1987 Suzuki Samurai

JX Convertible

4 - Cyl.

Manual

JS4JC51C9H4155956

Gasoline

Those of you who follow my auctions know that I am a physical therapist here in Tucson, AZ. Due to the fact that I deal with a growing number of retired folks, I have a unique opportunity to find some of the cleanest cars in the nation and many times from the original owner. This Samurai is no exception. I will outline it in detail below: HISTORY: This Samurai was purchased here in Arizona and has never left. The original owner is now 94 years old and he sold the Samurai to his neighbor and friend who also is up in years now and is unable to travel and drive the Samurai. Both owners were snow birds and had winter homes here in Tucson and the Samurai was kept garaged during the summer months when they returned to their other homes. That is important to note because the Samurai was never really exposed to the intense Arizona heat because it was tucked away in the garage for those hot months. The Samurai was towed for most of the miles registered on the odometer. The second owner who I purchased it from owned it for about 11 years and he kept a log that I was able to view that showed 30k of the miles he put on it were towed miles. He could not verify what the original owner had done, but since they were friends he remembers the trips they used to take and he thinks the Samurai was really not driven a lot. Looking at the Samurai I have no trouble believing that. A funny story I'll share with you that will make this Samurai even more desireable. The second owner just praised and praised this Samurai when I was looking at it and he said it has NEVER given him one ounce of trouble. He said the ONLY thing he didn't like about it was that they were so slow. He wondered why they would make a car that wouldn't even go the speed limit. I thought that was kinda weird because I have owned many of these and I know they do go the speed limit. So I test drove it and I realized something was wrong because it was REALLY slow. I popped the hood and right away I noticed the throttle cable was broken and later when I got it home I checked to see how much throttle it was getting and I would estimate that it was about 3/4 throttle when the accelerator was all the way to the floor. I put a new throttle cable on it when I bought it and the thing now does the speed limit and then some! So for the last 11 years, at least, this engine has never really even tached out to full throttle. Talk about babying an engine! This Samurai is very rare in the fact that no one (other than myself) under 60 years old has ever driven it. The great thing about buying from retired folks is that they over-maintain the heck out of their toys and this Samurai was no exception. Before every trip it was taken to the shop and gone over by the mechanic before it was hooked up to the motorhome. This one is special for sure. EXTERIOR: This is the closest to a perfect Samurai as I have ever seen. 100% rust free top to bottom, in and out. There is one small ding on the left front fender which can be seen in the pictures. There is another very small ding in the hood on the drivers side that does not show up in the pictures. Other than those two very small dings, the body is perfect. There are minor scratches and chips in the paint that you would expect from just normal driving and being towed, but very little and minor. The paint shines like new and there is no oxidization anywhere. Original stripes look great! This Samurai has the very rare dealer installed Haslbeck rack system. The second owner did a lot of woodworking as a hobby and he installed additional cross bars that helped to secure the ice chest that they liked to take out when they drove the Samurai. He did not drill or modify the original rack in any way. Instead he used padded clamps to install the Oak cross bars. He did a really nice job and it makes the orginal rack more functional so I left it in place. It also came with the beauty rings on the wheels which is another nice option to have. All the wheels are in excellent shape. Tires are about 50% tread left but are in good shape with no dry rotting etc.All running lights, headlights, brake lights and turn signals work as they should. This Samurai is wired for towing. It also has a very nice tow bar (Blue Ox $500 according to the second owner) included, although only what is shown in the pictures is included. He sold the other half when he sold his motorhome. All windows roll up nicely and all doors lock with the original key. Tailgate opens and shuts perfectly. Spare tire in decent shape on a very nice factory rim. The Samurai has two soft tops that are included and a bikini top. The are all white. The previous owner said he put a top on it only when it was being towed. The rest of the time they liked just the bikini top on. One of the tops is a heavy type material almost like leather and he though it was the original top. The other top is white canvas. It also comes with a white spare-tire cover. The reason I have everything off is for the sake of the pictures and I also think this Samurai would look much better with a black top and a black spare tire cover (just my opinion). I will be happy to put either one of the tops on for tranport purposes to keep the interior covered. INTERIOR: The seat covers that are on the Samurai were custom made for this car and are made out of horse blanket material. They are very thick and durable and in perfect shape. They cover the orginal upholstery and have been on the Samurai for the past 10 years. The second owner had them custom made and they are on there very well. I was going to take them off to take pictures of the original upholstery, but they are tied on there so well and custom fit so well that I decided to leave them alone. I will not take them off, so please don't ask. The second owner recalled that the seats were in fine condition when he had these put on but he didn't like how hot they got in the sun and that is why he had them installed. I cannot guarantee the condition of the original upholstery, but judging from the rest of the car I would guess it is probably in pretty good condition. The original carpet is in good conditon as are the JX door panels. Everything works as it should: all gauges, AC, radio (didn't check the cassette deck), clock, lights, horn and buzzers. AC blows cold, but was seldom used and I have never seen one that really freezes you out anyway. Even though it is nice to have the AC, the Samurais never had an efficient AC system (ask any AC specialist). It does add value to the car in the long run though. Dash has no cracks. Shifter boots are in great shape and pedals show very little wear as would be expected from a low mile Samurai that had been towed for most of the miles. MECHANICAL: The Samurai runs great. Doesn't smoke or leak any fluids. Drives, tracks and stops straight with no issues whatsoever. No overheating even in the AZ summer. All 4WD components work as they should with no issues. Stock hubs with no issues. Fresh oil change done. Needs nothing and can be driven anywhere at anytime. Very enjoyable to drive. SUMMARY: If you can find one cleaner, buy it. This one has to be one of the nicest, unmolested Samurais left. Rare options of rack, beauty rings and AC add value to this Samurai and it will continue to go up in value as these little rigs are getting harder and harder to find in this condition. Check my feedback, check the auto report and bid with confidence. I may be advertising this locally and so I do reserve the right to end this auction at anytime if it sells locally. There is a $500 deposit due via Paypal within 48 hours of the end of the auction. Please ask questions if I have left something out. Goodluck!