SDL 1.3 SVN source snapshots are ready to be compiled, you don't need automake/autoconf/libtool. Change working directory to SDL. Type:

./configure --prefix=/usr or ./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-clock_gettime to enable clock_gettime() support in SDL. Run configure script.Then type and run make.

When compilation succeeds, type make install, it will install SDL to specified prefix directory (/usr in this example).

Change working directory to SDL/test and type:

CFLAGS="-I/usr/include" LDFLAGS="-L/usr/lib" ./configure --prefix=/usr

When configure script finishes, type and run make to build the SDL tests.

It's all.