Ok, I just bought a 1987 Sammy last week, its in good shape and has less than 4K miles on new rebuild. I am now starting to do some different things to it, like bumpers, rockers, sliders, interior panels and fender flares. I have ran a few searches here and really did not find the answer to my questions. Here is the questions I have.:

I am wanting a lift kit (suspension) that will give me the best ride and the best performance. To give an idea, I would like to run at least a 30" tire by 10-12.5" wide.

Now I know this one will open a can worms with this next question. Motor swap, I am not going to do it right away but would like to start gathering parts or at least know what to look for. Before you make a suggestion on motor and lift here is what the vehicle will be used for. I will be off roading with it but not to extreme, it will also be used as a daily (not really but want to be able to). I am also going to use it as a hunting rig, so this Sammy needs to be able to travel hwy speed limits and when I hunt or varmint hunt I have to travel a few hundred miles one way.

I have thought about the v-6 swap but too much money and would have to basically rebuild the whole vehicle to keep from breaking stuff.

Any words of wisdom would be great!!

Wook

1.6 8V engine would be the easiest, you can use the same
intake and exhaust system and it will give you about a 25%
power increase, you will need an adapter for the trans and
there might be an issue with the hood unless you get the
lower engine mounts or lift the body, but it's a good swap

Wild

1.6 8V engine would be the easiest, you can use the same
intake and exhaust system and it will give you about a 25%
power increase, you will need an adapter for the trans and
there might be an issue with the hood unless you get the
lower engine mounts or lift the body, but it's a good swap

Wild

Thanks for the response. Keep em coming!!

Wooky,
 If your considering an engine swap, I would go with a 1.6L 16V.  I did mine last year, got a 1995 Sidekick engine delivered to my door for $740.00 from JDM out of NJ.  Guaranted to have less than 55,000 miles.  Their prices may have gone up a little, but is was a good deal.  All total for the engine swap about $1100.00.  Had to buy an adapted plate for the trany, Sidekick wire harness and ECM.

  1988.5 Samurai bought year ago September, barely ran to make it home.



Today:





Rebuilt front end, king pins, bearings, seals, calipers, brakes and tie rod
Rebiult rear end, bearings, replaced axle, wheel cylinders and brakes
1.6L 16v engine mod
Homemade hardtop
interior sound proofing, butyel rubber, 1/8 foam  then 1/16 inch rubber on top
headlight upgrade wired to relays
X90 seats and reuphostered
CJ/RUF lift
Built custom winch bumper and rock sliders
installed two batteries
electric fan
painted with rattle cans

Some of mod shots:

wachtelhund:
When you mentioned home made hard top then followed with interior sound proofing I thought you meant that you made the interior sound proofing for the hard top, not that you built one from scratch.  Impressive work!

wooky:
The RUF/CJ springs would be a nice upgrade for a better ride.  SPOA builds are great but can lead to some complications if you don't do the steering right. 

To keep it simple for a DD/Light Trail Rig I like the 2.5" OME Lift Springs.  That gives you room to run 30x9.5" tires, a softer ride, and you can bolt them on without having to do to much extra work like you do with a larger lift.

Nice job on the Sammy wachtelhund. Looks great. I almost forgot what a stock engine looks like. That JDM place is actually fairly close to me, and there's another in Philly only about 30 min away. Good to know if my motor ever takes a crap.

wachtelhund:
When you mentioned home made hard top then followed with interior sound proofing I thought you meant that you made the interior sound proofing for the hard top, not that you built one from scratch.  Impressive work!

Drone;  I don't want to high jack this post, but I have built a couple of duck boats, stich and glue construction and used the same method for the hardtop. Here is the build post on Yuwharrie - http://bbs.zuwharrie.com/content/topic,103383.0.html .

Hey wooky,
Here is a link to JDM, they have a Sidekick 1.6L 16V engine for $799.00 plus shipping http://www.jdmenginedepot.com/jdm_engine_details/75/Suzuki_Sidekick/Geo_Tracker_G16A