88 jeep yj with 401

have been meaning to do this for a while but havent had the time to load the new pics so hear gose

I started out with a 1988 jeep yj with a 2in shackle lift and 1.5 rancho suspention lift 31wildcat ext tires 4banger and ax15 trans np231 transfer I think it was a while back pritty much stock with a small lift

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I picked it up off my dad for 2k it was a good deal untill the motor blew 1000mile later

now now lets not get ahead of myself I took it out a few times to play on the trails and in the snow and was so unsatisfied it was nothing like the jeep I had known when I was a kid my dad had an old cj when I was young and it took us everywere this thing had to be pulled out of a foot of snow by my friends stock ford suv :banghead: he still talks about it :bsod:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...92813868_l.jpg

anyhoo I ran the piss out of it and the motor did not last long I new this was not a good daily driver so I bought a little car and the jeep became a toy :lildevil:

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:lildevil:

time for the fun to begin

so a buddy of mine had this 76 waggy sitting in his back yard and said I could have the 360 out of it if I took the hole thing he said it ran before he parked it :bs: so I brought it home and started to rip it apart

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after getting the motor pulled I started looking over the block and got very excited this isnt a 360 ITS A 401 :grin:
after that came alot of cleaning

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well just to make sure I pulled the heads and found out that if I had run this thing in my jeep the way it sat I would have had to pull it back out the motor needed a rebuild bad :banghead:

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me and my dad sent the motor down to berrys motor shop in chahalis real good guy that builds great blocks he took the 401 and bored it 30 over that way the nexed time I do this I can bore it to 60

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with alot of prep and hard work as I am a perfectionist it turned out ok

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i should have kept the holley but I had a edellbrock 700 that I new worked and the holley needed a rebuild

and so it was time to pull the yj apart and rip out the blown 4banger

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old one out new one in

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I got a np435 out of a local junk yard for a 100bucks with a np208 hooked up to it

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I spent 4weeks locateing all the convertion info and parts to finish the job thanks CL AND E-BAY

LIST OF PARTS TO MAKE IT WORK

UNIVERSAL BELLHOUSING AMC
PAINLESS WIREING KIT FOR AMC 401 TO CJ7
350 CONVERTION SLAVE CYLINDER FROM NOVAK CONVERTIONS
EDELLBROCK PERFORMER MANIFOLD
MSD IGNITION KIT PLUS HEI DISTRIBUTOR
NEW PILOT BUSHING TO FIT THE NP435 TO 401 FROM NOVAK
REBUILD KIT FOR NP435 FROM NOVAK
RADLOCK RADIATOR NOVAK

I think that is all the big stuff I ran it with the stock axles for a year I was broke after the motor swap and needed to recoupe.
one year later I sold my boat and my quad and started looking for new axles I had decided not to try and make the stock ones stronger as I would probly break them with the power of the motor here is the rundown on the axles.

rear ford dana 60 full floating axle
shortend by bent metal customs
moser molly shafts
4.56 yukon gears no locker yet :lildevil:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...5da4200535.jpg

front ford dana HP44 with chevy 8lug flattop knuckles
also shortend by bent metal customs
moser molly inner shafts not outers
4.56 gears
truetrack limited slip locker

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me and my dad welded up all the shock mounts and perches and saved some money on doing the soa lift and highsteer ourselves we ran into a problems with the np208 after mesuring the length for the rear driveshaft the solution was a np205 with a flange convertion and a cv 1ton drive shaft.
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all said and done here is how she sits
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we redid the motor mounts and put the new shorty headers on 3 months ago it had glass packs but I ditched those for thrush mufflers and as everyone knows u cant run a trail with glasspacks.

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new pics aug 22 2009

so after alot of hassle at les schwab I got my rims and new tire all done 8in rims on mountaincat Dick Cepek 35s
black on black I think it looks badass
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I hope u all enjoy this as it was the funnest build I have done to date I learned so much building this rig and I am still broke
:grin:

stay tuned for all my nexed steps :lildevil:

:t: :!:

thanx

badazz ride man :lo1l: I really like how you painted the engine & accessories!!

thanx I put alot of hrs into that sucker I even got the allen head bolt kit for it ill put up new pics soon it has edellbrock shorty headers on it now and runs like a beast :lo1l:

Nice ride, 401's are awesome for their torque. So I must ask I did not notice any mention of an wrap bar? Reason I ask is that my own sprung over rear 60 has bent 2 wrap bars now dealing with my 401. So I know you have an issue if you don't have one

im still looking into that so far my axle wrap isnt that bad but it is something im paying attention to I might try a 4 link or 2 track bars off the pumkin what is your setup.

Bought the axle used from e-bay narrowed to 61" wms setup for 4 link. I simply welded some perches on sprung it over and bolted it in. Wrecked one set of springs just driving around. So I made my own wrap bar as nothing out there would work with the dual exhaust's and the 4 link truss. Took lots of measuring but eventually made one that goes of the center section as you mentioned.

yep that sounds just about right in my mind it seems like the only right thing to do plus alot of crawlers use the same setup if u get the chance throw up some pics :t:

DUDE!!!!!you are sick man!!!!!! love it!!!!!!!!

Nice YJ....... Good job with the motor swap :shock: :?

thanx alot it has pritty much become the only thing I do all my money gose right into it and I have been liveing on top ramen for about a year now 111!!! I cant wait to mabe be done with it so I can buy a steak just one problem I dont think I will ever be done :shock:

ok I went back and updated the page check out the new stuff

Could you provide some more details about your AMC V8 to TJ engines mounts?
I've seen several tired or dead 4 bangers YJ's for cheap around me.
Most are rusty some are not.
I've wanted to drop a 360 in a YJ.

forget about the useing any type of pre fabed mount there is realy nothing in the market for the swap u will have to make some I did it twice the first time I blew off the old 4banger mounts with a torch nexed I took the mounts off a wagoneer and cut them in half then welded them back together it worked ok but set the motor to high my nexed try I fabbed up what I belive to be the best mount ever there is a pic of it in the build up.

p.s. this is no easy swap in a yj in a cj no prob but with a yj lets just say it was a learning experience :?:

AMC V8 in YJ mounts. Expensive but really straight-forward.

http://advanceadapters.com/product/2274/713120.html

they do exist holy crap but look at the price tag ouch

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Originally Posted by shawnsc25

they do exist holy crap but look at the price tag ouch

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Anything from AA is pricey. My 360 sits purdy in my YJ frame. :t: Custom mounts, of course.

I made mine for 20 bucks the dom tubeing was free all I had to buy were the bushings :lo1l:

Nice build, to bad you went with stock type pistons. proper quench and piston to chamber match make or break a amc engine performance. Hankrod - dont hate me, its just what I have learned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Henry Lavrenz

Nice build, to bad you went with stock type pistons. proper quench and piston to chamber match make or break a amc engine performance. Hankrod - dont hate me, its just what I have learned.

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the pistons and crank wont be in there for long it was just all I could aford aty the time I plan on pulling the motor back out nexed summer and takleing all of the 401s issues at that same time ill be putting new heads on it and looking for a new crank and pistons to match I have built alot of 350s and 460s the 401 is something I have just got into thanx for the comment :lo1l: