- [Josh] There is no doubt that is off-road guys,
swapping out a factory Jeep engine
for something with a little bit more horsepower,
is probably one of the most fun
and rewarding upgrades you can do with your Jeep.
Hey, what's up guys, Josh from Trailbuilt.
And as I am in the beginning stages of swapping in an LS,
into my '73 international scout,
it got me to thinking about all the various different engine
swaps that are out there.
And since V8 engines haven't been available in a Jeep
since the early '80s,
I thought we'd take a look at some of the most popular Jeep
engines that have been swapped into the Jeep Wrangler,
since the birth of the '87 model year.
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First guys, before we jump into our video,
if any of you have a modified Jeep of any model,
make sure and add it to our Jeep gallery on Trailbuilt,
along with a bunch of really good quality pictures
and a good description of what you all have done to it.
And guys, you can add your rig to the gallery,
by clicking the link above me here.
Another thing that got me thinking about the V8 engine swaps
is that,
Jeep has just recently unveiled its first ever factory built
V8 Wrangler,
with the 392 cubic inch 6.4 liter Hemi engine.
Putting a respectable 450 horsepower,
and 450 foot pounds of torque.
And I think it's about damn time
that Jeep has finally stepped up to the plate
and gave us all what we finally have been asking for.
The only problem is that,
it is definitely going to be expensive
at least in my eyes anyways.
And a majority of us that already have a Wrangler
and want more power,
could swap in a V8 at a fraction of the cost
of what a brand new Hemi powered Wrangler is gonna cost.
And until the market price comes down a bunch,
we might as well just swap in our own V8 for the time being.
But the question is, where do we even start?
And what is a popular V8 engine swap for the Jeep Wranglers?
Well my friends, here's the deal.
It's all gonna come down to budget and skill level.
See the rule of thumb is that the higher
the technical mechanical skills and individual has,
usually translates into saving more money
for the, do-it-yourselfers.
Cause they can do all the labor themselves including,
fabricating their own parts like the engine mounts
or even adapter plates saving them thousands.
Whereas the individual that shops out the labor
and purchases all the necessary components
that do the engine swap is by nature,
gonna end up spending thousands of more dollars.
Now, of course, this doesn't apply
to the highly technical experienced person,
who lacks the time to do everything yourself
and chooses to spend the extra money to save time.
But you guys get the point, more time than money.
Well then it makes more sense to swap
in a V8 engine yourself and, well, more money than time.
Well, it's still cheaper to swap in a V8
than to go with the new Hemi Wrangler.
The first popular and probably the most popular V8 engines
on our list is,
the desirable GM 5.3 liter or six liter LS.
Since there are literally hundreds
of these engines out there for sale,
due to the fact that they were offered in GM vehicles
from 1999, until 2013
and have a reputation for being reliable
with a ton of aftermarket support,
makes these engines very a viable option.
Depending on which generation LS,
they put out around 255 to 345 horsepower in stock form.
LS swaps are also popular
because of the number of aftermarket companies
offering LS swap kits,
made available to purchase
and makes the engine swaps even easier and faster.
But because the LS swap is so popular,
there is also a ton of information
on the inter webs that find just about anything
you're looking for,
and how to do the entire swap yourself
without having to buy the entire LS swap kit.
However, it does make the entire process a hell
of a lot easier and faster.
With proven reliability,
lots of aftermarket support and information,
a good amount of horsepower
and the availability of the LS engine,
it's easy to see why they are one
of the most popular of Wrangler engines swaps.
And our next engine on the list is also high up
on the desired engine swap list.
And that is either the 5.7 or 6.4 liter Hemi
albeit quite a bit more expensive to obtain than the LS,
the Hemi is going to give you quite a bit more
of that Mopar power right out of the box.
The 2014 Ram and newer three-quarter or one ton trucks
came with the 410 horsepower, 6.4 liter Hemi,
while the 2011 and newer Dodger Chrysler cars and SUV's
that were packed with the 6.4 liter Hemi's,
had around 470 to 485 horsepower.
Quite a nice jump from the LS,
but a lot more expensive.
And in most cases, a lot harder to find.
However, there are a few companies out there
including from Mopar directly,
offering the Hemi in a crate package option.
With plenty of aftermarket support
for the Hemi and keeping the brand loyalty with Mopar.
The Hemi option is another great way to go
if there's a bit more play money to spend.
All right, guys.
So now that we've covered the two most popular
or common V8 engine swaps,
I bet you're probably wondering what's next.
Well, it's not gonna be the 4BT or 6BT
or even the 2.8 turbo crate engine from Cummins,
as we're gonna save the diesel swaps for another video,
but there is a less common VA Wrangler engine conversion
that is insane and is one for the braking rights.
And that is the,
GM performance Ram jet fuel injected
5.2 crate engine,
with 502 horsepower and 568 foot pounds of torque.
This beast is available from Chevrolet performance
in either a standalone engine option,
or the engine and transmission connect and cruise version.
This is the setup that we can typically expect to go
in some sort of fully to rock crawler or rock bouncer.
Or we have seen this setup
in some of the sleeper Jeeps as well.
Again, not a cheap option by any means
but if the extra coin is there,
then this power house is definitely worth the rewards
of huge horsepower and torque numbers.
And guys, since we are still talking Chevy
of course, we can't leave out
probably one of the most commonly swapped engines
of all time,
and not one that we see too often anymore
since the LS swaps became popular.
But one that is super easy on the budget
and that is the classic Chevy 350, four bolt main.
Tough reliability and readily available almost anywhere.
These icons were the go-to choice for many enthusiasts
for years and years and years.
They have almost an unlimited amount
of aftermarket support and for cheap,
since there's so many of them
and because in most cases,
there isn't a whole bunch of computer controlled systems
hooked into these engines.
The swaps can be done by just about anyone.
Hell I built my first Chevy 350 when I was 15 years old,
before I could even drive.
I took it out of my '66 Chevy stepside,
built it up with a high rise
do a plain intake, elder Brock, double pumper carb
and a pair of hooker, exhaust headers
and threw it into my 68 Chevy Nova.
And that was my first high school hot ride
when I was 16 years old.
So if you're looking for cheap and easy and fast,
then try the true classic Chevy, 350 is the way to go.
We covered the LS.
We've covered Mopar and two more GM engine.
So guess what the last engine is.
Yep. You guys guessed it.
We can't leave out the Ford guys.
So we have to make sure
and cover the five-liter 302 Ford small block.
I'll be at probably the least common
amongst the V8 in today's video.
It's still remains on the list
as a viable and inexpensive Jeep engine SWAT.
The 5.0 is another simplistic engine swap,
similar to the Chevy 350,
that offers a ton of aftermarket support
and still readily available
as the five-liter was offered in many Ford cars and trucks.
The most popular of the Ford five-liter is the 1995
and newer high up foot five-liter that was offered
in the Mustang SBT cobras.
Well, the four-bolt main throttle body fuel injection
and a pushing around 245 horsepower
and 285 foot pounds of torque,
not the greatest numbers
but with a little finesse and some minor upgrades.
The little engine that could,
was capable of easily hitting over 300 horses,
then throw on a turbo
and dump some knocks down the combustion chamber.
And you got yourself a mighty little engine
that could throw down some serious numbers
without barely even breaking a sweat.
And guys, these five engine swaps are just a drop
in the bucket when compared to all
of the different engines that are out there
that can be swapped into your Jeep Wrangler.
So make sure and let us know in the comments
which engine you would swap into your Jeep and why,
other than that guys, that's all we have for you today.
Remember to hit that subscribe button
and the little bell next to it,
thumbs up to like the video and as always
we appreciate all of you for watching
and all of your support.
I'm Josh from Trailbuilt.
And we'll see you guys,
out on the trails.
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