Mods
The mighty F-head 4 banger was replaced with a 1990 3800 V6 from a Buick Lasabre, given the long history of jeeps and buick V6's I thought this was appropriate although I would have really preferred a TDI but the budget wouldn't allow for that. The factory 3 speed was swapped with a T18 four speed (granny low) mated to the engine with a twin pocket 60 degree V6 bellhousing from a 83-92 Camaro and adapted to the factory Dana18 transfer case with an adapter plate from Advanced Adapters. A warn overdrive was added to help the factory 5.38 gears on the highway. The radiator is a replacement unit for a 60's Mustang. The power steering box is from a 78-79 Ford Bronco/F150 which allowed me to retain my PTO driven winch on the front. I built a full cage for it. Modified the original steering column to work with the modern steering box. I boxed the frame, added nerf bars/steps, fabricated front and rear bumpers for it, a new crossmember and winch mount. I adapted the Camaro hydraulic clutch since I was already using the bellhousing. I added a passenger side fuel tank in place of the toolbox under the passenger seat. In combination with the military style tank under the drivers seat, I have 27 gallons of fuel so bring on the zombie apocalypse!
Build story
My Dad bought the Jeep when I was a kid. I drove it all through high school and bounced all over central Colorado. The original F-head was actually the first engine I ever rebuilt and I seriously considered keeping it just for that reason and adding a turbo to, but it was hard to argue with a free fuel injected V6. I completed the build over 6 years working nights and weekends but in my defense I was also building a house during part of that time too. My goal for the build was an honest farm/hunting rig, nothing fancy. I bedlinered the entire thing inside and out for durability and did my best not to ignore the little dents and just focus on major repairs. I figured I could rebuild my high school run-about for $10k but as it sits now I've got over $19k... just don't tell my wife:-)\r
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I grew up as a diesel mechanic & welder, working for my Dad, so the only really challenging piece of this build was the electronics with the engine. The 1990 3800 is OBDI so not overly complicated but there is very little support or internet information on it, so a lot of research was involved.
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I grew up as a diesel mechanic & welder, working for my Dad, so the only really challenging piece of this build was the electronics with the engine. The 1990 3800 is OBDI so not overly complicated but there is very little support or internet information on it, so a lot of research was involved.