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Good info! I’ll do the trunion swap for sure. Will do valve cover and oil pan gaskets also. Have a low profile rear sump 6qt oil pan picked out from summit also since I don’t plan on lifting this MJ much at all. Sounds like the steam kit is also cheap insurance. I assume the CAI, Novak headers and free flowing exhaust will probably be good for a few more ponies. Can’t get too wild in front of that ax15. That’s actually got me thinking about any upgrades to it as well. Whats the advantage of the ls2 lifter buckets?

If you end up getting the 4 leaf pack, please measure before and after the swap. Really trying to get a good idea of how much they lift various rigs

The quest to keep a stock dash continues

I’m in zip 72751. Not sure about the shift interlock. Shouldn’t be a problem fort manual though. Shoot me some pics & price when you can. Thanks

Truck cover came in today

Company out of Nebraska called OLMspeed. Here is their website: https://olmstedautomotive.com I negotiated with them a bit to include some extra parts and longer warranty. Pricing is on their website I believe but always best to talk to them directly. Mine is an 02 with 66k miles. I may do a cam swap, roller rockers, steam kit and head gaskets if I have the time for it.

Need the full tilt column without the column shift as mine is a manual. Let me know what you have. Color is irrelevant as I will dye it to match

Went through quite a few before settling on this one. Should be here in a week or so.

Ahh ok, good to know.

Managed to pickup a nice used hitch.

Was reading up on this and it’s a tune for 91 octane. Supposedly not supposed to tow with it either. Just has different maps. As cruiser commented on a few forums, you could just go with the 89/90 ecu, high altitude cps and some good injectors and probably be very close to the performance tune.

Scratch the stroker idea. I’ve had to many straight 6’s. Building the one the way I wanted was getting up there and just doesn’t make much sense other than novelty. Going with a corvette LS1

I may take you a few times on my new build thread. Going with novak for most swap parts including radiator and mounts. Been looking into quickdraw for the new ax15 to LS bellhousing setup they have vs the novak setup (they no longer carry the conversion bellhousing you used). Curious of your thoughts on retaining the vette exhaust manifolds. Not sure if they may hug the block close enough.

Good to know. Turns out I just picked up an ls1 from a vette so I may be picking your brain a bit if that’s ok. You did a super thorough job of posting part numbers and descriptions in your build thread.

There is no access to that area inside the cab. They are 100% removed from the outside. Just use the above technique and don’t use excessive force. If you do need replacements though @Dzimm reproduces them.

IMO, on our trucks there is little to be gained with the military wrap version. Spring flex causes the fatigue that “could” cause a spring to break under severe circumstances and granted, under those circumstances you’d be very happy to have a military wrap. But I seriously doubt that many MJ’s are repeatedly flexing out their suspension with very heavy loads on 1700lb GS 5 leafs. It’s not an “upgrade” I’d hold my breath for.

If you look carefully at the specs for the 2 available options, the 4 leaf actually seems to provide more lift than the 5. The spring rate on the 5 is quite high for an unloaded truck. Your riding on the 3 main leaves basically and the free arch of the 4 pack is 1” higher than the 5 leaf. It’s the 2 overload springs that are adding all the weight capacity.

Just to add to this, @Limeyjeeper you were finally able to use the stock sanded 508 in the stock corvette location down near the passenger side frame rail correct? I seem to recall you mentioning that the relocation bracket that had it up near the battery area interfered. It seems like the vette accessory drive is laid out for pretty much exactly what an MJ needs if I’m reading that correctly. Let us know. Thanks

From my research so far it seems that the late model Renix ecu should be able up to the task. The knock sensor is a nice bonus also. Fuel and timing trims are at least on par with the HO ecu. What Renix “performance” ecu are you referring to?

More black interior pieces arrived along with my nos front left and right fenders. Russ is putting together a stroker for this and we’re shooting for 325-350. I’ll see how wel this 90’ Renix control system will handle things. Skat crank forged racetec pistons, fully ported intake and head, roller rockers. I’m quite keen on keeping the D35/30 combo due to the weight reduction but may swap to an 8.25 rear if a 44 doesn’t come through. Truck cover USA custom made roll top (thanks @Limeyjeeper for providing the build info for them!) will be in Friday. I almost went the LS route but I want to see what a fully built 100% Jeep can do. Plan to run 4.10’s with probably arbs with 31” BFG AT KO2’s on Restored turbines. Full front grille, flares, bumper and all replayed parts and accessories on their way. Also got a new rocker panel for the passenger side along with the bedside patch panel for the wheel well area. Debating on seats now. Given the build time for most parts I’m having to plan out at least a couple months in advance. Next step is pull the engine, strip it and send off for machining.

There is almost zero rust on this rig. I am going to have some body panels to replace/straighten though. If anyone is interested, I will likely be parting out the original 90k mile Renix engine and all associated electronics. Will also be probably selling the door panels and seats which are all original eliminator parts. This thing is going to get a significant power upgrade. More details to come…

Got some black interior pieces starting with the dash. Was a little dirty but cleaned up beautifully. Thanks @Kkilmer87

I was thinking the same. That trim piece does not seal the glass into place. It does help reroute water away from the urethane seal underneath though. While you have the trim piece out though, it’s a good time to reseal the window. It’s also almost impossible to reinstall the trim with the glass in place. At least it was for me

New headliner and nos front fenders on the way. The grille and bezels will be chrome. Went with the 10 slot design as I feel it does match the turbines the best. Sorting out axles engine and seats along with wiring and electronics still. Being that this is an original 90k mile engine that runs perfectly, I’m not too inclined to make a stroker. I have considered helping it breathe better though which is the real choke point on these 4.0’s. A fully ported head from Russ along with a nice Mopar cam and ported intake along with a good header would probably add a good 50 or so reliable HP. Then again, a nice Eaton supercharger would add about 85-100 hp for about the same price. The mid 8’s compression ratio and stock cam seem to respond very well to pressure. Hmmm… not sure yet. I am also wanting to keep this rig a bit on the light side so adding heavy aftermarket bumpers and axles isn’t in the build plans. Again I’m thinking of staying with the D35. I’ve grown quite keen of those axles. A KJ 8.25 is still in the cards though. I’d grab an MJ d44 if I could just get it shipped.