I have had a few trackicks, but never a sami. when I saw this 88 sami and it was in my budget I bought it.
1988 sami tin top
SPOA
+2'' shackles
31/10.5/15 Baja Claws.

it wont pass emissions testing, so I cant legally drive it on road. I decided to take it to Sandlake in Oregon. which does not the biggest sand dunes, but it wouldn't go up most of the hills. I am looking for power. I know most guys go with the 1.6 8 and 16 valve andsay it is great and the stock 1.3 is no match. like everything I am on a budget and want the most bang for my buck.this will probably be an off road rig only, but I want to keep the option open to drive it on the street. I know I will get a lot of people say put a 1.6 in, but I don't know if that will be enough. what other options do I have. I know there is a breaking point in each part of the drive train, so if I go too big I might break everything. I am kind of thinking about a v6. not knowing if any 4 cylinder will do it for me.

nothing? 60 veiws and nobody has anything to tell me? how about putting 5.125 gears in the sami?

Lower gears in the axle and/or the tcase. 

put a 2.2 lotus engine in it

what would be a good choice for gears either in the tcase or axles if I want to still be able to travel 55mph with the 31/10.5/15's? I have never seen a 2.2 lotus motor. has this been done before?

Probably 4:1 tcase gears or 4.62 axle gears.  You could maybe go 5.12 axle gears, but I suspect the RPMs would be pretty high at 55....I'm guessing around 4K, without running the numbers through a gear calculator.

i don't think the lotus 2.2 has ever been put in a Sammy but it makes lots of power for a 4 cyl around 260 hp. dodge had a 2.2 in the 80's or 90's that was fast but i think it was front drive only.

does gearing really make the difference. I understand if I put higher gears in it that it will go slower and have more torque, but I still want speed. I don't know if it makes sense or not, but I need to go up the hills faster and need more power to do so.

does gearing really make the difference. I understand if I put higher gears in it that it will go slower and have more torque, but I still want speed. I don't know if it makes sense or not, but I need to go up the hills faster and need more power to do so.

There is a happy medium in there that allows you to have the "power" needed to drive the speed you want.....you just gotta find it.  Overgear, and you will have all sorts of power, but you won't be able to run the high speed, because you will run out of engine RPMs before you reach the speed.  Undergear (like you are now), and you will have the "speed" (i.e. you won't run out of engine RPMs), but your engine won't have the power needed to obtain the speed.