Suzuki Samurai Suspension Upgrade - Project Sami Supreme

Moving again to the rear of the vehicle, we begin the rear suspension on a strong foundation, using another custom Diamond axle housing. Designed to utilize '86-'95 toyota shafts, this housing is virtually indestructible and features Diamond's new precision billet-steel bearing inserts.

The new 37-inch M/trs were designed for 17-inch wheels, so new wheels were also in order. After a lot of research and budget considerations, a wheel was finally decided on to replace our old, heavy, 15-inch steel eaton beadlocks. The wheel of choice was trailready's lightweight two-piece beadlock with a custom 3-inch backspace.

Next, a call was made to Poly Performance to order all of the necessary components to make building our rear-link setup a breeze. Included were a set of currie's Johnny Joints, heim joints, threaded inserts, and Poly Performance's prefabbed frame and axle brackets.

The rear suspension is basically a mirror image of the all-Pro off-road taco' supreme front three-link setup. With everything tacked in place, it was thoroughly examined for binding and clearance issues.

After making a few adjustments to the tackedup suspension, it was time to connect our new toyota drivetrain setup to the beefedup axles. Coast Driveline & gear devised a clever setup by machining the splines from the stock toyota output flanges and welding them into a set of universal Ford flanges. The new driveline setup utilizes a readily available and reliable, high-clearance GM CV knuckle.

Once everything was handled beneath the rig, the interior needed a little attention to make it safe and tolerable. First, a framework was constructed to tie the cage into the frame while providing solid mounts for the seats. Next, after constructing a new tranny tunnel from cardboard, 1/8-inch aluminum was cut and bent to build a new, removable cover.

To button everything up on the bottom side and protect all of the new drivetrain components, a custom bellypan skidplate was constructed of 1/4-inch steel plate. After building a cardboard template, the framerails were drilled and sleeved to accept the new addition.