It's been a few years - YJ build

[slo-wrench44]

My poor old YJ was sitting there rusting and looking all sad. I sat there looking at her with a beer in my hand and thought... Why don't I fix her and drive her? Answer. .. The inline six wasn't worth the amount of money to fix it. I know. It sounds bad. Well that and it was a dog with my gears and an auto trans.
I said screw it. Dropped some coin on a goodwrench 350, tic maximizer th350 trans, mounts from Novak, hit up eBay for cheap parts like headders and water pump ect... Got to be friends with the guys at pep boys and now I'm getting ready to paint this beast with some raptor liner.
I was wrong. It would have been cheaper to fix the six... Just not as fun.

[69jeepcj]

pics, pics??

[xtremeadventurer]

You are just being practical man.

[slo-wrench44]

I think they are out of order. But you get the idea

[superj]

Cool

[TerryMason]

I moved this thread over to the Build section. It's got waayyy too much potential to not be a full build thread (no pressure...).

That engine / trans setup sure doesn't look like "cheap ebay parts". Looks pretty sharp to me.

More photos please!

[slo-wrench44]

I snagged a TCI Maximizer 4wd trans and a goodwrench 350 engine from JEG'S and bought a package deal water pump/ alternator / power steering pump with matching pulleys off eBay. The water pump leaked from the back gasket right off the bat. The power steering pump didn't have the right type of high pressure line fitting in it. So I swapped the fitting from the old one and resealed the pump gasket. Next I bought a cheap eBay aluminum conversion radiator. No problems ther. Lol.
Pep boys is NICE! I got the MSD hei distributor along with a but load of fittings and little parts. The Edelbrock RPM Air gap intake, Edelbrock AVS 4x4 off-road carburetor, braided fuel line and filter. Nuts, bolts, gaskets,ect. All from pep boys. The wife cringes every single time I go there.
Fuel pump so a mechanical holly big end high flow one - eBay. Novak did the engine mounts and trans to transfer adapter. I welded in the engine mounts and made. An off the shelf mount work for the trans to belly pan mount. Oliver's driveshafts from eBay made me a rear drive shaft cheaper than almost anyone else's and it bolted right in. Got a lot of photos to post just need to get them on here.
I'm 36 and gotta say it's been a lot of fun working on this with my father even though I do work on diesel's all day long. Must be the jeep thing creeping out again. I thought that was cured when I got my last Tetnus shots. Lol

[slo-wrench44]

Rebuilding the transfer case. Installing the th350 to np231 input shaft and doing the sye for this case. Easy as pie.



Also pics of me and my father tearing the old 258 out and the eBay accessories drive I bought.

[slo-wrench44]

Not really well thought out build pics. Didn't think I would be doing a build post. But what the heck. Any questions I'll try and answer. I'll check this every 2 to 3 nights and try and answer them.

[slo-wrench44]

Photos of the transfer case out put, the mock up driveshaft I made, and the dash panel I'm making for the diamond plate dash and center console. Nothing much. Just auto meter gauges and I have a history ratchet shifter I had sitting around. Gonna mount it just off the dash kick out under the gauges. Plenty of room for more toggle switches and stuff. I have gutted the wording once already. I guess it's time for a second cutting. Gonna start fresh.

[TerryMason]

I like the gauges and lights. That's gonna look sweet.

[slo-wrench44]

Well I'm not working on much lately. It's 30* furring the day and 10* at night and I don't have anything but a a shed to work out of. Still need to shim the rear axle up some for now and do the center console and shifters. Waiting on better weather.

[vinn]

my 94 yj has the Italian 4 cyl and light duty transmission. except for these two , the jeep id very well built. the 4 wheel drive is great for work around the yard., BUT it dosent want to go70 mph on the hiway. the two engines that would cure this are : small block chev and Toyota 22R. what do you think? any suggestions? later - vinn

[Bounty__Hunter]

Vinn, small block Cheby.

[69jeepcj]

small block Vinn.!!!

[slo-wrench44]

I like the SBC for the obvious reasons. Parts anywhere, a million different ways to build one, and readily available knowledge. Plus it's easy to bolt one up to about anything. Lol. Wish I had thought of getting a Chevy driver side drop transfer case to put on it. Would have been way cheaper than converting mine over and just as easy as the rebuild.

[slo-wrench44]

On another noat. I had a conversation with a good friend about crate versus rebuild and cost and I went with crate. He told me just go pull one from a bone yard. Only problem is there isn't a bone yard around that will let me. Damn this online auto recycler crap. It's hard to get some one to let me pull parts now. I miss an afternoon in the yard looking through the wrecks for a hidden gem.
It was still cheaper to get the crate than rebuild one. I had a free 305 to use but after turning the crank, magnaflux ing the block and getting new heads I was a couple hundred over the crate engine

[slo-wrench44]

Lights, gauges(sport comp), toggle switches, and push button start switch all at pep boys. They have some good stuff. The push to start switch actually is pretty well thought out. You can disassemble it while it's in the dash and clean the contacts without removing the whole switch, or unhooking the wires. Still has a key. Just in case someone wants to jump in and take it for a spin. Lol

[Dragon5126]

"so soon so old so late so smart"


jeeps suck you in that way...

[Kevin]

I've got a 94 yj that I've been restoring over the past 6 years. It's defiantly been a labor of love. It will never be over. It's definitely an addiction. I too want want more out of my inline 6 but I'm not going to an 8. I'm thinking a 4.7 Stroker motor. If anyone has any info about one of these conversions, good or bad, I'd be interested in hearing about it.