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From HEEP to JEEP.... 2.5 to 4.0, lift and more

12K views 60 replies 18 participants last post by  FF151DJG 
#1 ·
I'm doing this thread for my buddy Brian. We started his Jeep build yesterday as I am waiting for parts on my HEMI build. He bought this jeep from his aunt and uncle for $500. They only drove it in the winter and Michigan winters aren't very forgiving... We will have to fight some bolts!

Here is the overview of this project. We are going to be moving as fast as possible, both time wise and financially... wheeling and Race season is coming soon.....

  • complete strip down to frame and tub
  • swap motors- 2.5/5 speed to 4.0/auto
  • motor swap requires new fab of motor mounts
  • body lift
  • 6" RC LA lift
  • 8.8 rear axle swap with 4.88s, locked
  • front d30-new u-joints, some type of locker
  • fab up front bumper
  • fab up rear bumper and tire carrier
  • rocker sliders
  • raptor line the interior of tub after floor patch
  • new tube fenders
  • fresh coat of paint... he's still deciding on color
  • new gas tak skid

he is getting all the take out drive train parts from the HEMI TJ, so
  • 4.0 motor- we are throwing on a new head gasket
  • auto trans and mount
  • auto skid plate
  • computer
  • complete exhaust
  • wire harness
  • shifter cable
  • radiator
  • shroud
  • fuel pump
  • power steering high pressure line
  • a/c compressor- will be modded into on board air system
on to the pics... get ready... go
the starting point....





got into the garage last night and we tore into it.. Surprisingly ALL 6 of the Transmission Skid Plate Bolts CAME OUT!!!!!!:2thumbsup::2thumbsup:









gas tank removal and body lift install. both rear body mount bolts broke. I ended up just knocking the factory nuts off in the body. we are going to pop some access holes on the backside of the frame rail and just throw some nuts and washers on the top side to secure it.




think its time for a new skid


time to remove the hamsters






no this jeep has never been off road....:D


here she sits at the end of today... we called it quits, all got cleaned up and the group all went out to dinner and then watched Parker. Sweet movie :thumbsup:


eddies dog just chillin in the jeep!


scrap bin...


more to follow... still would like to get some reference measurement for where the stock 4.0 frame side motor mounts are 'at.'
 
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#3 ·
yeah pretty sure brian was planning on selling them. I know eddie is going to sell his too. I will find out and get you an answer when i hear it from them.
 
#4 ·
I didn't spend anytime in the garage today, spent the day with the girl I should have married..lol second chances...

the guys got the jeep stripped down further. the jeep, being a 2.5 has 4.10 gears in it as I suspected it would. they cleaned the axle tags and were happy to see that. the pulled the axles and all the control arms off. front axle came apart as of right now it is in dire need of r/l u joints. its all gonna get cleaned and prepped for re-install.

they started removing frame brackets; got both motor mounts off, front upper CA mounts and the front LCA mounts off. I have to make a run tomorrow for new plasma tips and metabo wheels..:D

pics tomorrow
 
#6 ·
eddie and I swapped the the blown u-joints on the front shafts on Monday night. brian got the shafts re-installed and the rest of the axle put together



fired up the plasma and the grinders alittle on Monday and a little tonight to get all the frame brackets off and prepped...







little clean up and paint




then I cut the rusted out section of the pass floor pan out... flinstone style now..


hopefully the new lift can be ordered by Friday... still no decisions on tires yet...
 
#7 ·
probably start making a rear bumper tomorrow and roughing the new frame side motor mounts
 
#8 ·
Hey..just an idea/suggestion...while you've got the rear torn down and room to work how about moving the rear spring pearches on the frame so that the springs sit straight. Its a worthwile mod....

Superlift and Ballistic are the ones I can think of off the top of my head right now...should run less than $100.
 
#10 ·
Duncan, been thinking about that... thanks for the second opinion... lol I think he is going to do it. told him what he needs to do to re-use the stock upper perches. I have to work tomorrow night from 7p to 3a... in the prime jeep building time :eek:.... so maybe that will be my Saturday project...:thumbsup:

YEP.... budget thing.:rtft:

he/we have put about a 4K cap on all his mods right now [outside wheels and tires]. that also includes paint work at 800 so leaves 3200. he wants to go LA so budget wise, the RC kit will get him back on his wheels and meet the necessary requirements. we can always re-work it later on this summer or next fall etc... LA kit takes 1700 from the budget... leaves 1500 for bumpers, winch plate, new gas tank skid, SYE, drive shaft mods.

brian pulled the head of the donor 4.0 out of the hemi jeep tj project. we had pulled the valve cover a few weeks ago and found abit of sludge. YEP bad head gasket. thanks PO of the patriot hemi jeep. :brickwall:brickwall decided it would be a good idea to take it over to the head shop and have it checked real quick before it goes back on...




went to the steel store today and spent $90.. then $20 at home depot


drilling some extra mounting holes...


we cut some 3/8th plate, clamped it to the jeep and traced the lower angles, marked the bolt holes as well. plasma cut the angles and went on to drill out the mounting bolt holes.


new mounting plates bolted to the jeep...


we cut [2] pieces of box tube for stand offs... and then set them on the new 'bumper' in there respective locations to see what angle we could trim the bumper ends out at.




gotta love a plasma cutter....


tack welded the stand offs to the new bumper, then welded it up to the new mounting plates on the jeep...




at the steel shop. I bought a piece of 3/4"x2 flat stock for $16. I cut off [2] 4" pieces to make clevis mounts. plasma'd out some holes in the bumper and dropped them in. brian actually welded them in. that way if they fail we can blame him :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: I had him run a bead inside the bumper. where the mount sat against the rear wall. he could reach it from the sides, which were still un-capped.



after the clevis mounts were done, we capped the ends..


so here it is for now... we cut some angles on the clevis mounts and grounds them to his liking. I did have any clevis's in the garage or big @ss drill bits so brian is going to have to drill those out later....:laugh::laugh:

 
#11 ·
going to jump on etrailer and order up a spindle, bearing and receiver mount to finish building the bumper. he wants to do the same set up as me, swing out carrier with a separate/removable swing down rear stinger. stinger wont happen till I get into a new shop, as we have to mount the bender to do all that.
 
#12 ·
made some good progress tonight on the heep... we got the new head gasket on, trans mated back up, fabbed up a set of custom motor mounts and... BAM the 4.0 is sitting in the void left by the ripped 2.5......









mounted the transmission to the skid plate and then floated the motor in between the rails.


took some measurements and fabbed up some frame side motor mounts out of a piece of 2"x4" .250 wall box tube.






tacked them in, set all the weight on them, verified angles etc and then burned them in..



painted and done!


that's if for tonight' progress. brian better order his parts lol because when I get my computer back for the hemi.. all my efforts are going back to getting that beast finished up LOL :laugh::laugh::laugh:

brians getting some more steel supplies tomorrow, gave him a small list. going to make a front winch bumper tomorrow night if he gets all the pieces.
 
#13 ·
Man I like pics, so really liked the post you did.
MY Question or concern over the pull point on the rear bumper. I assumed most of the D ring attach points are all the way thru so as to be welded in at less 4 spots and have the benefit of the strength of both pieces of metal when snatching. As is now you only have the outer metal with weld being the only thing holding. My thinking is to cut a slot into the bumper and pass the mount all the way thru and weld on back, inside the tube and the out side. Also why did you not go ahead and cut a hole in it before you welded on? Makes it a turn pain to do unless you using a plamsa cutter and you got steady hand(i dont)
 
#14 ·
thanks..:thumbsup:

just to clarify on this particular bumper build.... truth is that i got distracted on the build and allowed my buddy to end up sealing up the access to the back of the bumper to do a 'thru' mount. after the fact, i was going to put them close to the frame mounts and weld front and back; but brian wanted them inline with the frame where we originally planned them to go. so thats where they went. they are fully welded and being .250 wall tube, youre not going to get 'much' flex out of the tube. i agree that thru welding is they way to go when doing something like this. in this particular build though, with the ends of the bumper still open, we were able to put an additional weld where the clevis mount met the 'back wall' on the inside of the bumper and increase the structural integrity of the mounts :wave::wave::wave:

Again, i agree that through welding is something that should be done if you have the availability. point in hand about the clevis mounts.... you can surface mount them as long as your welds are good and the mount is properly designed/sized. Alot [most] of the common mass produced bumpers out there are only 'surface mounted' when you look at them. most of these formed bumpers are only 3/16 steel with surface mounted clevis mounts and most dont posses the same structural integrity that a piece of 2x4 box tube inhereintly has, unless yo start getting into higher, more costly bumpers... you are paying for what you get.

i built a bumper for one of our jeeps, since sold, 2x4 box front with surface mount clevis mounts [common triangle design]. never a worry or issue and i'd do it again if wanted/needed.

few reasons on the 'drilling' them out... [1] no go on the plasma- tooo thick. [2] didnt have the proper drill bit... [3] drill press is locked up in storage [4] wanted to have a clevis in my hand to see about clearances. needless to say, we started drilling them out yesterday, need to get some new big @ss drill bits... lol
 
#16 ·
thanks....

so brian worked on putting the motor back together tonight.. all the little things... intake exhaust power steering alt torque converter bolts starter etc....





for the most part the 4.0 is all in. just have to re work the mains [starter/alt grounds] for the 4.0l don't know where the take offs went. might be sitting in the hemi tj actually. only thing he needs right now is a new low pressure hardline off the gear box. his was damaged when he lost his front body mount!!!

supposedly he has most of tomorrow off and is going to go pick up his lift and SYE from a local jeep store. I don't have my business registered yet [we are still looking for a building] so I can't get dealer status just yet.

eddie is itchin to get his Cherokee in the garage and get to his lift. his income tax money is supposed to show tomorrow!!
 
#18 ·
thanks.. had to work the last few days so didn't get much done... heres what we did get done..
pulled bumper back off

afew measurements


off to the plasma...




then the welder after cutting a piece of flat stock for safety chains




back on the jeep


brian cut off the stock rear perches so we can relocate them
 
#19 ·
I pulled the TCASE apart to get the input shaft apart and get ready for the SYE kit im going to order here in a few...







t-case in abox lol
 
#20 ·
im ordering a rokmen gas tank skid, SYE kit, tcase 23 spline input shaft and some brackets. hopefully we can get this heep on its wheels next week. with the SYE, tank, shaft, we can 'seal up the driveline' and see if we can start it.

So.... RC LA is officially out and I am building the LA lift for him. I have some 1 3/4" dom for the upper links and we are going to source some 2.0" .250 wall dom for the lowers... bushings at the frame and JJ at the axles, except for the upper link on the front will get the JJ on the frame. triangulated rear 4 link. looking at just welding on a tube style truss on the d35 because he is planning on doing a 8.8 sooner than later. also he can upgrade the frame ends to JJs later when the funds are more readily available. we need to get this jeep back on its own shoes so we can move it. I have a 67 TBIRD coming next weekend for a complete wiring job.

eddie just scored a Cherokee with 8" lift, clayton long arms, 8.8 borla header and complte exhaust, extra 30 carriers, sweet HD front winch bumper with clevis, hd crossover steering, fabricated diff covers. 35" maxxis big horns on black D windows.... another reason this heep/jeep needs to get done!!!!!
 
#21 ·
I like the project.....my biggest question though is with all that rust etc.....and the fact that you dissasembled most of the vehicle already........why not pull the tub off completed, so you can get ever inch of the frame? Frame and tub repair/restoration is ALOT easier and quicker to do when the tub is completely off. And there isn't much holding the tub on.........

Also, with the Tcase apart, now would be a great time(and cheap upgrade)to slap in a 6 pinion planetary and wide chain upgrade. You can get both parts off Ebay for around $150...........big upgrade for minimal cash.......or hit a local junkyard for 231 6 pinion/wide chain,sprocket kit, probably be even cheaper.
 
#22 ·
thanks.... well you and I are the same page, however, brian is using eddies garage to do the build. there is a quite a few high dollar engines, race bikes and our tool boxes in there just to say the least, so a frame off clean up isn't an option right now for him, and even when he cleans off just enough area for 'something,' an orange cloud of rust dust covers **** in the garage and that just sucks! luckily the frame is solid under that protective coating LOL

funny you mentioned the 6 P gear, I was talking to brian and eddie about the 6 P gear upgrade last night. truth is, its been hard to get him to put up the money he needs too to get it rolling lately. I think eddie will be doing the gear and chain upgrade on his new Cherokee when we do the rear 2" stretch.
 
#24 ·
plasma's rock... like a warm knife thru butta'

alright so I have a few pics to put up... from a little bit of progress...

bought a big drill bit and got the clevis drilled


the front is hung for the minute, 90% of the motor/accessories are bolted back up. just need a low pressure hardline from the gearbox



eddie and I went and picked up jeep #3.. 99 Cherokee.



and already getting some mods

 
#25 ·
reference the Cherokee... it was sold to eddie by one of his buddies as ' it needs a new driveshaft' and a 'new front carrier' the tom woods driveshaft was twisted like a pretzel.. beyond salvaging. the front carrier was grenaded... we took the t case out this afternoon as there was no engagement to the rear output... we found this as soon as I popped out the speedo gear..



then this after the tail cone came off


and this... yep those are twisted splines...


needless to say, we sourced a new shift fork and will be picking up a NEW SYE kit for it tomorrow...
 
#26 ·
okay we spent a few hours out in the garage today...
the 23 spline input came in the mail for the 231 and I got it installed along with the SYE kit. make that kit #3 in the last few weeks :D


the rokmen gas tank skid came fed ex today as well and I had picked up some new straps at the dealer yesterday so we got that installed too..




the front grille support and grill is in along with the radiator and hoses. brian put all the fluids in the motor, new oil, trans and t case. then finished up the ground circuits



and we did a Cherokee rear stretch.. we moved the axle back 3.5" lol :rofl:

 
#27 ·
alrighty boys and girls we have ignition!!!!!!!! we got everything hooked up last night and put a few gallons of petro in the ol' tank. threw a quick jumper in the clutch switch and turned the key. after a few seconds of cranking.. she fired right up. after the initial start up, she fired at the flick of the key. we were all pretty happy, brian is excited as heck.

one note for you. brians jeep orginally a 2.5c 5spd as stated. we did not change the 'firewall harness' on the jeep. we plugged in the 4.0 harness plugs and went with those. everything works like it should, reverse lights, neutral safety start, etc.

the johnny joints came in today.. thanks GMAN!!!!! now we are waiting on the frame bracketry from ARTEC to hit the front porch. once those brackets show up, its game on.
 
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