Author Topic: My Jeep Cherokee / Corvette engine swap project. (Current update)  (Read 34955 times)

Offline enumclaw

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #20 on: August 02, 2015, 09:01:26 PM »
Awesome project!
Rob

DL650: KLR250: C10

Offline stevewfl

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #21 on: August 02, 2015, 09:12:13 PM »
just wow!  ;D
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” St. Augustine

Offline Flat-spot

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #22 on: August 03, 2015, 01:06:06 AM »
:hail: :hail: :goodpost: :chugbeer:

When I hit the lotto,  Will ya build me one?  :chugbeer: :thumbs:

Offline Rhino

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #23 on: August 03, 2015, 07:50:25 AM »
Cool! What and epic build! Thanks for sharing with us!

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #24 on: August 03, 2015, 09:29:49 AM »
When I hit the lotto,  Will ya build me one?  :chugbeer: :thumbs:
Sure! I figure I have about 2.5 million in labor in this thing! Ugh! Man, my old keister is tahrd!
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #25 on: August 03, 2015, 07:11:36 PM »
I'm driving an old 200 dollar Grand Cherokee until Jeepzilla is determined to be reliable, and most of all, I get the A/C fabbed up. The old Grand Cherokee has cold air, but, man it's a rustbucket.

I'm currently building a hybrid Chrysler, GM, and aftermarket A/C system, using original Jeep parts, Vintage Air bendable lines, a Jeep condenser, and a Sanden 508 series compressor. It's going to be ugly. Trying to make it pretty would mean having a custom made condenser and lines fabricated by someone other than Me. I want it to be stout, and reliable, and put out cold air. I think I can get it done.

The high side discharge hose, with a service port & high pressure switch. The service port is located in a compression fitting, made for A/C lines. Pretty cool little item.


A mockup of the layout of the original Jeep A/C lines, before adapting them to the new compressor.


I fabricated a condenser mount bracket from 1/16th aluminum. Pop rivets make short work of non structural pieces like this. They are a lifesaver.


Laying out some 90* fittings, as a work around to pass the lines under the huge radiator, that now covers the A/C access hole in the core support.

2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #26 on: August 03, 2015, 07:25:23 PM »
Even though the LS series of GM engines are very efficient when it comes to the cooling system, I decided to put some vents on My hood, and also...it looks pretty cool. Cherokee's have a very tight underhood area, and one of the problems, is air passing through the radiator has no place to escape. I solved this by using a couple of hotrod style oil cooler scoops, turning the backwards on the hood, and punched a couple of big ol holes in the hood. The low pressure area in front of the windshield, hopefully will help extract some of that hot air, and & low speeds, that Taurus fan should be able to push it out.

Laying out some tape on the hood.


Used a plain ol jigsaw with a fine metal cutting blade to cut some holes.


Hood scoops/vents, with a little body panel adhesive, and some stainless screws from home depot.
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #27 on: August 04, 2015, 10:11:52 PM »
The jungle like climate the past few days has me hustling to get My A/C in working order.

I finally got the condenser lines fabricated, and run through the core support.


I've also got the lines to the compressor almost finished. Waiting on one part tp arrive. Hope it gets here soon.
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #28 on: August 14, 2015, 10:03:44 PM »
Got the A/C plumbed, and the wiring cleaned up a bit. Also added some original Corvette fuel rail covers, to mess with my Corvette enthusiast friends a little. Poke poke. LOL

It's nice to have some cold air conditioning. Freakin Southern Indiana along the Ohio river is like a central American jungle when it comes to humidity.

« Last Edit: June 22, 2017, 03:34:56 PM by jamiemac »
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline Flat-spot

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2015, 01:56:55 AM »
I LOVE THIS THING!  I'm assuming the rest of the drivetrain is up to the task.  Please post a short video with excessive application of loud pedal. Please?
Oh, by the way, I'm up in the chilly end of IN. riding the twin of your bike, '08, AreaP, even a silver helmet hangin' on it.  And believe it or not, I once had a fantasy of saving my big block and 3/4 ton drivetrain out of my old Suburban and stuffing it under an old Wagoneer.  But I knew it was just a dream.  :-\$$$ :-\

Offline DeansZG

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2015, 09:00:16 AM »
Even though the LS series of GM engines are very efficient when it comes to the cooling system, I decided to put some vents on My hood, and also...it looks pretty cool. >>>SNIP<<<
Hood scoops/vents, with a little body panel adhesive, and some stainless screws from home depot.


Nice project!  Wish I had the motovation(along w/ the space & $$$) to tackle a project like that, but just to carry the 'vette theme further... would an L88 style hood scoop have done the job as efficiently along w/ a little better aesthetics?
'99 C10 "MissTriss" *sold*
'04 ZZR1200 "Sweet heart" *sold*
'81 GL1100 Interstate "Puttz"*sold*
'00 K12LT..."Battleship Galactica".....

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #31 on: August 15, 2015, 12:47:17 PM »
Nice project!  Wish I had the motovation(along w/ the space & $$$) to tackle a project like that, but just to carry the 'vette theme further... would an L88 style hood scoop have done the job as efficiently along w/ a little better aesthetics?
Yes, it would, and they are expensive! I had to cut corners with a few things, to get it done. These oil cooler scoops were el cheapos from a speed shop.
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. A lifelong bucket list kinda thing.
« Reply #32 on: August 15, 2015, 12:53:51 PM »
I LOVE THIS THING!  I'm assuming the rest of the drivetrain is up to the task.  Please post a short video with excessive application of loud pedal. Please?
Oh, by the way, I'm up in the chilly end of IN. riding the twin of your bike, '08, AreaP, even a silver helmet hangin' on it.  And believe it or not, I once had a fantasy of saving my big block and 3/4 ton drivetrain out of my old Suburban and stuffing it under an old Wagoneer.  But I knew it was just a dream.  :-\$$$ :-\
Yeah, the ChryCorp 8 1/4 diff is pretty stout. 29 spline axles. The front diff is a Dana 30, and they need to be babied, so we'll see about it. The NV231J is a seriously stout transfer case. Mine has been modified somewhat with a 32 spline HD output shaft, so I doubt I'll have any trouble with it. I tend to not use 4WD off road, unless it's pretty slick. Most of the time, Utah slickrock has such high traction, You don't really need to use 4WD.

Once I get all the testing, and changes done as a result of the testing, I'll make a few runs at the local dragstrip just for fun. It's an expedition vehicle though, so I'm not going to thrash it looking for low ETs. I'm looking forward to driving it, sure enough.

Nice bike, by the way. :-)
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Re: My Corvette/Jeep Cherokee project. (seeking input on cooling system mod)
« Reply #33 on: August 18, 2015, 04:06:55 PM »
After about 450 testing, and drivability miles, I've decided my cooling fan shroud blocks too much airflow at high speeds. The temp stays well below 190, sometimes dipping to 165 when the fan comes on with the A/C. However, as the Jeep gains speed, I see a temp increase to about 218 degrees on the highway. I'm thinking My aluminum fan shroud allows the fan to pull plenty of air thru the radiator, but blocks too much airflow at speed.

My thoughts are to install flaps on the shroud, that will close when the cooling fan comes on under suction, but as pressure increases with speed, they will open to allow air to flow thru the shroud, and escape at my hood vents, and under the Jeep. I figure some high temp silicone sheet, as used in aircraft cowling can be used for this. Something similar to the pic posted here, but I'll use more surface area.

Any thoughts from fellow hot rodders is welcome, and appreciated.
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline Racer Boy

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It looks like you have your reversed hood scoops mounted on your hood far enough forward, but the base of the windshield is a high-pressure area. That is why the intake for your heater/vents are located there.

The windshield of your Cherokee has a steep enough windshield that the high-pressure area may reach far enough forward of the windshield base that your vents have actually turned into intakes, so the air from under the hood really has nowhere to go!

Your symptom of the temp going up at highway speeds indicates that this may be the case. Can you block the scoops, and see if the symptoms change? It should be easy enough to try.

I used to race with some guys that tried the same thing as you, and they ended up removing the exhaust "vents", due to the vents actually pressurizing the engine compartment. Once the vents were gone, the high speed temps dropped.


Offline jimmymac

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Nice work, Dude. 8)
The grass isn't always greener.

Offline jamiemac

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It looks like you have your reversed hood scoops mounted on your hood far enough forward, but the base of the windshield is a high-pressure area. That is why the intake for your heater/vents are located there.

The windshield of your Cherokee has a steep enough windshield that the high-pressure area may reach far enough forward of the windshield base that your vents have actually turned into intakes, so the air from under the hood really has nowhere to go!

Your symptom of the temp going up at highway speeds indicates that this may be the case. Can you block the scoops, and see if the symptoms change? It should be easy enough to try.

I used to race with some guys that tried the same thing as you, and they ended up removing the exhaust "vents", due to the vents actually pressurizing the engine compartment. Once the vents were gone, the high speed temps dropped.
That's some great advice! Thanks, I'm going to try blocking the vents, and driving, although, the high speed temp issue existed before the vents were installed. Still, I want to make sure they work, so maybe I'll tape streamers in them, and see which way they blow. Thanks, Man.

I'll post up the results of the streamer, and blockage test.
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline jamiemac

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Put some streamers in and around the hood vents today, & Racer Boy's advice is good stuff. Turns out my vents are flowing in the wrong direction. Hit the local Pull-A-Part and got another hood. I'll shoot some paint on it, and place the vents on the leading edge of the hood, instead of the rear. Then give it another test.
2008 C14, Area-P carbon fiber, PCV, Rostra Cruise, LAAM leather seat, Optilux 1500 & MondoMoto MM10 lights, Cee Bailey windshield, BMC air filter, Warm & Safe dual dash mounted heat troller.

Offline Racer Boy

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Let us know how it goes!