Post by tjp78 on Dec 30, 2015 12:47:51 GMT -5
So, now that it's finally running, I thought I'd post pics of my project. Been working on it for almost a year. Will get some better pictures once I get it out of the garage.
Here's how it started: A tired old '87 Jeep Wrangler with a broken rear axle and about 190k miles, traded an AR15 for it. Replaced the rear axle with a Ford 8.8, gutted the interior, put in new carpet, new seats, nice stereo, etc. Had a decent daily-driver for a few months, but the original 4.2 motor was on it's last legs and wouldn't hold oil pressure.
And here's how the new motor started. Not sure what it came out of, probably an 85-ish something based on the old-style distributor. Paid $50 for it, and had my kids help me tear it down so they could learn about how it all works. Took it down to the machine shop, had them bore it out and rebuild it.
Here's the motor, almost done. Running a Garrett GT28 ball-bearing turbo, Stinger header, 5.0 throttle body, and a few other goodies. Nothing crazy, but still more than enough power for a little old Jeep. I went with small turbo because I want it to spool fast, don't really care about making 500+ horsepower. Just need enough power to move this Jeep through the Rocky Mountains without breaking a sweat.
I'm running a C4 transmission from an old Bronco, mated to an Atlas 4-speed transfer case. It will have a 10.5:1 ultra-low range, 3.8:1 low-low, then the regular 2.7:1 low and 1:1 high range. The C4 was built by the shop here in Colorado Springs that builds transmissions for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. It was built to the same specs as the 800-ish horsepower Mustang that's been competing for the past few years. Most of the accessories on the front of the motor came from a '94 Ranger with the 2.3L. Had to modify a couple of the brackets to get them to fit. I'll eventually convert the AC compressor to be an on-board Air pump, so I can air up tires and run pneumatic tools on the trail.
Had to do quite a bit of fabrication. Did my own motor mounts and cradle, trans/transfer case mounts, not to mention all of the little odds-and-ends like cable brackets, shift linkages, brake lines, hard fuel/oil lines, bend the exhaust, etc.
Wiring up the PiMP and Motor Swap harness. Have to admit, this was a freakin' mess because of the limited space inside the cab. I could barely fit all the wiring up under the dash, but was able to tuck most of it up out of the way so you can't see it.
Here is the motor "almost" done. I cleaned up the wiring and hose routing a bit inside the engine bay after this pic. Decided to replace some of the braided hoses with stainless-steel hard lines. Really made a huge difference. On the top-right, you can see the Hydroboost brake conversion. I'm running a hydroboost valve from a Chevy Astro, mated to a Corvette master cylinder and aftermarket proportioning valve since I have disk brakes front and rear (after the Ford 8.8 axle swap). I built all of the power steering hoses myself using industrial hydraulic hose and crimped fittings rated at 3000psi.
And now it looks like a Jeep again. Lots of work put into it, and it just looks like an ugly old Jeep. That's what I was going for to begin with, but I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed myself until I open the hood.
Here's how it started: A tired old '87 Jeep Wrangler with a broken rear axle and about 190k miles, traded an AR15 for it. Replaced the rear axle with a Ford 8.8, gutted the interior, put in new carpet, new seats, nice stereo, etc. Had a decent daily-driver for a few months, but the original 4.2 motor was on it's last legs and wouldn't hold oil pressure.
And here's how the new motor started. Not sure what it came out of, probably an 85-ish something based on the old-style distributor. Paid $50 for it, and had my kids help me tear it down so they could learn about how it all works. Took it down to the machine shop, had them bore it out and rebuild it.
Here's the motor, almost done. Running a Garrett GT28 ball-bearing turbo, Stinger header, 5.0 throttle body, and a few other goodies. Nothing crazy, but still more than enough power for a little old Jeep. I went with small turbo because I want it to spool fast, don't really care about making 500+ horsepower. Just need enough power to move this Jeep through the Rocky Mountains without breaking a sweat.
I'm running a C4 transmission from an old Bronco, mated to an Atlas 4-speed transfer case. It will have a 10.5:1 ultra-low range, 3.8:1 low-low, then the regular 2.7:1 low and 1:1 high range. The C4 was built by the shop here in Colorado Springs that builds transmissions for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. It was built to the same specs as the 800-ish horsepower Mustang that's been competing for the past few years. Most of the accessories on the front of the motor came from a '94 Ranger with the 2.3L. Had to modify a couple of the brackets to get them to fit. I'll eventually convert the AC compressor to be an on-board Air pump, so I can air up tires and run pneumatic tools on the trail.
Had to do quite a bit of fabrication. Did my own motor mounts and cradle, trans/transfer case mounts, not to mention all of the little odds-and-ends like cable brackets, shift linkages, brake lines, hard fuel/oil lines, bend the exhaust, etc.
Wiring up the PiMP and Motor Swap harness. Have to admit, this was a freakin' mess because of the limited space inside the cab. I could barely fit all the wiring up under the dash, but was able to tuck most of it up out of the way so you can't see it.
Here is the motor "almost" done. I cleaned up the wiring and hose routing a bit inside the engine bay after this pic. Decided to replace some of the braided hoses with stainless-steel hard lines. Really made a huge difference. On the top-right, you can see the Hydroboost brake conversion. I'm running a hydroboost valve from a Chevy Astro, mated to a Corvette master cylinder and aftermarket proportioning valve since I have disk brakes front and rear (after the Ford 8.8 axle swap). I built all of the power steering hoses myself using industrial hydraulic hose and crimped fittings rated at 3000psi.
And now it looks like a Jeep again. Lots of work put into it, and it just looks like an ugly old Jeep. That's what I was going for to begin with, but I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed myself until I open the hood.
