Im new to the forum and need advice.  Im a jeeper I have built my 2002 TJ and love it except for the fuel mileage.  I also would like some thing smaller to fit down the trails I use (ATV/snowmobile), I thought a samurai would be perfect because of the size and stock fuel mileage is so much better then my TJ.  I know that once you lift it, add armour and change gears kills your fuel mileage(im running 4.88 now).  So what am I asking for?  well I know nothing about suzukis so I would like to lift it run 33's or 35's lockers front and rear.  Do I need to swap axels like I had to on my jeep, my stock axels were weak and had 3.07 gears, so I installed front and rear rubicon axels.  Is the 1.3 strong enough.   Ill probally have about $5000 to spend so money is a little bit tight.  What year and type is best? 

first off, you dont need 33-35's. ive seen samurais running 215's get to more places then you would think. 33's are a big tire to run on a samurai, your best bet would be staying at 31's or smaller.
to run 31's or bigger toyota axles should be on the list. some guys can get away with samurai axles though.
the 1.3 is a good little motor for a stock truck but anything modded needs the 1.6 if you have the money a 1.6L 16V
go fuel injection if you can, a carb can be a pain when you get on the hills.

look for a 88.5 and newer samurai, they arnt cheap but they are the better ones. if you can snag a factory fuel injected one your laughing.

BUT,

if you mostly run atv trails, nothing extreme, get a sidekick. they are cheaper, already have the 1.6L fuel injected motor, and can run 31's with some lift.

i run atv trails with mine, its got 3"of lift, 31's and nothing else. it wheels with samurais on 31's and 33's all day with twice the lift i have.  and for the rest of the year when im not in mud, it has 235's for street and wheeling trips, goes where my buddies toyota on 32's only dreams.

Welcome and thanks for your question... I've found that many people, including myself, overbuild their Samurai at first and then either make it smaller or get another one and build it smaller and then use that second, or smaller Samurai for a long time... Think of this tidbit A Samurai with 30" tall tires has more diff clearance than a CJ5 w/AMC20 or Ford 9" axle and 33" tires. Plus it's offset so those pesky lumps in the middle of the trail are less of a problem.

Lightweight and small is the Samurai.

The only Samurai I still drive regularly is the GI Jane project. It's small, agile and still get about 20MPG.

http://www.zukiworld.com/month_020103/feature_gijane.htm

Good luck with whatever you decide.

-Eric

Good advice from Eric and Mike.  

I have quite a few Samurais (everything from bone stock ones to one with custom Spidertrax axles and 33" tires) and have owned one for 20+ years now.  The Samurais I prefer to drive the most are the mildly built ones with 30-31" tires on 3" lifted springs with t-case gearing.   This setup is not too far off from what Mike and Eric like too. To me they still handle good on the road and can navigate most trails around Oklahoma.  They are definitely much more nimble offroad than a Jeep Wrangler.

I think the Sidekick is good platform (I own one too), although I think that they are a little more expensive to build up and gearing options are more limited.  They are definitely better on the road when compared to a Samurai and nearly all of them came with the 1.6 and fuel injection.

Both vehicles are considerably smaller (especially narrower) inside than a Jeep TJ so be prepared for that.  The Samurai 1.3 is a good little engine, but don't expect to go much faster than 65mph with it with 30-31" tires.  It has plenty of power (with a 4:1 t-case) for offroad though.