I have a 1987 suzuki samurai and a 1986 suzuki sidekick. Both are 2 door 4wd.

EDIT: i think the Sidekick is a late 88 or 89 not an 86.

I would like to build 1 vehicle out of 2.

I want to use the body, engine and transfer case from the sidekick, and the frame transmission and differentials from the samurai.

What problems will i run into and what will need modified?

This is not going to be a road car so i am not too worried about if modifying makes it illegal for the road. Terrain is rough where i live so i dont want to tear up my good vehicles. Any help is appriciated.

Ok, don’t take this as gospel...but if you use the Sidekick trans, I think you are going to need to use the ‘Kick case also.  They are connected.  The Sammy case is divorced.  What motor does the Sidekick have?  Many would consider the desirable build to be the Kick motor in the Sammy body and chassis.  If I am thinking straight, if your Kick is an 8 valve 1.6, I think you can retain the stock Sami intake setup.  I don’t know how involved it is, but you can also swap the Kick seats in for a more comfortable ride.  Another possibility is putting the Kick ring and pinions in the Sammy diffs for lower gearing..

Ok, don’t take this as gospel...but if you use the Sidekick trans, I think you are going to need to use the ‘Kick case also.  They are connected.  The Sammy case is divorced.  What motor does the Sidekick have?  Many would consider the desirable build to be the Kick motor in the Sammy body and chassis.  If I am thinking straight, if your Kick is an 8 valve 1.6, I think you can retain the stock Sami intake setup.  I don’t know how involved it is, but you can also swap the Kick seats in for a more comfortable ride.  Another possibility is putting the Kick ring and pinions in the Sammy diffs for lower gearing..

 Alright that makes sense the Sidekick tranny and t case are one unit. i guess i should explain my situation in more detail.

 The body on my samurai is mostly dust. everything else is in good working order other than shocks but that's easy to fix.

The sidekick had the rear end from behind the driver seat cut off and the rear hatch was welded to the remainder of the body and the frame got extended. the problem is the guy welded the differential to the modified frame, and the tranny is bad. i didnt know that the tranny and t case was one unit.

The sidekick has the 1.6, the samurai has the 1.3.
Will the 1.6 bolt to the samurai transmission?

Basically with new info on the sidekick tranny, i want the finnish product to have these parts.

Samurai frame
Samurai suspension
Samurai tranny and t case
Samurai differentials
Sidekick engine
Sidekick body

i think my biggest problem is the difference between the two wheelbases.

I can add pictures on tomorrow  to help explain the situation.

A lot of what you're asking about is going to be dependent on your skills as a fabricator - swapping the Sidekick's 1.6 into the Samurai chassis and running gear is considered a very easy swap and  adapter plates to mate the transmission to the motor are readily available - your challenge is going to be "cutting & shutting" the Sidekick body.

I’m not sure what you’re gaining by doing this swap other than getting a straight axle front end.  The engine in the kick is a huge upgrade over the Sammy.  Why not keep the whole kick and do a SAS on it instead?  Or even easier, just drive the kick and retire the Sammy? 

If you read the posts you'll see where he says the Sidekick has been "butchered" by a previous owner.