1987 Suzuki Samurai

JX SUV

1.4 Liter 4 cylinder

Manual

JS3JC51V4H4118416

Clear

Gasoline

I bought this 1987 Suzuki Samurai in 2005 from the Jeep dealer in Woodbridge, Virginia, who had taken it in trade. When I bought it, the odometer was showing 15,293 and based on the current autocheck report, it had rolled over, so my best guess is that it was really 115,293. The current reading on the odometer is 46,379, so I think most likely it is 146,379. Since I've owned it, most of the 31,000 miles I have put on it in the last 10 years has been while towing it behind my truck or RV on the way and back to various midget or sprint car events. It has working cold factory air conditioning, the factory optional tilt/altimeter gauges on top of the dash, factory plastic molded "mud pans" that cover the front carpets, and a fairly rare factory center armrest with storage. I installed new tires in 2005. The tires look almost new, but are now about 10 years old. The spare tire matches the other four tires and has never been on the road. The car runs and drives well and comes with a tow bar so you can tow it home if you prefer. It flat tows very well. To make it into a pushtruck, I replaced the rear window glass with painted aluminum panels, and removed the rear seat and built storage boxes in the rear to hold fire extinguishers and other gear. I also built and mounted the front push bumper and installed and wired up the yellow flashing roof light. The push bumper is designed to be low enough to push a 270 micro sprint, perfect for a midget, and high enough to also push 410 sprint cars. I also installed a stage 3 competition clutch, a Sony AM/FM/CD player with remote, and a pre-programmed Uniden NASCAR scanner radio, with additional programming added to scan all of the channels used by various midget and sprint car teams. The scanner interfaces into the car radio, so race communications come in loud and clear through the car radio speakers. During 2006 and 2007, I toured with the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) based in Pennsylvania, and pushed at all of their events including those in North Carolina, and this was their official pushtruck during those years. Also during that time, I also occasionally pushed sprint cars at World of Outlaws events. I took the Samuari to the annual Zuwharrie event held Uwharrie National Forest and covered all of the basic level rock climbing trails there. The eClutchmaster Stage 3 competition clutch in the car is handy for rock climbing and necessary for pushing sprint cars, but it is difficult to tell from stock when driving on the street. It is nice and smooth, with no grabbing, but also won't slip when the going gets tough. Since retiring to Florida at the end of 2007, I have pushed sprint cars at many of the dirt tracks in Florida, including World of Outlaws events, the sprint AllStars and the American Sprint Car series and for a number of years, and at the Winternationals at Volusia Speedway Park and Ocala Speedway. I'm now too old to be safe for pushing, and it is time for this Samurai to go on to someone else. While there is almost no rust showing from the outside of the vehicle and it has been in a garage the whole time I have owned it, there is rust under the plastic wheel well flares, and some rust in the front floor foot wells. I have attached photos of both areas to show the rust as best as I can. The vinyl side panels on the drivers seat have cracked and need repair. I have included a photo of that so you can see what I am talking about there. The original front window weatherstripping was worn out and I was unable to obtain factory NOS front window felt window channel weather. JC Whitney lists the weather stripping and says it is felt, but when it arrived, it turned out to be all rubber. It is a perfect fit, but using rubber instead of felt causes the front windows to be quite difficult to roll up and down. The car comes with the original back window glass and the original back seat and mounting hardware if you want to return the car back to being a regular Samurai and not use it as a pushtruck. The pushtruck push bumper simply unbolts and the original front bumper is right behind the push bumper. The storage boxes in the rear simply slide out and are not attached to the car, and you can slide them out and throw them away if you like. All of the lettering on the car is normal vinyl sign lettering which can be removed, but it is my experience that when you do, the paint that was under the lettering will be slightly off color and the difference in color will be noticeable. In other words, even if you take the signs off, you will still be able to read them. The upholstery on the back seat is in very good condition and is probably the best original back seat you can find, having been on a shelf in the garage for the past 10 years or so. The yellow flashing roof light has a magnetic mount, and there are no holes drilled in the roof to mount it. There are only two modifications done to the chassis that I know of. The first is that tow-bar mounts were welded to the front of the chassis by a previous owner, and I kept them, as they are very useful. The second modification is that a trailer hitch ball was welded to the rear hitch support, also by a previous owner. I am including a factory NOS rear hitch support if you want to remove the hitch ball. Also included is a fairly rare factory NOS rear entry step support that bolts to the rear hitch support in place of the trailer ball if you want to use that. Also included in the sale is the factory owners manual, factory workshop manual and extra aluminum side window sign panels. The panels reverse side to side, and so are two sided. I am listing the car on eBay this month since many of the Sprint Car teams from all around the country are in Florida for the annual Sprint Car Winternationals, and if they want the car, now would be a good time for one of them to pick it up. The car and spares are in my garage about a one hour drive from Bubba (Ocala) Speedway Park in Florida. The car has a clean Florida title in my name and possession. This is a no reserve action, and there is no Buy-It-Now price, so please don't ask. The car is sold as-is-where-is, with no warranty expressed or implied. I invite your inspection of the pushtruck in person before the end of the auction. I require your pick up plan and a $500 non-refundable deposit by Paypal within 2 days after the end of the auction. I also require the balance to be paid in cash when you pick up the car and spares within two weeks after the end of the auction. By arrangement prior to the end of the auction, I can store the car and spares in my shop until the end of February if you need more than two weeks for pickup. I will re-list the car and sell it to someone else if I don't receive your deposit and satisfactory pick up plan within the first two days after the end of the auction. I will not arrange for shipping the car or any of the spares, but if you like, I will put the spares inside the car and help your shipping company load the car. Please see my other auctions for the vintage midget race car I am also selling.