Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

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SOLSAKS
Posts: 65
Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2017 6:44 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by SOLSAKS »

bad ass rig
better than a computer on wheels
dave in NC

Jaku717
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:44 pm

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by Jaku717 »

Have any pics of the battery tray? I'm finding the laternator is in the way a bit. May ahve to cut the fender to lower the battery tray

jamesdart
Posts: 384
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2012 4:49 pm

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by jamesdart »

Hey Will, good to see youre still at it with this Jeep.

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

Its been a bit. Haven't had a ton of jeep time in 2021. Been busy with my model boat hobby, but decided to really get back to work on the Wag for fall of 2021. It's been sitting too long, either it needs to get used or get gone. So heres some pics with progress notes:

Really reworking the electrical now. Added a 6 gang relay box in addition to my blue sea systems fuse panel. These relays control the fans, fuel pump, and alternator. Did a lot more re-wiring and re-routing of wires, need to tidy up a bit more but it's definitely safer/more effective than these things were stock. Also added a bus bar to take the 49 different +12v cables off the starter relay, much happier with this setup.


PXL_20210924_201829481.jpg

PXL_20211008_200441849.jpg


For my 30th Birthday back in Feb of 2021 I got myself a present, which is part of the reason why I wanted to do-over most of the engine bay wiring. Finally got that MPFI kit I wanted. Edelbrock Pro Flo 4 XT. Supports up to 600hp. Obviously that just means I need to do more engine stuff in the future, gotta see if that 600hp claim is accurate ;)


PXL_20210207_020455181.jpg


Was having issues with the placement of the ignition coil for the kit, as the new intake has no provisions for it. Went to Mancini Racing and got this cute little coil bracket for $25 that's designed for this kind of intake manifold. Should've come with the kit, in my opinion, it works so well.


PXL_20210930_180702273.jpg



Here's what the engine bay is looking like now:



WagEngine.jpg


The Pro-Flo XT intake manifold 100% interfered with my York OBA compressor mount, and I decided to fix the problem by tossing $ at it. So I ordered a Viair dual compressor kit which you can see mounted under the hood. That runs to an air manifold you can also see, then under the truck to the cargo area to a 5 Gal harbor freight air tank. Can run air tools and use my air locker with no worries.


https://photos.app.goo.gl/THHmnk2U7YGEskXv7
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  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

With the fancy MPFI kit on top of the engine, I needed to do something about my lack of a real exhaust system and my hedman headers that I neglected to paint when they were new 5~ years ago.

So I pulled the headers, sandblasted them, then gave them the Rustoleum high-temp paint treatment and baked them as per the instructions. Not gonna lie, I've never read the instructions before and didn't even know you were supposed to bake it! These things came out great, and the paint is super tough now too. Had to maneuver them into position and even rubbing/scratching up against the frame and etc the coating stayed solid.


PXL_20211017_211725529.MP.jpg



Then it was time to work under the Jeep. It has a 2 1/4" custom Y pipe that goes into a welded summit racing brand muffler. That's been there forever, complete with no hangers, just dangling off the headers. Time to fix that. Added a 3" tailpipe off the muffler and some legit exhaust hangers. Won't fall off now.

PXL_20211022_161153541.MP.jpg


PXL_20211022_161322849.jpg


It doesn't sound half bad either. Ignore the puffs of smoke in this video, I had overfilled it on oil by a quart. My bad.



https://photos.app.goo.gl/UeMCV3BLiTp732V2A



In the future when I do more engine stuff, all this will get re-done anyway because single 3" will choke it. For now, this was cheap + easy and will work just fine.

Got bored and while taking pics for my Hagerty policy I decided to 5-minute-fab a mount for my high lift jack. Gotta be cool like all the JK guys.


PXL_20211026_171718621.jpg


PXL_20211026_175137337.jpg
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  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo
User avatar

DarkKn1ght
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 7:48 pm
Location: Boonton Township, New Jersey

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by DarkKn1ght »

This is such a cool build. Keep up the good work.
1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

DarkKn1ght wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 2:40 pm This is such a cool build. Keep up the good work.
Thanks man,

If you're in NJ, hit me up, we have a small group that tries to get together to do jeep stuff once in a while. A bunch of member's (myself included) have been out of the loop for a bit as our jeeps get worked on, but it looks like activity should start coming back soon.
  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

Jaku717 wrote: Wed Oct 14, 2020 7:24 pm Have any pics of the battery tray? I'm finding the laternator is in the way a bit. May ahve to cut the fender to lower the battery tray

I know that this response is about a year late, but you can see in my latest pictures stock battery tray is nowhere near the alternator.
  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

In addition to all this work, the interior needed some love but it wasn't just for "interior" reasons. The B&M Unimatic shifter I was using on my MVB 727 was a piece of crap that never seemed to stay adjusted right. So I grabbed a Winters Sidewinder and a Jeep CJ/YJ style metal locking center console and went about designing a method to make these two parts one part in Fusion 360.
242264175_143700404632907_5704568412083836329_n.gif
241370496_1034528900650621_8795113727610022082_n.png


And then I made cut templates, printed them out, and glued them to steel and cut them out with an angle grinder. In retrospect, it would've come out a lot nicer if I just paid to have them CNC cut like I was originally planning. My CNC machine isn't meant for cutting steel, else I would've just done that. ;)
PXL_20210927_202604667.jpg


And the finished product in the Jeep:


PXL_20211005_134507291.jpg
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  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

Now that I had this metal center console that came with a radio mount, I decided to tackle not having a working radio. So I grabbed a cheap $100 special at Bass Pro Shop for a Boss marine headunit + 4 speakers and got to work. I needed to extend all the stock wiring by about 4 feet to reach the new mounting location in the console. Time to break out the soldering station and get busy. There's 11 wires that needed to be extended and ran to the radio, and then the antenna cable.

PXL_20211101_134023914.jpg

PXL_20211101_143842305.jpg


After all that was done, I opened up the holes in my men-in-black ABS door panels to fit the speakers and presto, radio:


PXL_20211101_162155956.jpg



And in this pic you can see the custom 3 gauge panel I designed and 3d printed to fit where the stock radio went. I don't like the china express amazon gauges I used in this location, so I'm replacing them today with GlowShift gauges for Trans temp and OBA air pressure. The Innovate MTXL works just fine, though is kinda redundant with the MPFI kit providing it's own wideband. Oh well.


PXL_20211103_175316519.jpg
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  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo

MrN2OBelvedere
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:40 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by MrN2OBelvedere »

Hey, I've been casually browsing your build for the last couple weeks. Very cool. Are you a mechanical engineer? Just seeing the 3D modeling going on. Cool work there. You should check out click cut send, they laser cut parts for reasonable prices. Mind you material costs are still crazy but it's still a good service.

I'm brainstorming a BB Mopar build for my Jeep. I want to start with a 400 based block and build a stroker with a rear mount turbo.

Anyhow, very cool rig you have and it's very reminiscent of my own build process.

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

MrN2OBelvedere wrote: Sat Nov 06, 2021 4:03 am Hey, I've been casually browsing your build for the last couple weeks. Very cool. Are you a mechanical engineer? Just seeing the 3D modeling going on. Cool work there. You should check out click cut send, they laser cut parts for reasonable prices. Mind you material costs are still crazy but it's still a good service.

I'm brainstorming a BB Mopar build for my Jeep. I want to start with a 400 based block and build a stroker with a rear mount turbo.

Anyhow, very cool rig you have and it's very reminiscent of my own build process.
Not an engineer at all. I have a second hobby where I scratch build large scale (1/144) model warships. Basically everything for that hobby is custom made, kinda like owning a Wagoneer. I bought a 3d printer years ago mainly for that hobby and figured like any tool it was useless without the ability to make my own stuff on it. So I just kinda sat down and figured it out. As I got better at modeling and making parts I expanded my tool collection (once again...kinda like Jeeps) from 1 crappy 3d printer to 2 very nice units and a 3'x5' CNC milling/routing machine.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VNwrGAejeJ7V6T6U8

I do have a number of close friends who are engineers that I bounce ideas and designs off of, but I'm more of a novice fabricator than an engineer but thank you! I take it as a compliment.

I've always joked about adding a used powerstroke turbo my 440 in the Jeep. The stock trans mount located the engine relatively far forward in the engine bay, leaving a ton of room between firewall and and back of engine. I've thought of mounting it almost like a 7.3 diesel turbo, right over the bell of the trans.
  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo

MrN2OBelvedere
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:40 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by MrN2OBelvedere »

I am considering a rear mount turbo, where the spare tire resides.

Topic author
WT91
Posts: 229
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:00 am

Re: Will's $600 Grand Wagoneer (440 Mopar Swap)

Post by WT91 »

Alright so the last 2~ days the Jeep has had plates, insurance, and has been paperwork wise road-legal. Put maybe 20 miles on it while still ironing out some final issues. Has a driveline vibration, which makes sense, since the U joints in the driveshafts haven't been even looked at in at least 5-6 years. Axle shaft joints are easily just as old/bad. So, out comes Mr. Mastercard and Spicer Life joints were ordered for Rear driveshaft and front axle shafts. I was going to do the front driveshaft as well, but I'm not super confident in my ability to rebuild the double cardan front shaft. Last time I tried it, the shaft immediately grenaded. So I called up my local driveshaft shop.

Record scratch.

They were forced to downsize after COVID. They no longer do driveshafts. Well BEEP.

Quick google search. Seriously, the closest driveshaft shop is now 2 hours away?? What the BEEP. Call them up anyway. $270 to rebuild the front driveshaft. OK, OK, not terrible. Let me check Tom Woods just for laughs.

Wait. $270 for a rebuild job, or $320 and I get a brand new TW shaft with free shipping? Uh, yes please. Ordered. I'll keep the old/existing shaft for a trail spare.

So now I'm on hold waiting on those parts, so I wrapped up some interior/dash electrical issues. The stock gauge cluster would bounce terribly/lose power while I was doing my test drives so that needed addressing. And the oil pressure gauge was constantly pegged at max. Had to repair some shorted out/burnt off traces on the instrument panel PCB, and replace the oil pressure sender. But now all the gauges in the stock panel work properly. Oh, and I ordered a 33 tooth speedo gear to correct the speedometer being off by about 10%.

Heres some "cockpit" pics as my XJ buddy calls it:
PXL_20211109_214647859.jpg


PXL_20211109_214622506.jpg

Shouldn't see much activity out of me for a while. There's really not much more to do to this truck except drive it. I have some future projects in mind, like a 52" front leaf shackle reversal with Liquid Iron slider boxes, front RCV shafts, maybe an atlas... aluminum heads...650hp...hey I can dream!
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  • 1990 Grand Wagoneer
    440 swap, 727 MVB, NP208, D44 F/R 4.10 gears ZIP locker up front Detroit out back. So much other stuff. Check out the build.
  • 1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Dually
    7.3 PS, ZF5, 6.0 Intercooler, KC Turbo
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