Engine
My original plan was to get the stock engine to run and use it. This didn't last long as my other plans for the Jeep would require some power under the hood. My first choice was a Chevy 350 and I quickly found a donor truck to get the engine from. I started with a 1976 4 bolt main Chevy 350 engine which was missing the carb, water pump, distributor and other pieces. I bolted it up to the tranny and t-case and dropped it in the chassis to make the mounts. I decided to use an engine cradle type mount in order to strengthen the frame and provide a mount for an oil pan skid plate. I cut the firewall to fit the HEI distributor and put the engine as far back as I could. I centered the engine between the frame however I should have moved it 1" to the passenger side for more steering shaft clearance.
I tore the engine down and found one of the pistons was frozen in the bore. I managed to get it out and took the block in for hot tanking and to inspect the bore. The cylinder that had the stuck piston was out of specs so I had the block bored 20 over. At this point I was going to get the block back and build it myself but I couldn't refuse the engine shops price to build it. They re-ground the crank, reconditioned the rods and installed other parts that I had for the build. I used an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold and an Edelbrock matched camshaft. I also had 1.5:1 steel roller rockers installed. I brought the engine home and finished it off by installing the carb, valve covers, water pump, alternator and power steering pump. I am using a short water pump for radiator clearance. The alternator is from a late 80's car and is a 120 amp AC Delco unit. I made a custom mount for the power steering pump which was bored out for more flow at low RPM's.
Fuel and Exhaust
To provide the engine with fuel I installed a 20 gallon aluminum fuel cell for extended range off-road. I put it in the back of the tub and cut a hole for the sump. I ran AN fittings between the cell and pump. The pump is an electric Carter P5001 for fuel injection. For the exhaust I decided to run a single 2.5" down the inside driver side frame rail to a Flowmaster 50 muffler above the rear axle and it dumps down right before the rear bumper. I used block hugger headers in order to fit inside the frame. The sound is excellent and the noise is not too overpowering.
Radiator
To cool the SBC I went with a 2 core Afco N-series 22" aluminum radiator. I mounted it in rubber isolators that support the tanks per the manufacturers instructions. I welded in a new crossmember under the radiator to support it and add more strength to the frame. I run an electric fan without a shroud for the time being. Update: I replaced the radiator with a 24" Afco aluminum double pass radiator to cool the water down more than the last radiator while maintaining a small size to fit between the frame. The double pass forces the coolant through the radiator twice for better cooling. This requires new plumbing since the inlet and outlet are on the same side. A 45* swivel neck outlet and a new hose made the new plumbing easy.
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Carb to TBI Swap
Initially I was running a carb on the engine. After a few trips and a few uphill climbs where the engine stalled I decided to go injected. I sourced all the parts from an 89 Chevy truck in the local U-pull it. I got the TBI unit, coil, computer controlled distributor, sensors, fuel inlet/outlet fittings and the CPU. I didn't spend time pulling the harness because I decided to go with an Affordable Fuel Injection custom wiring harness. They also provided an adapter for the TBI, a custom chip and the new fuel pump in the DIY kit I bought. I cleaned and rebuilt the TBI using a kit from Ebay which included a new fuel regulator. This kit was much better than the kit offered from the local parts store and at the same cost. I bought a new MSD distributor cap, rotor, coil and coil wire to replace some of the worn junkyard parts. It was a straightforward swap and it started right up. I adjusted the static timing to 0 for the small block and everything is working great. I made a bracket to hold the CPU in the area where the glove compartment used to be.
