hey all, my first post here.. this project is still in the planning stage pretty much but I cant resist posting some pics..

I am getting these for free, on the condition that I complete the swap:

one 91 trooper, 2.8 manual, meticulously maintained since new by my uncle, new bfg tires, warn hubs, engine in great shape, and bit of body damage



and one 90 trooper, 2.6 with a blown head gasket and automatic, from virginia (no rust), great interior



with these two combined, you'd be hard pressed to find a trooper in better shape here in minnesota..

what do you guys think?

Looks like you are going to end up with a good Trooper, and a whole lot of saleable parts. Congratulations, and welcome to the board.

Lotsa work, but the ending product will be awesome!

Welcome, these guys will pull you out of all sorts of 'Zu Trouble I run into!

Good luck and welcome aboard <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Bansil

I say take that 91, sas it, chop the top, throw away the rest of the doors, and you will already have a good head start on trail damage. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

Seriously if it were me, I would first consider just fixing the 90. I don't know about the condition of the drivetrain or miles, but I would quicker change a head gasket than a whole body swap. And a lot of guys would argue that the 2.6 is just as good/better than the 2.8. I dunno maybe you are a master mechanic and have a garage with a lift available, body swap wouldn't be so bad for you. I know having this scene in my yard wouldn't go over too well with the homeowner's association...





Any in case, welcome and good luck on getting one of them troopers running!

Yeah, that would be awesome but im looking to get a daily driver out of this.. maybe I should save the unused body and engine and try to make something out of them..



Well, I am not much of a mechanic at all (trying to learn though), but I have people that can help me, access to a shop and tools, and free towing. The thing about the 2.8 is I know its been maintained well since new, and had the engine fixed up prior to a freak accident involving a garage ramp. The 2.6 on the other hand is sitting there with the head and everything removed, strewn about in the back of the vehicle, I dont know if the owner just gave up on it or found some more serious problem with the engine and got rid of it. I think the body swap is more doable for me, it will just take time, stripping out the bodies, wiring the engine back up, etc..

Be prepared to swap most(or all) of the wiring harness. You've got it all so you are good to go.....just gonna be a LOT of work. You'll probably have to pull everything out from under the dash(heat/ac ducting) to get the under dash wiring out. I went thru basically the same thing just going from a standard tranny to an automatic. Welcome to the board and good luck on the swap!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Cleaning up that block and putting a new head on the 2.6 will be WAY easier than the swap you are proposing. I'm all for it, but I'm just saying that the head issues on the 90 are not as tough to deal with as you might think. As I always say.... If I can do it, anyone can!!

Then you have your daily driver AND your trail rig..

JD

I see what you mean, but I feel more comfortable with the body swap idea even though there is more time involved. I know I will have to rip out everything in the dash and deal with the wiring.. but id rather do that than try to put an engine back together right now.. Not scared of the 2.6 head issues but I know this 2.8 was well maintained. I could always keep them both and work on the 2.6 later, but will most likely just keep the frame for parts.

Just curious, but why don't you just swap out the engine and transmission? Axles are easy, if you find a problem after the engine and transmission swap.