1982 CJ7 Performance upgrades and emissions removal. What can be done?

[spider]

I have a 1982 CJ7 that has been in the family since about 1985 and been in storage since 1998. I have brough it home and I am starting to clean it up and fix it up. My questions are:

Its an orgional CA Jeep with a straight 6 and all the emissions equipment except that the air injector tubes the exhaust manfold is already missing but its still hooked up to the cat.

I would like to remove the rest of the emissions and computer control to the eng. What is removable and what is not? What will need to be replaced to acomplish this? Are there any links to tell me what to do?

Is there a way to remove the air injection pump and reroute the belt?

What are the performance upgrades that are aviable for the straight 6?

Carb? Weber 38 kit seems like a good start

Exhaust manafold? Borla seems to make a nice one

Cam shaft?

Intake manafold?

Will a straight 6 with some mild performance upgrades and gearing change have enough power/torgue to turn 33" x 12.5" tires

Any help is appreciated. thanks in advance

 

[Jimbos76cj]

I have a 1982 CJ7 that has been in the family since about 1985 and been in storage since 1998. I have brough it home and I am starting to clean it up and fix it up. My questions are:

Its an orgional CA Jeep with a straight 6 and all the emissions equipment except that the air injector tubes the exhaust manfold is already missing but its still hooked up to the cat.

I would like to remove the rest of the emissions and computer control to the eng.Look up the "nutter Bypass" What is removable and what is not? What will need to be replaced to acomplish this? Are there any links to tell me what to do?

Is there a way to remove the air injection pump and reroute the belt? Yes.. unblot it and measure for a new belt.

What are the performance upgrades that are aviable for the straight 6?
Any thing more then ignition upgrade, new carb and header Would be better spent on a 360.

Carb? Weber 38 kit seems like a good start
Look into the MC 2100 with 1.08 jets

Exhaust manafold? Borla seems to make a nice one
To me its alot of money for not much power. I

Cam shaft?
Again alot of work.. little power. If you go with a cam make sure its one ground for torque.

Intake manafold?
Theres a good intake for them but I can think of the name. I want to say clifford but dont think its right

Between the intake, header and cam your looking atleast $600-$800 plus labor. If you scrape or damage a cam bearing while swapping it out then you have to pull the motor to have new ones put in. I bet you could find a good running waggy or J Truck with a good motor for $1000-$1500. I would buy up one of those, keep the motor part the rest of it out. Ive done that several times in the past and ended up with free axles, motor and trans after parting. Or just shop around for a 360. A 360 will swap right into the CJ once you change the passenger side frame and motor mounts. You may need a fly wheel/flex plate only if your motor and curent trans are different from the motor you pick up.
Will a straight 6 with some mild performance upgrades and gearing change have enough power/torgue to turn 33" x 12.5" tires
Yes.. Look at 4:10-4:56 gears.. I would regear then upgrade motor as needed.

Any help is appreciated. thanks in advance

Good luck.. The 258 is a good motor, strong, reliable motor but as the saying goes.. theres no replacement for displacement.

 

[coldair]

You should consider the 4.0 head conversion.

 

[IOPort51]

There is absolutely , positively nothing wrong with a 4.2 AMC l6. It is an incredibly well engineered machine that is capable of 2-300,000 miles of dependable service and with minimal modification is quite capable of rolling 33x12.50s all day long.

You need to complete your profile so we know a bit more about your ride such as transmission, transfer case and axle make and gear ratio.

You may think the engine is a major concern but if you are running a t-5 5 speed with 2.73/1 ratios, as I suspect you are, you have much more pressing problems to address than the carburetor.

Fill us in on the rest of the picture and see what you have to work with. There may not be a replacement for displacement but this game is all about gears.

 

[IOPort51]

Just another thought:

You have a Ca, Jeep and the only thing missing is the injection tubes on the manifold??

Have you considered what that thing could be worth to somebody with deep pockets on the west coast?? I realize there is a family connection here but I'm just saying, You may want to consider a restoration rather than a modification.

 

[coldair]

I agree with IO they are awsome little motors. Gearing is a big factor in a jeep 4.10 gears work great with 33 inch tires for offroad

 

[spider]

Thanks for taking the time to awnser my questions. I am definatly considering a swap to a V8. It looks like for about the same money as trying to upgrade my 258 I could get a 360. Either way the 258 will be getting a carb and emissions removed as the carb is in need of replacement ( not rebuildable) and the emissions is a rats nest, no really rats made a nest in the eng. compartment and chewed up wiring vacume lines etc. right now I have it spliced and it runs but not well. Its the carb.

One question though what is a waggy? a jeep wagoner? And when I am looking if I descide to go that route what year should I be looking for to get a motor out of?
I like the idea of getting a complete motor with all the brackets and manafolds
What ever I descide labor will be free as I will be doing the work myself. I acually have a eng hoist and stand at home. The switching of the engine is the easy part for me the hard part is knowing what goes with what and where to find it.

 

[spider]

Good luck.. The 258 is a good motor, strong, reliable motor but as the saying goes.. theres no replacement for displacement.

There is absolutely , positively nothing wrong with a 4.2 AMC l6. It is an incredibly well engineered machine that is capable of 2-300,000 miles of dependable service and with minimal modification is quite capable of rolling 33x12.50s all day long.

Yes I have heard that the 258 is a great long lasting motor and as long as it can trun the tires well I like the idea of the better fuel economy.

You need to complete your profile so we know a bit more about your ride such as transmission, transfer case and axle make and gear ratio.

I will try and gather some more information about my jeep right now I cant tell one transmission or transfer case from another but this forum has some great resources.

You may think the engine is a major concern but if you are running a t-5 5 speed with 2.73/1 ratios, as I suspect you are, you have much more pressing problems to address than the carburetor.

I have the same concern and suspect you are right

Fill us in on the rest of the picture and see what you have to work with. There may not be a replacement for displacement but this game is all about gears.

Just another thought:

You have a Ca, Jeep and the only thing missing is the injection tubes on the manifold??

Have you considered what that thing could be worth to somebody with deep pockets on the west coast?? I realize there is a family connection here but I'm just saying, You may want to consider a restoration rather than a modification.

I have considered a restoration as its not been modified much, just an AC system added and a different exhaust manafold at some point, new shocks and the carpet was ruined. the rest is all origional. Its been stored in AZ so nothing but very minor surface rust and the right front fender flare is cracked But I have to admit that as a stock Jeep it bores the hell out of me. Since I was a kid I always wanted to build a jeep I acually had a 58 CJ5 when I was 16 (I wish I still had it). What ever I do to it I will keep the origional parts and modify it in a way that it can be put back to origional.

 

[PaRenegade]

I removed the emission garbage on my 82 shortly after I bought it in 82. The exhaust rail tube, the cat. conv., the smog pump and associated hoses and valves. There is no under-dash computer so no "nutter bypass" needed. The idle control on the pass. fender and the ignition control under the washer fluid bottle have stayed. Now since yours was a Cali model from the start I can't say that yours is the same. It may have the first version of the u-dash computer already. Yours may also have a serpentine belt, which means you have a water pump that runs in the opposite direction.
I'm in the middle (or somewhere there abouts) of a rebuild but I have a new Weber 32 to put on it. I got sick of rebuilding the Carter bbd every 3 years. I have already done what they call a "team Rush" distributor, rotor, and plug wire upgrade. Do a search on that but basically it's putting a larger Ford rotor and cap setup to retain stronger spark.

 

[IOPort51]

Being what some would call a purest I am bound to speak on behalf of posterity from time to time. That said , My CJ5 is not exactly stock and my major criteria is that it continue to look "stock".

Do the world a favor and never throw anything away. good example, it is very difficult to find the pulley and/or mount for the air pump. You can buy the pump but those other parts are endangered species.

Do not fall for the idea that your motor will run better without the emission system. you will find that the thermostatic air cleaner and the EGR valve will both make your jeep run better and more efficiently. And then there is the PCV, which is also part of the emissions.

The most "bang for the buck" I have gotten is the TR TFI ignition upgrade, With or with out the MSD controller. The MSD is definatly a plus but there is a sizable performance improvement from just the cap and coil changes.

2nd on my list is the 4.0 head with a decent valve job. That is a bit of work, time and money. There are a number of good pages dedicated to that.

As far as carbs go I recommend the MC2150/2100 Mine works quite well, I rebuilt it myself and worked the bugs out and am quite proud of myself because of that. It was a long ways short of rocket surgery.
The only other alternative I would consider would be the GM TBI fuel injection. When I get all the "essential" work done I may make this change but for the moment I like the Motor craft carb.

I have considered a restoration as its not been modified much, just an AC system added and a different exhaust manafold at some point, new shocks and the carpet was ruined. the rest is all origional. Its been stored in AZ so nothing but very minor surface rust and the right front fender flare is cracked But I have to admit that as a stock Jeep it bores the hell out of me. Since I was a kid I always wanted to build a jeep I acually had a 58 CJ5 when I was 16 (I wish I still had it). What ever I do to it I will keep the origional parts and modify it in a way that it can be put back to origional.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

If you dont mind a 5-6hr drive there a local guy in orlando looking to sell a complete 360 with all new accessories from pan to carb for $600 and that includes a 727 trans.. or hell separate and sell them separately. You can even use the 727 if you have a 4'' lift and a dana 300. He's also selling a MSD ignition system and set of hooker out of frame headers too. He was planning on putting it in his CJ then went crazy and bought a 502 and is having a custom tube frame built with Rock and 50" tires..

 

[PaRenegade]

The most "bang for the buck" I have gotten is the TR TFI ignition upgrade, With or with out the MSD controller. The MSD is definatly a plus but there is a sizable performance improvement from just the cap and coil changes.

Which coil did you use from MSD? When I did my team rush upgrade I kept my coil, which is a Jacob's Compu coil, cannister type, that I've had on for 15+/- years. It works fine but I'm looking for an improvement for it, if possible, while still using the factory dizzy.

 

[IOPort51]

I used a ford TFI coil. looks just like the MSD tfi coil just cheaper.

Which coil did you use from MSD? When I did my team rush upgrade I kept my coil, which is a Jacob's Compu coil, cannister type, that I've had on for 15+/- years. It works fine but I'm looking for an improvement for it, if possible, while still using the factory dizzy.

 

[PaRenegade]

So this would be the MSD version of the one you used?

Here's a good write up on them and the upgrade.
Motorcraft Distributor TFI Upgrade for the AMC 258

 

[IOPort51]

this would be the one.

So this would be the MSD version of the one you used?

Here's a good write up on them and the upgrade.
Motorcraft Distributor TFI Upgrade for the AMC 258