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Daily Drivers...

woody431

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Virden, IL
Im sure most of you have run into the problem of wheeling your DD XJ to the point where it needs to be retired to a trail rig...Well mine is about to that point.

So anyway, Ive been looking around for a decent daily driver...Its mostly around town, occasional trips, whatever, nothing huge like a daily commute. So when i was thinking I try to always plan for the future...If this XJ becomes my trail rig, im gonna need something with a little balls to tow it. I found a 1980 FSJ, Widetrack Cherokee. D44's, 4.10's, comes with chevy motor mounts and two Dana300 cases. needs motor and tranny. Well the asking price is a down right steal, so im thinking, build this Full Size into a recovery/tow/work truck.

I had plans of running a EFI V8, maybe a 350-383, Turbo 400 trans and the D300 case. Outfit it with big bumpers, tool boxes, etc, but also modernize an older truck.

Does this sound like a good idea? I don't see why a properly setup truck couldn't get 15-18 mpg.

Suspension plans include front SOA, RB rear shackle reversal, 2" Rear AAL, and necessary brake lines and steering corrections. An aggressive radial tire in the 35" size.

Any opinions on this idea?
 
hah! a 6000+ pound vehicle running 35" tires with a 350-383 and 3 speed auto tranny... getting 15mpg! I laugh.

My good friend has a 91 K5 with a 350, small 35s, 4 speed auto, and he gets about 12mpg downhill with the wind behind him. Most tanks are 8-10mpg.
 
Actually, I don't see why you couldn't get that kind of mileage. If he uses a computer controlled engine, with proper tuning and reasonable driving habits, he could very well see those MPG numbers. Especially if he were to use an overdrive auto transmission or one of those add on O.D. doublers between the t-case and tranny. The 4:10 ratio might also need to be re-considered to optimize mileage, but it's not a totally wrong ratio for the application - maybe 3:90's?

I had a '54 Buick that I street rodded and put a stock 500 cid 4bbl Caddy engine in it. It had a turbo 400 and rear axle with 3:73's from a '74 LeSabre. As long as I didn't open the secondaries too often, I could run around in town all day getting 18 mpg. And if a tank of a 50's Buick (weighed 6800 lbs) can get decent mileage, an FSJ should be able to.

My '04 GTO with the 5.7 L and 6 speed gets 17.5 in town and 25 hwy and I don't baby it.... And it weighs 3800 lbs.

Now, my '04 Dodge Dually Cummins is another story..... with 4:10's, only 5K on the drivetrain and driving highway speeds all the time, I'm only getting 11.5 mpg..... that sucks!

I say go for it! If you got the money and experience to work with tuner engines, you'd have a killer, unique DD/tow rig.
 
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