Hi I'm new to this whole suzuki thing.
I just picked up an 86 samarui.It's supposed to have a Sidekick motor in it.Can somebody out there tell me how to verify this? Any help at all would be appreciated.

Welcome to our fun world of 4x4 wheeling!

Look at the rear of the engine on the passenger side down low where the transmission bellhousing bolts to the back of the engine.  There is a flat place on the engine flange faceing you that will have the engine type and displacement embossed on the flange metal. You may need to do a bit of cleaning to read it.

Reading the flange markings, the most common Suzuki engines found in a Samurai (standard or adapted) are as follows:

G13A 1324cc (early Samurai)
G13B 1298cc (late Samurai)
G16x 1598cc (Sidekick/Geo Tracker 8 or 16 valve)

There may be others like the Swift DOHC block which may be a variation (I don't know for sure) of the G13 series.

Sidekicks and Trackers came in two flavors of G16 engines, 8-valve and 16-valve.  The 8-valve engine has a steel valve cover and the sparkplugs can be seen on the exhaust side of the head.  The 16-valve engine has a cast aluminum valve cover and the sparkplugs sit in holes along the top of the engine in the valve cover.  "16-Valve" is visible on the top of the cover. 

Finally, Sidekicks and Trackers were equipped with throttle body or Electronic Fuel Injector (EFI) systems instead of carburetors.  Yours may - or may not - be retrofitted with an aftermarket or adapted carburetor as such a carburetor makes the engine swap a lot simpler from an electrical standpoint.

Take and post some pics so we can see what you have!

Cordially,

Thanks for the info.I haven't looked yet but I'll let you know as soon as I do.I'll take a couple of pics and try to get them posted if I can figure it out.