what would you buy

[rottbo]

if i get the rubicon i was planning on buying the 5.5" long arm lift kit from rubicon express this is the big reason my woman thinks that it would be impractical i plan on making it a complete bada$$ trail rig arb safari snorkel, ramsey winch, full poison spyder roll cage, all poison spyder stinger bumpers, the 5.5" suspension lift, maybe an1" or 2" body lift and atleast 38" meats see why she thinks the LR3 would be more practical

 

[rottbo]

and by the way rubicons are not just an appearance package they are trail ready more than any jeep ever made,,,, i want them to put a new 5.7 hemi in a rubicon that would be awesome "The new Rubicon SRT8" i would go buy one right now if they made them

 

[rallysman]

and by the way rubicons are not just an appearance package they are trail ready more than any jeep ever made,,,, i want them to put a new 5.7 hemi in a rubicon that would be awesome "The new Rubicon SRT8" i would go buy one right now if they made them

That would be a death trap that would be worse on the trail than the 4.0.


I didnt know you were going to turn the jeep into a full on rock crawler.....then it would not be even remotely practical for a family vehicle.
Build a jeep from scratch if youre going to dump that much into it lol.
CRV it would be a less expensive alternative and then you have some cash to throw at your toy. And if your toy breaks....you can still get around.

 

[rottbo]

i know she wants me to buy the LR3 and just buy an old jeep to fix up, i dont want to do that though i wnat something ready to go right off the bat and i really dont want to change out axles and everything on a jeep i want one that already has the good stuff on it and i know you like the CRV's rally but their just not my thing my girl likes huyndai suvs i wont get one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rottbo]

and we already have a nice "family car" heres the thing though, if i buy something new she is going to want to drive it all the time and never let me drive it so i want something that she wont want to drive all the time she likes the idea of a big jeep just not the idea of putting a carseat in and out of the back

 

[mickey85]

i know she wants me to buy the LR3 and just buy an old jeep to fix up, i dont want to do that though i wnat something ready to go right off the bat and i really dont want to change out axles and everything on a jeep i want one that already has the good stuff on it and i know you like the CRV's rally but their just not my thing my girl likes huyndai suvs i wont get one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll tell you what. Our 83 CJ7 has a 258 I6, the T-5 transmission and Dana 30/AMC M20 axles with 2.73:1 gearing in both. The rear axle is limited slip, and the truck is completely stock.

As it is, I'd take this jeep up against any new stock Wrangler. You said you wanted a trail ready truck, then you want to lift it with a snorkel kit and everything else. Truth be told, I'd rather have the 258 over a 4.0L in a jeep anyway. The rear axle is an easy swap to the earlier Dana 44 rearend, and the Dana 30 is good for anything but the stoutest of V8s. I've never gotten this thing stuck, and I've been over some pretty big obstacles, and that's with just road worthy all-season radials.

For the price that you'd spend on a new jeep, then outfit it with everything, you could build a wicked AMC and have a real jeep instead of these Chrysler imitations. JMO though.

 

[rottbo]

i have thought about that but i want to be able to drive it cross country to some better offroad trails like moab and an old cj would not be comfy for my fam to ride 14 hours in
my buddy has an old cj5 with the 304 in it its wicked but not comfortable

 

[mickey85]

we've got high backed vinyl buckets in ours, and they're just as comfy as the new wranglers I drive. Yeah, there's a ton of wind noise, but as far as seating, they're not bad. I've driven this CJ to florida and back...

 

[rallysman]

I'd rather have the 258 over a 4.0L .

The 4.0 is a much better engine. fuel injection all the way! I've also heard of people using the older cranks to make a 4.0 "stroker". They also have blower kits for the 4.0 available if you need more power/ jmo

 

[mickey85]

The 4.0 is a much better engine. fuel injection all the way! I've also heard of people using the older cranks to make a 4.0 "stroker". They also have blower kits for the 4.0 available if you need more power/ jmo

The way I see it is this:

The 258 (4.2L) is in the same family as the 4.0L. With simple changes, the 258 can run rings around the 4.0L. A few tricks I've found: 4.0L head, Offy 4bbl intake, long tube headers, etc. What I've found with the carbed motors is that if you can get them to breathe, they'll make more than enough power. I've personally had problems with the 4.0L exhaust. At least in the cherokees, they seem to like cracking manifolds. I've done everything I could ever think of to fix it (new motor mounts, new tranny mount, torquing everything down, etc), and they still want to crack. Weird harmonics? There's nothing wrong with the motor, and it still does it. This car has cracked about 5 exhaust manifolds in the past 10 years, and the most offroad it sees is muddy dirt roads, so it's not a flex issue...


*EDIT* Also, the 4.2L has a thicker block and can be bored farther over than the 4.0L.