Off topic engine question

[TC]

Yeah,that defiantly sounds like it would be an unpleasant situation.
The mid 90's Vortec 350's used in pick ups,were 225hp/330torque...and would prolly work quite well,also should be fairly easy to find....and might be reasonably priced too.
The late 90's Firehawk,and Camaro SS LS1 motors would be better yet 320hp/345torque,but prolly much harder to come by...and might be kind of pricy.
Also the 93-97 LT1 was 275-285hp,and would be a good motor too...prolly hard to find though.

[PxTx]

If you are serious about rock climbing and stuff with the Jeep, don't mess with a small block. the 500 Caddy is your best bet. It makes beaucoup torque just off idle. A small block (especially newer, non TPI injected ones) will not make any torque until 2,800 rpm. Their real torque won't come in until about 3,800 rpm.

If you need to move your Jeep, you'll want to do it off idle. Those caddy mills make 550 ft lbs of torque. With 400 ft. pound at 1,500 rpm. Using torque at higher RPM will cause you to overheat the torque converter or clutch, because of the way the Jeep must be driven.

The caddy mill is not that heavy at all with an aluminum intake and headers.

I swung a 472 Caddy in a 78 Pontiac Le Mans. It had the Black GN theme and I used GTO 7.7 Litre emblems I custom made. Other than looks, the car was stock- suspension and all. The front end was lowered about 1" and the car handled very well (would have benefitted from headers and an aluminum intake). I would do it again. The 472 was from a 1973 vintage car and was bone stock with 209,000 miles. Would you believe it ran 13.4 in the quarter? Would you believe that was on street tires with a 2.14:1 gear in an open end 7.5 rear!

Go with the caddy- they can be found for cheap and no matter how old they are, they won't smoke. Drop it in and go!

[DarkoStoj]

I just found a orgional Jeep AMC 401 motor. These are probably the most sought after Jeep motors becuase they have the exact same block as the 304, 390, and 360. It will also bolt right in. stock it makes 215hp/320lb/ft. They guy wants $400, and I could go around and sell it for $800 if I wanted too, but that caddy engine sounds really nice. What did the caddy 500 come from, and what is a good car to look for that they came in? Is it possible to swap a fuel injection on it? with that much torque, I would also need to change axles.. well basically my whole drivetrain. Does anyone know how much the Caddy 500 weighs? Torque and power is mostly used for the sand dunes, and mud pits. A 4 banger does a good job on the rocks, but it would be nice to be able to do wheelies with that much power. Also, I would like to avoid any Chevy 350 newer than the L98. This jeep will go through numerous water crossings, and I'd like to stay away from the optispark in the LT1. Once again thanks a lot for the help.