Barbie Jeep For My Uncle......

The radiator on the left is an all metal CJ radiator, the radiator on the right is an all metal stock leaky YJ radiator.
I was hoping to use the CJ radiator as it would be a straight bolt in affair and is about 10 sq in larger; but it wont work without modifying multiple items and sourcing a CJ shroud.
The stock YJ radiator can be used with a simple modification to the grill shell. This should allow me to use the YJ shroud and fan clutch components.
We have an old school radiator shop here in town, once YJ the radiator has been fitted it will go in for refurbishment.

 

I assure you a 60 amp alternator will let its magic smoke out with dual electric fans. I have a 100a Powermaster to combat this. I also cobbled the dual relay setup out of a Crown Vic or something like that.
Barbie Jeep looks awesome! Remember when YJ conversions were sold for CJ7's ?

 

I couldn't imagine going from round headlights to square.
The square headlights on the YJ really don't bother me..... Mac is just tired of everyone standing in front of his jeep when we take group pictures.

 

After scouring the web looking for a reverse rotation HD fan clutch..... I decided to throw in the towel and chop the grill shell.
This way all of the replaceable cooling system parts will still be 1991 YJ in the event that replacement parts need to be sourced.
The CJ radiator is too wide to fit between the frame rail and the steering box, and the CJ shroud isn't even close to working with the YJ fan setup.
I chopped 1" out of the grill shell to allow plenty of clutch to radiator clearance.
Bear with me here..... I know it's scary looking right now, but I think I can pull off something that looks clean and natural when you open the hood.

 

You mentioned your uncle's Jeep in our last communique. Left me scratching my head about the '7 clip...
Just read the entire thread, fun stuff fo sho.
But just wondering if there will ever be time for a lowly SoCal SBC Wagon...(?)
At least now I know you're not AX15 adverse.
Great work!!

Gotta ask: what's it cranking in 5th on the freeway? Comfortable driver to a trailhead or still better flat towed?

 

The nice thing about AX15's is there are really solid bolt in adapters, clutch setups ect..... they aren't like an old T18 where you might play install and remove 10 times to get the clutch right.
If you have all the stuff its a super simple swap.
This jeep is on 33's with 4.10 gears; I'd guess that 70 mph in 5th gear is probably 2000-2200 rpm. I have not done the math but it is a really comfortable daily driver/Rubicon capable rig.

 

Got all the stuff, actually going with new aluminum bellhousing instead of current cast iron.
Problem is nowhere to do it, not a square inch of level ground here in the canyon.
And that SM465 is just too heavy to drop on my own. I'll just leave it with whoever wants to do the swap for me.
Oh, and that Scout 300 will have to go as well. after all, it's bolted to the SM.
Impressed with how the Barbie Jeep is turning out. Serious wheeler and DD to boot; who could ask for more?

 

While making final plans for the radiator mounting location I noticed this engine mount.....
Looks like I'll be replacing the engine mounts before deciding on the radiator placement.

 

Hah! I made that mistake on my '71 and had to re-trim my fan shroud to accommodate the "new" engine location.

 

Finally getting serious about this project.
The plastic tank radiator that was in the jeep always made me nervous, just too many ways for it to get damaged on the trail.
After some persuasion...... I convinced Mac that he needed a fully welded aluminum radiator.




Before proceeding with the radiator mounting the new motor mounts needed to be installed.
These are 1" lifted motor mounts from Ruff Stuff.







The plan was to test fit the motor mounts, remove for paint, reinstall freshly painted parts......
Well the mounts turned into a motherlover of a job that took 2 evenings to install. They will stay in their current location and get a good sloppy coat of paint where they lie.



With the engine location settled it was time to move forward with the radiator mounting.
I tacked in a strip of broke sheet metal across the top of the radiator mounting surface.





Next I bent up these side filler pieces that will serve as the mounting location for the radiator.

 

i'ld be really tempted to reroute that front diff vent out of sight and route an identical radiator overflow in it's place. Make the next guy think the diff is routed to the radiator overflow.

 

Small progress last night, cutouts for headlight access.

 

Were the “kits” they sold to do this conversion years ago require this much fabrication? If so I don’t see a lot of people able to do this.

 

I do not know about the "kits" from back in the day.
I did a fair amount of forum searching before starting this project and once confident that this a was a simple job I got started.
What I did not realize is that many people who have done this swap had 4 cylinder equipped jeeps, which affords much more radiator space. Many 6 cylinder owners end up going the hack route and either removing the fan clutch or installing an electric fan. Either of those options are sub par when compared to the factory HD cooling option that this jeep came equipped with.
I prefer to leave the jeep as close to stock YJ as possible for reliability and ease of parts sourcing down the road.

 

After much fussing around with getting the radiator in just the right place, I marked the mounting hole locations and installed nutserts in the grill shell.





There is still allot of work to do, but the initial radiator placement was the worst of it.
Now there is about 1-1/2" of fan to radiator clearance.

 

The center grill mount was not only in the wrong location, but pretty rusted out.



Fixed that right up!





Working on some filler pieces to strengthen the lower portion of the radiator mount.

 

Worked on the grill again last night.
The radiator mounts got fully welded and blended smooth.
I am very happy with the seam across the top of the grill!




The corner gussets were welded and blended to support the lower radiator mounts.
I still need to come up with a solution for the bottom edge of the grill.

 

The grill looks factory made, good job!

 

Im always impressed in your attention to detail and how clean your work is, Kyle. Looking forward to seeing it in person in july.

 

Progress!
With the grill/radiator mount fully welded I began re assembly and mounting the fenderwell accessories.
Right off the bat I ran into a snag.
The CJ front clip is 1" shorter in length than the YJ clip. Thus the need to chop the grill and mount the radiator further forward.
I did not account for the power steering reservoir and air box fighting for the same location.
The solution was to chop a section out of the grill and recess the power steering reservoir forward to the stock mounting location on the radiator.





This still needs a little cleanup done, but that will wait until disassembly for paint.
I really don't like the hole...... I have a feeling that the cut out will get boxed in later.



Next up the air box mount was transferred from the YJ to CJ inner fender.






The coolant overflow/washer fluid tanks were transferred over and the grill support rods were shortened/threaded farther.






Battery tray, fuse box and jack all transferred to the passenger side fender.






Just about all done with the fitting and mocking up.
I am waiting on wiring plugs to convert the electric system.
A little birdie told me that Mac was getting a new Optima battery for Christmas... I'll be fabricating a nice hold down for that.