Ok going to start a new thread here. 

I am wanting to know some basic info from the experienced "mod monsters." 

1. Will the 4 door Trackick springs fit in the stock 2 door chassis and provide either some lift or added weight capacity?  (Why, I am repl the stock bumpers w/ steel a/m units and have not made any other mods to rig yet.  I don't want it sagging a bunch)

2. Has anyone tried Moog cargo coils before?  Front/Rear?  I have used them on a minivan and old Mustangs w/ good success. 

3.  Shocks, I have seen reports of old Lincoln shocks or Chev. Cav. shocks being used.  I am wondering if the real thing to focus on is the length of travel and the amount of cushion that you are looking for.  I have no problem walking into the autoparts store and holding up a strut and say "lets see what you have in something with about an inch or two longer travel."  I understand that if you "crawl" you want very soft components but if you are DD w/ occasional timberbash/trail run you can handle much "firmer" units as they perform better for street and cornering situations.

4.  POWER POWER POWER.  I have seen many different engine swaps (ie. diesel, v6, turbo) all over the place.  From everyone that has made these types of swaps that would at least somewhat drive on roads how long are they holding up?  I want to put something together for mine that would last roughly 100-150k miles or 5-8 more years(when my youngest gets her lic and will probably total it into our house coming out of the garage) .  Anyone have anything that has seen that kind of time?  Right now I like the turbo options as that is "free" power as compaired to a super charger or complete powertrain conversion. 

Currently I am thinking of exh work w/ Y header and 2" exh., new seats(a/m), body and/or suspension lift, roll cage, TIRES and wider wheels(currently have 2 sets of the 3 spoke factory alum.), upgrade the front brakes to the 4 door style (so I can use my last oops purchase of vented slotted rotors), rear rotor conversion and of course a rear locker.

I have a whole host of other things that I want to explore for my 2 dr. '96 Tracker conv. but want to save for another day.

Thanks in advance for all the input everyone,

1.  4 door springs give a modest lift, and would probably compensate for heavier bumpers with a Little left over.
     Front GV springs will give you more lift in front, rear GV springs are to small to just swap out.  ditto on XL7.
     I prefer springs, but spacers are an easy lift option (lots of us started with spacers).
2.  Sounds like you have some experience here.
3.  Things to remember with longer shock; don't have long enough so they bottom out any time, don't have long enough so your springs can fall out (run limiting straps).
4.  POWER is nice, and expensive.  FREE POWER doesn't exist, "There is no such thing as a free horse."  There are big gains with adding a turbo, cost is up there to do it right (or redo it right).  Motor swaps are all over the board, usually a hassle with the wiring conversions, cost is dependent on what you find.  If the new motor is electronically controlled, get the donor vehicle it will save a lot of hassles of picking/finding parts to forgot or didn't know to get.  New generation motors are lasting longer IF TAKEN CARE OF.
     
Spring it up a little (or use spacers), add some tires for off-road, and enjoy it.  Let your enjoyment and its limits lead you into the modifications.  You will find that you can get lots of places without the best of modifications.  Modifications can lead to modifications for modifications causing modifications ect.  All of which take time you could have been off-roading.

Also try to watch how much weight you add to these things. The biggest advantage that they have is the low starting weight. More weight means more mods to comp. for the extra weight. Oh, and don't be afraid to push the little beast, as you won't know what YOU want/need to do to it until the got stuck/ broke/blew something up starts in... ( Personally, though, I would go ahead and look into the basic things that don't add alot of weight, but improve the durability of these things... beefed up steering idler, front diff. "improved" mount, etc...).

Good to know about the springs as that will probably be what I do since I can find 4dr. Trackers all day long for cheap in the local bone yards.  Although depends on the cost versus Moog.  I am not sure if they make units specifically for these SUV's and didn't know if anyone else had already found that out.  I have had good success with them in the past and they seem to hold a spring height over time better than stock units do.  The springs that I would be getting out of a salvage yard are just as old a mine and probably have some sag to them like what I have currently.

I guess that I need to provide the basis for my "free power" comment.  What I meant to show was that it doesn't cost me any horsepower to generate the added power from the turbo.  The engine is going to produce heat and exh flow no matter what.  I am simply trying to use that generally wasted power to generate additional power.  A super charger will "cost" horsepower as it is usually run with a belt and that belt puts drag on the crank.   The same can be held true for a ram air intake set up or even a nitrous system.  They do not put added load on the engine to create power thus the "free" part. 

The way I see it anything that puts drag on the crank directly or indirectly like larger tires costs power and that in turn requires additional power to compensate.  Sometimes though I am  more than happy to give up some power to actually get me where I want to go, ie. the locker diff.    Since I installed one in my pickup several years ago have been a big fan of that.  Instead of sitting there spinning the "one wheel wonder" I can let the diff engage and keep moving.

I am very comfortable with wiring and would agree that if there was a major power train swap being performed that a donor vehicle for the base unit is the way to go most definitely.  Like you said gives you all the little incidental things that you need.  Also best if the donor vehicle is in a running condition before you begin.  That way you know your components are good and don't end up waisting a bunch of time having to diag. a faulty ECU that may have sat in water for 6 months prior to being sold to you.

improve the durability of these things... beefed up steering idler, front diff. "improved" mount, etc...).

Front diff, improved mount... I just put in a new(to me) front diff, and would like to reinforce it, but not sure how. I added a stainless steel strap over the snout of the third member, after the mounting ear broke off the old one, and will reuse it on the new one. Is there any tricks you guys have used to improve the stability of this mounting point?

Front GV springs will give you more lift in front, rear GV springs are to small to just swap out.  ditto on XL7.
          

i have both front and rear GV coils in my 2dr. no problem swapping them in. the front lifted 2-3inch, rear only 1 inch. need some spacers in the rear to level it out.

(lift height is with stock bumpers, and no added weight in the truck)

We found that in order to run the GV coils in the back we would have to remove the spacer so we could use the 2.5" coil on the top instead of the stock 3" coils.  On my DD I run the GV springs up front with a 1" strut spacer and a 1" spring spacer in back.

As for ways to beef up your Tracker the Build Diaries page is a great place to look through.   For beefing up the front suspension and steering there are a couple of easy braces you can make that we added on Project Trouble when getting it ready for the Zukiworld Challenge.

http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/build-diaries-how-to-diy/project-trouble/msg227695/#msg227695