derf

Remember the Explorer Sport Trac? Beds were only a few inches bigger than 4'.

The 304/360/401 share the bellhousing bolt pattern but they're bigger than the small blocks from Ford, GM, and Mopar. They are hard to fit. As is the 4BT.

Yeah. It's a self feeding cycle. Everyone does Chevy swaps because everyone does Chevy swaps. Parts for Chevy swaps are plentiful. Ford and Mopar are arguably similar in capability but the lack of bolt in swap kits make them rare. So nobody makes the kits. So nobody buys them. If you can fabricate the mounts, you still have all of the nitpicky details to sort out on your own. The Chevy swap kits cost a bit but they bolt right in and save you a bunch of time and (when you add it all up) money.

If I was going to swap a classic small block Chevy, I'd probably do a 383. It can be done with the Vortec setup pretty easily if you want. But if I had time and money to burn, I'd look at doing a small block Ford. A 302/5.0 would tuck in that engine bay nicely. You would need to do more fabrication but you could start with the frame side mounts for a Chevy and make engine side brackets to fit. Everyone does Chevy swaps. A Ford would be unique.

I dropped a thread with the VIN in the registry. Link to the search on their page: https://www.pullapart.com/inventory/search/?Locations=39&MakeID=33&Models=1319&Years=-1&LocationPage=false&LocationID=0#results Looks pretty rough. I may see about rescuing the bed this coming weekend if it's not already gone.

Just dropped at the Pull-A-Part in Aurora, CO. 4 cylinder, manual.

Hauling, sure. But it lacks towing chops. It can handle light duty towing fine but a built Jeep on a trailer is too much for it. And, unfortunately, that's what I really need. But for daily work stuff, it's hard to beat.

This came out of my 2006 XJ. It should fit any Jeep (including Chrysler and Dodge) vehicle from that era. I'm not sure of the exact year range. It worked well before I pulled it a couple of weeks ago to swap in a touchscreen double DIN unit. $100 shipped.

Free, as in beer! Came out of my 87 donor. It's intact. Was blowing with no noise. No A/C in this unit. Just the heater. I figure I'd offer it up before it goes into the trash bin. You maybe could convince me to ship it on your dime but you would have to sweet talk me into it.

That looks awesome. Do you have any pictures in progress? I'd like to do something similar in my build.

Finished up the ham radio installation. Another antenna similar to the GMRS but on the other side. I also put in Hothead headliners. They really do keep the heat down.

I run TrueTracs in my Jeeps that are mostly street oriented. You never know they're there. The Jeep just handles snow and ice better. And there's no clutches to worry about so it lasts forever. Just don't put in gear oil that has limited slip additive. It messes with the helical gears in the TrueTrac and reduces how effective it is. The limited slip additive is for clutch style (OEM style) limited slips. It should let you do a nice dual tire burnout. If you're doing serious rock crawling where you lift tires off the ground, a selectable locker is a better choice. Auburn Gear makes one that's a lot less effective than true lockers. I had one and I'm glad I got rid of it. I put in an Eaton Detroit E-Locker instead and was much happier.

The 8.8 isn't really an upgrade over a Dana 44. Not by much anyway. You can upgrade the 44 easily enough. Weld on a good truss that reinforces the center section. You can put in a locker with 32 or even 35 spline shafts. You can swap on disc brakes too.