This was my modified Suzuki Samurai

Well, what can I say! The best mod by far. I cant believe what a difference these tyres have made when off roading. The standard road tyres were 205/70R15s, the MTs however are 215/75/R15s. These give over 2" more ground clearance which proves invaluable when ascending Stannage Edge! The MTs sit on wider 15x7" rims which do wonders for the trucks appearance, they really fill out the wheelarches nicely. Oh and another thing, at the last MOT there was a certain satisfaction gained from seeing '13mm' written next to the 'tread depth' check list!

Due to carb problems developing a while ago (no idle, hesitation, flatspots) I decided to replace the original Asian carb. I looked at an SU and a Weber. I had been told the Weber was prone to flooding on very steep inclines, however I don't do extreme off roading like that in mine I didn't think it was relevant. Also after speaking to Dave Sturmey at Mow Cop who fitted one to his Blitz, and said it was the best thing he ever did, making a vast improvement over the old carb. I decided on the Weber in the end because the SU is single choke and the Weber double, just like the old carb (keeping it as near standard as possible). I had the Weber fitted and can report it is much better, giving an increase in fuel economy (29-30 mpg now) this is mainly due to the fact that the old carb was ticking over at about 1300-1500rpm in its final days. Also the Weber enables the engine to rev up much more freely giving improved acceleration, and there is a slight increase in torque around 2000rpm and again above 3500rpm.

Sourced from the local Suzuki breakers for a very reasonable £30. They needed tidying up, but now they must be the shiniest hubs in the county! It was a dead easy swap, remove the old centre pieces and replace with these. They also have improved fuel economy slightly, helping me claw back some of what was lost when I fitted the MTs!

There is ONE drawback though, you have to get out of the truck to engage them! Not ideal when your trying to leave quickly; I was in a private car park and saw a pile of soil. The urge to 'ramp up' was too great, and I needed to see some articulation as I hadn't been laning for a couple of weeks. SO, I drove up forward with a bit of momentum and got some great flex. I saw a security 'patrol' coming so thought it best to leave, BUT one rear wheel was off the ground and it wouldn't move! I hastily jumped out to lock the hubs before freeing myself. I think the guards were more bemused than anything!

A custom made jobbie by club member Jamie Cooper. A very sturdy design and a worthwhile investment. Just ask Andy Whalley, or 'Wally' as he's now called after the diff bending incident in Wales!

Primarily added for aesthetic reasons, now I don't know how I managed without them before, especially commuting to and from work down unlit roads in the pitch dark. With the spots off, the full beam alone now seems very weedy.
Fitting was a simple task aswell, they came boxed with everything needed except a switch in the cab to trigger the relay. Only problem was a couple of spacers needed to be made when bolting them directly onto the bull bar in order to get them to face straight out rather than lighting up the trees ahead!

This has to be one of the most worth while mod ever! especially when green laning, as you can chat with/slag off the other trucks in the convoy! I bought the rig from Dan Swain, and the Minimag aerial was only a tenner from Maplins! I'm also proud to say I made my own mounting bracket for the rig, under the steering column. As is my phobia for drilling holes in the truck I spent 3 hrs fabricating (!) the bracket so that it would attach via existing bolt holes in the dash. Genius.

The original radio/cassette that came in my zuke was terrible to say the least, in fact it hardly ever worked. despite this I took over a year to replace it with a better head unit. The first was a radio/cassette out of a mates SEAT Cordoba. Finally I upgraded this to a Sony CD player which I bought from Car Electronics of Ashborne Rd, Derby. It was £30 cheaper here than anywhere else. I decided on the black unit with amber illumination as this matches the rest of the dashboard. The speakers pictured in the rear door are Kenwoods (90w each) which I put in ages ago, and have now been moved to the front footwells. I have now added a 200w SplX bass box (or Truck Box to give it its proper name).

:: New springs all round ::

Last summer, I treated the truck to a full set of new leaf springs (because I snapped a rear one whilst laning!) I sourced them from Explorer Procomp for approx.£50 each for the fronts and £56 for the rear. This included VAT and delivery.

:: Clicky starter fix ::

The last couple of summers I noticed that the starter motor would occasionally just click when I turned the key, and not turn over the engine. I found out that this was a fairly common problem with Samurais, and it wasn't until recently that I fixed this fault. To tell you the truth, I actually don't know if it worked as we've not had any hot weather to try it in yet! Full review is in the Mod reviews section.

:: Anti-roll bar removed ::

To loosen up the front end when driving over rough terrain. Makes the truck ride a little softer at the front also without compromising handling too badly