Who do you recommend??

[DieselSJ]

IMHO there is less to do with a diesel swap than a fuel injected engine swap. The wiring certainly is much less complex with a diesel (assuming old mechanical pump setup and not a modern computer controlled diesel).

[Mikel]

Thanks for all the input. At this point, I am in no hurry since the Airstream did not pan out. I did speak with Mercenary Offroad and he told me it would be about $30k in just parts. I was more than stunned, to say the least. I have a call in to Z&M. Thanks.

Wow. For the last Cummins swap I did, we bought a rusted to oblivion $1800 1991 Dodge W350 that supplied 80% of the parts we ended up using.

A member at M715zone.com was selling a 4BD1T and NV4500, along with the necessary adapters, for $2500. A far better deal and a very sweet setup for a FSJ in my opinon.

[TrenchFoot]

Wow. For the last Cummins swap I did, we bought a rusted to oblivion $1800 1991 Dodge W350 that supplied 80% of the parts we ended up using.

What he said. I wish I'd have listened to every post I'd read about "buy a complete, running truck. It'll be quicker and cheaper than buying parts separate."

Don't buy an engine, then a tranny, then that bracket, then that pump, then one thing after another that gives you the opportunity to get it new or rebuilt "while I'm at it". If you don't plan to do the swap yourself, buy a donor truck and DRIVE it to the shop.

Except maybe for the second half of Mikel's post, because it does sound like a bargain:

A member at M715zone.com was selling a 4BD1T and NV4500, along with the necessary adapters, for $2500. A far better deal and a very sweet setup for a FSJ in my opinon.

[Don in Missouri]

I'm very happy with my Cummins 4bt conversion. I get 20 mpg with mixed city and 75 mph highway driving. I can get 27-28 on the Interstate if I keep it under the local speed limit. But better than that is the improved performance relative to an AMC 360. I drove a 360 for a quarter of a million miles. I vastly prefer driving my diesel powered Wagoneer. The best fuel injection is diesel injection! The 2.73 gears and 31" tires are perfect with no overdrive. It took way more money and time to build this than it costs to buy a 3/4-ton Dodge Cummins. I towed a 31' Airstream with my Dodge. It towed fine, but I got rid of it, because I much prefer camping out of the back of my Wagoneer. It is easier to get in the back country that way.
I would expect to pay $15-$20k to pay someone to do a conversion like that. In fact, once you get done doing your own conversion you could easily end up with that much invested in parts, alone. That shouldn't discourage you. These conversions are totally worth it for a reliable, functional vehicle that will last forever. Just don't add up all your receipts at once, or it will depress you.

[Woodchomper]

Fuel injection is not a magic solution that gives you 50+ horsepower and 20 MPG. With that being said, when properly set-up fuel injection does give you a better daily driver that starts easier and stays in tune longer. However, all those things can be accomplished with a properly set-up carburetor. The people that have the most success with fuel injecting AMC engines have also spent the most time learning all aspects of their fuel injection system and can tune it themselves.

If you are looking for a turn-key trouble free system that other mechanics can fix you may be better off swapping in a modern engine and transmission combination.

I own two diesel trucks and they are each amazing. One truck is an 06 Ford F250 with the 6.0 Powerstroke Diesel that is supposed to be a timebomb. My son and I did an egr delete, free flow exhaust, studded the heads, and put a tuner on it. That truck runs like it is on fire and gets mid 20's on the highway. The Ford has 230K on it and when we pulled off the heads you could still see crosshatching in the bores. My other truck is a 12 Ram 2500 with a 6.7 Cummins. That truck is a great daily driver and tows my camper like it is not even there. However, the Cummins gets nowhere near the economy of the Ford (and is not near as fast). Of course the Cummins is bone stock and will be until it is out of warranty.

My Wagoneer has a warmed over fuel injected 401. I have a 23 ft hybrid camper that I can and have towed with the Wagoneer. Power or getting up to speed is not an issue. Stopping and the feeling of getting pushed downhill is what I didn't like when towing with it. I do have an equalizer hitch and I highly recommend getting one regardless of what vehicle you use to tow. From a safety standpoint, there is a night and day difference when towing with the Wagoneer verses one of my trucks.

I don't have any experience towing Airstream trailers with a Wagoneer but the relatively narrow width and the short wheelbase of the Wagoneer works against you when towing. I would recommend you try towing something similar to what you intend to buy with your Wagoneer before you dump a bunch of money in your Wag converting it to a tow rig especially if you plan to pay someone to do the work.

[jtwthaxj]

I'm doing something similiar, and I'm to the point where I am collecting the adapters for everything. But just for the motor, axles, trans, t-case, and waggy I'm about 4500 in and the adapter, torque converter, and trans controller are about another 3700 from destroked.

Good luck! Contact Aaron Reeves garage!

Just afraid that a gas engine isn't going to net you or me the performance or mpgs in the long run.