DirtyComanche

I spy at least a decent intake manifold, and a set of headers, a real distributor, and no evidence of smog equipment. If it's been tuned decently it's probably making a fair amount more torque than a Renix. I would predict total trans and rear end meltdown in short order with the right driver. They obviously did have some penchant for flair, as is evidence by all the fake braided hoses and crap, so it is hard to say if the mods are only skin deep. But as said, for that money I would hope not to be getting a BA-10/5 and a D35. If I was to do a SBC or any sort of GM swap and wanted a 5 speed, it would be a NV4500 without a second thought. Adapters are a waste of money when it already bolts up...

Buy some new bulbs. Check and clean the grounds. Clean corrosion out of the sockets. Report back if they're still screwy.

Anyone who swaps in a 350 and buys the adapter to mate it to a (hopefully) AX-15 is probably not smart enough to swap in a better rear axle... For all anyone knows they could have bolted that thing to the Peugeot though...

That's one of those things I'd like to have, one day...

Maybe but I'd like to stay LSD How about a Truetrac or the clones of them? I think Powertrax makes a helical gear LSD now for not too much. Even a Truetrac can be had for a decent price if you know a dealer. I preach upgrades over repairs. But if you want to do it cheap, I'd just go to the boneyard and find a lower mile Exploder and pull the carrier out of it and steal the clutch packs. Clutch LSDs to me are pretty much a waste of time and money. Something like this? https://m.summitracing.com/parts/dtl-913a561 and could I instal this myself or does everything have to be set up again and shimmed? Yeah, that one. The Powertrax clone is this one: http://www.rustysoffroad.com/powertrax-grip-pro-ford-8-8.html (I wouldn't buy it from them and a better price can be had if you look around) Unfortunately it does require a partial gear setup as it replaces the carrier. Basically measure current backlash, and shim this one to be the same. You would also need a new set of carrier bearings and a shim kit. If you're paying a gear place to do it they should not charge a lot, as it is much quicker to do this than a full gear setup. Disclaimer, I've never installed one in an 8.8, nor done any gear setup work or similar on an 8.8, and therefore I am not aware if there is any nuances or issues with doing a carrier swap in the 8.8.

There is a couple for sale on the BCJC for under $2000. I saw one in Alberta for $4000, IIRC, that I thought about getting, but it turned out it was just a cheap repaint rather than a good one (would rather pay more for a good job). Normally they seem to be $1000-3000 around here for something that's anywhere from horrible to okay.

Maybe but I'd like to stay LSD How about a Truetrac or the clones of them? I think Powertrax makes a helical gear LSD now for not too much. Even a Truetrac can be had for a decent price if you know a dealer. I preach upgrades over repairs. But if you want to do it cheap, I'd just go to the boneyard and find a lower mile Exploder and pull the carrier out of it and steal the clutch packs. Clutch LSDs to me are pretty much a waste of time and money.

Buy a locker instead....???? :dunno:

The thermostat only controls engine operating temperature when the cooling system has not reached saturation. The frontal area of a XJ/MJ chassis is minimal, to say the least, which is where the problem really lies. Short of really hacking things up you won't actually get a much bigger radiator in, as if you move it back and make it taller it has to become narrower to fit between the frame rails. I'm not saying it's impossible, or it won't work, but I am saying it is an issue with many swaps. I honestly have zero use for any Dodge/Chrysler engine or management system, so I am biased, and I am saying that despite owning multiple Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler products. I would hands down go GM. Something aluminum ideally; there's a somewhat rare 5.3L used in Trailblazers? that is all aluminum. Or the more powerful LS1/6/2/3/4/7/9/LSA/L76/92 options. Being all aluminum is helpful in the weight department, and more importantly in the thermal management department. Plus the GM EFI can actually be made to run standalone for very little money and with minimal effort or compromises; that is simply not the case with the majority of the Dodge/Chrysler/Fiat junk. Hell, I'd swap that silly I5 out of the Canyon/Colorado in.

The problem isn't getting the engine to fit. It's getting it to cool adequately.

Hmm, well into the 12s. Yeah, she works. Honestly, 'cleaned up' the MJ is a lot faster than people want to give 'er credit for.

Well, to close the saga I wound up getting one with a key from the big truck wrecker. Which was a whole story in itself, since they're a very weird bunch to deal with at the best of times. I dropped the one without a key off at the locksmith, and after a couple days of them not looking at it I got the hint that they really didn't want to touch it. Really didn't expect it to be so hard, but that's how it goes.

Done right, whatever. Most people can't nail a 100% penetration butt weld in pipe/tube without an internal sleeve though, but it may not matter since most control arms are made thick (1/4" wall or more) entirely for denting and bending (from rock contact) resistance. Personally I'd put a sleeve inside or out of it. I don't know what he did specifically, but it's quite possibly fine. It probably would have been cleaner and easier to buy some new threaded tube inserts, cut the arms down at the frame end, and then install the new inserts.

Yeah, you will need them. You can drop the bracket in the front a bit, but not that much.

Do you have the crossmember in the correct location, since the wrong set of holes would have been there? If you don't, it might not be a big deal, but you might not be able to adjust the axle to the right location...

Going European? 3 on the tree is hard enough...

No idea what you're trying to do here... On an unrelated product that uses a GM column, when I auto to manual swapped it I just took the shift lever off and wired the linkage on the other side of the firewall so it wouldn't move. It was ghetto. That truck is what I use to plow my driveway, so it's totally reasonable for it. Don't do that unless you're okay with ghetto. I'd go to the boneyard and find the correct column. They aren't too expensive at this point given that there's millions of early XJs out there.

It's a good match to the rest of the vehicle... If your floor rusted out to begin with, then you probably want to use it.

Or you could just buy cold rolled. It's less money. Works fine too. Just not my first choice.

It's sheetmetal that has a passified/annealed light surface galvanization. It's what's typically used by OEMs to stamp body parts out of, although they may process it after stamping. It still welds well, as it is not a thick zinc coating, and minimal (and I mean minimal, wipe it with a solvent basically) prep is required for welding. It is much more corrosion resistant than standard bare sheetmetal, which normally will be oiled or it will be rusted by the time you purchase it. It also takes paint extremely well providing you use a decent primer. Lastly it's easier to form than typical cold rolled, as it has been annealed, which is very helpful if you're planning to do a bunch of hammer forming. It just doesn't make any sense to pay a junkyard for a part to cut metal off of, when you can go to a real steel yard and they will sell you a virgin sheet for very little money.

Seriously, good clean satin coat is not expensive. And you don't have existing paint/rust/dents on it to deal with. I might have recycled steel a few times because I ran out at a bad time, but I would never do it if I wasn't in a bind.

Now there's some quality MSPaint work. Random fact, you can do a bolt in SOA using the rear axle from a 70s-80s GM K-truck. Other than being the wrong width, lug pattern, and various other things that is.

Yes, center to center. Perch (and potentially spring) width varies some, so center to center is the standard for measuring them.

Do it right and buy some satin coat. Unless the floors are in bad shape, then buy the whole replacement pans from Rockauto or somewhere.

42". An XJ is 43.5" for comparison.