Suzuki buggy build

[rcx132]

Electrics came next.

I took the hard way and went for the 16v fuel injected engine over the simple carbed 8v. This meant wiring the ECU and added 6 weeks to the build. I ordered 3m of every one of the 120 available wire colours from vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk to give me a batch to pick from. I cant help but think how annoyed the picker was when he saw that order.

External fuel pump to go with the fuel cell.

 

[rcx132]

The exhaust system was very simple, but I’m not sure if I’ve done it right. Maybe someone here can tell me?

At the time, I really struggled to understand whether an exhaust should be tuned. From what I was told, it doesn’t make much difference on a stock engine, so I didn’t worry about it too much in the end.

The donor car had a 2" pipe near the engine, followed by a cat, which reduced to 1 ½" before a silencer. For my build, I used 2" tube throughout, a flexible joint, and an unbranded stainless straight-through silencer. There’s no cat, and the system ended up being very short. There was no space under the car to route the exhaust due to the long travel suspension. So the exhaust reduces the size of the passenger footwell.

The noise level is just right, it has a nice rasp without being too loud or bothering other drivers. I’ve connected a Tech2 to the ECU, and it shows that the fuel mixture and oxygen sensor are working and keeping the mixture right.

What I’m still unsure about is this: with the system being a lot less restrictive than the donor, what happens when the car first starts, before the oxygen sensor warms up and starts sending data? I don’t think these older ECUs store the last readings in memory?

 

[Baloo]

Electrics came next.

I took the hard way and went for the 16v fuel injected engine over the simple carbed 8v. This meant wiring the ECU and added 6 weeks to the build. I ordered 3m of every one of the 120 available wire colours from vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk to give me a batch to pick from. I cant help but think how annoyed the picker was when he saw that order.

External fuel pump to go with the fuel cell.

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thats looking super neat and tidy i wish i had your patience when it comes to wiring, i take my hat off to you sir

 

[Blobber]

I wouldnt worry to much about the exhaust, it always used to be about needing a bit of back pressure but that looks ok to me, if its a problem you can always shove one of those perforated restrictor pipes down the end

 

[rcx132]

I wouldnt worry to much about the exhaust, it always used to be about needing a bit of back pressure but that looks ok to me, if its a problem you can always shove one of those perforated restrictor pipes down the end

Thanks. I'm still using the stock headers which are awfully cast things, and probably give the needed back pressure.

 

[rcx132]

The transfer box is one of the key parts of the build and a strong point of the Suzuki drivetrain.

Combining the compound gears from Suzuki SJ410 and SJ413 transfer boxes, a crawler gear ratio can be created, known as a Rock Lobster. This was done on a lathe to ensure precision (not by me). The gears were machined, pinned together and TIG welded, maintaining the one-thousandth of an inch accuracy needed for reliability.

The low-range gears are now so slow I can walk circles around the buggy while it crawls at idle.

The modification also results in a small reduction in the high-range gears. Combined with the more powerful engine, this will allow the buggy to work perfectly with larger 31-33" tyres.