AUSJEEPOFFROAD.COM Jeep News Australia and New Zealand - TJ

So….this is a little thread dedicated to my Jeep, who is affectionately called Thomas.

At the moment, Thomas is a 2001 soft top sporting the following.

RE 4.5 inch Long Arm with Triangulated Rear
Nth Degree Side Steps
ARB Rear Bar
35 Inch Wranglers
D30 front 4.56 with Aussie Locker
D44 rear 4.56.

The build at the moment is a replacement of the entire drive train except for the transfer case. The aim is to build a solid Jeep which sounds as good as it goes, and is road registerable. The RE Trilink gives great articulation and traction off road so futher mods like stretching and coil overs is not a consideration…..at this stage.

The replacement includes:

Gen 3 LS1 5.7ltr
4L60-E
Novak Adaptors

To handle the power the diffs will also be swapped at the same time to a D44 front and a D60 rear, but more on these little puppies later.

The whole car is being engineered and will be going over the pits with Rogerbone’s help (read Rodgebone is doing all the work).

Step 1.

Apply for a Vehicle Modification Permit with DPI:

This was done back in February with approval granted in March. This grants approval, pending engineering tests to carry out the proposed Gen 3 swap and get things underway.

Step 2.

Find an engine.

There were many options here, from getting a crate engine, to buying a whole wrecked car, but in the end we settled for an engine from a wrecker. The trick to this step was finding a good wrecker who does the work himself and will stand by his product.

After weeks of ringing around, we found just what we were after in Brian at FordHold Wreckers in Perth who had a number of engines to choose from. We settled for a 2004 Gen 3 LS1 5.7 out of a VY with 48,000km’s on the clock. It wasn’t until Rog did some investigating and had a good look over the wrecked car (rear impact) that we realized we had picked up a Gen 3 out of a GTO HSV Monaro, putting out 285 kw and just over 500Nm of torque with HSV Block Hugging headers. This led to the decision to up size the diffs rather than beefing up the current ones.

Step 2

Find a transmission:

We decided the 4l60-E auto from the same era car was the go and again Brian came through with the goods, this time with a 04 with 72,000km on the clock. Once we had this, an order to Novak supplied the transmission to transfer case adaptor, and all the fruit including mounts and a flash looking electric fan.

From here, it all gets pretty blurred; Rodge has been running around like a blue arse fly, talking to people and continually researching a job that hasn’t been done in Australia before (to the best of my knowledge).

We are at the stage of making up a custom radiator, removing the AC system (compressor doesn’t fit and notching the frame isn’t an option) getting the diffs made up so we can measure tolerances and then it’s final fitment of the engine and welding in the engine mounts. From there…there’s about another 1000 steps before completion.

As for the diffs, we are using a D44 and D60 out of Brian’s (Diff Guru) CJ 10 which is parked up in his shed. The build is for 4.56 ratios with ARB’s supplied by Danny at Solid Axle Industries in Melbourne.

This is defiantly an abbreviated version and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of little steps that Roger has completed to get it this far. And a big thankyou to Rog who is doing a sensational job. Anybody who has had work done by him knows his dedication, professionalism, enthusiasm and attention to detail is second to none. Thanks buddy!

So, a few photo’s to give you an idea of what’s coming……