1984 grand wagoneer hemi swap

[SOLSAKS]

rims look great !

in my opinion, that design is the best, more polished area to shine and sparkle.

love this thorough restoration.

its going to be a fine vehicle.

dave in NC - USA

[rang-a-stang]

I am glad you got your wheels clear coated, it will make it easier for our drool to be wiped off them.

I have seen 3 sets of Cherokee doors, all of them where torn like that. The other tear you will probably find is on the top of the tail gate, in the middle. All 3 tailgates I have touched have been torn there too. Easy fix but annoying.

Your whole chassis looked GREAT! Grabbing some popcorn to read along!

[polarfire]

Subscribed!

[ewimsatt]

Subscribed. Looking great so far!

[wimbers]

so since the body was off, and sent to the bodyshop:

A pile of Jeep parts!


empty body on self made dolly


Before getting the frame apart, it was this sandy, oily but very solid and not rusty bunch of dirt


Body was brought back to bare metal:


then epoxy primed:


then flattened:


epoxy primed again,


And then colored primer, 2 layers of color, and one layer of clear coat.






time for assembly!

[wimbers]

we did not forget the underside:


IT was blasted just like the rest of the body before, then primed, then body protection, and covered with an epoxy coating in satin or flat black. (inner weel wells were satin, underside flat black)

[rang-a-stang]

AMAZING!!!!

[cu4whln]

OOOHHH !

Shiney !!

Very nice.

[bkilby]

Wow! Looks great!

[Kaiserjeeps]

That is beyond stunning. It looks like new! Doing it right .

[wimbers]

So look what the mailman brought in!



A 5.7 hemi, 4wd 8hp70, and np241D transfer case to replace the 360 / 727 / 229 that was under it.

while the body was on the bridge, I made sure the chassis was entirely done and we married it together:


instantly looks like progress


And rolling it back next-door into our assembly shop, the color (deep night blue, non metallic) looks amazing:


I then test fitted the engine with the transmission attached (after I went through a couple months of waiting for parts (rear sump oil pan kit, SRT manifolds)


And behold, this thing fits like a glove, The only adjustment is the ridiculous heat exchanger element that goes with the 2016 RAM sourced 8hp70. That had to go and be replaced by a couple of AN fittings that allow oil cooler lines go straight to the front for radiator transmission cooler.

I mounted the engine with conversion mounts I got grom BJ's (I also had some other mounts but they looked too flimsy and did not leave proper room for the steering rod that goes from column to box.)


And yes, I am definitely not a welder, but it is bolted and welded with plug welds through the holes, you can lift the car with these mounts so it'll hold the engine just fine.



I first thought the engine was very low, but upon further inspection, the bottom of the oil pan is at exactly the same height as the bottom of the 360 oil pan that came out, so it is just a more vertically compact engine.

Since I got the engine in I started to fit and mount body panels. hope that I can align everything properly to the doors that now are pretty much perfect and actually shut flush.

[bkilby]

Nice! Looking great!

[rang-a-stang]

The valve cover looks really close to the brake booster. You planning to swap to Hydroboost or do you have other ideas?

[wimbers]

The valve cover looks really close to the brake booster. You planning to swap to Hydroboost or do you have other ideas?

The hemi is a wide block, it will not fit with the brake booster and not with the heater box.

So indeed it is getting hydroboost, and new airco to replace the heater airco twins that I took out

[bkilby]

The hemi is a wide block, it will not fit with the brake booster and not with the heater box.

So indeed it is getting hydroboost, and new airco to replace the heater airco twins that I took out

Hey wimbers, I stuffed a Hemi in and yeah, you have to do hydraboost, but if you feel energetic, you can cut down the heater box, put a smaller core inside and run it. Mine still clears the valve cover and the heater still works great. Just a suggestion. You're doing nice work!