Engine swap!

[Michael Wood]

So, I am pretty happy with the performance on my 1 ton truck with the TBI 350 engine...

I mean, yeah it COULD be better but it is pretty good.

Now I also have a 1975 Jeep Cherokee with a 258 straight 6 in it and although very reliable it is a dog on power.

Where I live it's uphill everywhere you go it seems and the Jeep just don't pull the hills well...

I can pick up an 80's TI 350 for cheap and am thinking about putting one in the Jeep.

Adapters to fit the T-18 in the Jeep to the 350 is easy to find....

How much computer type crap is there? Lots of extra wiring?

Like I said, I can get a trans adapter and I can fabricate motor mounts so the wiring is all that would concern me.

Any idea on how much aggravation it would be?

 

[K201979]

Im not sure on the wiring, but ive been looking for a running 258 for my wife's cj. I might be interested in yours after the swap, if youd ship to missouri and the price wasnt too bad. Did you know that the 4.0 head is all but a direct swap on the 258 block. I want to build her a 258 with 4.0 head, hotter cam, headers and a weber 38 carb. I was going to use the 258 i have but it ate a piston and i wasnt planning on boring it. Let me kno if you swap and want to sell the 258

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I’ve seen people do that in Cherokees before, and they didn’t seem to be daunted by the wiring. The engine harness and TBI stuff are pretty straightforward, I think. Once you had a spot for your ECM and your harness went into the engine bay, there’s not that much going on to make it work properly. You can look at a pinout of the 7727 ECM and see what all the wires go to. It’s mostly sensors, fuel relay, and a few to the transmission. Not needing lockup would make it a little easier, but if you ever did want an auto, the provisions are there. There might be some adapting Jeep sending units to your engine, but that’s just a matter of finding the right adapters if a gauge isn’t working right. Also, the older TBI used a VSS buffer that was a Hall Effect sensor that plugged into the back of the cluster. This might be the hardest thing to figure out, at least I would think so. If later Jeep clusters had something similar in the 1980s, and those could fit in your truck, that might be all you need. I don’t know if or how a VSS in your gearbox would work, but there’s gotta be a workaround there.

 

[4WDKC]

if you get one for a manual transmission you shouldnt need the vss/hall effect input. The ecm isnt water proof so you need to mount it where it wont get wet.

 

[Michael Wood]

Im not sure on the wiring, but ive been looking for a running 258 for my wife's cj. I might be interested in yours after the swap, if youd ship to missouri and the price wasnt too bad. Did you know that the 4.0 head is all but a direct swap on the 258 block. I want to build her a 258 with 4.0 head, hotter cam, headers and a weber 38 carb. I was going to use the 258 i have but it ate a piston and i wasnt planning on boring it. Let me kno if you swap and want to sell the 258

Shipping to Missouri probably wouldn't be cheap at all. I would think you could find a 258 where you live easily, they came in about every AMC car and Jeep out there.

I am still deciding on a V8 swap or keeping the 258 and rebuilding it.

Keeping the 258 would include......

Bring the compression ratio from 8:1 up to around 9.5:1 - 10:1,
Little bit hotter cam
header
4 barrel intake..... with something around a 450cfm carburetor

-or-

An 80's 350 TBI engine...

I would need an adapter for the T-18 transmission to mount to the engine,
Rear driveshaft would have to be shortened a few inches
Front driveshaft would need lengthened a few inches
I'd have to figure out the wiring and computer stuff..

-or-

I'd love to find an older 70's Chevy 454
I would just need engine to trans adapter & driveshaft work.

 

[Michael Wood]

Thanks guys for the input, don't seem like too much work really..