Suzuki Early 80s SJ410 Value

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diesellibrarian

diesellibrarian

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Hi everyone,

Going to look at an '82 SJ410 this evening as a little side project to my FJ62 build. The guy is asking $3500 CDN for this little unit. I can't find much information about what these things are going for these days, so I thought I'd consult the Mud oracle to see if that's even in the ballpark. Appreciate any input from Zuki fans on this forum.

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I had an '85 SJ410 as my first vehicle(way back in 1987), great simple truck. Mine was a blue convertible with a bull bar and the four speed manual. Top speed was somewhere around 65 mph behind a big truck going down hill. I had it for 5 years and the only thing I had to replace was the alternator and the soft top. I wish I still had it.
I have never seen one since, super rare, especially in good shape. It should have a 1.1 liter engine I believe, and a four speed manual as stock. I'll see if I can dig up an old picture to post.
 
sogafarm said:
I had an '85 SJ410 as my first vehicle(way back in 1987), great simple truck. Mine was a blue convertible with a bull bar and the four speed manual. Top speed was somewhere around 65 mph behind a big truck going down hill. I had it for 5 years and the only thing I had to replace was the alternator and the soft top. I wish I still had it.
I have never seen one since, super rare, especially in good shape. It should have a 1.1 liter engine I believe, and a four speed manual as stock. I'll see if I can dig up an old picture to post.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info! I've always kind of wanted one. This one has a 5-speed swap, apparently, which is interesting.
 
So, I ended up buying the Suzuki. Got it for $3000CDN. What a sweet little rig. It needs a little rust repair on the driver's side rocker and at the rear corners, but that's something I can do relatively easily. Frame is pristine. Shows some hail damage on the roof and hood. I believe it's the stock 4 cyl, but someone's swapped in a 5-speed. Missing rear door glass and a few other odds and sods like wiper arms and headlight surrounds. Electrical seems to be all there, but the fuel and temp gauges don't work. Also needs an ignition cylinder - hope that's not too hard to find. ODO shows 65,000km. Is that 165k? 265? Who knows.

Need to decide on a direction with this - do I leave the patina and just clean it up and drive it? Do I fix the hail damage and repaint it? Will think it over as I plug away on my FJ62.

Here's a few pics in case anyone's interested.

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Love the cute little Aisin locking hubs!

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Nice addition. I didn't know they only had a 5 digit odometer. Looks like you've got a lot of old iron there!
 
Congrats on your purchase! Looks like it's going to need some work, but it's a good start if the engine is in good shape. The gear shifter box is definitely not original. They probably had to change to make room for the 5 speed. These little Suzuki's are essentially scaled down Land Cruiser's with mini birfields and solid axles. It will make a good little rig to run around in.
Nice Westy in the background. Looks like an early model(80-83) air-cooled version? I had an '84 7-passenger hardtop first year wasserboxer. Loved driving it, but that head gasket sucked!
 
sogafarm said:
Nice Westy in the background. Looks like an early model(80-83) air-cooled version? I had an '84 7-passenger hardtop first year wasserboxer. Loved driving it, but that head gasket sucked!
Click to expand...

Yup, it's a 1982. It's a survivor. The paint is not great but it's 100% rust free. Just put a rebuilt 2.0L in it. Currently replacing the clutch master cylinder, because there always has to be something that needs fixing on that thing. :rolleyes: I've had water-cooled Westies as well and they are a joy to drive, but like you say the head gaskets are a constant worry.

Good intel on the shifter etc. Haven't had a chance to even get a good look at the thing yet, but I did notice a janky-looking trans mount that a PO had made out of stacked 1" square tubing. This weekend I'm going to take out the seats and tear out the carpet and see what I'm really dealing with. I'll post a pic of the trans mount because it's pretty funny.
 
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Devils Paw 80 said:
Looks like you've got a lot of old iron there!
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Yup. Definitely have a thing for boxy 80's rigs, so the Suzuki fits right in! The 4Runner belongs to my son - it's a '96.
 
Spent the weekend working on the Suzuki, and managed to get a few things figured out. First of all, I was finally able to ID the engine: it looks to be an Isuzu 1.4 SOHC that's mated to a T5 transmission. I'm guessing the engine/tranny combo was pulled from an early Chevette, since that was the stock config for that car. Someone wrote "no oil" on the camshaft cover, which is pretty much a dead giveaway that this was a junkyard motor. The T5 is a crazy long transmission, which is why the engine is pushed so far forward that there's no room for a clutch fan. The transfer case appears to be in its stock position, though, which is good because that means the driveshaft lengths haven't been messed with. One of the front u-joints has failed, though. Hope I can find a replacement!

Also: in order to clear the front pumpkin, whoever did the swap simply bashed in the oil pan with a hammer. It looks pretty bad, but doesn't seem to leak.

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I also gutted the interior and removed the sound deadening, which had failed and was flaking off. I'll need to patch 5 spots where there's rust-through, but overall not bad. My plan is to get that done, then prime and respray the interior, and then lay down some Noico or the like. Already on the lookout for a replacement carpet kit.

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Pulled the fender flares off, half expecting to see a bunch of rust holes. To my surprise, they were perfectly solid - just a bit of surface rust. I also gave the rig a quick hand polish, and the paint came right back. A quick machine buff will really put the shine back into it. I love the red oxide primer that's peeking through in spots!

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Overall, the plan for this rig is:

1) Get the interior sorted and looking good (carpet, upholstery, headliner)
2) Sort out the electrical (has no fuel or temp gauge)
3) Baseline fluids

Going to leave the exterior as is, picking away at the body rust. I love the patina and will try to preserve it. I'll post occasional pics here as I make progress.
 
Way to tear into a project! I remember the old Chevy Chevettes, but what an odd replacement engine for a Suzuki. The Buick 3800 V-6 used to be a popular replacement in the 4x4 community. They are very reliable engines and there are tons of them in the used American market.

I wonder if yours was an OEM factory color. I've never seen a black one.

Are you planning any suspension upgrades?
Here is a Suzuki specialist in California that has aftermarket parts. They've been around since the 80's and were considered the main Suzuki parts resource.

Calmini - Suspension, Lift Kits and Accessories for Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota and Isuzu

Calmini designs and manufactures suspension systems, lift kits and components that offer design innovation and absolute top quality.
www.calmini.com
 
sogafarm said:
I wonder if yours was an OEM factory color. I've never seen a black one.
Click to expand...
I have yet to find a ID plate or anything like that, but if it's a respray, someone did it right because the entire truck is black, including the engine bay and areas behind the interior trim, etc. It really looks like original paint to me. There's no runs, orange peel, nor any of the other typical telltale signs of a respray.
 
Also: that's a great source for parts! I am not planning any upgrades at this point, but the spring bushings are going to need replacing, and that Calmini place seems to carry them.
 
Been doing a fair bit of work on this little guy, so I thought I'd post an update. Got most of the rust taken care of: there were about 6 or 7 places total with rust-through. I still have to do the passenger side rear corner, but all the floor pans and wheel wells are done. Here's the patch I put in the passenger floor pan:

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Once the interior was all patched up, I laid down a couple coats of sound deadening rubberized coating.

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The stock seats were toast so i found some buckets from a Neon that pretty much bolt right in.

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Also removed a rat's nest of crazy previous owner wiring. It's amazing that this rig hadn't burnt to the ground.

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Been working on cleaning out the interior as well. Apparently this truck spent most of its life on a farm, and it shows. There was a layer of dirt covering everything - even under the dash pad. Removed as much as I could, and pulled the dash pad and gave it a coat of vinyl paint. Looking much cleaner!

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The crappy sheet metal work you can see on the trans tunnel is the result of someone widening the tunnel to squeeze in the T5 trans. It's not great, but I don't plan to mess with it.

Found a roof rack at the thrift store that serves as a perfect mount for the bargain PIAA lights that I bought a while ago on Marketplace.


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So that's where we're at. So far I've done:

- New light assemblies all 'round
- new u-joints
- new felt window runs
- new interior panels
- all fluids changed out
- brake fluid flush and brake adjustment
- engine cooling fan controller installed
- coolant expansion tank installed
- reverse light switch installed
-rust repair and interior refinish

All I need to safety is is wiper arms, which have so far proven elusive. But should be on the road within the week!
 
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