i am totally new to 4x4 and suzukis.got a 88 two weeks ago and put straight in the body shop because of rust.3 major concerns of mine with sam.2 inch lift,horsepower increase,sound.i want this to be my dd and go where ever i want on the weekends.any suggestions are welcome.i live in so.il.so its mainly farm land and dense woods,our mud is black,sticky and very slick.

1. Spring over axle lift (SPOA)
2. Engine swap (either a 89-94 Sidekick/Tracker 1.6L 8V, or a 95-98 Sidekick/Tracker 1.6L 16v)
3. Nothing much will fit in these trucks for sound.  The stock speaker locations in the front kick panels are good for 5.25 or 6.25 speakers (measure the opening) but the sound gets lost down there unless its a midbass.  Does your zuk have the round or square vent dash?

thats exactly the mods i want to stay away from.my buddys got a yota cruiser with spoa and it rides like crap.as far as sound i meant noise.looking for airplane soundproofer.also help with parts.full exhaust from manifold to tip,all seats,and door handles,also a top soft or hard.i got square vents.i added some matine speakers to the tail gate.it was easy just ran the wires next to the brake wires on drivers side and bam.still hard to hear cause previous owner cut out muff and cat.tahnks for the advice but spoa is to high for me.i heard shackles can give 2 in lift but again i am newb

I grew up near southern/middle, IL and know of a couple guys in that area with Sami's, good times !!

How much money are you looking to spend ?
How much of the work and mods can you do yourself ?
This will be a huge factor in your build.

The best ride I have found out of a Sami is spoa with YJ springs.
I haven't tried coils but I have heard they would be better but a high dollar mod unless you can do it yourself.

A shackle lift will only give you half the lift as what the length of the shacles are... So a 3" shackle will give you 1.5" of lift. http://www.trailtough.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=190&category_id=43&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

I've seen some guys use the sound proofing mat that the stereo installers use and line the entire bottom and sides of the Sami. They claim it helps but I haven't tried it.

1.6 16v engine is a GREAT mod to these. It really wakes them up.

I added a set of speakers right beside the rear seat into the side panels.

Places to find parts (also think junk yards too)
http://www.petroworks.com/
http://www.trailtough.com/
http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.php/suzuki/samurai.html

Some things to also think about when playing in the mud and woods with sticky and slick mud:
Tires, Lockers, Gears.... Some guys do ring & pinion and/or t-case gears.
Keep in mind the effects of gearing on your speed and rpm since you want to keep this as a dd too.

Good luck on the build. These little things are tons of fun.

i called all 6 yards in my area with no luck.evertbody around here likes the big trucks,noisey,over powered,gas hogs.also how can i be sure my aisin lockers are working properly.and how gear oil goes in the t case,diff,and trans.i got a chilton bokk but they dont tell how much.i am getting it ready for some adventures.i got a spot that i got stuck in once with a diff truck and will conquer it with the sammi.thanks for the links etc.

i can do all the work myself with exception of body.not looking to break my bank.i need seats and exhaust before i can do anything else.what else has to be done with the spoa.brake lines,steering etc.?

If you are just looking for a small amount of lift a set of 2.5" lift springs from Old Man Emu might be the way to go.  A better ride then stock and will give you the room to run 29-30" tires.  Combined with a 4.8:1 transfer case gear set and some good tires and you should be all set.

For a SPOA lift I would recommend spending a little bit and getting the Stage 2 Spring Over Conversion kit from Sky Manufacturing.  It gives you the wrap around spring perches, the Over The Top steering setup to fix the bump steer and the extended brake lines.  If you aren't worried about flex you can keep your stock shocks, just swap the spring pads from one side for the other.

A third way to go would be to just trim the front bumper and put some good 235/75 R15 tires under the rig and a pair of lockers front and rear.  You will be surprised how far you can go with just those simple mods.

I like the 2.5 idea. And ome has got great rep. With new springs whAt about shocks and mounts is it really as simple as bolt in new springs?I got lockers on the front how do you put them on the rear? So far I am glad I joined this site you guys know Ur stuff and are very helpful. Surprisingly I've got no crap for being clueless. Thanks guys.