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'86 Commuter/Weekend Warrior


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After pulling out my aftermarket drop-in liner that has been there since new to clean, I've been thinking of cutting off the "over the rail" part as all it does is rub the paint down to nothing and let it rust. The bottom of the box isn't as bad as I thought it would be, paint is rubbed down there too.

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The bed rail has some rust on it, but most of that was because of very bad bondo job trying to fill the holes from what I'm guessing was a shell at one time was over the bed. There are holes in the liner along the bed rails that line up perfectly with the bondo'ed areas. We'll address those soon, just need to get out the rest of the vinyl/insulation to see the rest of the cab floor. I think I revealed the worst of the rust so far, so I feel confident.

 

Jerry

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Just for grins, after checking all of the wiring, I hooked a battery to the MJ.




 

It looks more alive when the lights work!!

 

For those that know, could the reason why the left turn on the dash is on be that I have a bulb out at the front turn signal? Been so long since I dealt with an issue like this. Thanks!

 

Jerry

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First, let me welcome you to the club!

 

Second, from the best I can tell, your firewall is not notched in the correct spot for clean and clear fitment of a 4.0.  But, do not fear as all hope is not lost.  Since you're already very familiar with Jeeps, I don't feel the need to go too in depth here, however, if you should need any assistance/advice, feel free to PM.  I've been through a 4.0 swap with my '86.  It's well worth the effort IMO, especially over the 2.8 (that seems you were lucky enough to not have to hassle with lol).  Feel free to look through my build thread in my signature and here's a thread I made long ago that compiles some useful links on the subject. http://comancheclub.com/topic/39539-links-for-25l-to-40l-swap/

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First, let me welcome you to the club!

 

Second, from the best I can tell, your firewall is not notched in the correct spot for clean and clear fitment of a 4.0.  But, do not fear as all hope is not lost.  Since you're already very familiar with Jeeps, I don't feel the need to go too in depth here, however, if you should need any assistance/advice, feel free to PM.  I've been through a 4.0 swap with my '86.  It's well worth the effort IMO, especially over the 2.8 (that seems you were lucky enough to not have to hassle with lol).  Feel free to look through my build thread in my signature and here's a thread I made long ago that compiles some useful links on the subject. http://comancheclub.com/topic/39539-links-for-25l-to-40l-swap/

I really can't see a difference in the firewall between my '93 XJ and the '86 MJ. Where exactly is the difference? I'm more curious then anything.

 

Jerry

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I really can't see a difference in the firewall between my '93 XJ and the '86 MJ. Where exactly is the difference? I'm more curious then anything.

 

Jerry

It is hard to see with the engine in the way lol.  Check this out for a comparison.

 

Edit:

 

Here, I highlighted the difference... see below.

 

 

 

I chose to smash mine in with the BFH of Thor...

 

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I'm starting to rethink my engine choice. With the radiator area being a problem and the firewall possibly being another problem, I'm thinking of going with either a 4.3 V6 or a 350. All I need to do with this truck is commuting to and from work, a very little off roading, and some hauling capabilities. Which would you guys think would be a better choice?

 

Jerry

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I'm starting to rethink my engine choice. With the radiator area being a problem and the firewall possibly being another problem, I'm thinking of going with either a 4.3 V6 or a 350. All I need to do with this truck is commuting to and from work, a very little off roading, and some hauling capabilities. Which would you guys think would be a better choice?

 

Jerry

Do you plan on using any kind of fuel injection, or will this be a carb'd set up?

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I'm starting to rethink my engine choice. With the radiator area being a problem and the firewall possibly being another problem, I'm thinking of going with either a 4.3 V6 or a 350. All I need to do with this truck is commuting to and from work, a very little off roading, and some hauling capabilities. Which would you guys think would be a better choice?

 

Jerry

 

Going through all the work to put in the 4.3, you might as well put in the V8.  The problem with the V8 will be the cooling issues as the MJ nose is very narrow, thus proper air flow may be hard to achieve.  It's been done, but it's costly.  Custom motor mounts, Chebby transmission, etc.  The reason I chose to do the 4.0 swap was because 1.) it was about as easy as it gets since it I had a donor XJ, and 2.) Being my first swap and having no prior welding experience, I wanted to stick to a mostly bolt on affair.  You could stand in front of my truck, with the hood raised, and it's hardly noticeable that the 4.0 wasn't original to the truck.  Custom, but not too flashy.  And honestly, Chebby engines don't belong in AMC stuff, just how I feel.  If you're going to do a V8 swap, put yourself a nice AMC 360 or even a 401 in it.  That would be sexy. :drool:

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My next door neighbor said that he had a built Javalin 390 that he said would fit nicely in there, LOL! I want something somewhat econamical, and doing that 390 just won't work for me! I'm kind of the same school as you guys, I would like to keep it AMC/Jeep. I just need more clarification on what would need to be cut at the radiator to make the 4.0 radiator to work. That is my biggest issue, need to know the direction I need to take with this. I'm not a welder, but, I do have people that can weld, so, that is still an option.

 

Jerry

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I am no welder either, and at this point, I would not trust my welds to hold together anything crucial or safety wise, the only thing I welded on my '86 was two plates to the front cross member to give the bottom of the radiator somewhere to anchor and a couple spot welds to secure some nuts for the top radiator support (see my build thread and below).  The rest was cutting and "reforming" (aka the BFH smashing lol).

 

 

 

Final product:

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