| 1979 Wagoneer----rescue with 5.3L vortec swap |
This Jeep was destined for change. Having the original 33,000 miles on the ticker and coming from a museum, it was only right to do a complete makeover. Maybe something a little more modern......the project begins
|
The Jeep has the original AMC 360, quadratrac and even bench seats. There was a 4" unnamed lift in the back and a lone AMC distributor. The distributor was pulled in favor of a HEI set-up. The new distributor was installed incorrectly, the oil pump never turned and a 360 lost it's life.
|
|
|
| First thing first, we needed to finish that lift. Basic 4" lift is going to make room for some larger tires later. We also swapped in an AMC 20 that had a centered differential and a slapped a PT1710 lockright in there so wheeling the wide load would be easier.
|
|
|
| The new axle was needed because we swapped in a Dana 300 and we needed a centered differential.
|
These FSJs are so common that any conversion part you need is readily available at any shop. Wow that couldn't be further from the truth. To put a simple 5.3L Vortec engine in the bay of this Wagoneer we needed to make a few things. After alot of measuring and a few trial fits, I got the perfect engine mounts. These bolt right to the existing AMC V8 frame mounts and position the 5.3 perfectly. Bolt the engine mounts in place then lower the engine right onto the mounts and install bolts.
|
|
There is plenty of space between the heater box and the brake booster. No problems with the steering shaft and the there is 3/4" clearance between the hood and the intake. All those measurements paid off. I am extremely pleased with the results.
|
|
| Installing the 4L65E was a breeze as the motor mounts position the engine such that the tranny with the adapters for the Dana 300 mount in the original holes in the crossmember without modifications. We did put a small spacer between the crossmember and stock mount to gain some clearance for the front driveshaft. The front driveshaft was changed from a CV style to a single u-joint style for tranny oil pan clearance.
|
|
The Dana 300 is a great transfercase and there wasn't any way we were keeping that quadratrac. So, after getting all the adapters from Advanced Adapters, the twin sticked Dana 300 found a new home.
|
 |
| We did end up needing to space the case up for driveshaft clearance issues |
|
|
|
|
|
| The transmission was in need of a little cooling so a very nice transmission cooler was added. It fit wonderfully behind the grill and came with it's own cooling fan. This will add years to the transmission by keeping temps down low.
|
|
Time for a little protection
|
Every Jeep that is going to do any offroading needs a winch and the owner had one laying around that he thought would work fine. It was our job to make a spot for it. Bolting it to the frame in 8 locations was a good place to start. Lots of strength through bracing, gussets and good design made this a very strong bumper. We added some grill protection in case a wondering animal happened to cross paths with the Green Machine. We'll finish welding it together and make some provisions for towing it behind another vehicle. Finally some paint and it will be ready for the trail.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back to working on the engine again. Here is an engine cover with a little extra.And for the oil pressure, I machined the piece just over the oil filter to accept a 1/4" NPT thread and installed the stock sending unit and pressure switch. This worked great.
|
 |
| A little something for the engine |
|
|
|
|
| Here are some pictures of the engine
installed and ready to go. The engine
fits like it was made to be there. I can't
wait to see that engine cover painted.
|
|
It's off to get A/C and paint and body
More soon.........
|
|
