derf

New shiny bits inbound.

Last of the brake parts came in for the rear. So it's together and ready to go. I'll get a few more parts on the front 60 and stow it for the time being. But before I get much further it's time to address an old nemesis.

Sometimes it's the Del key, depending on the BIOS manufacturer. But yeah, once in that menu, change the boot order so the CD goes first.

More slow progress.

Baby steps as I get chances to clean up parts and put things together.

Paint on the knuckles with the Artec steering kit.

Full tire size is important. A 225/75R15 is a lot smaller than a 315/75R15. The first number is the section width and the aspect ratio is a percentage of the section width to figure out sidewall height. Your stock gear ratio is probably 3.08, which is mostly for fuel economy. You want to go with a higher number gear set. Your options are 3.55, 3.73, 4.10, and 4.56. You can go more but if you're under 35" for tire size more gear is too much. Go to http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html to figure out how things perform. Select the Peugeot BA-10 in the transmission drop down list. You can ignore the transfer case and underdrive. Put in the gear ratio and stock tire size. There is a button to copy everything to the other column. Put in the new tire size. Then try the other gear ratios with the new tire sizes. In the charts below you can see how fast the engine revs on the road. You want the numbers in the last chart with the new tire size to be a little higher than with the old tires. How much higher is up to you.

Also, we're going to be documenting the build as it goes. https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMg2a90IIU_DuEh62E70dJBLhUA6klrOC

Some progress this weekend.

Got a shot of the front 60.

Some progress on the axles. I didn't grab a picture but the truss is on the front Dana 60 and it's ready for final install on the gears. Still have to weld the crossover steering bits to the knuckles. The Dana 80 has all of the brackets cleaned off and the 5.38 gears and ARB locker installed. That took some bigger tools than a regear of a 30 or 44.

OLDSMOBILE: Old Leisurely Driven Sedan Made Of Buick's Irregular Leftover Equipment DODGE: Dead On Driveway Gears Everywhere AMC: Another Major Catastrophe CHRYSLER: Company Has Recommended You Start Learning Engine Repair HYUNDAI: Hope You Understand Nothing's Drivable And Inexpensive MOPAR: My Old Plymouth Almost Runs TESLA: Totally Electric, Still Lame Anyway

35 spline. It's not going to have enough horsepower to need 40 spline.

Got some work done on the axles I'm building.

All the new Jeeps get all the hype at Easter Jeep Safari. But this one stood out to me.

I've heard that. But I've also heard they don't fit without modification.

That's a possibility. But it's decidedly inconvenient. I have found that exhaust manifolds from a TPI 350 from the 80's may have manifolds I could make work. Benefit of that engine is the low end torque from the long runners and it's a swap that fewer people do while still being a small block chevy. And I could easily drop in a 383 stroker to make some really good torque. Still, I'm likely to end up with a stroker. There's no way to tell it's a stroker from the outside. I can use factory exhaust which is smog legal. And with a mild to moderate cam it makes decent power while still passing emissions sniff tests. So I get more power without the hassle of fighting smog referees.

I'm doing some planning on my MJ project. I've looked at a few options. I could do a TDI swap but that isn't quite the direction I want to go. Other diesels are remote possibilities but they all will involve a ton of custom work. I've looked into doing a 5.9 magnum swap. Also a 5.0 (or 5.8) Ford. Again, too much custom fabrication. I briefly looked at a couple of other V8 options but they're even harder to find parts for and require a lot of fabrication. What I keep coming back to are two different options: First is to just go with a 4.6 stroker. It's by far the easiest swap since it's a bolt in. A well built stroker provides plenty of power to do serious rock crawling. The wiring is a non-issue since it stays stock. I can get some basic upgrades to the AW4 so it will hold up to the power just fine. And the build will give me plenty of opportunity to run serious transmission cooling to keep it going. But a small block Chevy 350 or LS would be pretty sweet. Plenty of power and there's tons of off-the-shelf parts to make it just short of a bolt in swap. The biggest problem I'm running into is what to do about a smog legal exhaust. And before anyone tells me to move, that isn't an option. I am where the job is and I have to pass smog regulations. That isn't going to change. The biggest issue with the SBC/LS swap is exhaust manifolds. I know it's a dumb law because it's just routing exhaust out of the engine and it doesn't actually have any significant effect on what comes out of the tail pipe. But the bureaucrats are what they are. Colorado follows California emissions rules so I need either factory manifolds or headers with a CARB EO number. Trying to find ones that fit in an MJ engine bay is challenging to say the least. I've seen a few people talk about it on various forums but I can't find any definitive answers. I've read the Novak swap guide backwards and forwards. All they have to say is to use the headers they sell but they won't pass emissions. Does anyone know of any CARB approved headers that will fit? Maybe factory manifolds but from what car/truck? It's likely I'll just punt and do a stroker. That at least would pass the visual and I can use factory exhaust components to stay compliant. But if I can find a good manifold for a V8 swap I'd prefer to go that route. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

At least 22. 15 of them Jeeps. But I may be forgetting some.

Oh, I'll still need them for my other Comanche. I have an idea for it...

So I picked up a new to me project rig. It is going to replace my previous project. It's @MeanLemons old project that came to me via @Smokeyyank. It has a lot of work done already that I was going to do with my other project. Mostly the frame stiffeners and long arms. I'm going to take this one several steps further. I have a Dana 60/80 combo to replace the 44s. I'm going to 4 link the rear and probably bob it further. Not sure about engine and trans yet. More to come.

The Wagoneer is a bigger vehicle than the Grand Cherokee, not just a higher trim level.

A lot of diesels drive a fuel pump off the timing gears. That would be difficult to retrofit into a 4.0. An electric pump would be the easiest to integrate into the system.

The 7.3 powerstroke uses an oil fired injector. High pressure oil, 26,000 psi or so, pushes the 40 psi fuel like a syringe into the combustion chamber. It works but it's not ideal. If I was going to convert a 4.0 I'd probably go with a common rail setup. You could go with the cam position sensor that came in the 2000-2001 XJ to replace the distributor and drive the common rail setup. I'd also go with a gear drive for the camshaft to eliminate chain stretch.