just an update with a question

hey everyone i bought a 75 cj5 about a year ago. it was pretty bad i bought it for a grand and immiedatly started working on it. well i kinda got sidetracked with sports lately. anyway ive got brand new floor pans that i made myself made out of 8 guage steel then made the back bed out of 8 guage as well running along the underside of the body i put 3x1 square tubing along the doors tying them into each other in the middle. then in the back i took two pieces of 8 guage running along the fenders connecting them with two pieces of 3x1 then i did the fenders in 8 guage. all i have left to do is weld the outside panels on wich means i should drive it by the time im 17. i have 31s with a black rim then the paint on the jeep is going to be black translucent, changing colors in the light. alright heres the question. lets say i have a 283 v-8 and i have twin turbos on it. should this be the engine i put in the jeep or should i stay with the strait 6.

 

8...gauge...?

 

I'd stay with the 6. But, that's just my opinion, it's really just up to you. Nice to see another teenager around here who likes old jeeps =)

 

Do you mean 18 gage? 8 gage metal is almost 3/16" thick.
I wouldn't put a 283 twin turbo'd motor in a jeep not unless it was gonna run sand drags. The thing probably has no low end power and when the turbo's kick in the transmission and driveshafts are gonna go up in smoke real fast.

 

Put the 283 in and ditch the turbs..

 

yeah im pretty sure its 8 gage the thing is built strong as the hubs of hell. that and there is no wrenkle points so its not gunna crumble up like a ricer would. and my bumper is gunna be made out of 1/2 inch thick oil well pipe. see the reason i want to go with a 283 with twin turbos is cause i like v-8 the sound, power, speed, but not the gas mileage. but that inline 6 has torque out the ace. i like speed but i like torque and i tried to get a engine that kinda combines them both. i just dont know. what i want to do in the far future is drop a 4cyl cummins turbo diesel in it but thats way off in the future

 

really, if its that heavy, forgo the 283 and drop a 460 in it! You'll need the power to move the beast with that much steel built into it!
You won't get any mileage with a tank, even disguised as a CJ.
Even the 283 aint the best engine for a Jeep, IMO. sure its been done, but so have a lot of other swaps. Look at novak and advance adapters for advise on what works in a CJ as far as engine swaps go....

Oh yea, X2 on the lose the turbos, anyways....

 

Lose the turbos - with a Jeep, you want to go with a simple, sturdy, torquey and reliable engine. The turbos miss on all those points.

The 283 won't help much - without the turbos, you'll gain about 10% in power over the 258.

Either keep the 258, or go big... the 472 or 500 Caddy would be good. Cheap, available, compact. The 460 was also mentioned. Neither of these will bolt up to your transmission, but the original T-14 won't hold up to these engines anyway. You'll need to upgrade the transmission. If you already have the optional 4-speed (T-18) then an AMC 360 would be a good choice, or a 401 if you can afford it.

 

is there a reason your building everything so heavy? The heavier it is the more parts you will break and the worse the gas mileage will be.
Id stick with the 6 and if your so inclined put the turbo on the six like this guy.

 

i dunno why so heavy just making it to last. i really would like a diesel but price is not right. its not gunna be to heavy we guestimated it will be 500-1000 lbs heavyier and i think il keep the inline 6. even tho i would like to drag race everyonce in awhile lol but. i think once i get that done im gunna buy and 01 cummins turbo diesel thats wrecked and rebuild it.

 

While I personally am not opposed to the turbo chargers...They can make great power, even down low...if all the homework was done before hand. Forced induction is how I make my living....Anyway, there is such a thing as overkill when powering these things (aside from sand dragging). In example...a intercooled 283 (done correctly) will rub right up against 700 horsepower at just 15 pounds of boost. That's not exactly something you can just tap into whenever you want. Like mentioned before...that is more of a competition setup. I happen to think that the straight six is a great jeep motor. Lots of low end torque, smooth, reliable...all good things, especially...if you already have it. If you don't have a motor currently...I am personally kind of a sucker for the 360.

 

yeah its 10 gauge i looked at it the other day i havent had time to work on it since about july cause of football i think i will stick with the inline 6 i think i might buy a 304 just for fun see how much power i can get out of it but keep the inline 6 so i can crawl and mud. im hoping to find a wrecked cummins turbo diesel and rebuild it so i can make that hall balls.

 

1000lbs heavier is 33% more weight in the vehicle. Thats a huge number IMHO.

 

Are you building a tank or a Jeep?
You want the turbo because there's going to be so much weight in it it won't move... My bumper is 1/8" steel. It will take tree's easy.
My body is all 18 guage steel...

 

Oh, and btw, with more weight, such as the turbo or all the other steel, it will sink like a lead zeppelin in sand and mud, YMMV

 

Sounds like you should either go AMC 360, or chev 350. or ford 302/351 or.....anything bigger!

 

You know, if it was me, I'd sit down and seriously figure out exactly what it was I wanted to do with the thing before I started popping in different engines or adding more weight. If you want a racer, that's cool, build it that way. If you want something to rock crawl with, do that. If you want a work horse, figure out the best combo for that. You can build a CJ into just about anything you want but I'd start there before you get in over your head financially and otherwise. Better to plan for the long haul rather then burn out early.

Not that I've always done that, mind you.

With age comes perspective and the lack of control not to share it. Just a thought ...

Best of luck with your project.

 

My 304 V8 just goes. If I need to go slow I have to keep the clutch in because as soon as you let it out she just wants to go. I'm glad I kept it instead of trading up.

 

yeah its only gunna be about 500 lbs heavier tho its the floor panel, bed and back fenders that are 10 gauge. with a lil extra here and there i think i will either stick with the inline 6 or go with a 304 but my question is if your 304 breaks are parts more expensive?? and i just got alot more incentive to finish my project lol i was driving to school and was running late. and it was kinda icy and i did a 360 in my lil ranger and slammed into a tree going about 20. so i have alot more time to bond with the tools and my jeep now lol.

 

The parts seem pretty prevalent and inexpensive in my searches, but I'm sure someone whose been doing this forever can chime in on comparison between different engines. I didn't buy any super fancy parts but some (i think) nice upgrades. Here are some prices I paid for engine stuff:
Spark Plugs 4wd-TP6E 8@$3.78= $30.24
Fuel Filter 4wd-3230376 $2.24
Thermostat 4wd-200180 $2.21
Bypass Hose 4wd-3182494 $2.98
Upper Radiator Hose 4wd-83505532 $6.56
Lower Radiator Hose 4wd-5354528 $4.95
Radiator Cap 4wd-T16 $2.68
Flowkooler Pump 4wd-1781 $60.11
Oil Filler tube 4wd-3198950 $29.69
V8 valve Covers 4wd-6911BL $134.99
Edelbrock perf 500 cfm carb Sum-EDL1403 $294.95
Heat Riser NAPA-6001830 $66.77
Edelbrock performer manifold Ebay $196.87