o/t Jeep Wrangler

[Bill from Scotland]

Drove this home from my brothers place yesterday, 635 miles. I was concerned about the cost of gas so nursed it the whole way, 25.7 mpg (imperial gallons) which I thought was fairly outstanding for a 4.0litre straight six. I was also amazed at how comfortable it was on such a long jurney. I left in the dark early morning and arrived home again in darkness although not unnoticed. My brother had a modified exhaust pipe made for it which makes a fantastic but very loud noise. I guess the neighbours will hear me coming.
As a matter of interest (possible for future development, would converting this from auto transmission to manual be a difficult job and would a 5 speed from something like a Cherikee work?
I would also be interested in making it a bit quicker 0-60. Can this be done easily or does it require lots of money and work. How quick to 60 can they be made to do if someone knew what they were doing?
I have attached a few pictures taken on the journey from England to Scotland of the sunrise.
Bill






 

[Two Dogs]

You were worried about the cost of gas on the trip and now want to turn it into a gas hog? It's a good looking ride. I'd leave it alone and enjoy it as is. But I ain't you. TDF
 

[Mark-Ia]

Still mowing grass?
 

[Handyman]

This will probably sound rude but if you wanted a sports car you should have bought a sports car, what you have is a jeep, a vehicle built for pulling things and climbing hills with. It probably has a rearend with a 4:10to1 ratio and changing from an automatic trans to a manual trans isnt going to help your accelleration or your gas milage. in order to get faster getup and go you will need to replace the differentials in both the rear and front axles. that will amount to big bucks in doing both ends also I noticed in your second pic that there is a nice blue cloud behind your jeep I am assuming it was running at the time you took that pic.
 

[ShadetreeRet]

Beautiful photos! (And the Jeep looks good also). Sounds like you may have a wee bit o' the hot rodding spirit! You have a nice looking vehicle, and I understand your desire for standard transmission, etc. but as someone has already mentioned, the modifications you desire would be quite expensive, and unless performed by an experienced expert, they can turn sour. As opposed to an automatic, there is nothing like releasing the clutch on a vehicle with standard transmission, that gives one the feeling of total control over the power produced. But personally, I would not attempt the modifications.
 

[wisbaker]

Automatic to manual conversion unless you have a similar series YJ with a stick sitting next to it and you like pulling wrenches you're better off trading what you have for what you want. As far as making it go faster, get a hold of an American Magazine like "FOURWHEELER" or "Off Roading" the advertisements will give you a lot of ideas how you can spend money to turn more gasoline into smoke and noise, like bigger injectors, MAF sensors, ECM reprogramming, headers, cams manifolds and such. Enjoy your Jeep
 

[RayP(MI)]

Unfortunately, modern day cars are so specilaized, such modifications are extremely difficult. Major changes in computers, etc. Much better to buy what you want the first time.
 

[GordoSD]

You are sure doing some serious footprints on that turf.
 

[glennster]

well bill, if you want a jeep, here is one that was built at my shop. this was a ground up build. custom tube frame. chevy suburban 3/4 ton front and rear differentials. new process np 205 transfer case with a twin stick. injected 350 chevy. fiberglass tub body, fuel cells, ect. wicked bad truck, tons of hp, horrible on fuel, good climber. rops was not installed yet at time of photos.











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[tommy_harrell]

A TJ would be better for borrowing parts, YJ was the designation for the wrangler before. A popular swap is the auto from a Cherokee, 4speed overdrive lockup torque converter (AW4) manual transmission would be the AX-15 or NV3550. While your at it the Cherokee front and rear axles are an upgrade, unless that is a "real" Rubicon. Cherokee had a high pinion Dana 30 instead of the low pinion and and later ones had the Chrysler 8.25 instead of the Dana 35c.

Tommy
 

[oldtanker]

Hate to tell you this but that ain't a Jeep. It's a wannabe weekend worrier. You want a Jeep go find a CJ5 or older. My computer guru BIL has one of those. On his 3rd tranny with less than 100K. I finally got him convinced that it isn't designed to pull a 28FT camper.

You can chip that thing and maybe do better off the line but it's going to affect mileage. Converting to a manual will cost more that what you should dump into that Jeep.

I love the way they look but they are not really designed to more than an on road "look at me" toy.

Rick