I want to put a built 305 in my 87 Cherokee. What do I need to do to make this swap work and work smoothly? I plan to take it as far as i can off road yet still be ok on the road with my 1 yr old son with me. I plan to put an 8 inch lift on it as well. though my idea is to make all new leaf and 4 link mounts out of 3/8 steel 8 inches taller and re-weld it all back together and put it all back together using most of the stock parts. Transmission and transfer case? I would like to go with a 5 speed manual but the problem, what is the easiest to put in , manual or auto? I already posted my engine swap question on the jeep forum and as of yet i havent got a response. I dont know if everyone out there is too self important to help out or what? You tell me.............

Lets not everone jump to help anyone out there at least tryen to do a build and gather info to help them

The problem with a 5 speed is whether or not you are willing to spend the money for a good trans and than an adapter. All the chevy 5 speeds that I know of have driver side drops. As far as I know your cherokee is passenger side drop. I have a Th350 and adapter with the transfer case still attached that was from a sbc swap in a cherokee. I would make you a deal on it if your interested, I know autos aren't as apealling as manual but much simpler to convert. By the way the trans that I have was rebuilt by a local shop and only had 2-3 thousand miles on it when I parted the jeep out.

I am doing a 4.3 700R4 swap in my 84 Cherokee. If you have the XJ Cherokee it is a drivers side drop. The Full size Cherokee is a passenger side drop. If you have a full size dont even waist your time swapping and just put in a new 360. Advance adapters sells the Bolt in engine mounts. www.advanceadapters.com As far as trans, that is your preference. Luckily GM makes some pretty Stout autos, TH400 is my personal favorite. As far as transfer cases go, if you wanna go big, buy an Atlas. If you wanna stay cheap go with a junkyard variety 89 and newer GM. GM switched to Drivers side drop around 89. Oh yea, WHY??? waist money on a 305? a 4.3 puts out almost the same power as a stock 305 and is lighter. The more you build an engine for Horsepower/Toque the less reliable you make it. Go with a 350, all it needs is a mild cam and some light headwork and you have all the power you need. Simple is better when your miles away from a parts store.

Unless its free or you allready have it don't get a 305! 350 are easier and cheaper to find and make a considerable amount of power. Also your lift sounds scary, just do a more traditional lift (check out claytons offroad long arm setup) I've seen a 350 in a similiar year XJ and it fit fairly well with shorty headers. As far as transmission I would think your best bet is a 700r4, automatic so no clutch or shifter linkage to mess with plus its plenty strong and has overdrive. For a transfer case you should be able to stick with a 231