1991 Grand Wagoneer LS1/4L60e Build

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:41 am

Hello everyone.

This will be my first thread to document the build of my 1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Picked this beast up for about $1800 from a guy who left it abandoned in a lot for some 8 years. It has about 110K miles on it and it runs and drives but it was pretty rough. Surprisingly all the gauges, lights, radio, etc work great.

The plan for this thing is an interior restoration and as well as an LS drivetrain swap. The engine is an aluminum 5.7 LS1 out of a 2003 Chevy Caprice. The trans is a refreshed 4L60e and will be mated to an NP241c tcase. Will be using Novak engine mounts, radiator and fuel system. The wiring will be a custom standalone harness by Current Performance Wiring. The engine has already been disassembled, cleaned, machined, honed, and built. All stock components except for a baby 212/218 Comp cam, LS6 valve springs and an L92 oil pump.

Also planning on a 4 inch Skyjacker lift with 32x11.5" tires on stock wheels along with a refresh of steering/suspension components as necessary.

The car is currently at a body shop getting a fresh coat of paint on the engine bay and some interior rust fixed up. I'll update with pics as the project moves forward.

Post by **Stuka** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 10:35 am

Sounds like it should be a good rig once done!

hutcho · Post by **hutcho** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 11:13 am

Following.

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Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 2:58 pm

Got the car back from the body shop today.

Here's some older pics for now

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 3:06 pm

Forgot this final pic after cleaning off the layers of dirt, surface rust, and paint.

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 4:02 pm

Got the engine and trans sitting where they should.

Also received the transfer case clocking ring a couple days back. Going to bolt on the tcase soon.

Working out the wiring and fuel delivery right now. Going to run stock GTO accessories including AC compressor, with the exception of the alternator which will be relocated up near the passenger side head to clear the track bar.

j20brett · Post by **j20brett** » Mon Nov 14, 2016 8:21 am

Looks great! What is the part number for that upper radiator hose?

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Mon Nov 14, 2016 1:02 pm

Gates 23045. Still trying to figure out the lower hose.

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Tue Nov 15, 2016 10:48 pm

Quick question to all the LS swappers, did you bolt your NP241c with a clocking ring? If so, does the top of the tcase interfere with the body?

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:56 pm

Installed the accessories, vortec truck manifolds, engine harness, transfer case, trans floor shifter, fuel tank and 32x11.5R15 tires (bone stock height no rubbing). The clocking ring did not work like I'd hoped. The top of the case interferes with the floor exactly where the front right bolt of the driver's seat threads. Didn't wanna mess with that so I decided to install it as is and hope the front driveshaft does not contact the cross member at full droop.

j20brett · Post by **j20brett** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:11 am

Q8y_drifter wrote:Quick question to all the LS swappers, did you bolt your NP241c with a clocking ring? If so, does the top of the tcase interfere with the body?

Sorry I missed this, but no, my np241 did not hit the trans tunnel and I pushed it up pretty high (lowest part of case at least 1/2" above bottom of frame rail). No clocking ring needed, either.

cmaje72 · Post by **cmaje72** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:56 am

You should be ok with the drivers drop case. It worked fine with the one in my 89 but I also had the 241 with the longer flanged front output. I'm doing a 79 now and the passenger drop 241 will not work with the stock crossmember without the clocking ring.

MGoins · Post by **MGoins** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 11:44 am

Following

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Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Sun Dec 18, 2016 3:48 pm

Thank you all for the input. I ended up installing the tcase as is without the clocking ring. No interference issues with the case itself, however I'm worried the front driveshaft might contact the crossmember with a 4in lift at full droop. I'm hoping a custom front shaft with a CV joint might do the trick. We'll see later when I get things installed.

I'm waiting on a new steering box and lower rad hose to arrive so I can finish off the mechanical aspects of the engine and move on to the ignition and dash wiring.

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 5:26 pm

Installed the Skyjacker 4in lift yesterday.

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 6:30 am

Tackled a little bit of the wiring today.

If anyone is wondering like I was, the Jeep fuse box feed wiring appears to be the 3 red wires coming out of the engine compartment side of the fusebox. I couldn't find this info anywhere and since my car was never wired properly I had no clue which wires were which.

E4 - Fuse Panel Feed
G4 - Accessory Circuit Breaker Feed
D4 - Ignition Switch Feed

Can anyone confirm the below wires?
B4 (14AWG Yellow wire) is the 12v switched feed used to power up the PCM?
A6 (14AWG Green wire) is the starter feed wire for the GM starter solenoid?

Anyone know if anything else needs to be hooked up to the battery to power up the fusebox? I'm going to run Dakota Digital gauges, so the factory wiring for the sensors will not be used.

Skerrvydog · Post by **Skerrvydog** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 12:32 pm

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 2:44 pm

So here's the deal.

On the schematic above, which is from a 1990 GW, G4 is a 12AWG Red Accessory Circuit Breaker Feed and B4 is 12AWG Yellow Alternator & Ignition Feed. On my 1991 GW these wires are the opposite.

Can anyone confirm if there is in fact a difference in wiring between MY1990 and 1991?

Q8y_drifter · Post by **Q8y_drifter** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 6:22 am

Jeez this forum is dead.

Anyhow. If anyone else is interested to know:

If you're running an LS1/LS2 style water pump and a Novak Radiator these are the hoses you need:

Upper - Gates 23045 (direct fit no trimming)
Lower - Gates 20687 (trimmed both ends off)

This is assuming your engine has LS1 belt spacing and the engine sits as far back as possible on Novak mounts.

jpswapmohn · Post by **jpswapmohn** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 6:48 am

I think everyone is out for the holidays. I know we have been traveling almost continuously since the 17th.

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