Just scored a 401!!!

[Colorado Yeti]

I have a completely stock 1976 CJ7 Renegade (Red with Blue Levi (Edition) 's top / interior) that I keep up in the mountains. It has the AMC 304 and the factory T-18 granny 4-speed tranny and I put less than 500 miles on it a year.....mostly off roading. I am the second owner and it only has 38,000 miles. Although it is in excellent shape, I have been planning to do a full resoration in the next 5 years and am slowly acquiring obsolete aftermarket parts from the 1970's era. My goal is to make it a total sleeper.....keep it looking like a factory stock CJ with a few tasteful mods but have a ridiculously powerful engine under the hood.

I just bought a well-running 1974 AMC 401 engine out of an International Travelall. The guy has an extensive AMC collection and has been collecting various high-performance engines for the past 30 years. He is a super nice guy and sold it to me for $600 complete air-cleaner to pan. I am going to build the engine to have an extroradinary amount of power but look like the stock AMC 304 on the outside, mostly to fool the techs at the emissions station. I am so psyched that I can hardly wait to pick it up next weekend.

 

[gert]

Wow dude that’s cool I have a 360 in mine and am planning on dressing it out like a AMC 304 to fool my inspection station as well, sounds like you have a great combo in your jeep


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[Lumpy Grits]

401 in a CJ=a new respect for religion........
Watch the cam you put in-You don't want your vacuum at idle to be so low as it will affect PB and such.
Good luck!
LG

 

[Colorado Yeti]

Agreed. You have a good point, although my Jeep has manual brakes and I plan to keep it that way for offroading safety. I'm planning to use a fairly mild cam profile that optimizes the torque profile, not the horsepower. I may just throw some new seals in the engine and run it the way it is until I get around to rebuilding the Jeep. My AMC 304 is getting a little tired and smoking some even though it only has 38 k on it.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Nut'n wrong with PB off road.
You'll see more PB vehicles on the trail than manual.
Do a compressing and leak-down test. Confirm oil pressure.
Might not be a bad idea to have the engine oil analyzed.
LG

 

[mtnwhlr]

I am going to build the engine to have an extroradinary amount of power but look like the stock AMC 304 on the outside, mostly to fool the techs at the emissions station. I am so psyched that I can hardly wait to pick it up next weekend.

You will need the air pump and injection system to pass emissions. Nice looking CJ.

 

[Colorado Yeti]

Luckily I still have all of that on my AMC 304 ....good point, as that stuff is getting really hard to locate.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

How far back in years does Co. go for SMOG testing?
Ca goes to 1975. . Every 2 yrs, even though some counties are exempt.
LG

 

[mtnwhlr]

'75 here too. '76 -81 it's every year unless you have a 5 year collector plate then it's every 5 years when you renew your tags. '82 and up it's every two years.

 

[Alec79CJ]

You have a beautiful, original CJ! I'll be the debby downer...don't do it! Keep your Jeep original! Get another that's hacked up and drop that 401 in it but please don't change that Jeep!

 

[WHATROAD]

'75 here too. '76 -81 it's every year unless you have a 5 year collector plate then it's every 5 years when you renew your tags. '82 and up it's every two years.

And location dependent, El Paso county doesn't have inspections.

 

[Colorado Yeti]

You do have a good point. However, the 401 is a direct bolt-in and I will not have to modify the Jeep at all to put this engine in. And I will definitely keep the original AMC 304 in case I ever want to return it back to stock.

 

[diddy2003]

Very cool. I’ve been very happy with my V8 swap. HUGE difference.

 

[Dan77CJ7]

Very cool. I’ve been very happy with my V8 swap. HUGE difference.

It’s like what I imagine jesus’s motor looks like.... because we all know Jesus drives a CJ...

 

[diddy2003]

It’s like what I imagine jesus’s motor looks like.... because we all know Jesus drives a CJ...

Haha, thanks. It sounds pretty good at idle with the cam and dual delta flow 40s without cats. The jeep really moves now. It’s pretty hilarious. I couldn’t imagine a built 401 . . .

 

[Colorado Yeti]

Looks awesome....I agree. I love that AMC metallic blue, although I think I will paint my 401 the factory '76 light blue so it looks just like the stock AMC 304 . I'm picking it up tomorrow and will try to post some pics.

 

[Dan77CJ7]

Looks awesome....I agree. I love that AMC metallic blue, although I think I will paint my 401 the factory '76 light blue so it looks just like the stock AMC 304 . I'm picking it up tomorrow and will try to post some pics.

sounds like some fun man!

 

[Hedgehog]

yeah do know, if you don't grind it off, the block says 401 in big numbers caste on it.

 

[Colorado Yeti]

So I picked up the engine today. He had kept it covered under a carport, so it was reasonable protected. It is a complete engine with all of the smog equipment. Unfortunately, it appears that it is seized from sitting for many years. I know this guy well and he is as honest as the day is long. He swears that the engine was running well before he pulled it out of the Travelall. He thought it had 60k - 80k on the engine. Since I know he is very trustworthy, I went ahead and gave him $600 for the engine. After all, it is a 401, and I did not see anything obviously wrong with it. The oil looks okay.

I will probably pull the plugs and add 4 oz. of diesel fuel or Marvel Mystery Oil to each cylinder once a week or so to see if I can get it freed up. Otherwise, I'll just throw it on a stand and start taking it apart. Either way, I think I did okay with the deal.

I want to post pics but I have to say it is an incredibly cumbersome process with this forum compared to other forums that I belong to. I do not understand the directions. Anybody have a good suggestion?

 

[mtnwhlr]

I wish you good luck with it.