Coming soon to a Challenge near you. (If you live in Gainsville Fl.)
The Start is here.
This is going to be a build so I'll continue it here. It's not going to happen as fast as the Jet Boat, so be ready to sit back and enjoy the ride.
The plan is a light weight, simple, 4WD, screamer. I don't think making it go straight will be a problem, making it turn should be exciting. Making it stay right side up should be fun too.
I'm starting with this.
It's a 1987-8 Suzuki Samurai.
Back in a few.
samurai with go kart like reflexes? i like where this is going.
There's good and bad news so far.
The Good:
All the driveshafts are here and they are in good shape. I don't think I'll even need to do U-joints.
The transfer case is in better shape than I thought. It's been sitting in the floorboard, in the weather for ???. I was afraid it was going to full of water. It's not, the gear oil looks clean and it turns smoothly.
The body is in better shape than I thought it was. Most of the rust is minor and what isn't is hidden and not structural. (Under the battery tray, under the fender flares, etc.)
The bad: The engine is definitely trashed. Full of water, locked up, broken rockers, missing intake. It's junk.
The more I think about this, I think I'm going to source a 1.6 Tracker/Sidekick engine and turbocharge it. That's going to be the easy button. It will keep the weight way down, drop right in and should be fairly quick. If I strip it to the bare minimum, I'm thinking under 1700 pounds. They were 2059# from the factory. Sheading 300+# shouldn't be too difficult.
After a date with the pressure washer.
Nothing is cast in stone and it's all subject to change.
Any input is welcome. The more the merrier.
This one is too hacked up, but close to what I'm thinking. If I move the front axle forward 10", I can drop it 7" Then all I need to do is stretch the front fenders, hood and driveshaft to fit. Simple right?
As a plus, the longer wheelbase should make it a little less likely to kill me in a corner.
I was looking at a buddies trackkick with the same evil thoughts. To get it low I was thinking of dropping the body lower over the frame and moving the engine back to clear the front axle. Yours should be fun!
You're and idiot and I love you.
Might pass on the 1.6 after all...
4.3 AWD. 
Toyman01 wrote: Might pass on the 1.6 after all...
YES!
I am so glad that this is actually happening.
Bad ideas are what got us to the moon.
Needs nitrous. Or turbo.
But oh hell yeah!
This is awesome.
Seems like getting it a LOT lower is the priority so it does not roll over.
Going with the standard 15x10 275/35 combo?
This is what is needed, might be over the budget but so what? 
I mean if you are going for batE36 M3 crazy this is it!!!!
In reply to ProDarwin:
I haven't gotten that far yet. Today was cleaning up the worst of it and scrapping all the aftermarket wiring under the hood. That and staring at it. And measuring it. And measuring my other Samurai. And staring at it. And lest we forget, looking at Craigslist, and Copart, and Google images. 
This one is going to be a head scratcher. It needs to drop at least 7"-8" and I'm not sure how that's going to happen. Idealy I'd like to see the floor pans about 4" off the ground. That's not going to be possible with the existing frame.
I've got a lot of thinking and staring before I get out the body saw and angle grinder. Should be fun. It'll come to me eventually. 
Boy she cleaned up real nicelike.
In reply to JtspellS:
That thought has crossed my mind, but it would break the bank for sure. The budget is going to require a boinger.
i like the 4.3 idea if you can get it low enough. thats alot of nose weight compared to the 1.6 idea
This will be interesting 
Toyman01 wrote: It needs to drop at least 7"-8" and I'm not sure how that's going to happen.
How much can you lower the front before the axle hits something? Realistically, you can get away with ~1" of travel at that low of weight.
I'm guessing changing to a smaller diameter tire will drop it ~2-3"? Can you get another 3-4" from the axle?
Also, I think you'd be ok by lowering it to its realistic limit, fitting fat & sticky rubber, and boosting the E36 M3 out of it. While it appears tall, the majority of the weight is pretty low in the chassis.
Cannot remember what the body mounts looked like. Can you get an inch or inch and a half by solid mounting the body to the frame?
In reply to petegossett:
That's going to depend on the engine I use. With the 1.6 and a 1.3 oil pan, I could realistically drop it 4-5 inches. Change the engine to a 4.3 and I have no idea. The engine is going to hit before the frame does.
In reply to ebonyandivory:
Solid mounts shouldn't be a problem. They are pretty simple and I happen to have a lathe.
Is there a transmission that will let me use a 2.2L Dodge turbo for RWD?
Toyman01 wrote: Is there a transmission that will let me use a 2.2L Dodge turbo for RWD?
One of the Dakota transmissions will. Might be as simple as the one used in the earlier 4cyl Dakotas.
Edit: quick search on Turbododge forums says a Toyota r154 transmission with a Dakota bell housing works. Probably more better searching is needed.
Had anyone else came up with this hair-brained scheme, I would have expected it to fizzle out and die a slow part out... Not you, my friend. After watching you dream up and then build the jet boat, I know you're serious and this thing will be equally as bad-ass.
Carry on.
In reply to Dusterbd13:
you mean nitrous to spool the turbo right?
You'll need to log in to post.
