Hey guys, newbie to this site. I'm thinking about building a trail only Cherokee, seller thinks it's a 1989. Has a 4 cyl engine, manual transmission. It's got some body damage, no pink (running the vin for sure), and the electrical caught on fire. I want to swap in a V8 or the 4.0 inline 6, but I'm new(er) to the Jeep world and not sure what I can throw in there. I'd like to stay manual, and definitely low cost. High schooler here. Any advice?

 

Advice?... Stay away, find a better cherokee.. You don't want an electrical nightmare bud. And I believe that year has the BA-15 tranny which is pretty much junk.

 

Well I'm not too worried about it. I was going to strip and gut the whole thing anyway, replace all the wiring. Keep the bare minimum of the car.

 

Will advise on the tranny though.

 

To me the jeep is only good for scrap metal,A electrical fire is a nightmare to clean up after.No title its stolen or has a lien on it i bet.Being its a 4 cylinder its a ax5 trans which is pretty much crap too.The front axle is cad which is a weak link.Really its best if you save up and buy a 6 cylinder xj with a title to it.A v8 swap can cost you 6k to 8k after you buy all the swap parts the engine and harness trans t case and two new driveshafts it adds up fast.

 

Unless you are getting the Cherokee for free, I would stay away.
You can buy something much better, for cheep.

Where are you located?
In my area, you can get a running, mechanics special Cherokee, for not much more than scrap value.
And it's going to have a clean title too.

 

Thanks for the insight guys. I really like the XJ's actually so I think I'll go that route. Danny74 ****, I hope it's near you lol. I'm in the inland empire in Southern California. I found a super clean XJ with just a lift awhile ago, amazing platform to build on. Couldn't pick it up unfortunately

 

take your time and find one worth getting.. Just like any other car

 

Yeah, it seems more difficult for me than it is for anyone else hahaha. I've been looking for a street car for almost a year

 

Look for a 91 and newer with the 4.0 in it,Yeah a stick will be harder to fine but the auto in them is strong and really better off road not having a clutch.

 

BA-10 was only behind the 4.0.