[Guest]

Hello all,
My friend is getting rid of his 85 GM van. It has a Chevy 350 auto in it. The van has been used for years to haul items from wholesalers to his store (grocery store). He says the engine runs great. I have the stock 258 T176 in my CJ. The engine runs fine but I'm going crazy trying to get it to idle properly, also have some vacuum and electrical problems.
I can get the van for free, would it be worthwhile installing the 350 in it? Do I need any special adapters? How about electrical stuff? What do I do with the van after I remove the engine? Do you guys know if the junkyards will take it (I will get the title)?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

John

[email protected]

 

[Guest]

It will be worthwhile for you to swap.. ask any guy here w/ a 350 under the hood. Now do you want to keep it automatic? Mate a Manual? Let us know what you want so we can help you.

78 CJ7 "Issues"

 

[Guest]

The swap is worth it. You will have to pickup an adapter from someplace like advanced adapters. While I didn't mind the 258, the 350 is a much better(and cheaper)motor. If the motor is a 4 bolt you can push a lot of torque from it. You may want to go over the engine wiring harness and remove it fromthe van unless it is hacked and spliced. Painless wiring sells the harness if you need it. Don't forget motor mounts and radiator. Gotta keep it kewl. The stock 350 only weighs 25 pounds more than a stock 258. You can grab that weight back like I did with headers and an aluminum intake. Any other problems give me a holler, I think I ran into every pitfall I could have. I made the mistake of trying to hurry. Take your time and reap the benefits.

/wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif76 CJ7, 21/2"susp 1" body lift, waggie D44 front and rear, 350cid, Quadratrac, 33" BFG's/wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif

 

[Guest]

Okay, I saw the words BETTER AND CHEAPER. Please tell me how a engine with all the adapters, exauhst, not to mention either a new radiator, or reworked radiator is cheaper then a bolt in AMC 401. I was thinking about an engine swap, to a small block chevy, and I am a chevy man. I have done all the figures and ended up with a 401 under the hood of my Jeep. If you also swap the tranny, the Chevy could be a good swap, but don't overlook the AMC V8. It really isn't that bad of an engine, and even a 304 has almost as much torque, stock for stock, as the all mighty 350 Chevy. I will be honest, a big factor in staying AMC for me was, I allready had a rare 6.32 low CJ T18 tranny, but I am fully impressed with the low RPM torque, and the high RPM horsepower of my semi-built 401, and wouldn't trade it for any other engine, especially for 4wheeling.

Ray

 

[Guest]

I would drop that 350 in a heartbeat.. ok you got to buy an adapter.. Sell your old [censored] and the money is going to be there.. Just part out the rest of the van and try to overcome some of the costs..

78 CJ7 "Issues"

 

[Guest]

Im in the process right now of swapping in a 350 into my 84 cj7. I was lucky enough to buy a jeep for $500 with a crap body but had a 350 conversion already done. I now have a 350 with a th400 tranny mated to a 300 T/C. I just put the engine in the bay, with 4wd hardware motor mounts which seem to be pretty beefy. My problem now is I cant get the tranny on until I fix the skidplate mounts....I guess the nuts in the frame are broken off. Once I get the sleeves for it i can mount my tranny and start to wire it up. Take your time and do it right. If anyone has any pics of this swap or any other tech tips let me know, Id luv to hear them. Or if by CT stop by and help me out...lol. Bye.

Hey!!!!! Can your truck come out and play with mine????