually sells bigger aluminum radiators for cheap as well and both of those things should take care of 80% of your over heating worries. Plus from owning one they run a little better a little cooler. Also if you want to go more cooler than that you can put on a higher flowing water pump in and gain a little power and cooler by adding a electric fan. And the samurai work much better with a 2” spring lift to something a little softer with some better shocks and that not so much you loose it’s small wheelbase.
Also not a Milwaukee salesmen or anything but for like $150 they sell a portable cordless air compressor that will air all my truck 285/75/16 tires for 25 psi to 45 psi all easy on one battery it will air anything up to 120psi you literally turn it on screw on the end to the valve stem and input the psi you want hit enter and it will air it to that on its own. Also has little attachments so you can air football and air mattresses and stuff as well. Best wishes maybe some of this info helps ya out, keep up the good works and thanks !
Lower teperature thermostat will have no effect. The thermostat has zero impact on maximum temperature, it only controls minimum operating temperature.
Really in love with Samurai! #SamuraiTeam
Those Jeep XJs & Comanches are timeless - love them. Rode in a Samurai before; no thanks -
tin can.
Outstanding 80's retro intro!
My old 93 Toyota is running 36x13.50x 15 Super Swamper IRoks and a 3" suspension lift with a 3" body lift. Onboard air rock slider quarter panel gaurds with gnarley front bumper with winch mount n plow brackets
That was probably one of the better videos I've seen you guys do. Momentum momentum momentum!!
"I don't think I have the clearance... Oh, well." *mashes gas*
My first truck, bought when I was 15, was a lifted '78 F150 shortbed. It was fantastic offroad.
I don't know what the crap this dude is smoking, saying there weren't really offroad vehicles in the 80s.
This is the second video I have tried to watch with these dudes and the stupidity is astounding. No more.
I was thinking the same thing. The 80s had plenty of offroad vehicles to offer.
Toyota land cruiser, 4runner, tacoma
Ford pickups, bronco, bronco2,
Dodge pickups and ramcharger
GM/Chevy had K5 Blazers/Jimmys, Suburbans and the pickup line
Jeep Wagoneer, Jeep Cherokee, Jeep CJ and Wrangler
Honorable mentions go to Suzukis Samari, The Land Rovers.
Looking further back, you coukd get willys or International Harvester 4x4.
@@scottwitkowski1298 Datsun and Nissan pickups, Pathfinders...
Double tube chrome light bars with a full row of KC lights with yellow covers... I was confused by that statement as well.
With light mods and lockers that Comanche would OWN even that Land Rover.
Lunchbox lockers would make it a beast
Two of my favorite 4x4's of all time.
Finally going to give the Suzuki some goodies! Cant wait.
Great job guys 👍 Had a laugh when Tommy @10:26 goes to take off his invisible glasses 🤓
Great video. Knew that the little Samurai had it in it. ;) Had a couple of friends who were stationed in Guam and they would go literately all over the island in their SJ40's. Virtually unstoppable. Samurai's got a bad rap in the US market because they were easily tipped over on the road. They were never meant to be driven like they were in the US. Same thing that ended the CJ-7 design and why the YJ came out. Their popularity played part in their demise. Too many people throwing them into corners and tipping them over. Had a 78 CJ-7 with the straight six myself. It rattled me a couple of times. Caused by my own stupidity by driving too fast for the conditions. The Jeep pickup was pretty awesome too, as it should be. Perhaps an upgrade to the cooling system is in order.
Love the Samurai!
Properly maintained cherokee and Comanche cooling systems worked great. Over time the factory radiator crusts over, thermostats get loaded up, and you would be surprised at how much of the water pump fins will corrode away. Leaking or not just replace the radiator, thermostat, water pump, and flush the system with a cleaner to get rid of three decades of crap.
I've had multiple jeep Comanches and Cherokees and never had a cooling issue.
Cuz there the easiest to fix. Im not even a mechanic and i keep all my 30 year old xjs going just fine. Even drive them cross country on wims. Most reliable vehicle's ever.
One things for sure we didn't whine as much in the 80's.
They shouldve put off road tyre for the samurai for better fair comparison
well, like you said, in the 80's it was mostly 2 wheel drive. We couldn't afford those nice 4X4's so we learned real fast about picking lines and speed. We used to go to Azusa a lot and in order to get pulled out you had to have beer for payment, we also learned to carry lots of beer. LOL.
Love it! That Comanche is just plain badass! That whole series of the build is awesome!!! Comanche versus Tacoma versus ZR2 up cliffhanger!!!
This has to be one of the best videos in years guys!
Those KM3s will be my next set of tires for my Grand Vitara
Another fine video from you two and the crew at TFL. Thank you. I like Tommy's shirt. Give your friendly, local Navy recruiter a call and ask him how you can commence a career in Naval Aviation. You've proved yourself a hell of a good driver with your own JK and many other rigs. Now, Fly Navy! "Join the Navy and see the world." Thanks for this video!
I'm sure you already know this but I feel a need to mention anyway. When running a little hot in a cherokee, turn defroster to full heat, full fan. Helps tons...
Back in the 80s we still had a massive number of straight axle Toyotas available for not much money and we had many more off roading areas available to us. I miss those days......
It did not suck in the 70’s or the 80’s! My Scout terra pickup was a beast!!! Rarely did I not get to where I was going! Wish I’d have kept it!
I was in tge Army in tge 1980s, My then wife and I bought one of the Comanche's. The second year edition, Yup it did come close more often than not to overheating. the first thing I did was to remove the thermostat in the spring and summer months, this was a common cure that helped greatly. The thermostat are very restrictive in volume flow of water, The second big thing was adding a modified Chevy heavy duty 4 core radiator. Modified by a reputable radiator shop to move the water hose inlet and outlets ports and adding the bottom seating mounts, and to securing bracketing to fit the Comanche. JC Whitney sold aftermarket electric dual radiator fans that when properly modified fit the Chevy 4 core radiators perfectly with custom made to shrouds. These greatly and I mean greatly removed any near overheating issues.
Come the fall season I put the thermostat back into its housing, our engine had a four barrel aftermarket carburetor by Holly mounted to the stock intake manifold. These truck cabs were thinsolated meaning it got very cold without the heater running. We lived off base and had a long 20 minute drive to base then an additional 20 minute drive to my unit hq parking lot from the main gate. The thermostat was needed in the winter, for cabin heat and to warm the carb in order to properly operate. We loved our comanche very much, my wife worked at a small affees store on base and she had the closing shift so more than me she drove the jeep were I either drove the Ford pinto or my motorcycle. The four wheel drive system with installed Goodyear pg tracker tires was phenomenal on and off road in snow, slush, and ice with chains installed on extremely icy roads, But we had to put three big cinder concrete blocks in the back over each wheel to push the bed down compressing the suspension to make the rear tires bite into the road. Still a great truck. So much so when AMC came out with the Eagle my wife traded the pinto in for the wagon eagle with four wheel drive. Great vehicle as well.
Best way to clear the heat for the Jeep is to pop the hood but keep it latched. Works like a dream.
Gotta love some 80's action.
That Suzuki kicks butt!! You can really see how open diff vehicles destroy the trails.
The cooling issue with the commanche can be slightly resolved by making sure the clutch and electric fans work. You may also want to try to raise the hood at the brackets with longer bolts and washers .
A local radio station in MPLS had a contest. They were giving away a Samurai, they were known to roll over. So they called it the rock and roll over give away
The problem I have had with that 1.3 liter engine that the samurai has was not on the off road, or the highway. However, in dense stop and go city traffic on a very warm day that engine overheats whenever you use the AC unit.
Build the samurai into a 4 link low crawler !!
Mannn this makes me want a Sammy. Keep up the good work and fun fellas!
Used to have a guy in town that would buy them up and modify them for 4 wheeling and resell them, he built dozens of them and sold them before he passed away. They truly were mountain goats, dang things would go anywhere, and worked great pulling those over-priced go-karts...err...UTV's (side by sides) out of the mud, off of rocks, back up to the trail off the sides of the mountain, etc. Wouldn't mind having an old Samarai. With the Samarai you had a cab to keep you dry and a heater....most UTV's don't come with a cab, or a heater, all over-priced add-ons.
William Todd that’s awesome would’ve loved to know the man. Definitely could scoop up a very nice one for the price of today’s UTV’s as well
@@bschell1969 The last one he built and sold he sold it for $13k, it had a semi-mild build, but did have lockers front and rear and if I recall a 4" lift and I think he did 33's or 35's on it and can't remember what tires he put on that one. That guy knew what he was doing, and had several people bring him their own Samarai's to build. When I saw the last one he built I wish I would have had the money to buy it, dang thing is still running around town quite often, and far cheaper than a side by side and is street legal where a side by side technically really isn't...at least here in Idaho, you can license a UTV but its a restricted license and you can't operate them on the highway...err legally you can't but obviously that only applies to certain people as I see them flying down the highway on UTV's all the time. I had a 2011 Yamaha Rhino 700 4x4 and previously a 2008 Yamaha Grizzly 450 4x4. both were ok, but terrible for bad weather use and after what the finance company pulled I'd never buy anything through Yamaha again, and I was not really that impressed with their machines either...for what I paid for each one I could have bought and built a far better UTV out of a Samarai or a Jeep Wrangler or Cherokee and been far more comfortable.
William Todd sounds like a pretty sweet set of wheels. I’ve pretty much always been a Yamaha guy but haven’t ever bought one new and never got a side by side. They’re too wide for most of the trails here in WNY and you can’t drive them on roads whatsoever, so kinda pointless here.
@@bschell1969 Never drove down any trails small enough that you couldn't fit a small SUV or pickup so never was an issue and still isn't. Today's UTV's are oversized now too so not much use buying those bloated over-priced pieces of crap that even the companies that make them don't stand behind them, sure they claim it has a 6 month or 1 year warranty but good luck once that thing gets dirty they don't want to work on it. They're not supposed to drive them on the highways here but many do...it will take a major accident of someone of high importance to get killed before they start enforcing the law regarding ATV's and UTV's on the highway here.
Many trails here are now being closed because of ATV/UTV riders tearing them up, its only a matter of time before all trails get closed down rendering those ATV's and UTV's back to the farms and ranches they were actually designed to be used for :(.
That intro was the bomb diggity. Hats off to whoever is doing these edits :D
Put a power Steering and Vitara engine swap and the samurái Is unstopable, they sell the kits are plug and play
That hill climb in the Samurai was amazing considering its lack of lockers.
Real Shit. Young guy was driving the hell out of the little rig.🤣🤣
Two of friends had samurai’s back in high school, we used take them Offroad where 4wheeler went. One was carbureted, had a Weber and pacesetter header...lol....slow as balls. The other was fuel injected, and that little thing screamed and it was basically stock if I remember correctly(this was over 20 years ago)
Fun little toys.
$1500 into the sammy..... Pair of lunchbox lockers. Conservative lift with longer shackles/shocks (~1-2"?). Maybe stuff some slightly larger tires under it so you can air down and not bash yourself to death on the trail.
Love my 86 samurai. But it would be nice to see u guys .did a 3inch see what it does with more clearance