Huntin' Jeep

[Sharpe]

Yah I've noticed there aint much love for pre-76s. What major changes did they make?

[robertf03]

Yah I've noticed there aint much love for pre-76s. What major changes did they make?

lots of stuff

76 up to the early 90's is the same floorpan, steering column, seat brackets, windshields are pretty much the same.

the frames widen at the rear unlike every universal jeep from 75 and down.


but 76 and 77 are still a ***** to find some parts for, vent grill is different, heater parts are nonexistant, fuel filler is different, extra body mounts on the rear crossmember.

probably some other stuff I can't remember too

I've got a pic of a 73 renegade thats very similar to yours, if I can get this scanner working I'll post a pic.

[TexTJ209]

Cherokees of that era are 6 lug

Didn't notice his were only five...close though.

[Sharpe]

So lets talk about building my motor. I am keeping the 304 no matter what so dont bother saying replace it. I am hoping to be able to add chevy TBI and a mild performance cam, as well as a full rebuild. From what I have seen, these motors have oiling issues. How do you address this? Does anyone make a cam specifically to be used with the TBI? What distributor do you use for this setup? If I'm not mistaken 74 didnt use HEI and the TBI needs it.

[eight]

There isn't an oiling issue for our purposes. There is no TBI cam. There are many cams available, you just have to know what to look for in the cam for TBI use. From looking at the chevy cams for carb vs tbi, it seems you want short overlap, I was thinking the comp 256xe or 262xe for mine, but I really wouldn't know. AMCs like bigger cams than chevys and fords. You use the ford duraspark. It was stock on later motors, not sure if yours would have it or not.

[BMFScout]

flem will address this I am sure, however tonight he got ahold of his mom's chili evidenty and has been very gaseous. We went to the londoner tonight, and adding beer to the equation was disastorous. It was 27 deg. according to the rearview mirror and we still had the windows down...

[william_ace]

so somehow flems gaseous emolision from the colon will allow the tbi on the 304 to run better, especially with the shorter cam? did i catch that right?

[robertf03]

I think ol' Landon had the edelbrock cam in his 304 and it ran very strong. Seems like the cam of choice for the smaller displacement AMC engine.

As for oiling issues, I've got to sack up and drill/tap my block for the main bearing oilbypass mod, but it will get oil mods done to it. I'll post some pics. maybe ill do it tomorrow/later today

Kopeki's got it down, duraspark is the best ignition these engines ever had. Find one from a wagoneer and weld the mech. advance up and its TBI ready.

[eight]

Yet mine still doesn't run right. Has irratic idle speed. Think I might need to get rid of the knock sensor.

[Sharpe]

You ever do the oil mod Flem? What year/size motor did the distributor I need come on? Kopeki says Ford duraspark but Flem says wagoneer? Does Edelbrock only make one size cam for this motor? Thanks

[eight]

Wagoneer uses ford duraspark. Yes edelbrock only makes one cam, and its really only big enough for a 304.

[robertf03]

haven't drilled yet, too scared

maybe tomorrow

[Sharpe]

So what year and size motor do I need to get the distributor from?

[robertf03]

78 and newer amc v8 of any size

[Sharpe]

So here's what I have planned so far for the mota.

Magnaflux block
Acid bath block
New bearings
New pistons and rings
Ballance rotating assembly
Edelbrock cam
New lifters
New pushrods
New oil pump
Gaskets
Stud kit
Magnaflux heads
New valves (maybe)
New valve springs
New valve guides
New valve seals
Aftermarket rocker arms
Fancy valve covers
Fancy intake manifold
Chevy TBI
HEI distributor

Does anyone have recomendations as far as parts selection goes (pistons, bearings, rocker arms, lifters and oil pump specifically)?