What to do wtih $5k?

[MateoFSJ]

Hey Guys,

Im really hoping to get some direction. I have an 86 GW that is completely stock engine wise. It runs fine, just a turd 360. With that said, Im at a crossroads. Do I sup up the 360 or do I save more for an LS Swap?

Its just a weekend driver that I use sparingly. Also of note, I probably cant do the Swap myself. I have 3 kids that just take up all my time.

So! I got $5k. What can/should I do?

[will e]

Put the $5K into a college fund for the kids... all joking aside.

You probably can't pay someone $5K to do an LS swap and if you do find someone who will do it that cheap it will be a piss poor job. They are a lot of work.

It's never going to be a fast car. But you can waken the 360 up some with an intake and exhaust upgrade. Toss on an Aluminum dual plane manifold and a 4 barrel carb (don't go too big). Upgrade the ignition to something with a stronger spark. Bigger exhaust and an upgrade to headers will help too.

How many miles on the 360? Have you don't a compression test on it? You'll get the most out of the intake/ignition/exhaust if you replace the cam. A good RV cam will help with the torque and you won't have to do a lot of valve train upgrades.

What gears/tires are you running? A taller gear will help out a lot with acceleration but don't go too far or the highway RPM's will be too high. Since you drive the car sparingly this might be a good option since your gas milage will suffer even more than it suffers now. lol

[melford72]

You won't be able to even come close to an LS swap with $5K. I've seen articles on hot rod sites that say: "$5,000 junkyard LS swap! Done in my garage with hand tools in one weekend!"

That's not even close to reality. When you do a complete swap like this, there are always things that you didn't anticipate that come up. (Where will you source the motor? Which transmission do you want? Which transfer case will you use? How will you keep the engine cool? Where will you put the transmission cooler? Do you want a/c? What about programming and the wiring harness? Will everything fit? etc.)

If you want to know how I know this, I'm at the tail end of an LS swap myself. And project creep is a real thing. Like you, I have kids. I did some of the work myself, but I ended up farming out some of it to a shop too because I can't spend every single weekend working on my truck. And that's a quick way to burn through piles of cash when things you didn't expect come up. Just ask my wife if my project stuck to the original budget. Fortunately, I'm married to a very cool, supportive woman.

If it's a weekend driver, I would just drive it for what it is with the 360. It'll never be "fast," but that's not really the point with FSJs. Put an aluminum intake on it and an exhaust. (You could do headers, but I didn't think they were worth the trouble on my previous rig.) A new carburetor will help too, but a lot of people (me included) go too big when they are building a 360 for the first time. A hotter ignition system will help too, and it'll leave you with cash left over.

Some other thoughts:
If you swap out the cam, you will wake up the 360 a bit. But you will also run the risk of flattening a lobe during break-in.
Fuel injection would make cold startups easier and completely get rid of carb adjustments — but it won't gain you any fuel economy in my experience. But then you'll have to deal with a new fuel system or a surge tank to eliminate fuel cavitation and fuel sloshing around in the original (non-baffled) tank. (Ask me how I know.)
Start with a compression test and consider how many miles are on your engine before you spend too much cash waking it up. I've even heard of guys getting into their engines with borescopes to look at the cylinder walls without taking the motor apart.

Everything will e said above is sound advice. If you've read this far, go back and reread his post.

[SJTD]

Yeah, if you don't bank the money for the kids, save it for the Jeep.

Smog checks there?

[letank]

Turd! as said above.... upgrade the ignition with the TFI coil and the large cap distributor, good spark plug and wires... up the timing to 15, may be 18 as you are at 4 or 5k altitude... this is a good start.

check the wiring for cooked wires to the distributor and coil, some of those connectors are really on the fringe of conductivity...

Fresh oil and filter for the transmission...

[MateoFSJ]

Thanks guys. I probably should have added more info.

I know I cant do an LS Swap for $5k. I was thinking I jsut save more and then do that. However, the above stuff seems like a better choice.

Currently the Jeep has 131k miles on it. Ive added a 3" lift with 32's, but havent changed the gearing. I have upgraded the distributor to an MSD and changed out the wires. I also did the K20 Brake upgrade. Other than that, its pretty stock.

I think I like the keep the 360 route and will rebuild the top along with adding the cam, intake manifold and carb. Still thinking about fuel injection too.

[will e]

Do you know the axle gearing? If it didn't have the factory tow package you probably don't have the 3.31 gears, you have something in the 2.x range (I forget what it is off the top of my head but I think it was 2.73). The 3.31 gears are 'okay' with 32 inch tires, the 2.73 would make it a slug.

The stock axles are plenty strong for that size tire but you might consider regearing. Use the calculator at this site:

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html

It's the best on the internet and interestingly it was created and maintained by one of our members.

[Srdayflyer]

MY 2 CENTS is to install the holley sniperefi and hyperspark ignition system , i did mine and would never go back to a carb, starts right up idles so smooth it ran me about 1800.00 totall thats my 2 cents

[Phils67]

My opinion for what it's worth, since you said basically it sits more than it is driven, I would do like the previous reply and switch to fuel injection or if nothing else run only ethanol free gas in it, which would be the more expensive option (ethanol free gas here is over $5 a gallon in NY). The ethanol in modern gas destroys carburetors over time. Think of how many lawn mowers sit for a year and need a carb rebuild the next spring. Just saying. Fuel injection is the way to go if you chose that route. A 360 isn't a bad engine if maintained properly in my opinion. I'd save that 5k and use it to buy parts in the future as necessary since it IS a jeep and will require them, and FSJ parts aren't exactly cheap or easy to find especially for OEM. Keep it original and just focus on treating the fuel system to some love. If the engine is strong I'd say leave it. A sniper EFI is less expensive than any fuel injected engine swap you could do, not counting that if you can do it yourself there is SO much involved and things pop up as you are doing it you didn't count on or expect. Maintain it and enjoy it, only upgrade what you need to do for practicality and reliable usage and just enjoy the fact you're driving a cool old FSJ. If I could do it again, that 5k would be things like replace the worn brake shoes, address a bad fuel sender, replace that one marker light with a slight crack, weld in a new rocker panel if it has some rust, etc. Just my two cents