350 TBI motor swap questions!

[AlsChopShop]

i'm getting everything together for my 350tbi swap, i just got the harness and ECM out of the donor rig tonight, it went smoother than planned. i still have some questions and hurdles i'll need to address before i get knee deep in the motor swap.

1. Fuel. i am planning on using an in-line fuel pump for simplicity but i have not figured out how to remedy the tank problem. these tanks are not baffled and i need them to be so the pump won't starve. i know jeepin pete has rigged up two pumps (one in front, one in rear) but we've yet to see it in action. is there any way to have an existing tank baffled? i'd like to avoid the cost of a fuel cell if at all possible.

2. ECM. i have not looked around at a good location for placement in the jeep, but i'm hoping someone here already has a place that works well. i'm also interested in how to waterproof the unit in case of a water crossing.

3. Electrical. i have the donor fuse panel and the wiring harness runs through it. would one use the donor panel with the jeeps existing panel? or move everything over to the donor. i'd like to hack up as little wiring as possible and keeping the jeeps electrical separate from the ECM is fine. i'm just unsure how to do it with the ignition controls, if they need to be linked to the donor fuse panel for the ECM?

4. Power steering. can i use the PS pump from the donor motor or will i need to fabricate the stock jeep pump to work on the new motor? if so, how is this done?

5. Engine mounts. From what i've understood, most people with motor swaps drop the motor into location, mount the back of the tranny and fab up the mounts on the spot. i can do that, but is this using any part of the stock mounts for either engine? and no, i won't pay $400 for pre-fabbed mounts.


well thats all i can think of for now, i'm sure i'll have to pick your brain more later! thanks in advance!

Al

[Bama Burden]

1. I wouldn't worry about baffling your fuel tank. Keep the pump as low as you can in regards to the tank.
2. Glove box? In my '86 GW, I'm redoing the dash and the ECM will find its way in there some how.
3. Leave your OE wiring intact. Your ECM will get power from the OE harness and then the ECM will power the rest. Keeping the EFI harness separate from the OE harness is what you want to do. After I stripped-down and cleaned up the EFI harness, I wrapped it in red split-lume to differentiate it from the OE.
4. The pumps are the same but I think that the hose fittings on the resevoirs is different. I have the GM pump on mine but haven't hooked up the hose yet (it was destroyed during AMC V8 removal).
5. The aftermarket mounts are closer to $100 but, IMO, still not worth it. I wish I had saved that money and made my own. You can keep the AMC frame mounts and adapt them to the GM. The GM threaded bosses are located a little more towards the front of the block than on the AMC. My driverside mount was right in the way of the steering shaft and I had to notch out the mount for the shaft to clear. Check out Crazy Jeepman's mounts. He made his own and had a nice solution for the steering shaft.

[Chevelleguy]

You could solve the pump and tank issue at the same time by swaping in a tank from an TBI, 4.3 S-10 Blazer. Put it where the spare tire goes.

[JeepinPete]

1) My idea flopped. I ended up mounting an in tank pump to the stock fuel pickup. The fuel pickup and gas gauge sender are separate units on out '79s, so it is a pretty simple thing to do. But I doubt it is going to be worth anything once the fuel level get below 1/2 a tank or so. Unfortunately, once I got the sender hacked up and working, the tank sprang a leak. I will be swapping in a rear mounted tank...

2) I am thinking up above the stock fuse block, or where the AC unit would go if you don't have AC...

3) Keep them separate. You should have to hook up a couple wires between the two (power in, switched power out, starter). I am not intimately familar with the TBI fuse block though...

4) You can use the TBI PS pump no problem. Two choices here. Have a custom pressure hose made up with the PS oring fitting and the PS box flare fitting. Otherwise, swap in a later model box and use hoses from a later Waggy, assuming the PS box is near the same location as the AMC mounting.

5) Can't help you there, the 5.3 uses different mounts that the SBC...

[oldcj5guy]

For ease of doing it, I would buy the cheap DIY harness that runs around $130. I can look at my harness ('89TBI in '79 J10) and see what goes where for you. I have a fi bronco tank in my truck, but wouldn't recommend it without a body lift. My stock tank just uses a fuel pump in front of the tank with no problems until it is on the E.

[AlsChopShop]

thanks everyone for the replies. its good to know i'm not alone in the dark here!

i was hoping i wouldn't have to swap in a bronco or s-10 tank because i already have an aftermarket tank ready to fit back there, but it seems that will have to go as i'm pretty sure it isn't baffled. what are the capacities of each tank? is there a year range i need to look for on the brono tank? i suppose if it gets down to it i can swap out tanks at a later date. david, will the s-10 tank will fit without a body lift? i'm on the fence about a 2" BL. i assume you are using the s-10 tank on yours, what fuel pump did you use?

i don't have a/c, i guess there has to be an open spot in the dash somewhere. anyone have ideas on how to waterproof the ECM? i can just imagine water getting down along the dash and messing everything up.

the fuse blocks seem like it would be fairly straight forward on matching them up, but i have a feeling i'll just have to wait until i'm knee deep in it. cj5guy, any pictures might be useful. web, do you have a wire diagram to use to thin the harness? i'm debating if i want to thin it out or not. the only things i can think off hand is the headlights section of harness that won't be used and cruise control.

i'm glad to know the chevy PS pump will work. i will just have to figure out where i can have custom lines made.

what did everyone do for radiators? i was told that i can take it to a rad shop and have the tanks swapped out but i'd almost rather find a replacement if there is one around for a decent price. bj's alum rad is nice, but waaay out of my league on price.

one last thought, its probably going to be easiest to pull the whole front clip for the swap. how easy is is to pull the whole thing off?

Al

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Pull the front clip is the only way to go. Two body mount bolts on either side of the radiator, bolts at the rear of the fenders in the door jam, bolt under the rocker panel, and 1 bolt in the rear of the wheel well, 1 bolt on firewall.
Radiator:
If you can fab your own brackets or have a welding shop weld something on radiator options are endless. I went with a 19" X 31" Aluminum Double Pass Rad in mine. However I reworked the core support and made numerous mods to make it work. They are available in many different sizes, getting one to fit with very little effort should not be that big of a deal. You can also gain some room for a bigger rad, by drilling out the spot welds on the Core Support, that hold it to the header panel, flip these around keeping the body mount location in the same position. This is the way they are now _I I_ after the flip I_ _I. I am doing this in another project J10 to get a larger rad into it.

As far as the power steering issue, I would just swap to the newer O Ring style steering box, and pressure line. That way if for some reason you blow the line, you won't be stranded anywere, looking for someone to build you another line. Stock Lines can be made to work.

[LaJ10]

http://www.binderbulletin.org/forums...splay.php?f=75
try looking here for your wiring needs.Start in the faq.I have alot of diagrams and pinouts if you are using a 747ecm.If you need them email me and I send them to you .

[AlsChopShop]

a little bit of an update....
i picked up an inline pump, pre-filter and an additional filter for between the pump and throttle body. the pump will plug directly into the wire harnes. i've got plenty of steel line and i'm going to route it inside the frame rail for protection. the return line i may just run rubber line (also inside the frame rail for protection) as it handles less pressure but i'll see what happens when i get there. it took a few hours at the parts house finding the correct filters and fuel lines/fittings but we worked it out using the most common sbc filter you can find, that way if i ever get stranded with a clogged filter i can replace it fast and cheap. i'll post up part numbers on everything shortly.

Al