232 engine questions

[74CJFIVE]

i have a 74 CJ5 with a AMC 232 i6 i6 and i was wondering if it is worth doing some upgrades to this engine or pull it and put in a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l with a 4.0 head,or just switch to a 4.0. i have not read much on the AMC 232 i6 and i am new to jeeps. this is my first one. i want to keep a i6 and kind of wanted to keep it simple. any advice, thanks

 

[coldair]

Go for the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l with the 4.0 head you will love it.

 

[Torxhead]

I would think your choices sound good even a rebuilt AMC 232 i6 would work. It pretty much depends on how much power you want on the asphalt and how much you want to spend for it.

 

[Rollie]

Go for the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l with the 4.0 head you will love it.

When you put the 4.0 head on the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l is that just a bolt on process, or do you have to do some work to get it to fit and work? In a nut shell, what would be the best set up if one were to do this, carb, intake manifold, etc, and what kind of gain would you realize from it? Thanks.

 

[73CJ]

All depends on what you want.

Dropping in a 4.0 w/FI can be done cheap with a Cherokee donor. . .

 

[CJim7]

When you put the 4.0 head on the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l is that just a bolt on process, or do you have to do some work to get it to fit and work? In a nut shell, what would be the best set up if one were to do this, carb, intake manifold, etc, and what kind of gain would you realize from it? Thanks.

Yes and no. The head is virtually a bolt on process....but there are little things that often need tweeking. Because the 4.0 components aren't matched to AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l specs, a little ingenuity sometimes has to take place. For instance I had to do some grinding on my intake manifold to clear the power steering pump as well as a little grinding on the header. But it all depends on the parts you aquire. I mixed and matched using XJ parts, Clifford parts and various other components. The combiination is virtually endless...
I ran a Clifford aluminum intake, XJ header, 500cfm Edelbrock and the combination worked very well....but I also did some internal engine mods like high compression pistons and a cam, TFI ignition, the power output was absolutely impressive.