[Erik]

When a little voice says 'Gumtree Suzuki Sierra' in the back of your mind and you find this advertised 7 minutes prior:-

[pete_79]

From what I’ve seen on Gumtree that last few months, if you picked that up for under $10k you got yourself a bargain..

There’s a fully stock coily advertised for $19990.00 at the moment...... ::)

[bumstein]

Nice score!!!

[Erik]

This thing just keeps getting better - no holes, no rust (apart from 2 surface spots on the a-pillar and a ding in the passenger door and rear flare). The engine runs really rich as the choke and pump don't seem to be doing much. Initial compression test before new oil, etc. were 195, 175, 125, 195 PSI - I'm hoping that no.3 cylinder had a valve open when it was put to sleep some years ago and will miraculously fix itself after an Itialian tune.

Prices have gone bananas on Gumtree so when this guy advertised it (as a 1981) for 6.5 and accepted 6 for it, I was over the moon. Erm... that's $600

Turns out it's a '94 with 124,000 Km

And looky what I found:-

[Erik]

So the build starts. Do I cut it up and monster truck it or keep it original?

[alien]

My vote goes to Original. It's going to appreciate heavily in the next 5 years as more and more rust to death.

[pete_79]

Well that scrubbed up nice.
And AC!

Good score.

[Erik]

Thanks alien - I was kinda looking forward to a Frankenstien build but it's just too good. However I got excited and bought a 2" lift kit - I shall keep the original components just in case...

[Erik]

On the subject of keeping it original, should I fit a snorkel as I happen to have a spare?

[bumstein]

+1 for original. She’s a beauty!!!

Me, I’d not put the snorkle on unless you really feel it’s necessary. Fine Sierra’s are becoming very difficult to find and yours is a very fine Sierra!! 2” lift, sure.. anything that demands cutting panels or permanent mods, nah..

[Erik]

Thanks Bumstein, much appreciated. Original it is. Yay (apart from the carby lol)
Oh and 215's on original rims perhaps?

[bumstein]

Ah yes, carby swap is a good move.. you going 4K?

The good think about a carby swap is there shouldn’t be any permanent modification, it can all be converted back to original at any time.

215/75R15’s or 235/75R15’s are good options in my opinion. I like the 235’s myself but they are worthy of 1ltr transfer case gears (again, an easy mod to reverse).

215’s increase the gearing by 5.3%, 235’s by 9.8.

[Erik]

I have a Weber, extractors and 235's on my Coily and it works well. I don't have any experience with the 4k but if I keep the original then I guess I can experiment a little. Would it be prudent to add extractors?
Suppose I could just swap the wheels after the lift and see how it goes (they did rub a small fold in the top of the coily's flares, but not much)

My new mission is to binge-read 4k carby on this site, can you suggest where I start?

[Erik]

pete_79 wrote:

Well that scrubbed up nice.
And AC!

Good score.

Cheers - I'm looking forward to this

[Erik]

Not bad under the vinyl.
Were the chassis painted the same colour as the body on these? Not sure if it's been repainted or not. It's all seam-sealed. Hmmmm

[bumstein]

Erik wrote:

Would it be prudent to add extractors?

I didn’t find it made much difference on mine so no big deal either way. I think the carby will make all the difference even if it’s just to get a reliable idle and fuel delivery.

It won’t likely give you the extra ponies that a Weber would buy it may depend on what you want to use your car for. Either could be a good option with pros and cons

Erik wrote:

can you suggest where I start?

Absolutely I can!!

https://auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=16365

And yes I think the chassis were painted the same as the bodywork, at least on some but perhaps not all. Maybe it was for standard colours not metallic paints?

[Erik]

bumstein wrote:

Erik wrote:

Would it be prudent to add extractors?

I didn’t find it made much difference on mine so no big deal either way. I think the carby will make all the difference even if it’s just to get a reliable idle and fuel delivery.

It won’t likely give you the extra ponies that a Weber would buy it may depend on what you want to use your car for. Either could be a good option with pros and cons

Erik wrote:

can you suggest where I start?

Absolutely I can!!

https://auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=16365

And yes I think the chassis were painted the same as the bodywork, at least on some but perhaps not all. Maybe it was for standard colours not metallic paints?

Fantastic info - cheers - non mettalic white - Coily is mettalic and matt (cheaper I suppose) lined

[alien]

I'm with bumstein - bolt on mods only and save the original stuff in a coat of oil or something so it doesn't rust.

Before going mental modifying mine, I ran a 1.5" spring/shock kit at 215/75r15's and drove the pants off it for about 5 years. At some point in that time the rear diff broke so it got welded which made it even better offroad, but a nightmare in carparks. I also ran extractors and 1.5" exhaust which made a big difference - Enough that I have a speeding fine from back then for doing 134km/hr in a 90 zone =)