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Choosing your donor
The first thing to decide is whether you want the 970cc or 1324cc engine. There are quite a few differences and the cost of purchase is the same.
The weapon of choice is a later model (post May 1989, 'F' registration) SJ413 Samurai, which is identified by the badge on the side and plastic wheel arch extensions. This should not be confused with the SJ413 Santana which was Spanish built rather than Japanese. The Samurai has a wider track (approx 3"), stronger running gear and more easily sourced mechanical spares.
It is always best to take the Donor off road for a day and thrash it senseless just to see what breaks. It is SO much easier to fix the mechanical bits when the body is off it is worth deliberately trying to break things or replace them early.
Things to look for:
Clean engine bay, with all the bits still attached.
Good radiator - your Blitz needs good cooling once in the mud. Mine has a triple core tropical rad!
Quiet running - try to drive it and see if the gearbox, transfer box (4wd to 2wd changer) and differentials run with grinding noises.
Working brakes - not essential as once the body is off fixing/renewing anything is a breeze
Dry axles stubs/seals/drain plugs - these leaks can be a real pain to fix so avoid really bad examples, then again maybe there's nothing left to leak out!
Preparation
Once you have got it home, having figured out what needs repairing, READ THE CONSTRUCTION MANUAL. Then read it again. Plan your attack, read the manual a couple more times. List the bits you need to keep form the body and read the manual again.
Take the body off. Keeping the big washers from the body fixing points. I had to grind the bolts off so be careful not to cut the washers as you do it. You can do it by yourself with an angle grinder and hammer but with 2 people it's dead easy.
Keep the rubber drainage bungs from the floor pan.
Useful modifications
Propshaft/transfer box handbrake - your handbrake will not work for long off road unless you swap the rear drum h'brake for the earlier version. In theory it's an easy change but requires some garage kit. A couple of hours for a local garage should do most of the work. See tech tips
Drainage - cut a hole in the floor of each footwell the same size as the original (41mm) and fit the bungs after painting.
Bucket/non Suzuki seats - obtain 3mm steel flat bar and weld under the floorpan to support seat mounts. best to put the body on it's side to weld up.
If like me you've fitted bucket seats, you could find that the dashboard is too big. If you cut down the dash around the dial barnacle it fits very nicely between the dash support bar and the top rail. A couple of long bolts will hold it in place to the top of the bulkhead. Use some cheap steel tubing as spacers to keep eve
Rear Disc brake conversion - An excellent and quite easy job. Change the rear wheel bearings at the same time to save future hassle. Costs from about £250 depending on the source of callipers and disc rotors.
Suspension lift - Not essential but very useful. Your springs are bound to be tired as will be the bushes, so replace the lot - springs, shackles, bushes, shocks. I gave mine a 2.25" lift in the springs and 0.75" in the shackles. Essential if you want to fit large tyres. My 31" tyres fouled the footwell (just) even with 4" of suspension lift. Some suggested a body lift but I was against that as it would raise the centre of gravity without giving an advantage in normal use.
Recovery points - I have fitted towbar pin and jaw assemblies front and rear welded onto the round chassis crossmembers, I have inserted 1 5/8th " steel bar to strengthen these areas. I have seen them ripped right out during recoveries. The only disadvantage is that at the front you can put a tube through the frame as part of a towing A-Frame.
Building Tips
Handbrake bracket position: There is no reason why the h'brake has to be offset. I have 2 Cobra bucket seats and the h'brake has to be centred.
Handbrake bracket angle: In order to avoid a tortuous cable route, the bracket should be bolted ABOVE the chassis crossmember and spread out to almost 46.029o approximately
Accelerator Pedal: Because the Blitz's floor is much higher up than the SJ's I found that I had difficulty pressing the pedal to the floor when wearing Wellies so before fitting the pedal assembly, I put the whole assembly in a vice and bent the pedal bar up by a couple of inches so it is only slightly lower than the brake pedal
Fit some brackets to the front section to support the wings, Blitz Midlands put them right at the front which is far better than mine which are half way. I've also fitted some 'L' shaped brackets onto the front wings on the inner rear bolted to the frame leg rather then self tap the wings into place which just work loose.
Cost saving tricks and tips
Buy a spare! I bought a really badly knackered SJ for £30 and stripped everything I could from it. The wife objected as did the neighbours but I manfully ran and hid and now they can't find me to complain!
Stuff they don't tell you in the manuals
Clutches
It is vital with any new clutch to run it in. A combination of heat and pressure sets the friction plates into a solid ring of grippy stuff and no running in means a prematurely worn out clutch.
The clutch has been upgraded to a Calmini 50% centrifugal item called a single centreforce clutch, there is a dual centreforce version but is much more expensive and only really worth it for the big power conversions. I ran it in as best I could and it has not given me a moments hassle. Cash well spent in my opinion.
Fitting a CB
This is naff for non truckers but essential for off roaders. Getting stuck is fun only if there is someone to pull you out and where we go a CB is how we talk to each other.
The fitting of the CB is easy but setting up the antenna is tricky. For ease buy a pre SWR'ed one and bolt it onto a solid part of the body. VERY IMPORTANT - the bolt is the positive while outer sheath is the negative, make sure the bolt does not touch the body. For best transmission effect run a wire from the earth of the antenna to the negative terminal of the battery. This aids the ground plane and allows for better transmission. Running your CB with a poor SWR will eventually burn out the crystals by having more power being reflected back than sent out.
Wheels & Tyres
Tyre Choice
Aha, now the fight will really start. Diamond Back or Grizzly Claw, 215s or 31", 15" or 16" wheels, Mud Terrains (M/T) or All Terrains (A/T).
Firstly tyre selection is the single most critical decision that will affect how well you get through. So to start decide what kind of driving do you do mostly, if your SJ is your daily drive then Mud or All terrains are certainly better from every angle. quieter on road, better wear, cheaper to buy and not too bad off road. Next tread pattern, the more aggressive (i.e. chunkier) the noisier and faster wearing but better in the mud. Then decide on budget. Many remoulds are fine for slow light cars like ours and cost less.
Size. It does matter, 31" tyres will give more distance between ground and differential, reduce articulation but increase turning circle. Too big and gearing is badly affected (covered under drivetrain) too heavy and you'll sink. too small and you'll get stuck too easily. wider improves the turning circle but then so does fitting wheel spacers and/or backspaced wheels (see below).
I opted for Grizzly Claws after finishing up my BFG Mud Terrains. The car came with Colway M/Ts but these were small thin and too hard for mud plugging to they went in the bin. The BFGs and Grizzlies were 31" x 10.5 15s, 312 inches tall and 10.5 wide so improved the turning circle raised the car and looked damn good. The Claws are MUCH more aggressive and are the best I've had. many folk believe the 215 Diamond Backs to be the weapon of choice but with very lowered gearing mine are great.
Wheels
Not as simple as you might think! Standard are 15" in diameter, 5" wide. Not much choice of serious tyre then. So wider wheel are a must with 7" or 8" being the most popular. 16" rims move you into big 4x4 territory but unless you get silly with 33" tyres you'll not get any lift advantage. The main difference between 15" & 16" tyres is the profile, or the ratio of overall diameter to tyre wall height. Assume 2 tyres each 31" tall, but for 15" & 16" rims, the 15" one will have more sidewall and therefore more flex, a softer ride and therefore more contact with the rough ground than the 16" one for a given tyre pressure. Personal choice really. I chose 15" because my Shogun has the same wheel size and I can swap the tyres over. On any vehicle heavier than a Suzuki the sidewall issue isn't!