chevy v8 conversion?

[rr41mag]

Lets say I have the motor already and I want to do the conversion. I can also weld so the brackets won't be bolt in. How much does it cost? I have an 1981 CJ7 with the stock 4 speed.

 

[Petescj]

You cant leave well enough alone can you?

I excpect Old Dog will chime in on this. Always good to here from someone whos done it themselves. Id look forward to seeing it based on your previous work.

Lets say I have the motor already and I want to do the conversion. I can also weld so the brackets won't be bolt in. How much does it cost? I have an 1981 CJ7 with the stock 4 speed.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Start adding up parts...

Engine / Motor mounts
Drivelines
adapter to tranny (maybe, check novak) and / or bell housing
Clutch
(you have hydraulic clutch linkage right?) so that should just be adjustment)
Possibly re route exhaust / new headers? etc?

You "should" be able to remain using your current tranny / Transfer Case , but if your tranny is (in novaks oppinion) too weak, or you have the extra cash, throw a chevy 4 speed granny low in there instead,

Etc.

It gets quite costly, but depending on the situation, it's possible its a good thing. Obviously all your choice

I grab a excel spread-sheet, and start listing part numbers and costs on it and add it all up as I go.



~ JR

 

[Old Dog]

If you can fab up some motor mounts the main thing you would need is the Transmission adapter, exaust, radiator, and possably driveshafts mods.
I'm not sure on the clutch as I run an auto.
Oh yea some rewiring but thats free.
So maybe $1500 based on what things cost years ago.

 

[rr41mag]

There are several people that come in to my work that have done it. I was just wondering. I love the torque of my six cylinder don't want to give that up

 

[Kane]

There are several people that come in to my work that have done it. I was just wondering. I love the torque of my six cylinder don't want to give that up

The torque of my 350 trumps the 6 all day long. In first and second gear my head gets smacked into the back of the head rest when I hit the go pedal. If you use the same tranny then the driveshaft lengths will not change but I would recommend replacing at least the rear shaft to gain some strength. The six cylinder shaft may twist. They will run around $300-350. My 3 core conversion radiator cost $400. Exhaust around $4-500. Motor mounts around $100-130. Conversion bell housing depand on your tranny and who you get it from. $200 for a clutch. Also you may need to buy a new ignition system since you most likely did not pull the stock one from the old vehicle so add some money for an MSD, Crane or what ever you prefer.

 

[duffer]

There are several people that come in to my work that have done it. I was just wondering. I love the torque of my six cylinder don't want to give that up

Yep, a 350 or bigger sbc will make a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l or 4.0 torque look just puny. If you get the cam right, it will be there from 500 rpm up. I am going to guess you will have a couple of grand in it before all is said and done but sbc's just make an outstanding power plant for Jeeps. Cheap and plentiful parts. Make sure to put some attention in the cooling dept.

 

[Niedhogg]

It also depends on how far you want to go with this.. for instance, I have a similar quest in motion, and I will be swapping an entire chevy driveline into my CJ7 some day and the cost incurred, so far, is about 400 bucks.. which has netted me a complete 350 TBI motor and an SM465 4-speed, an NP208 T-case and a set of 3/4 ton axles.. they are all currently installed on the '87 suburban they came with.

Some decent fab skills and BAM, it's in...

Well, maybe not.. but I would like to see you do this, I'd love to start my conversion with just the motor and tranny, but I know my stock axles won't hold up, and I'm not even sure there's an adapter for an SM465 to a Q-Trac, so I will need to go all the way, and by all the way I mean 1 tons and 40+ inch tires...

 

[jasonmark1993]

Id have at least 3k on hand; unless you are not in any hurry.

Fuel system, ignition, cooling, adapters, all adds up pretty quick.

 

[csuengr]

It cost me ~$900 to do my LT1 swap, and I already had the engine. Bought a used engine to tranny adapter for $140. $75 to get the ECU redone. $75 to get the input and output sides of my radiator swapped. $80 for the fuel pump, which got swapped out for the one that came in the donor car. Didn't need to alter my drive shafts since I left the Transmission in the same place. Plus all the little stuff, like new intake plumbing. It adds up fast. Fortunately I was able to make my own TV cable for $20 so I didn't have to give Lokar all that money. I am using twin Ford Contour cooling fans. My LT1 harness and ECU were already set up to run dual electric fans.

You can save some money on the radiator by using a swivel water neck and a cross tube for the bottom. My dad used a piece of chrome sink drain for the bottom crossover.

 

[jasonmark1993]

Now thats some bargain hunting!