Suzuki Carribean

[huggybear]

First time poster so bear with me :-)

I am looking for somewhat of a budget ride, something that will hold my surfboards and that I can lock up (that's why not a p/u).

Here in Phuket seems to be a lot of these Suzuki Carribeans around at decent prices.

Anyone ever own one? Reliable? POS? Easy to get work done on and parts easily obtained? Any thoughts or experiences appreciated.

[mikethevigoman]

First time poster so bear with me :-)

I am looking for somewhat of a budget ride, something that will hold my surfboards and that I can lock up (that's why not a p/u).

Here in Phuket seems to be a lot of these Suzuki Carribeans around at decent prices.

Anyone ever own one? Reliable? POS? Easy to get work done on and parts easily obtained? Any thoughts or experiences appreciated.

Great little 4x4 for running local, and much better than you think off road !. long distance runs a bit choppy ,but can be done, parts plentiful,.

[canuckamuck]

You can buy mine, pm me for info.

Phuket is a long way from Chonburi however

1992 Suzuki Cariabian 4x4 For Sale

[Gary A]

They will go places a 4X4 pickup won't go. The little 1.3 liter engine is under powered and not particularly efficient but they are a durable great little vehicle for local use. They WILL beat you to death and you wouldn't want to take a long trip. I had more fun with one of those than any other vehicle I ever owned.

[mikethevigoman]

They will go places a 4X4 pickup won't go. The little 1.3 liter engine is under powered and not particularly efficient but they are a durable great little vehicle for local use. They WILL beat you to death and you wouldn't want to take a long trip. I had more fun with one of those than any other vehicle I ever owned.

Hey gary, me too, if ever i saw a lane or off road bit i was in there !.. cant do that with car or a new vigo/etc ( well you can but when you come out the other end you will have knocked a large lump off the value )

[Steve2UK]

They will go places a 4X4 pickup won't go. The little 1.3 liter engine is under powered and not particularly efficient but they are a durable great little vehicle for local use. They WILL beat you to death and you wouldn't want to take a long trip. I had more fun with one of those than any other vehicle I ever owned.

Minor correction to the above (IMO) - i.e. very under-powered. I rented a well-maintained one for a month in Chiang Mai and a] it felt like you had to book in advance to get up the road on a decent hill (sometimes needing 2nd or even 1st gear with no passenger) and b] pathetic acceleration even on the flat. Regarding b], I'm not talking about being a boy racer - I just want enough acceleration for safe overtaking and to get me out of trouble - the Carribean does not have it. They're solid - but, for the reason mentioned, dangerous (again - IMO).

As others have said, OK for limited local use.

Did you look at the idea of a pick-up with a lockable CarryBoy back housing? Effectively gives you a passenger/van and you can get them 4x4 for a good price.

[huggybear]

o.k. thanks everybody.

Conclusion:

Reliable rig, plenty of parts, not a good long road travel car and not enough power.

Anybody ever put a larger engine in one? Is that possible?

Cheers, HB

[John 1]

A 1600cc toyota motor fit's ok, should cost you about 25,000bt fitted.

[canuckamuck]

Instead of changing the motor I changed the diferentials in mine. I have Vitara difs in there now. It made a great deal of difference for the bottom end. Not much problem on hills now, not much need for downshifting on 90% of highway hills. and as far as 4x4 style hill climbing, I had no problem climbing some pretty spooky mountain trails. Seriously, you will run out of traction before you run out of power. I did lose a little speed of the top end and now my speedo is out of calibration by 30%, But I can still do reasonable highway speed, around 110 by my calculations.

I know that the favorite engine conversion for these jeeps is to a 2 litre VW turbo diesel. Apparently it has a very compatible fit and it turns this cute little machine into an animal.

There are some websites that discuss it, I have lost the links though.

[LivinLOS]

o.k. thanks everybody.

Conclusion:

Reliable rig, plenty of parts, not a good long road travel car and not enough power.

Anybody ever put a larger engine in one? Is that possible?

Cheers, HB

On Bali they throw the 1600 vitara engines in them sometimes.. Tho they only have the 1.1 'sport' style ones (kitana) not the Caribbeans..

Tough, tiny and tinny.. OK for small journeys and short hops.. Hellish for long haul.

[Tatler]

You can buy mine, pm me for info.

Phuket is a long way from Chonburi however

1992 Suzuki Cariabian 4x4 For Sale

Car looks great and the price is good as well.. a bargin for someone!!

[Gary A]

Changing the engine in one of these little beasts is NOT that easy. There is a transmission and a transfer case for the four wheel drive to mate up. I had thought that putting a 1.6 liter Vitara engine in one would be pretty simple. It's NOT. I looked at one in Pattaya that had the Vitara conversion and it was a real cobble (butcher) job. Even the motor mounts are different and they are both Suzuki. Apparently the easiest conversion is the VW turbo diesel and you will be hard pressed to find a salvage VW turbo Diesel in Thailand. I put headers and a high performance carburetor on mine but the difference in power was VERY little and not worth the effort or money. I think everything after 1992 are fuel injected so I'd avoid the really old ones.

[Flatouthruthefog]

o.k. thanks everybody.

Conclusion:

Reliable rig, plenty of parts, not a good long road travel car and not enough power.

Anybody ever put a larger engine in one? Is that possible?

Cheers, HB

When the Carry-Bean first appeared (and failed) on the UK market, their high centre of gravity caused them to be known as Suzuki Fallovers. A prominent magazine road test report was headlined:

"A dual purpose vehicle which is good at neither."

I have used many as they are still the cheapest rental vehicle here in the north of Thailand. They are badly under-powered, have gearchanges which make a tractor feel like a limmo and very poor ride and roadholding. A friend had after-market power steering fitted here in Thailand and a few days later the steering totally failed, prayerfully at parking speed.

By contrast I am in love with the Bean's successor, the Vitara, now available on the 2nd hand market for around 250,000b for the 3 door model. More power (still not enough tho) from 1.6 litres, wider track, very sporty manual change, far better ride and good factory power steering. The little Chiang Mai dealership is terrific.

Now looking for a Suzuki V6 engine from one of the 5 door models, but I know it will not be an easy fit. GO VITARA young man!

[jeepholt]

When I completely modified a Suzuki 1988 model Caribbean, I took the entire drive train out of a 2000 year Vitara. Now I have 1600cc fuel injected engine, auto trans, power steering, power brakes, air con, and still kept the original lock out 4 wheel drive hubs. I also extended the body a foot in length, increased the cab height about 5 inches, and modified the hood (bonnet) so that the larger engine had more room on top. I also put 3/8 inch steel rails all around the sides and made 5/8 inch steel front and rear bumpers (great as a motorcycle repellent)! I made a front grill to look like a Jeep Cherokee.

Then I put captains chairs in the front, and made 2 smaller captain chair seats in the rear which I take out easily with wing nuts. Fully upholstered the entire inside, carpeted it, made big side windows in the rear, and made the tailgate one piece that swings out to the side, and mounted the spare on it. Then put large off road wheels and mags on it, and even included a trailor hitch. Then put 5 coats of metal flake paint on it and away we went. In the 6 years I've had it on the road I think I have only driven it about 25,000 km's, but have only been passed 12 times at speed when I was pedal to the metal. All but 2 times were between Korat and Ban Pi and it was pick ups that passed me these times, except for one Mercedes and a big Volvo. The engine is plenty large enough, and the auto trans and differential is geared well for climbing hills. The road up the mountains from Chiang Rai to that old Chinese KMT settlement (forget the name) was a piece of cake. Only problem I have is I could never get the speedometer to accurately reflect the speed or the odometer to record proper mileage due to the different wheel size and/or the drive train difference.

I am now planning on building another vehicle and could probably be talked in to selling the Suzuki since I have no where to park it right now in Pattaya and it needs to be parked on a busy street and keeps getting banged into by motorcycles. Doesn't hurt the Suzuki, but does scratch the paint. I am thinking on letting it go for around 160 K Baht. Anyone interested PM me here in Pattaya and I can send you more contact info and some pictures.

[ignis]

Try this site for info on what is for sale to give you an idea.

after the page loads in the drop down menue Entry make .. eg: Suzuki = 3 pages

http://www.thaicar.com/en_boardquestion.asp

or what about something like a

NISSAN NV 1.6 SLX MT

2000

195,000

NISSAN NV 1.6 MT

1995

98,000

[Flatouthruthefog]

Try this site for info on what is for sale to give you an idea.

after the page loads in the drop down menue Entry make .. eg: Suzuki = 3 pages

http://www.thaicar.com/en_boardquestion.asp

or what about something like a

NISSAN NV 1.6 SLX MT

2000

195,000

NISSAN NV 1.6 MT

1995

98,000

Now that IS a sensible alternative!

If like me you go for small, nimble cars the Nissan NV is great. The amusingly named 'queencab' is exceptionally well styled and more practical - and there's even a sexy curved 'carryboy' style top you can get to cover the pick up bed, which really looks factory designed.

These little buzzboxes are twin cam, fuel injected and 5-speed (if manual) and handle like a big Mini, except better, with very little front-drive 'pull' through the steering wheel. Very light with good visibility. Ideal for lady drivers and 'new hands'.

I'd have bought a good second hand one by now if we hadn't wanted all the kids "in with us" rather than rolling around unattended in the pick up bed.

[Badbanker]

I had a Caribean for 6 over years and found that after you sort out the suspension it is not a bad vehicle!

Putting a toyota 3 y engine is done if you want to road race and fill up the tank every 2-300 kms.

One of the favoured conversions is a 2 litre nissan turbo diesel that is put in a number of mini vans in Asia. Extremely reliable and economical and gives 100% more torque and 50% more power that the old 1.3!

It is the same physical size and as the standard suzuki 1.3 that has a divorced transmission meaning that the gear box and the lowrange transfer case are seperate units. You replace the 5 speed box with a short nissan one that connects up to the transfer case.

Changes the car dramatically and requires that you run 30 or 31 inch tires to compensate for the change of engine revs. Does 110-120 km/hr easily and gives almost 50% better fuel milage. Pulls up hills and overtakes like it should!

Good luck!

BB

Edited December 23, 2007 by Badbanker