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Mopar 360 In XJ

1985xjlaredo

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kansas City
Well, the 318 was an option and the 360 did come in the ZJ for 2 years at least so it's dooable...
 
RichP said:
Well, the 318 was an option and the 360 did come in the ZJ for 2 years at least so it's dooable...


The 318 was never an option for an XJ.
 
I'm pretty sure Rich meant in the ZJ for both engines.
 
1985xjlaredo said:
I was wondering if anyone has ever done this or anything like it.
I am wanting to put this engine in My 1985 XJ Laredo.
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=&categoryId=20261&parentCategoryId=10763
I have a TC904 Tranny but I also dont know if it will bolt up to the 360 since it is now bolt to a 2.8L chevy 60degree V-6. If anyone has any info Please post :worship:
at $4,999.99 why would you wont THAT engine??i understand it would bring the value up on your jeep,but $4,999.99
 
I dont want "That" engine I just want something comparable built for me at a local shop.
Has anyone ever done this or something like it in a 4x4 XJ. I have seen street XJ's with v-8's but not a 4x4.
 
1985xjlaredo said:
I was wondering if anyone has ever done this or anything like it.
I am wanting to put this engine in My 1985 XJ Laredo.
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&catalogIdentifier=&categoryId=20261&parentCategoryId=10763
I have a TC904 Tranny but I also dont know if it will bolt up to the 360 since it is now bolt to a 2.8L chevy 60degree V-6. If anyone has any info Please post :worship:

It will not bolt to the TF904 you presently have in your 85.
The problem is that the 60deg GM V6 does not have the same bolt pattern as the small block MOPAR engines. That bell housing is not even the same as a SBC!
Your best bet might be to find a trashed ZJ and swap the drivetrain. My bet is it won't be worth it unless it is cheap!

If you are looking to replace the 2.8L which is in your truck, I believe a 3.1 or a 3.4L 60deg engine will fit nicely and give more power. On the same yard raid, perhaps you can also score a FI computer/harness and make a secondary inprovement, reliability.
GM also sells a NEW 2.8L replacement engine (IIRC it is actually a 3.1L) for around $2K. Search the Forum for more results as tis is not the first time this has been asked and you may find more details :D

If you do decide/manage to get a V8 hooked to that poor TF904, purchase a rebuild kit from MOPAR, and find a machinist as you will want to upgrade the clutch pack to a 5 clutch pack which requires machining of the drum.

Ron
 
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This is probably of no help to you but, way back when 4WD Sport Utility Magazine first came out, it was called 4WD Action Magazine and the owner (Tom Mc Mullen) of the publishing company who, along with his wife (Deana), perished in an airplane crash, was building a project XJ and they stuffed a 360 into it and it also sat on (unheard of at the time) 35s. So, if you could get a hold of some old issues (I'm talking about way back in '87 or '88) they had a complete step by step of the build up spread out over several issues. So.....yes it is possible. If I remember correctly, the guys from Tomken Machine might have been involved with the project---------Hans
 
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5-90 said:
Why MOPAR? Do an AMC360!

If I was going to do a MOPAR engine, I'd go for heavy "unique" factor and do something like a 426 Hemi...

5-90
sidriptide has me goin on a 340 swap:D
 
I've seen a 360 stuffed in an XJ but I have no idea what they did onthe transmission and tcase. I remember the guy talked about the wiring hell. He also had to go with Flexlite cooling fans to allow room for block. And quite even an electric water pump....
 
While stuffing a V8 in there sounds cool it has a lot of limitations, if it's a mall crawler thats one thing, you can live with some of them but for off road I don't think so. Stuffed is stuffed and they are a PIA to work on, even to change plugs on, tolerances are tight. For off road, with the body flex I'd be a bit nervous up near the radiator/belt area.
Personally I think a big stroker is the way to go if you have a 4.0L XJ to start with, if it's one of the 2.8L V6's then the the smart way is to go with the 3.4L V6, at least I think it's a 3.4L. I've seen that bigger V6 built up and used in a Toyota 70's something pickup that had been converted to a tow truck so it does have some nads going for it. The one I saw had a nice 4bbl holley up top.
The guy who built it, our first good local mechanic we found after moving up here from NJ, was also the first one I ever saw that did internal to external slave conversions on YJ's and XJ's as part of a clutch/slave replacement. He had a good source of bell housings from somewhere so that the whole job only added like $175 to the total job cost. That was in my pre-jeep days when a jeep was out of my price range so I did not pay much attention.

I think if I wanted a V8 Cherokee I'd hunt for one of the 360 ZJ's and go over it from bumper to bumper. That 360 equipped one is a rocket disguised as a jeep, co-worker had one, 97 I think it was, used to car pool with him to NJ. He had the engine built, balanced and bluprinted, cam, headwork, tube headers, dual cats, dual turbo mufflers and exhaust not to mention he gutted the interior and soundproofed the heck out of it two days after he got it back together and running, close the doors with the windows rolled up and your ears would pop it was so tight. Last time I saw him he was looking at superchargers, don't know if he ever went that route, he's somewhere in the southwest now working for SBC or Lucent.
 
the tranny could be done the chr 904 with the short shaft installed from an 2.8 904 should allow transfer case to bolt up, nice thing about the chry block is its is small package really, I would use an motor plate on front to open up sides for exhaust etc. this is very doable just have to do your own machine work
you can build up an 360 to make more torque than will ever need offroad, the chry electronic ignition is pretty simple to transform, simple holley projection for fuel. only problem I would see would be enough cooling capacity.
 
Well anything can be done! I will have about $10,000 buget for the project before I even think of starting it. I wanna put a mopar in it but if I have to I will do a Small block Chevy. I just wnat a f**kin V-8 in the thing. I want the sound and the power! Any write ups on the idea? Anyone have a SBC in the 4x4 XJ? And when I do pt on in I will stiffen the hell out of the unibody.
 
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