What to start

I am looking to build up my first 4x4 and i dont know what to start with.  I wanted to do an XJ (cherokee), cuase it will be cheep to start with as around here you can get them for like 2grand.  Looking to make a nice mud machine that can climb some hills (not many rocks down here in central florida) and also needs to be somewhat functional on road as the closest place to go offroading around me is about 15 minutes away.  Anysuggestions on what i should start to build other than an XJ that would be under 2500 to buy would be nice, and I'm looking to put on 35's so which lift would be the best for that, heard procomp makes a good 6 inch lift along with superlift for an xj  

here are some options

toyota 4runner

jeep cherokee

suzuki samurai

dodge ramcharger

Toyota pickup

what do you want from the vehicle?  How many doors? suv or pickup? fullsize or mini?

also Jeep yj wranglers (the one's with square headlights) are pretty cheap these days as we

Well its going to be going through a lot of mud and doing some hill climbs, maybe a little bit of sand being 10 minutes from the beach.  Dont know about size though.  Samuri is a bit too small.  Doesnt matter how many doors (as long as i can get into it somehow) and I'm kinda looking for something that is going to be stick shift.  What do you guys think about procomplifts, they have a nice little 3" lift for the xj @ 4hweelpartswholesalers or should i go with superlift if i get the xj (leaning more and more towards it now)   

Here is your answer.

Buy a truck that is going to be capable of handeling the terrain you will be driving on.  You said a lot of mud and hill climbs.  So that rules out anything IFS(so no SUV's), and trucks that you can not place large tires on ie. jeeps, SUV's, ect.  unless you think that 33's are big(they're not).  but a mud truck, or hillclimber needs to be large and powerfull.  the 73-87 chevy/GMC pickup/blazer  is the best, most affordable, easiest to work on, and easiest to find parts for 4x4 out there and it is the 4x4 most used by wheelers when driving through mud, or something that needs a lot of power like hills and sand. Cheapest to lift too.  other than that my other recomendation would be a 70's ford F250.  the drivetrain your looking for is a large V-8, NP205/NP241(lower ratio), C-6/TH400/TL80E/TL60E, 3/4 or 1ton axles, and low gearing.  Buy the right thing the first time around and when you go to the local mud pit you can laugh at the idiot buried up to his knees in mud because hes driving a 4 wheel drive station wagon (AKA S.U.V) through your mud pit.  personaly i like to charge a hefty fee to pull idiots like that out.