[Guest]

I've been wanting to stick a V8 in my '72 CJ but would like some opinions. With the axles Dana 44-30 ,would a V8 smash those ?? Is a V8 over kill? How about you fellas with a V6 in your CJs. Does a swapped in V6 provide adequate power for you?

You see, I've always grown up with small-block V8 but maybe it's just not for the CJ. Of course I can see the raw power of one in a little cj5, ut have never ridden in one . So I don't know. .
Overall ,in your opinions, which is more practical in a CJ 5? V8 or V6

 

[468]

I have a CJ5-love the V8

 

[Guest]

D44... It will handle the power of a V8 easily...

78 CJ7 "Issues"

 

[jamgood96]

That depends on what kind of wheeling you'll be doing. Crawling, or boggin, or what? IMOP, I'd go for a 4.3L V6. I'd love to see the new I6 4.2 from Chevy swapped in. Or just go with a 4.0 or 4.2 w/4.0 head. Maybe even stroke the sucker. If you do go V8, go with a 302!

/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gifEat, Sleep, JEEP/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif
"James and the Giant Jeep"
1993 Wrangler 4.0/5spd, Herculined Interior, D44 w/Detroits and 4.56 soon to go in SOA

 

[390]

When my 258 bit the dust, I swapped in a 360. It was FAIRLY easy, and what a difference! I like a V-8, even at 8 mpg.

'86 CJ-7, 360, TFI, 727, OEM Dana 44 rear w/Truetrac, Dana 30 w/Powertrax No-Slip, 4" Superlift, 4:11s, Warn HS9500i

 

[kerryp]

I like the 360 in my Scrambler, it runs like a champ and gives me all the power I need, however if I were to ever build another Jeep I think I would seriously consider the V-6 over the V-8 (and I still may do so in the Scrambler when the 360 dies). My reasoning is that the newer V-6's have plenty of power (that is a matter of taste, how much is enough? /wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif), most are already injected, they are lighter, they run cooler, they take up less room in the engine compartment, and they get better gas mileage. To me all of those items add up to a pretty powerful combination. They only down side I see is that you don't have the V-8 power, that means you need to decide if that extra power is a necessity. I normally swear by V8 power (particularly big block, e.g. Ford 429, 460, etc.) but its getting to the point that if I had that size engine, I would never get get drive it due to gas prices..../wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

82 Scrambler/360/T5/D300/4" SUA/AMC20/Rear Discs/Somers Bros Axles/D30/3:73's/Lockrite Lockers.
2001 Bare Stock Trendy Jeep Sport (everyday driver)
Smithville, Texas
Member TX4X4 Cyber Club

 

[118]

Guess it all depends on what you want to do with it. For rocks and such a V6 does fine with proper gears. For mud you might need a V8. That's just guessing we don't have much mud out here in southern Az. The V6 isn't as prown to breaking stuff.

Keith


C-Ya.....................kh

 

[IN2DEEP]

I swapped out my worn out 258 for a pretty much stock (remanufactured) 302 V8 - gained 44 cubes. I love the new motor. It's not a HUGE motor, just reliable. I don't know if the difference is just being new or the V8 torque. But I'm already heavy on the skinny pedal, so I'm glad I don't have a whole lot of power available. This thing will get up and go..... But is still decent if I choose to go light on it. I don't have much experience with V6s. Everybody seems to love the 4.3 Chevy. I've heard good things about the 4.0 Fords, but those would require adapters of some sort.

Get you a small block Ford..... you'll never look back.

Oh forgot to mention, My Jeep is now my daily driver (only vehicle). I have no doubt that it'll start every time, and I drive from coast to coast. Ok, maybe not COAST to COAST, but I've been all over in it. SC, NC, Tenn, Georgia, Ohio....... where to next???

DREW
IN2DEEP 78 CJ5

 

[Guest]

Another option might be a ford 300 I-6. It should just barely fit and will provide a lot of torque and hp. If you build it up it would beat many V-8's. I was going to put one into my CJ-7 nine months ago. But I didn't have enough money as the ford 300 is harder to find than the 258. The next time I need a engine for a jeep I will try to put one in.

Jason


Jason
'86 CJ-7
3" Rancho lift, 33x12.5 Pro Comp M/T,
4.10 Gears, and locker in front, Weber, Rebuilt 258

 

[610]

there is no substitute for cubes. small block all the way, i have 44 & 27 w/ 32" tires and it has been working well for years. I am not a rock climber , but i love trails & mud.

gdm

 

[Guest]

It depends on how heavy the jeep is gonna end-up. If it's real light a 4.3 would be great. If you plan on going large get a v-8. You really can't have too much power available, but some people arn't very good a judging when to apply it. : )... The v-6 would get the weight back further, and thats probably the best reason to consider using one.

 

[Guest]

I put a TBI 350 into my Wrangler, and I couldnt be happier. I guess I'd call myself a "Chevy Guy" but Im really not all that partial to any particular make as long as its American. I went with the chevy because of the overwhelming number of conversion parts available. Another thing that helped is that there is so much info available for a chevy swap as compared to a Ford or even small block Chrysler swap. Heres one thing to remember about the 4.3L Chevy; its exacly the same block as the 350, just 2 cylinders short. So all the small block adapters will work with it. This would also be very helpful with the short wheelbase of you CJ-5. You can get very respectable performance out of the 4.3, also. If you had the choice between a carbeteted 350 and an injected 4.3, you would probable get better all around performance(tourque curve, gas mileage, reliability)out of the 4.3. Hope this helps, and good luck.

Holy sh*t thats a long way down!

 

[Caver Dave]

I checked the same thing when I got my Jeepster. The 225V6 (oddfire) had higher HP ratings than the 304V8. It seems like the 304 won out in the torque dept., but only by 10-20 ft/lbs. Could be I have this reversed though, manuals out in the shack (garage).
The 225 is reported to be a very good low-mid range mill. I'll either confirm or deny this as soon as I finish replacing the bottom of the tub. Should be OK for a little drive then.

Caver Dave
'68 Jeepster SW
225 & 3spd
Vintage Jeeps(ters) have Character,
new Jeeps just have payments.

 

[590]

You would probably be satisfied with the power of the V6 but you would not have the rumble of the V8, Nothin sounds or looks better to me than a Short Jeep rumbling on the trail or the street for that matter! As for the Axles the heavy Scout's use them with V8's and they seem to work ok, You can break any thing if you try hard enough! Good Luck:

Rodney C
1985 CJ7,302 V8,T18,D20,SOA,Shackles Reversed, 35" BFG AT's, Fiberglass Tub & Front End...
1990 Samurai,87 drive line,SOA+2.5" Add-A-Leaf,4.16's,5.12's,33" BFG's Mud's,Pony Carb...

 

[338]

I love the Fuel injected HP of the 5.0 HO that I am running.
I actually got as good and even better trail mileage than the 4.0 HOs I was running with this last week in Utah. The V8 has to work so effortlessly with the propper gearing that I rarely run above about a 700 to 1100 RPM idle. It runs very cool, never over 190 degrees, and still has close to 300 hp waiting in reserve whenever you need it.
Honestly though, it doesnt go anywhere it couldnt go before with the 6 or 4 cylinder engines.
I would certainly do the swap again, if I was building another rig.

Jeff
89 YJ
Wow, you can get a nice tan on your arms, from welding with no shirt on.