Full Size Jeep Network

Hey gang,
I finally have the WT wagoneer in Colorado Springs. It is getting it's first rain while sitting in the driveway right now. It was in my garage in VA with car cover over it since paint/body over 2 years ago.. life happens.
Well, the trans is shot. After looking at options, I think I would rather put the $ into swapping from the '95 LT1/4L60e to an L83 or L86 with the 6L80 or 90.
Communicating with cu4whln over on the mothership, I think I would be smarter to have someone else do the conversion based on time available and other life efforts.
I have no luck in googling for shops in the area that are up to the task. Figured I would ask here. Anyone know of a shop in CO that you would trust for the job?

I was leaning toward an L96 (6.0) LS, but the L83 (5.3) has equal power and torque with better fuel economy. I know it will require accessory brackets to allow for power steering pump, but for longevity am really thinking the L83 is the way to go. This has been intended as a daily driver and adventurer for many years. I would like to get it on the road to enjoy.

Any leads are appreciated.

Tossing this back out there. I finally have the rig moved from VA to CO and would like to get it back on the road. Trailering it somewhere is not a problem. Any recommended shops to do an LS swap? I just don't have the space and time to do it in my little garage (the jeep barely fits in there).

Perhaps Hathaway Performance in Falcon?

Give Well Sorted Automotive a call I’m Buena Vista. Some good guys and old iron fans.

Somehow I didn't get a notification that you guys had replied. Thanks for the recommendations. I will check them out.

I had 2 shops I have tried: 3D Offroad and SoCo Customs.

SoCo - No Go
I spent more time just trying to talk to SoCo that I gave up. I left work early and dropped by. There were 3 guys sitting behind desks, no one else in the front. So one guy passes me to another, who proceeds to schedule me to come back the next week to talk to him about my project! As making the reservation, he recognizes and asks if we have exchanged emails. We had, but he seemed to get locked into my mention that my current LT1 transmission was shot.. and redirected me to a transmission shop. I had been (or thought I had) been clear that I was looking to go L86 or L83 swap.
I get a reminder email. I leave work on specified day only to get a call as I am on my way there by another guy from the shop, who goes back into the transmission thing. I try to explain, again. He says, well you don't need to come all the way out here, I will have one of our techs call you on Friday.. I say, "sure, that's fine" I never hear from them. Then I get an email saying my appointment (the tech calling me) was supposed be at their shop.
They obviously don't want my business.

3D Offroad - recommended by a few folks I talked to at other shops
I showed up and see old and new jeeps around. The front office guy talks to me a bit and walks me around their shop, showing me projects and explaining what they are doing... and there sits a pretty clean gray late model GW and a 5.3L and trans on a pallet next to it. They also have some pretty high-end JKU and new jeep truck builds going on. He explained that they were doing a budget swap on the GW and could go as far as the customer wanted. Back in the office, he looks on computer and tells me they could probably take on my project beginning around end of Sep. (This was a few weeks ago).

Right now 3D is winning.

I currently have my grand wagoneer at 3-d for a mechanical shakedown and was wondering if that is who you went with and if so how’d it work out for you? Thanks for your time

I haven't delivered it to them as of yet. Got some other stuff I have to get squared away first, not jeep related.
There was a GW there with a 5.3L LS waiting to be installed. Yours?

Not mine. I just took mine in at the 1st of the month. I’m just having them check it out and see what dirveabilty and safety wise needs to be done. I’m not sure if I want to do the LS swap or just redo what’s there with proflo injection. I’m looking at more a cruiser nothing to crazy.

While I cannot speak specifically to a power plant or trans swap, I have had great experience with Soneff’s Garage in Denver. They have helped me chase down stubborn fuel issues, proper EFI setups, heater, and other mech headaches in my Waggy. Ask for Irvine.


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Did you have any conclusion to the swap? I just bought a 77' Cherokee and its going to be a full frame off build. Looking to get the drivetrain swapped to a modern system. I'd love to hear your experience.

@jpswapmohn you live down near the Springs? I live out east of the Springs, but work on Ft. Carson

If you ever want to see an LS swapped FSJ in the flesh I live on the south end of Denver (Littleton) and would be happy to chat for an hour or two over my knowledge gained doing the swap!

Hey folks, I apologize that life has kept me away for awhile. Work has had me out of state since June. Back in town for a couple of weeks.
akguy09, I live across the highway off 16. I think it is Gate 20 to Carson.
Glad, I am always interested in talking and seeing Jeeps.

I havent had time to do much jeep related. I do have our 50 CJ3 ove at 3D Offroad for much needed R&R. It has been there since 01 July, but I did tell them I was ok with them orking on it between other jobs. They are doing a good job on addressing the basics (completely new fuel system, redoing the steering to make it more driver-friendly, reworking the suspension, etc.) so it is more enjoyable for my bride to drive. They haven't done LT swaps but do a lot of LS's. I may let them have the wagoneer, but am not yet decided.

My brother did an L83 swap in his 68 Chevy C10 and there's a lot of differences between them and an LS like motor mounts and headers. If you don't put much of a cam in it, you'll be fine with the tuning. The MAF sensor needs to be in a certain location and include a cold air intake because it makes a big difference. Use a 4L60e or a 4L80e for a trans. Don't use the 6 speed like he did because he's has had issues with tuning it. That's been a bigger pita than tuning the motor. He's getting good mileage and great power for a lot less $$ than the 6.0. The upside is that they're cheap and can be found with low mileage unlike an LS where you're pretty much better off buying a new crate engine instead of rebuilding an old one. Hope this helps.

Tuning the 6spd can be a pain if not using the OEM program. But there are advantages to it, like lower 1st gear, better gear splits, smoother operation and overall better performance. They are also quite durable. I was looking for a late 4th gen with a 6spd for my truck but found such a deal on what I have that I couldn't pass it up.

There's several common tunes out there for HP Tuners. I was reading lately that GM guys are starting to use the ZF 8 speeds now because they're strong, plentiful, have a nice standalone controller and shift really nice rather than using the 6 or 8 speed GM transmissions. The GM 8 speeds are garbage. They barely hold up in an OEM setup let alone something with added power.

The 6 speed is great, I’m not sure how they screwed up the 8 speed so bad.

Thanks for the input.
1 Thing I have read is that the post-17 (i think) ecm's are encrypted and the programmers are not having much luck breaking into them. From what I have read, you have to get a particular ecm from an earlier drivetrain to program if you use one.
I haven't made the leap yet.

The encryption is well known, better tuners have it figured out it just isn’t cheap, you have to buy a key for every ecm/vin number. Those that are still trying to do it on the cheap are struggling and say it can’t be done.