84fleetwood

So, I have a 1996 Grand Cherokee that has been totaled out. The engine is the 4.0 inline and still runs great with only 150000 or so miles on it, and a freshly rebuilt transfer case that hasn't been used in 4x4 ever. I have three potential homes for this engine: a 1974 Power Wagon, with a 205 transfer case. I've been told the 205 is one of the best cases ever so I wouldn't need the rebuilt one. The second project is a 1941 Dodge WC6 closed cab conversion, which still has the beefy army transfer case, but hasn't ran since at least the early '70s so I'm sure the case could use a rebuild. The third project is a little different. It's a '25 Dodge rat rod I've been building. I have two options with this: the 4.0(which I would turbo charge for speed) or an old 360 with the basic aftermarket parts on it, but could probably use a rebuild. Any suggestions or opinions on this?

dave1123

Methinks you shouldn't go thrashing on a 4.0. It's basically a low speed torque motor and doesn't take kindly to modifications. It's putting out just about all it's got in stock form. You'd be much better off with the 5.9 (360). JMHO however. As much as I like Mopars, you'd be better off with a 350 small block Chevy. I'd use 10 to 1 compression, a corvette L78 cam and an Edlebrock carb. The L78 cam is no longer available from GM, but a good aftermarket hydraulic cam with about 250* duration is close.

My first car was a '37 Dodge coupe into which I shoehorned a 315 Dodge Firedome V8 with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. After I was finished, my buddy said "Gee, a 283 would have dropped in sweet." I could have wrung his neck, but he was right. The Hemi hung out the sides so I couldn't put the sides of the hood on.

84fleetwood

Haha I gotta keep it Dodge under the non existent hood. I see too many Chevy engines in Fords and Dodges. It drives me crazy.

dave1123

The major reason for that is parts availability. Try to find used performance parts for Mopar and you'll find EVERYBODY has used Chevy parts! And they all fit! When I decided to build a 392 Hemi, I wanted adjustable rocker arms. The only place I found them was Chrysler Marine at 3 times the price of the originals. One thing I found out about that motor, I was told by several machine shops that if I was going to supercharge it, don't bore it more than .100" oversize. Say What? There was enough metal in the cylinder walls to bore them .125" oversize as long as you stayed naturally-aspirated! WOW! That must be why they weigh 750 lbs! Also, when I put it in my '62 Chrysler my coolant capacity when from 17 qts to 24 qts. I only went .100" over and came up with 413 cid. When I sold the car, the engine went into a drag boat with a blower.

I'm not saying Mopars are junk, I'm just saying you can build SBC's cheap and they are more easily sold later. The 5.2 and 5.9 and even the old 383's are great motors but parts are more difficult to find.