Hey, new to the forum here, and I am looking for suggestions

I'm a Toyota guy, and from my experience Suzuki has the same level of quality in their design and in their construction. Ironically, the vehicles I'm most familiar with are the Samurai and Sidekick, one of my best friends had a Sami that we did a ton of work on, maintenance and some upgrades.

I'm looking to get a project rig. The Sami/Sidekick/XL-7 all fit what I want. I'm only planning on a mild build, 31'' tires tops, no real lift, more 'expedition,' style modifications than anything else. I want to keep it ultralight and basically just have fun in it.

Whatever I get, it will have a 4-cylinder and a manual transmission. I'm leaning more toward the Sami/Kick because of the open top, the XL-7 I think is a bit more people-hauler oriented.

So what do you guys recommend? Samis tend to be a bit expensive around here (Idaho, $2000-2500 for a so-so condition Sami), so that is why I started looking at other options.

I got a sammi because it fits in my toy hauler (just) and is easy to work on. I started on the cheap and have about $1500 total in mine, but that got me a locker, 3 inch lift and a 1.6 8v with tracker seats.

Here in Nor Cal they are going for around $1500 and up for stock. Quite a few around if you don't mind the drive, but most are rust free 

The Trackicks seem OK and already have the bigger motors with IFS and still have a full frame.

I just like the look of the samurai 

You missed one option - in between the SideKick (89~98) and the XL-7 (01~06) is the Vitara/Grand Vitara (99~05) - the XL-7 is basically a stretched Grand Vitara with a slightly larger engine and a third row of seats.

The Vitaras were available as a two door convertible, with a 2 litre 4 cylinder engine or a four wagon, with either the 2 litre 4, or a 2.5 V6 - it is possible to swap the 2.5 v6 (or the 2.7 from the XL-&) into the 2 door body if you like the rag tops, and need more power.

I would look at a Samurai or Sidekick/Vitara Conv. 

The sidekick and the tracker are amazing little rigs that with 2" lift and 235s or 30" tires you can go place's that will surprise you. just add bumpers and a winch and you can go just about anywhere. and finish it off with an air locker for the rear and your good to go.