My 1600cc Suzuki Sidekick engine was located at Jay Hawke in Oregon. They had by far the lowest price and quickest delivery. Mario's adapter kit (Victory Engineering) worked fine, though it is a bit pricey, and included the following:

• Complete instructions on how to do the swap.
• Engine mount for offset on the 1600.
• Aluminum tabs to be welded to the tranny bell housing (see photo at right).
• Spacer “gasket“ to correct the tilt of the engine and tranny mounting point.

Here's a few pointers for those considering the swap.

• For the easiest swap, get a 1600cc 8-valve engine. The reason being that you can keep your stock Sammy distributor (I have seen a 16-valve EFI swapped in but it required rewiring the whole harness including the ECU).
• Keep your stock distributor as the Sidekick distributor's electrical connection won't work.
• Most high performance Samurai engine upgrades will work on the 1600cc carb'd engine. For myself, my Mikuni carbs, Isky Torquer “RV“ cam and Thorley header fit perfectly and the Jacobs ignition system adapted itself. The head on the 1600 sits a little taller so plan on having to modify your exhaust a bit. You really should plan on up-sizing to at least a 2" exhaust anyway (I run a 2.25" exhaust system).
• The 1600 was only fuel injected and never carbed. The 8-valve has throttle body fuel injection while the 16-valve has multipoint fuel injection. If you get the 8-valve engine you can use a carb (by also using the 1300 intake manifold) but the 1600 16-valve will require the use of all the fuel injection apparatus.
• The 8-valve 1600 head and the 1300 head are nearly identical, the only difference is that the 1600 has bigger intake and exhaust ports and probably bigger valves. This means that 1300cc performance camshafts and the 1300 intake manifold can be utilized if you want to run the stock 1300 Hitachi carb or a Weber.
• If you run a Weber, the stock air cleaner model (K600) will not fit unless a body lift is present, or you may do some creative hood trimming so that it'll clear. The performance model Weber carb (with the open air cleaner) fits under the hood without a body lift.
• The 1600 oil pan won't fit unless your vehicle is lifted. You will have to build a custom pan#8230;I say just lift the thing and use the stock 1600 pan!
• The 1300 oil pan can be used with only a little modification. The rear lip near the flywheel needs to have about 1/8" ground off. Next, cut out the splash guard about 4" from the sump end. Since this area is relatively open anyway (there is a big hole for the pickup tube strainer) I did not re-weld into a lower position.

  Next, try to fit the oil pan on the engine (it is very helpful to have an engine stand). You'll notice that the sump end does not fit flush. Do not force it on, you will only warp the pan. The 1600 has some anti-vibration bracketry under the crankshaft that the 1300 does not have. Therefore, hit the oil pan from the inside on the flywheel end of the pan with a rubber mallet. This process is trial and error so take your time and make sure the pan goes on without having to force it on. You'll also have to modify the 1300 pickup-tube/strainer so that it fits too. This fabricating a new support bracket and welding the 1600 pickup-tube block end onto the 1300 pickup-tube. Believe me, it's easier than it seems.

• When welding the new tabs on the tranny, be sure not to overlap the top/bottom seam. This makes it easier to rebuild your tranny in the future. Therefore, either weld so that the halves can be split with minimal grinding or take the bottom tranny piece off and have the tabs welded on it only.
• Go to a Geo dealer, they'll sell you one cheaper. A salvage 1600 longblock w/65 k [miles] in this neck of the woods goes for about $900 + $200 core (and they'll take a 1300 core if you want to part with it). A 23 k [mile] salvage runs about $1200. A brand new 1600 longblock from a '89 Tracker goes for $2200-$2300 with no core. That comes with a GM warranty on it! There aren't a whole lot of Sidekicks out here so you have to ask for Geo Trackers. According to the stuff I've read it's the exact same engine.

New stuff you'll need beside the long block engine and mount kit are:

• Sidekick starter: I had to get Sidekick 9-tooth starter…the cheaper 8-tooth wouldn't work.
• If you are getting a salvage yard engine make sure that you get the 1600 starter (it's a gear reduction unit which is better than the 1300 starter). The 1300 starter may be used but you will have to grind some Aluminum off the block so that it will fit. Also get the water pump and alternator as the pulley system (3-rib wide belt) is different for the 1600. No, you can't convert to the 1300 pulley system because the 1600 has a pulley/weighted harmonic balancer on the crankshaft.
• An (in-line) electric fuel pump. You can buy universal pumps at any auto parts store for 4cyl engines. I burned up a couple before running a ground direct to the battery. The frame ground wasn't good enough.
• A breather filter for the valve cover on top.

Click above for a larger pic of the installed 1600 block

A note of caution…On mine the rocker arms broke, several times. Apparently the Sidekick's rocker arms are not as strong as the Samurai's and with a hi-po cam you have to be careful with your clearance settings. I now run mine at .0015 with the lobe facing directly downward. Haven't had any breakage since I backed off the too tight setting of .0012. The good news is that the rockers off of your Samurai will work in the Sidekick engine and I kept mine as a core. Its been nice to be able to pull spare parts off of the old engine and you may want to consider this as well if the core charge isn't prohibitive. Another item to remember is that the 1600 may have more power but it is due mainly to a difference in stroke depth as opposed to piston size. This means better low end power, but the engine can't take the same revs as the Samurai engine. I set my red-line about 5500RPM.

If you or anyone else would like to correspond or has questions on any of the mods I've made on my toy, e-mail me:

--Glenn Wakefield

P.S. I bought insurance for the new engine#8230;a safari snorkel.

Photos and additional notes in blue:

--Jonathan Hall

Note in maroon:

--Allan Wasserman