i have been looking on here for awhile and need a few questions answered....what is the best way to lift? how many ways are there to lift a sami? is the 1.3 really worth building up or just get the 1.6? what parts of what years of toy's will work with mine? what years of sidekick will the 1.6l be the best swap?what other vehicles are you guys using to upgrade these fun lil rides?i have a basically stock 87 and need to know where i start. i will use it as a daily driver and am a weekend warrior one or two times a month. this is my first and hopefully not my last sami. where are some write ups about relocating my batteries? i wanna put optimas in my baby but they are too tall. what about intake mods? interior lighting upgrades or mods. i have sooooo many questions and am looking for a whole lotta answers. if there are a few guys that don't mind giving me a few pointers of which way to go that would be awesome. we could talk via zukiworld or via email. i appreciatte all ya'lls time and input.....the more info and help the better and thanks again.

Sheesh, you need to break it out a bit. 

what is the best way to lift? how many ways are there to lift a sami?

There is no 'best' way to lift a Sammy, it really depends on what you are trying to do.  Are you going for 31" tires and trail/rock crawling or for more of an adventure build for light trail and exploring?  Depending on what you want to use the SJ for will help find out what lift will most likely work best for you.

Is the 1.3 really worth building up or just get the 1.6?

Once again it depends on what you want to use the SJ for.  The 1.3L is a great motor, but the 1.6 is going to give you quite a bit more power but depending on what you are using your rig for it isn't necessary.  I still use the stock 970cc engine in my wheeler and have for years.  With the right gearing a low HP engine that can rev will work just fine.

what parts of what years of toy's will work with mine?

Not much without some custom modifications.  You can get kits that help you swap over to Toyota axles and quite a few people have swapped the power steering units over as well.

what years of sidekick will the 1.6l be the best swap?

Depends on how much work you want to do.  If you use the 8 vavle engine you can use the stock intake and exhaust.  The 16vavle has more power but you have to wire it up.

what other vehicles are you guys using to upgrade these fun lil rides?

I use all Suzuki hardware in mine with upgraded axles from Trail tough.  Others switch over to Dana 44, Ford 9" or even Unimog.  Suzuki V6 swaps, Chevy Swaps, VW and Nissan Diesel swaps.  Read up on the Builds section and see what other people have done.

i have a basically stock 87 and need to know where i start. i will use it as a daily driver and am a weekend warrior one or two times a month. this is my first and hopefully not my last sami.

Personally I am a big fan of the adventure style build with 2" of lift and slightly bigger tires.  Toss in a 4:1 transfer case and some lockers and your set.  But there are a couple of ways to go depending on how far you want to go.  Check out the Members Rides posts to see what others have done.

Where are some write ups about relocating my batteries? i wanna put optimas in my baby but they are too tall.

Optimas will fit just fine.

what about intake mods?

What do you want to do?

interior lighting upgrades or mods.

Let us know what you are looking to do.  You will probably want to check in the beginners tech section and the introduction faq;

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/technical-discussion-beginner-repair/faq-topic-index/

well i want to thank drone alot, that was some good info and it is a start. i will use my baby for the dunes and the once a month camping trip out in the woods. i won't use it for nothing too serious just the occasional trail ride. the 1.3l runs good know but need a lil more umph. i heard header, 2" exhaust and carb upgrade will do the trick. i think i don't want to run 33's but 31 or 32s will be cool. i hear alot about gearing and lockers! will that effect the drive of it.? i want to use it as my daily driver and want it to look as good as it wheels. the intake is not that big of deal i guess. i was just trying to get rid of the air box and put one of those lil chrome round filters that sit right on top of the carb....is that a bad idea? so the morale of this post is that i wanna lil wheeler that can play in the sand and a lil dirt or mud every once in awhile and then drive it to work the next day.........lifts? body or suspension.? and remember fellas , money is kinda limited so i cannot do the things i wanna do YET. thanks

you can stuff 30's on it with no lift or very little. I've got revolvers that add about 1" of lift but can fit them without. They will rub when wheeling.

A basic Spring over is the best way to do a lift. you can fit 31's real nice and again 33's with a little rub. If you get the pack re-arched then the 33's will clear pretty good.

stock has 373, you can swap in 462 (auto tracker fronts) or 512's (standard tracker fronts). I'm running 462's right now with 30's but it's a little slow, I don't care but most people would. I'd say 462 for 31's and 512's for 33's.

Gears will give you the power you need, you can do all you want to the engine but unless you get the revs then you won't be happy. I've got a friend who just sank $1000 into his 1.6 16V with a cam, header and more and he's still in 3-4 gear.

Keep in mind that since you are on a budget you'll want to keep it simple. All lifts will cost alot of money...A SOA done right is ging to need brake lines, a steering fix and most likely some new bushings, drive shaft spacers, new shocks and more. nothing is cheap.

keep it simple....revolver shackles, extended brake lines, 29-30" tires, locked front and back and then go play, you'll be amased as to where it;ll pass.

Many folks start with tires. You cannot go anywhere without traction and ground clearance. Stock tires are about 27.1", 215/75R15 (~27.7") fit without modification and a 30" tire can clear with about 2" of lift/body trimming, but should be mounted on wider wheels. Larger tires usually require lower gearing as well as additional body clearance.
My daily driver must be street legal. The places I go require street legal vehicles on the trails as well. In my state, that means passing tough smog, wheels within fender flares, etc..

The Optima group 25 battery size is a good fit and a bit larger. One is all you'll need until your winch says you need more (it is possible to fit an even larger group 24 battery, but I'll never do that again).  The OEM group 51 battery is adequate, but puny. 

Spend a lot of time studying and reading about what others have done, and how well it worked for them. Everyone has different needs, which can and will change over time. What you thought you wanted last year, may not be what you need this year.  What worked for one guy may not be what will work for you. But someone somewhere has already done what you're gonna need. There's about a half-dozen Suzuki forums (that I follow), from mild to wild. It's out there -- go find it!

I'd go with a 2" spring lift, 30" tyres and a 1.6 engine. With a 1.6 you won't need to worry about the gearing, it has lots of low down torque as well as a big top end power increase. Shop around and you can do the conversion for about the same cost as tcase gears.A SPOA conversion will give you the most lift for your money but you need to change rims to get a wider stance for stability and you don't gain a lot without bigger tyres and bigger tyres break stuff. A SPOA really needs a high level steering linkage and some sort of improved rear axle location to avoid spring wrap.