The Samurai gets no respect among automotive pseudo-enthusiasts, but it gets lots of respect among those who know it’s a truly capable off-roader. Interestingly, it seems people sometimes want to convert them into street-only machines. We previously featured a V8-equipped, RWD Samurai – call that the redneck path. Today’s feature car is more the sport-compact path, as it’s equipped with a turbocharged Mazda 13B rotary engine.
It seems many vehicle seller have time to heavily modify vehicles, yet can’t spare the extra one or two minutes it would take to provide sufficient pictures or a decent description of a vehicle’s condition. This is the case here, where there’s clearly a lot done, but all we get is a short list of modifications. There’s only one interior shot and it only shows part of the dash. Oh well, interested parties can always ask for more.
It seems this has been significantly lowered and converted to rear-wheel drive, with a Dana 44 rear end, which means it can handle plenty ‘o torque. The engine features a large turbo, big injectors and Electromotive engine management, which means it is, or at least can be, tuned to handle the mods. The end result is a lowered, street-only mini-Jeep in partial convertible form with a solid rear axle. The mods, including that solid rear axle and ladder bar suspension suggest that this was built for drag racing.
The starting bid is high; so it will be interesting to see whether this one gets any bids. Some will argue the engine and parts are worth damn near the starting price, however.
Click for eBay ad
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
$9,500 with ZERO bids, reserve not met and 6.5 days to go
We opened with a money shot, because this one’s really all about the engine.
With the hood closed, this just looks like a lowered Samurai, which begs the question “why.”
From this angle, one might wonder why the rear tires are so wide. Given the likely power-to-weight ratio, the roll bar is a welcome sight.
Here’s the shortened Dana rear with drag-style suspension. See…they still brought some redneck into this one!
This is all we get to see of the interior. Clearly, the driver can monitor a lot of parameters, but we’re not sure what and, though the Samurai is small, the auxiliary gauges are pretty far away from the driver.
Ad text:
1994 suzuki samurai
One of a kind samurai
13b s5 semipheriferal port engine
Pinned and balance rotating assembly
Custom intake, 1600cc inejectors
Electromotive tec3r engine management
Dana 44 rear, mosser axles, coiliver laderbar suspension,
Custom front axle, lowered
Turbonectics 66mm turbo
Aeromotive fuel system
Too many parts to list,,
questions will be answered,
Car is listed locally so i reserve the right to end auction
Located in charlotte nc