Shop beater truck 87 Jeep Comanche - Private Parts

The 84 - 86 are a bastard that most people don't realize the 4.0 will not just drop in. IF I had not found my 94 so cheap this was one swap I was looking into. I would have probably done a 5.0 Ford though.....
 
Blaze said:
I'd feel dirty doing that. :p
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Yea but back in 07 there were nowhere near the options there are today....... Ideally I'd like to build a 5.9 XJ or MJ. Someday I might actually do it to the ghost.....
 
Quick update. This has been shelved way too long as we are installing the new equipment and getting things all set up here in the shop. This little guy is finally getting some love again.

I finally got around to notching the bellhousing for the starter. Did some good measurements and hit it with a hole saw and it came out perfectly. Fits exact and nothing hits, it's about as close as I could get it. I know it gives an opening that can introduce dirt and moisture into the bellhousing but honestly this was the only option we had with this setup.

I'm going today to get some bolts for the bellhousing to trans, bell to block, and pressure plate bolts. Then it is time to bolt it together and start figuring out how we are going to fit it in there.
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So last night I started the Private up to move it around and I had zero oil pressure and could barely keep it running. I decided that the time was right to go ahead and start the swap. An hour and 15 minutes and I had the old driveline on the floor.
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Weight reduction....
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Test fitting the 3.8L SC drivetrain. Going to need to low mount the alternator and build an elbow to mount the throttle body to the side, but the rest should fit!
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OK, so had a little change of plans here. As cool as it would have been to throw this 3.8L motor into the Private, We are running into issues that are going to prevent us from doing so. If we run the engine low enough to clear the SC snout, the oil pan is literally sitting on the front axle. And that is without any weight on the body. Once we mount the engine, the body will drop even more obviously. At that point we'll have to clearance the oil pan, which will put it REALLY close to the crank or stick the snout through the hood. Neither one is a viable option for us. We can also put a suspension lift on the truck, but it is our parts runner so we really did not want to do that.

So we're going with plan B. We're going to stick a small block Chevy in it. While not as cool as a 3.8L SC motor would be, it'll still be pretty cool and good for a little beater shop truck. I am putting a 302 into a car I am building to run the Sandhills Open Road Challenge, and that car has an awesome running 305, so we're going to go quick and easy.
 
Why not just raise the motor up?
 
Cut a hole in the hood? Seems like such a cool motor swap. I hate to see it end, LOL!
 
What are you doing with the L67? I bought an L32 (series iii) for a hot rod project I was going to build last year and haven't started yet. I was tossing around the idea of throwing it into my ranger instead to replace the 4.3L. This would let me keep the L32 for my hot rod (AWD tube chassis with S10 extended cab, chopped) and still have a SC 3800 for the ranger...
 
It is going to be up for sale. It is a complete about 140k mile motor that came out of my brother's wrecked car. He really took care of it and it ran great. Comes with everything, ECM, wiring, everything. $800 would take it.
 
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