Chevy Small Block

[chadc]

I may have no right here, I still have the 4.0. Personally I don't think it can be beat. I have thought about an 8, and it would be fun to say I had one. But my thoughts are why get rid of a good pulling engine that will give you 300,000 miles with no complaints. I almost wonder if it wouldn't be better to beef up the 4.0. Yeah the brighter the light the shorter the burn, so a modified 4.0 could get 200,000 miles. I'am far from an engine builder but in my personal opinion the staight six is a damn relible motor with good pulling power, I can't say that when it's time for a motor I won't go 8, but dang I love the six.
just my thought's, probably not even 2 cents worth
chadc

 

[THE_OWL]

did you say "dang" ?

 

[chadc]

dang I did say dang, dang it

 

[BILLXJ]

,..with all due respect to the passionate comment by chac about the tried and true 4.0 ,I used to feel the same way about my ole underpowered 2.8 liter. I replaced the complete engine at some enormous expense exactly three times based on just that type of sentiment and the prevailing local myopic advice "that it would no longer be a Jeep Cherokee with a small-block engine".I thought this was my only option,..until I found my way unto the Modification forum and a more reasoned view of the benefits of the use of the small-block.-

 

[xjjunkie]

if you are worried about the optispark, just do like we do and convert the optispark to the individual coil packs from a ls-1.


scot

 

[dave]

i actually found a local guy around here that uses an lt-4 in a mud bog racer and he is going to help me with a pretty ingenious setup that he uses on his racers...

as for the 4.0L deal.. my room mate built up his 4.0L its now a 4.6 .. balanced , blueprinted etc etc.. its maxed out now cept for a SC and he isnt making what my motor made stock... if i did just an lt4 hotcam kit... i'd be making ungodly hp. ungodly torque and i'd still come in under what he did.. and i could still hook my motor up to my snapon scanner and it would still tell me what was wrong with it if i was having a problem

-Dave aka the guy with the mutt jeep chevy motor and trans, jeep tcase, ford axles and seats out of a honda

 

[chadc]

Damn it guys, know you got me thinking. I intend to run my 4.0 into the ground before swapping, or modifying. it has a 120000 on it so it's gonna be a day or two before a swap. Chevy seems to be the common 8. Has anyone done an amc 8, yeah they are a dinosaur, but it will mount to the aw4, ax15 etc. The cps would need to be relocated, and the tps would need to be addressed, a friend of mine said he has that figured out. Or the amc t400 could be run behind the amc 8. And I don't feel a v8 swap doesn't make it an xj. When I go to the parts store I might need parts from an xj, an isuzu, a chevy, or a dodge. I'm almost at the point I need to right down makes and years down to keep it straight. But it's still an xj.
chadc

 

[THE_OWL]

Just a Lt4 hotcam wont cut it. Unfortunatly u need to do the rockers and Torque Converter or you lose ALL bottom end.
Although the whole kit together which some Goodwrench shops sell, will give you amazing results without a lot of money.

chadc if you're do a big motor swap, you will want to lose the XJ tranny. If I had to do it again and wasnt worried about doing 70mph on the freeway. The Powerglide Iron cased Tranny is the strongest out there, but its a 2speed
As far as the parts issue at Autozone, If it isnt bolt on from the manufacturers, you will need to order parts from ALL kinds of vehicles.
The D44 front swappers usually do Chevy Brakes and such.
yeah its a nightmare sorta. My fuel injection setup uses mostly all TPI parts from late 80s and a few ford sensors and stuff. And we all know the guy at PepBoys can only lookup parts for your year/make/model.

 

[rixXJphx]

.....And I don't feel a v8 swap doesn't make it an xj. When I go to the parts store I might need parts from an xj, an isuzu, a chevy, or a dodge. I'm almost at the point I need to right down makes and years down to keep it straight. But it's still an xj.
chadc

That's the way all AMC's were built from the sixties onward: somethings from Lansing, somethings from the Rouge, as little as possible from Toledo.

Recall that the original WWII Jeeps were invented by Bantam, who wasn't allowed to build them. Ford and assorted others built them, with a sh!tload of parts that interchanged regardless of who did the assembly.

 

[LT1XJ]

I am all for staying jeep with the amc motor. I just think that an XJ is not the best platform for it. My GW has a 360 and I would not really think of swapping to something else, ok well maybe a little bit. I might consider a 360 in an xj with a nice FI setup. But again a 350 is going to be a lot easier and cheaper. And don't get me started on the pepboys guys, they are the worst of all of them. Just give me the darn keyboard or the book and I'll beat you with it when I am done finding my part.
XJjunkie- have you actually swapped an optispark for LS1 coilpacks. I have heard of it, but figured it was one of those things. I was really looking into the electromotive kit, but they pretty much axed it. Or I could just forget about it and upgrade to an LS1. But, I figure eventually an LT1 in an XJ will be as cool as it was when I first did it.
Dustin

 

[BILLXJ]

..rixXJphx ,..hits the point right on the head ,when he says "Ford and assorted others built them, with a sh!tload of parts that interchanged regardless of who did the assembly."- Any good student of history will remember when the old Chrsyler manufacturer was in bankruptcy,.. various other vendors/suppliers loaned them parts/assistance etc.,as and as a former automotive assembly worker I can personally testify to the fact that GM engineered products,..(2.8 liter V-6,-transfer cases,etc)to construct the XJ.- By default or deliberate design,.. to me this represents the unique Yankee ingenuity of the XJ ,that it is a light-weight modular platform that lends itself to be inexpensively modified/re-engineered with many interchangeable parts,.. unlike many other vehicles.-..okay maybe I'm gushing here,..but anybody up for the "new and improved Jeep KJ " from the Damiler-Chrsyler-Mercedes wunderkinder..?
BILLXJ

 

[THE_OWL]

Whos gonna do the Caddy Northstar swap. thats the one I want to see. with a TH400. thats a combo that will save some serious weight and net 300hp
About the parts issue. I tried to get a set of timkens for my D44 "factory" rearend at the "Zone" and the guy told me Cherokees never came with a 44, according to his computer. He told me to go home and double check that it isnt a D35
Needless to say the cops were there 10minutes later and I have a 500ft restraining order now. No Not really, it was just a quick daydream while he was ringing me up for my new set of Fast and Furious seat covers

 

[rixXJphx]

Whos gonna do the Caddy Northstar swap. thats the one I want to see. with a TH400. thats a combo that will save some serious weight and net 300hp.

Yeah, this makes me drool during my daydresms, too.

BUT, the facts of the matter are that a dumb ole cam-in-block OHV iron engine, whether I-4, I-6, or V-8 (note the exclusion of the GM V-6) is infinitely more dependable in the backwoods than some multi-cam aluminum screamer.