I have a question. A friend of mine is giving me a 94 jeep grand cherokee 5.2L v8 absolutely free. It has everything, wiring harness, motor, tranny, everything. Is there any way to get this into the sammurai. Would this be worth it. Are there any write ups on this. Just tell me what you guys think. jordan

Where there is a will, a torch, and a welder, there is also a way.

Is it worth the trouble? Probably not. Putting that heavy drivetrain in a Samurai pretty much defeats the 2 main cool points of the rig: Small, and lightweight. By the time you get done swapping in heavier suspension and big nasty axles to hold the v8 power, you'll weigh as much and be wider than the grand cherokee stock.

So unless you have plenty of time and money, you'd be better off just throwing a nice suspension under that grand cherokee. We have a couple guys that run them; Very capable, flexy rigs. Check out Clayton Offroad or Rusty's.

Of course the third option, and my personal favorite: Sell the Jeep for whatever you can get out of it and build your Sammy the right way :flipoff2:

i will buy the tranny from the cherokee:D

it's a neat idea, but not really a good way to go. it would make good trade material for a more suitable drivetrain. inline 4's or lighter v-6's are best. the 4.3 chevy make one a little nose heavy but is still a somewhat reasonable choice. i wouldn't go any bigger or heavier. a 4.3 is tight enough to fit. the samurai frame won't take much more weight than that. a 4.3 weighs 425 lbs. a 5.0 ford weighs 435. the ever popular 1.6 8 valve weighs in at 176. a big heavy motor with lots of torque will kill the stock frame if used hard. if it will see any kind of daily use or longer travels, v-8 gas mileage and the small gas tank may be a real bummer too.