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I had the Teraflex kit on an XJ I sold a while back. 15" wheels don't fit at all. The kit instructions said 1996 explorer pads so that wasn't an issue. I did need to install longer wheel studs since the rotor mounting face was thicker. I didn't really feel there was any benefit to the upgrade. I would just keep the stock drums in good repair and adjust them when I do a tire rotation.

TJ Rubicon front Dana 44 has the same axle tubes and outers as the Dana 30. So the same strength as what you have there. The center section is bigger but it's a low pinion where it's driving the coast side of the gears going down the road. Not as strong as a high pinion front with reverse rotation gears. Still, it's an upgrade over a 30. And it bolts in. Weld on a truss and gusset the inner C's and it'll handle 37s just fine unless you beat it like a rented mule.

My dad went in with friends to own a Piper Comanche. We would fly to visit the grandparents sometimes. I never got the bug to get my pilots license but he did teach me the basics of how to fly it.

Definitely easier to do the non electronic transmission with a carburetor.

Sort of the same thing. The 700R4 became the 4L60 in 1990. Just a name change. They did the electrical conversion to the 4L60E later in 1993. He may have used an older transmission than would have come with the engine donor. I personally would grab the engine and transmission from a donor and throw a new adapter and tailshaft in it to make it 4wd. I'd harvest the donor wiring harness along with the engine and trans. That makes it easier.

I missed that it was an 86 and you make good points there. I always wanted to do an 84-86 with a 3.4/4L60 from a mid 90s F-Body. That would be an easier swap since the 3.4 block is the same externally (more or less).

Engine swaps are not cheap or easy. The engine is a very small part of the overall cost. The easiest swap from a factory 2.5 is to go to a 4.0 that you harvest from a different XJ/MJ. Even then, you need a whole lot from the donor, especially the wiring harness. Swapping in an engine you have on hand may sound appealing but you'll get bogged down in expensive details fast. If I was going to swap a 6 cyl, I'd go with an XJ donor 4.0. If I was going with a GM, I'd sell the 4.3 and buy a V8. Same amount of work and money but you then have a V8.

All of the above. High pinion is less likely to drag on things. Low pinion is driving the coast side of the ring gear, which is not desirable. High pinion gives you a better front driveshaft angle. Sure, Jeep put it in front of a 5.9. But that doesn't mean it was a good idea.

An S10 (including an S10 Blazer) would have a driver drop case that would bolt up. Still need a 4x4 transmission to supply donor parts. Trying to keep the Jeep 207 may be more trouble than it's worth.

Yep. 100% rebuild because the tail shaft is the last part to come out. A junkyard transmission will have the 4x4 tail shaft but it will be a 27 spline chevy. So you would either need a 21 spline Novak tail shaft for the trans or 27 spline input for the 207, which may not exist. The trans to tcase adapter may not be clocked right for the Jeep case. You're better off getting a chevy case to go with the transmission. You would want parts from 82-96. GM redesigned the transmission case for the 97 model year so parts won't bolt up across that boundary. 82-87 will have a passenger drop NP208 case. The half ton pickups switched over to driver drop in 1988. The K5 and Suburban stayed passenger drop through 1991 but then went driver drop in 92. Right around then the NP208 became the NP241. 3/4 and 1 ton puckups came with the TH400 or 4L80 so no compatable parts there. So grab a transmission and floor shift tcase from a 88-96 1500 pickup or 91-96 Tahoe, Yukon, or 1500 Suburban. Rebuild the 60° 700R4 using the donor tail shaft and stock tcase and you'll be golden.

I always have good luck with Timken hubs and Dana/Spicer joints.

Pulled the drivetrain out. Now I can strip back paint to see how much rust I have to fix.

I got my steps in today for sure.

A little snow in Colorado this morning.

Pulled the engine and got the axles under it today.

How did it handle heat?

Once the sheet metal work is done, I'm going to be doing a full sandblast to bare metal and a full repaint. Once the paint dries, I'm going to want to do some kind of a liner inside and not run carpet. Maybe have a rubber floor mat at most. I'm trying to figure out the best liner to run. I want something more than bed liner. I've been considering LizardSkin, going with the sound deadener, ceramic heat insulation, and then a top coat. Does anyone have good experience with LizardSkin or one of their competitors? Any suggestions on alternatives to look at?

Finally got some more time for tear down. There's a little bit of rust on the floor boards.

The internals of the 231 use one solid piece to shift in and out the front output as well as selecting hi-n-lo. You'd have to design a system to separate the two functions. That would mean a new or highly modified case. It's possible. Just nowhere as easy as it is with a fully gear driven case.

A transfer case is easy-ish to rebuild. I would say that if one bearing is going out, all of them probably have excessive wear. And if you're replacing one you should replace them all while it's apart. Which goes back to no kit for the 207 unfortunately.

I've been sort of working in my 1997 F250HD. The project stalled this year as other stuff took precedence. Previous owner butchered the under dash wiring harness but I found a replacement. It should be showing up today. I'll be messing with it over the winter and hopefully get it running so I can go get plates. To tow the Jeeps I have a 10K rated car hauler that I'll probably replace the deck on next year sometime.

You can piece together a 6 lug rotor to fit with the JB7 caliper. I don't know part numbers but the K5 and full size Jeep crowd would probably have some suggestions.