what motor can I drop into my J-300

[Gwamp]

My girlfriend and I fell in love with my ugly ol' truck and I decided to fix it up instead of parting it out. Is there a motor I can just drop in there in place of the Kaiser 230?

[Brown Bear]

Depends. What type of transmission do you have in there? Do you plan on keeping your original tranny, or will that get changed too? Any 360 should bolt up to any jeep tranny used <but don't quote me on that, please don't quote me on that>.

[Cecil14]

The Kaiser 230 is actually an AMC 230 and the 258 should be a direct bolt in. That will be the only direct bolt in but if you wanted to put a little more work into it your could swap in any AMC V8 as well.

Anthony

[porkchop]

If you want to bolt a 360 in there it will require that you change the mounts and the tranny. I changed out my 327 for a 360 and the mounts are different. Plus the tranny has a very unique bolt pattern. I am pretty sure that the only auto tranny ever used with the 230 was the AS-8F. If it is the manual then it is the T-90.

[Gwamp]

porkchop - how hard was it to change the motor mounts? The 360/t-400 swap was what I was hoping to do eventually, but I would be very happy to get my hands on a 6 cyl and dump it in there just to get her on the road!

[ April 02, 2002: Message edited by: Gwamp ]</p>

[jeepbob]

The Kaiser 230 Tornado motor is totally different than the AMC 232. The Kaiser Hi-Torque 6 is the AMC 232. The Tornado can be easily identified by the massive aluminum valve cover with JEEP cast into it. The tornado is an overhead cam, hemi headed, domed piston, boat anchor of a motor that only has 6 lobes on the cam. It uses the same lobe for intake and exhaust. This motor does not have a whole lot of power and would really benefit from multi port injection. It was too far ahead of its time. The 232 is a good motor but uses different motor mounts than the 230. the frame mount are easy to change but remember if you must drill new mounting holes thru the frame you must also put a sleeve insite the frame box to keep from crushing it when tightening the bolts and to keep them from coming loose by collasping the box section. The 232 also uses a different bellhousing than the 230. If you need detailed instructions and some pix to convert to a V8 and auto set up let me know as I went from a 230/T86(3spd)/D20 to a 360/t400 D20 in my 65 Wag. I also converted to power steering and power brakes.

[porkchop]

Bob said it in about the easiest way to say it. I also changed from a 327/T-85/D20 to the 360/TH400/T-case keeps changing. Also the power steering and power brakes and complete driveline change.

[Gwamp]

jeepbob - You are right, that is one big ol' boat anchor under my hood smile.gif I would love those pictures of the swap that you are talking about. Just what I needed another project :D I am just glad my girlfriend took an intrest in this one. All I hear out of her is "That ones MINE" ;)

[Josh D]

Gwamp,
All I can say is good choice on saving the J-truck. I hate to see a complete early truck get parted. smile.gif

[Gwamp]

It is going to be a job to get it right, but I think it will be worth it in the end

[PAJEEPER]

This sounds like a great candidate for the SBC 350 swap. I'd find a nice used one and drop it in there with your choice of tranny. I don't think you could go wrong with that.

[Gwamp]

My buddy has a 76 Cherokee with a 401 and a shot body that he is going to sell me for a decent price. I think that I am going to swap that in along with the power steering and power brakes. This ought to keep me occupied until winter :D

[PAJEEPER]

There you go now that sounds like fun :D Nothing better than a J truck project with a good parts vehicle :cool:

[Gwamp]

Now I just got to get my girlfriend busy yanking that old motor out of there.... ;)

[jeepbob]

I will take some of detail shots and then e-mail them to you. Also to convert to power brakes you will want the pedal asm and proportioning valve from the late model rig as this will make the conversion a snap. I can even show you how to put a late model steering column into your steel dash with out cutting the dash! It takes a little work but you could even put in a tilt wheel or use a nicer than original steering wheel. Most of the original wheels are broken or cracked anyhow. The late model steer column will allow you to use the late model wiring harness to get a fuse panel in your rig as there is not one now. The only fuses are inline fuses by the ign switch.

[Alaskaman]

That 401/TH400 sounds like a good way to go. You might want to install the self adjust brakes too, they aren't any bigger but they work a lot better than the originals. My J300 has a Chebby 283 V8 with a bellhousing conversion for the T90. It's a super-simple conversion as cross-brand conversions go, but not as simple as pulling out '70's Chero components and stuffing them into a Gladiator. Thats like having a parts store in your back yard. Check the archives for a real nice post on Gladiator power steering conversion. Can't remember who deserves credit for it. Anyway good luck with your endeavor!

[Gwamp]

Thanks for the tips, you guys are great! Looks like I will be putting most of that Cherokee into the J-300. The Cherokee runs good, it just has some real nasty rust.

[chrisnsarah]

I didn't see any mention of what tranny you had. the 4sp T98 was available then. Great tranny, no reason to swap this unless you desire an automatic.
Sounds like you woould be best off swapping the complete cherokee drivetrain and braking over to the truck. You may have to play around with spring perches if you decide to do a complete axle swap.

[Gwamp]

I haven't had a chance yet to go and mess with it and find out what tranny is in it. I am planning on getting to know it a bit better tonight if the weather holds. The sun is actually peaking out on the Oregon coast! Now the mold in my armpits will dry out... ;)