Okay so last night I purchased a 1996 Geo Tracker with 60,000 original miles for $2,700.00 (including title and reg) from a dealer here in McMinnville, Oregon.

It has the 16v 1.6 4 cylinder, 5-speed, 4x4 with no A/C... I would say interior 9 out of 10 condition wise, exterior a 8.5/9 out of 10, engine a 9 out of 10

Here comes my questions... Sorry if there is a few but I figured make one post rather than 20. All opinions are accepted. I am a noobie to the tracker scene. I have no real interest in rock crawling or tearing up trails. This is my commuter however I do go to the mountains allot so occasionally I may take off-road once in awhile or drive on the sand.

Here goes:

#1 What is a reasonable price to pay for labor on a lift job? (I have been thinking about getting the 3" Calmini lift)
#1.1 Is it pretty straight forward enough you can do it yourself?

#2 K&N Filters.. Good investment? or is there a cold air intake kit available that is CARB legal

#3 Mufflers.. Can you use a flowmaster or any other brand? or do you have to use a specific type for the trackers?

#4 Spidertrax Wheel Spacer Kit.. Good investment? I like the idea of having a wider stance for better improved handling
#4.1 Will these be a good compliment to the 3"Calmini lift?

#5 Header.. Does the header make enough of a difference for the money?

I have about $3K for upgrades to my tracker. Just trying to decide what to do first..
Any advice/opinion is greatly appreciated

First of all let me direct you to the search function at the top of the page. Most of the questions you have, have been discussed many times, all the info you need is there.

Now some quick answers:

#1 What is a reasonable price to pay for labor on a lift job? (I have been thinking about getting the 3" Calmini lift)
#1.1 Is it pretty straight forward enough you can do it yourself?

Reasonable depends on where you are, check with some local 4X4 shops and compare. If you have some reasonable amount of mechanical ability the install is not to bad.

K&N Filters.. Good investment? or is there a cold air intake kit available that is CARB legal

Search, I say yes others say no. I have one and I like it.

Mufflers.. Can you use a flowmaster or any other brand? or do you have to use a specific type for the trackers?

Search, I run 2" high flow cat and Cherry bomb as straight as possible to the back bumper. Has a nice sound and flows real good.

Spidertrax Wheel Spacer Kit.. Good investment? I like the idea of having a wider stance for better improved handling
1 Will these be a good compliment to the 3"Calmini lift?

No, If you want a wider stance (Oh how quickly a mind can enter the gutter) get a wider tire.

Header.. Does the header make enough of a difference for the money?

Yes

I have about $3K for upgrades to my tracker. Just trying to decide what to do first..
Any advice/opinion is greatly appreciated

3" Calmini kit is a good start, Actually given what you say you plan to do with it the OME lift might work better. Search for OME lift, lots of good info We have just been talking about using springs for the heavier Suzuki's to get more lift. Header, free flow intake and exhaust, and rear locker or spool, and of course larger tires.

   I agree,the OME lift is a suspension lift,not a body lift and offers excellent ride and handling.In my opinion a much better approach than a body lift.It will also allow you to run 235 tires without any problem.Put em on a 6-7 inch wide rim with 3-3.5 inches of backspacing and you will get your wider stance.
   As far as mufflers go,you will find a 100 different responses and opinions on that,so get the best flowing muffler that you like.I like Borla.A header will wake things up a little and sound great.
  I run a stock replacement air filter and change it often,and it works as well as many high end filters I have tried.

Okay so last night I purchased a 1996 Geo Tracker with 60,000 original miles for $2,700.00 (including title and reg) from a dealer here in McMinnville, Oregon.

It has the 16v 1.6 4 cylinder, 5-speed, 4x4 with no A/C... I would say interior 9 out of 10 condition wise, exterior a 8.5/9 out of 10, engine a 9 out of 10

Here comes my questions... Sorry if there is a few but I figured make one post rather than 20. All opinions are accepted. I am a noobie to the tracker scene. I have no real interest in rock crawling or tearing up trails. This is my commuter however I do go to the mountains allot so occasionally I may take off-road once in awhile or drive on the sand.

Here goes:

#1 What is a reasonable price to pay for labor on a lift job? (I have been thinking about getting the 3" Calmini lift)
#1.1 Is it pretty straight forward enough you can do it yourself?

Price really depends on your area, I believe there are a few different shops in OR that specialize n Zuks
With the proper equipment it is not a difficult install as long as you are mechanically inclined.

#2 K&N Filters.. Good investment? or is there a cold air intake kit available that is CARB legal

Never tried them

#3 Mufflers.. Can you use a flowmaster or any other brand? or do you have to use a specific type for the trackers?

I have ran Flowmasters on my Kick for years and love them. 2.5" piping, Calmini header through a Flowmaster sounds prety good and the best part.... The flowmaster can handle beinng beaten on rocks without ripping a hole in it

#4 Spidertrax Wheel Spacer Kit.. Good investment? I like the idea of having a wider stance for better improved handling

I had them on my X-90 and Digger is still running the X with them with no problems (and probably 100K on the odometer like that). I, like you wanted a wider stance without buying new rims(the stock X-90 rims looked great on it), I did put on wider than stock tires but it was not enough. The wheel spacers are trouble and maintenance free if you get decent ones (Liuke Spidertrax) and properly install them.

I also run them on the rear of my Kick that has been beat to hell and back with no problems)


#4.1 Will these be a good compliment to the 3"Calmini lift?

Depends on Rims and tire size, Do the lift and tires first and see if you need the spacers. The spacers may end up pushing the tire out where it hits your fenders under compression and turning, only wat to tell, is to do the lift, rims and tires first, then see if you want/have room for the wider stance

#5 Header.. Does the header make enough of a difference for the money?

YES

I have about $3K for upgrades to my tracker. Just trying to decide what to do first..
Any advice/opinion is greatly appreciated

HTH,
Zig

You got a great deal you'll be happy. Do searches on coil spring spacers, 1-1/2" -2" cheap easy way to lift. Do strut mount flip and get new shocks. With that you can go to 30" x 9.5 tires. Right there you can take most things that pass for a road or trail.

Wheel Spacers are a joke get big tires and wheels with a good backspace.

I had just a 2-1/4" cat-back done on my exhaust and it made a huge difference $275. I may never get a header.
Do some searches and reading before you start, lots of options, lots of info. Also check out Zuwharrie.com

I have a drop in K&N I may try a cone set up soon.

Good lift thread http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=15866.msg140384#msg140384

I second the Cherry Bomb glass pack, they have no edges to get hung up on, tuck into the frame rails, and  flow pretty well. Plus they are cheap. Headers do great things when you run taller tires. I don't like the idea of cold intakes 'cus they tend to take in water. I would suggest a cam and filter instead.

Other things for consideration:
Tires.
Skid plates
rock sliders.
There are many lifts available. All will clear larger tires and they very in quality, hight, flex, and price. Some lifts don't work so friendly with other brands' armor or require more than just the lift to pull it off. There are also other ways to achieve lift that may be cheaper than a lift. Springs or spacers, shocks, and a strut mount flip.
Use the search and never be afraid to ask.
Welcome to Zukiworld.

For other ideas you can check cardomain.com

By your description of your plans for driving your new Zuk, I would say things like lockers, rock sliders, and even skid plates are just extra weight you don't need to be dragging around.  A Calmini lift is a great lift for serious off roading, many nice durable components, however, you'll be hatin' yourself every time you hit a bump. The ride quality leaves somthing to be desired. For your style of driving an OME or Rocky Road lift will give you everything you need, and ride great to boot. It will also be many less $ to install. Spend a few bucks on good wheels and tires, Some 235 All Terrians on some 7" rims, maybe 3.5" backspacing. Get Alloys if you can afford it, the difference in weigh is noticeable in handling and accelleration.   Spend a few bucks more on a Calmini header, a 2" exhasust system, ( any bigger offers neglegible differences, IMO, unless your running a turbo)  good free flowing muffler,  and a K+N filter. Give it a good tune up, a thourogh inspection for mechanicals, electricals and such, and make sure the timing belt has been changed. 60k is the interval on those. In fact, do the reccomended  60 k service, and get to know your owners manual. Unless your looking to build a Mall crawler, don't waste money on equipment your not gonna use or need. MY 2cents. Congrats. 

Congrats on the rig, sounds like a good buy.

I run the wheel spacers on DD Tracker front and rear and like the wider look and the extra stance.  It had alloy wheels on it already and I didn't feel like replacing them just for an extra inch or two.

Currently I just have a 3/4" spacer on the front and a 1" spacer on the rear and some 28ish Toyo All Terrain tires.  K&N Air filter and a 2" exhaust put together at the local exhaust shop.  She works perfect for running around in the hills and snow and has done well enough on two Fall Adventure runs when we hit the Sand Dunes.

No matter what you do, I would recommend rock sliders of some sort.  It really didn't take me long to dent them up.