03 wj family build

[Neelious]

with my family of 4 my 2 seater toyota wouldnt cut it so i bought a mint 03 wj overlander and decided to make it as reliable as i could with what i know.

the donor vehicle 85 toyota '95 lt1 nv4500 atlas 4spd 60/14bolt

i bought the nv4500 brand new(not rebuilt) and it probably has under 15,000km on it but i still decided to add the 5th gear lock to it

the bolt in engine mounts put the engine as far back as possible

the shifter comes up under the hvac controls

 

[Neelious]

ill have to get the pics sorted and resized...... before i add more

ill be putting in clayton 6" long arm with db frame stiffners

 

[chasespeed]

I've been debating on the “frame stiffeners”.

The Clayton adds meat right in the middle of the chassis, where it's needed most.

My 99 can still open and close the doors with 1 finger....

Wish I could legally get away with a swap like that here.

Best I'll be able to hope for would be a WK Hemi swap....

Chase

 

[Neelious]

im glad i went with the "frame stiffeners" as the PO had figured out where to jack to lift the entire side of the jeep at a single point which along with his multiple attempts slightly crushed the bottom of the folded metal unibody frame rail. also the rear mount on the clayton 4 link needs a better mounting point imo. i think once i get the rear driveshaft in i might fab a small cross member connecting the two sides at that mount. i already added a small addition to the back of each rear mount.

 

[thehurlincrew]

LT1 in a WJ approved!

 

[Mitch502]

Interesting choice. The LT1 is a great engine with plenty of reasonably priced aftermarket support! Ready to see this thing done!

 

[mjmck]

Agree, cant wait to see this thing in action. The electrical systems on the WJ's are darn complex IIRC.