marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
i wasn't even paying attention
General jeep chat & ramblings thread
- Thread starter goin camping
- Start date
i wasn't even paying attention
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
Yeah, they're like cockroaches, everywhere. Sneaking up on you, getting in your Cheerios, spoiling the picnic...
I wanna get their home phone number and call at 3:00 a.m. with a special offer for generic drugs or something.
Black Dog
Makin' Beer.
I am strongly considering it. If I'm going to pull the engine out though and do that much work on it I want to do something really cool, so my first thought was a 4.6 stroker long block, but now I'm kind of leaning towards maybe a non-LS 350. Either way it will snowball into a massive project that I don't really have the patience for, I'll have to replace the piddly little AW4 and then decide whether or not to keep the NP231, and I'll have to think about new axles and then I'm getting into making the brakes work and jerry rigging it up to my suspension and blah blah blah blah. What I really need is a truck to pull our Airstream so if I'm going to beg for money from a bank I'm going to use it for that and just work on the XJ as a side project.
reece146
Automotive Artist
Ack! Don't do that. Gen I SBCs are garbage compared to the new stuff. If you are balking at the price of JY Gen III/IV engines don't - that won't be the expensive part of getting the engine in the Jeep. If you want to stay old school and cheap build the stroker.
Since we are rambling...
I hate the quality of the interior in my XJ. My old Suzukis and Fords had better quality interiors. I hate the cheap, hard plastic interiors that rattle and buzz as soon as the engine is started. The XJ interior looks decent enough - just don't touch it - it's nasty. Even the old school AMC XJ interior used decent enough materials even if it looked really dated.
I hate Chrysler for that in general. Even their newer stuff sucks. I still need to check out the 2011+ JK interior but I know I'm going to be let down so haven't bothered. Dog, I hate Chrysler.
I'm going to have to spend some time taking things apart and doing tweaks while putting it back together. It would be the perfect truck for me if it wasn't for that. It fits me like a glove, fits on the local ATV sized trails, has enough power to pull what I want and gets decent enough gas milage for what it is. If only it was built better. %#$@ you, Chrysler.
Sorry, was this a rambling or ranting thread?
bldeagle10
Explorer
I am on the fence about chrysler, especially since the partnership with mercedes benz...I definitely like my interior, except for the fact I feel like I need to pull apart my dash then put everything together with some lock tight and silicone gasket to keep it from squeeking/rattling loose lol. my dash has little napkins and papers folded up and stuffed in little cracks here and there between the panels to keep it from squeaking, i remember one time I found a $5 bill stuffed in a crack and I told my dad he was an idiot, rolled up a napkin and took his 5 bucks 
goin camping
Explorer
That is probably cheaper than buying a new one.
Black Dog
Makin' Beer.
I don't have any problems with LS engines, I just want something that isn't totally computerized with wires running everywhere. EFI would be nice but I kind of like the nostalgic feeling you get from revving up a carburated engine.
As far as the XJ interior goes, mines gone! I still have most of the plastic parts but as they break and crack I'm getting rid of them, and after I hydroed my jeep in a creek last year I rolled in a herculiner in place of the stinky old carpets. My foot gets kind of hot right next to the tunnel but the noise isn't too bad.
reece146
Automotive Artist
Yeah, unfortunately the carpets are the only part of the interior Chraptastic did right. I'm going to rip mine out and put some spray on sound/noise deadening with some kind of a top coat and rubber replacement flooring over all that. I'll take all the rest of the interior apart and shim and isolate the he!! out of it at the same time.
Carbs... whatever floats your boat. You can't pay me enough to go back to that misery.
Carbs... whatever floats your boat. You can't pay me enough to go back to that misery.
bldeagle10
Explorer
why don't you go with the best of both worlds a carbed LS, thats what we run in the NASCAR series we are in. LS2 with Edelbrock intake and Holley carb, around 620hp but that is obviously way more than you would need...small motor, lot's of potential, reliable, and converting them to carb is stupid simple, I am to the point with this stupid motor I can tear it down and rebuild it quite a few times in a day so it's simple to work on. very little wires. only thing an older SBC has over it is price differences. but then again, LS are aluminum block so you won't have a ton of weight up front as compared to a cast iron block, and obviously if you wanted to swap to an aluminum older SBC you will be paying as much or more than getting an LS1 long block to convert...there are cast iron LS motors like the 6.0 in trucks and such, and they have plenty of power for an XJ...
this is what I do btw, I ramble...pro's and con's galore. would be fun to do, OH! or you could throw in a 2JZ from a Toyota Supra, they both use the AW4 tranny..there is a guy on NAXJA doing it, last I looked he was finishing up the wiring...
a carbed LS, thats what we run in the NASCAR series we are in. LS2 with Edelbrock intake and Holley carb, around 620hp but that is obviously way more than you would need...small motor, lot's of potential, reliable, and converting them to carb is stupid simple, I am to the point with this stupid motor I can tear it down and rebuild it quite a few times in a day so it's simple to work on. very little wires. only thing an older SBC has over it is price differences. but then again, LS are aluminum block so you won't have a ton of weight up front as compared to a cast iron block, and obviously if you wanted to swap to an aluminum older SBC you will be paying as much or more than getting an LS1 long block to convert...there are cast iron LS motors like the 6.0 in trucks and such, and they have plenty of power for an XJ...this is what I do btw, I ramble...pro's and con's galore. would be fun to do, OH! or you could throw in a 2JZ from a Toyota Supra, they both use the AW4 tranny..there is a guy on NAXJA doing it, last I looked he was finishing up the wiring...
reece146
Automotive Artist
I've been following that thread as well. It's really interesting swap but that is the one part of the Jeep that really doesn't need to be replaced IMO. 2JZ is likely lots smoother but it's not enough a big deal to bother swapping. Probably be better value to balance and blueprint during a stroker build than go through the PITA of an engine swap.
bob91yj
Resident **************
I'd do some work on the 4.0L, mild stroker etc. Good power can be had from a 4.0L. We got 300+ HP to the rear wheels of our Jeepspeed car with a blueprinted 4.0L, strokers aren't allowed in Jeepspeed. Our engine displacement was checked at tech inspection more than once. Not to say that we didn't make some tweaks here and there, roller rockers, some head work, cam, and Painless engine management using Chevy electronics/sensors, etc.
bldeagle10
Explorer
definitely, you rarely hear about people actually building the 4.0 unless it is for a stroker, I would like a 4.7, but I think I may just build up the 4.0. I think I have learned enough about motors working on race cars that I know what I want to have done having everything balanced out, what to lighten, what to leave alone, what to polish etc. I think I want to just build it up and see what I can get out of it without going to extremes. then if it isn't enough with towing and such I will start slapping a 4.7 together on the side.
reece146
Automotive Artist
I did a spreadsheet once upon a time that compared stroker gross hp/tq against $. IIRC the best bang for the buck was at 4.6 liters... going to 4.7 liters and the mods required to get there didn't justify the few more power and torks that you got.
IMO, YMMV, Void where applicable, Tag to be removed by the end consumer only, etc.
IMO, YMMV, Void where applicable, Tag to be removed by the end consumer only, etc.
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