shortnose CJ5 with V8

Myself, I would go with the Chevy stuff pretty much all the way cause it is cheap to do. You can't hardly beat the 4.3 in a smaller Jeep like yours. Sounds like you are building more of a trail rig so I would also go with full size Chevy axles. You will have to outboard the springs or do a four link set up but that isn't much trouble to do. Also, try to change over to Wrangler springs unless you are doing the four link. We found a 1-ton Chevy for one of the Jeeps I am working on for $1000 with a D60 front and a 14 bolt rear with 4.56 gears. After selling the engine, trans/t-case, and sold the body for scrap, we've got about $200 in 1-ton axles. If you could find that it would be ideal, but with a 4.3 you can get away with just 1/2 ton stuff. I think though that your question was mainly what engine and in my opinion, if I had to do one like you are talking about doing, I would go with the 4.3. Just my .02136

 

LOL ok i see the misunderstanding. the "budget and cheap" part. LOL

yes, you are right that leaving it stock would have been "the cheapest" option.

but the brakes were completely shot, and would have cost me more than a new brake system.

the money i got for my engine would have easily bought me a new engine for the CJ, except that i had to use it to buy a new engine for my daily driver since it blew up.

the money for the axle(s), will buy me new axles

the money from the tranny/t-case is almost enough to get me a new tranny/t-case.

so if you think about it, i'm just trading drivetrains. and that's when i started thinking about which drivetrain to put in...................and that's how we ended up here at this little misunderstanding.


so i'm looking for opinions/suggestions NOT USING the factory components. and modification/fabrication is not a problem, i have friends that can help with parts that i might get stuck at. this is also not a project i'm planning on doing this coming weekend. this will probably be a little over 1 year buildup.

and sparky don't go away and be quiet. your opinion is well respected, and you are not the first person that has given me some heat over selling those parts. i fully agree and partially regret getting rid of it, but i just can't work with that.

 

i'll definitely keep it "street legal", but yes, it will be more of a trail rig than a daily driver. i'll drive it around town, but not on long trips.

so what tranny/t-case combo would you put behind the 4.3L??? i'm just listing to opinions............you can't make decisions unless you look at all the options...........right???



for the springs, i was planning on using YJ springs like you had mentioned.

i currently have a 10 or 14 bolt (i don't remember which) out of an 03 Avalanche that i got for free, but i'm not sure if i'll use it or not. i'll have to figure out the axles once i decide on a drivetrain, but i would like something similar to a D44 front/rear. i was thinking about building a set of axles using a XJ/TJ rear D44 and a ford D44 for the front.

 

You sound like you have about the same kind of connections that I do so it should be pretty cheap to build with Chevy stuff. I bought three running FI 4.3 about a year ago for $200 and Chevy transmissions are a dime a dozen. You can find a 14 bolt rear for anywhere between $50-$100 depending on who you know and with just a 4.3 you would be safe with a D44 or a 10 bolt front. Unless you are trying to keep the stock axle width, this is the way I would go. Also, it is pretty common to come across 203 or 205 t-cases for free if you have the right connections. Pretty much all Chevy stuff is cheap or free except for a D60 front, and you can't beat the 4.3 because they are fairly light weight, have a ton of available performance parts, can produce a good amount of torque and hp but are not too hard on the rest of the drivetrain.

 

As far as the tranny, I personally like to run 350 turbos because they are easy to find for not much $$ and if I need one rebuilt, I have a guy that will do it for $100 plus whatever parts are needed. But in trail rigs, I tend to like the automatic. The good thing about Chevys is that you can make almost anything you have work. Unless you make some expensive changes to the set up, you will not be able to run a Ford front axle though. As far as street legal, there are several folks around here who run Jeeps with full size axles on the road every day without any trouble. I guess it all depends on the set up and what your location is.

 

any ideas how much wider fullsize chevy axles are compared to XJ/TJ axles???

and no, i'm not planning on keeping the stock CJ axle width. part of this buildup is to give it a wider stance.

 

Good question! I can't remember off the top of my head, I will have to look at some of mine unless anyone here knows. I think it is somewhere around 8-10 inches but now that I think about it, that doesn't sound right.

Anybody know?

 

IIRC full widths are around 69inches TJ axles are 60 inches CJ axles are 51 inches

 

i'll have to keep that in mind. i really like the setup i have on my 97 TJ with 12.5" tires and 3.75 backspacing. i think that would be a good width on my CJ. fullsize chevy might be a touch big, but i'll have to see when i get closer.

 

Yep, I guess I was thinkin bout my TJ again. Like I have said, I have wayy too many projects. Scorpio, it all depends on how big you are wanting to go with it. Of course, if you go with the fullsize you would probably want to stretch the wheelbase out too, so some where around where the TJ axles are is where you should want to be. In that case, I am kinda puzzled as to what you could get the axles out of so you could get a 44 front other than a Rubicon. What is the axle width on the older FS Cherokees? I know they are a good bit wider than ECJ axles, but are they as wide as full size Chevys? For some reason I think at one point I was going to get a Cherokee for the axles but I can't remember now what it had.

 

Scouts but those are rarer than cj parts.

 

True.

 

I would go for an 4.3L/NP435/Dana18/OD combo.

 

If you run a 4.3 I think a 14 bolt and a D60 are way overkill.
Look for a later wide trac CJ and grab the running gear.
Plenty of later T/C and tranny options and still be mostly Jeep parts.
You can make D30/ model 20 diffs almost as strong as the 14/60 combo and be lighter and have more ground clearance.
Its all a trade off.

 

my "size goal" for this project would preferably be 33-35" with 37" being the biggest i would even consider. most likely it'll be 33". (i want a capable but not overbuild jeep. i know to many people that are so overbuild that they are bored on 9 out of 10 trails)

the 44 is more of a "minium strenght example", i may or may not have to use something other than a 44 once i decide on a drivetrain. but unless i'm way off, wouldn't a ford 44 be driver diff and a wagonner 44 be passenger diff???

and i belive they are roughly around the size of a TJ width (some moding maybe be required)

 

I run 33s on two Jeeps with only a D30 front axle, no problems at all.

 

I know it seems like going backwards, but the cheapest route would probably mean finding a rolling chassis from a V6 CJ. That would provide a modern engine and all the drivetrain parts that you need. They turn up pretty often - depending on where you're located, one of our members (Bill, Kodiak12060) seems to turn this stuff up all the time. He's in the downstate New York or DC area - not sure which currently.

What would you like to do with your Jeep? If you want a 4-cylinder, I'd look for an 80s CJ and take the whole drivetrain. These drivetrains may fit in your chassis, and the 151/SR4 combo or such should be very cheap.

 

same here............well my 97TJ already has 33's, and my 95XJ will soon be getting them.

but i still would like to upgrade. since i'm building it from ground up, i don't see why i should upgrade "just a little". LOL

it's not always a "need", sometimes it's just "because i can".