[Rodgebone]

and now a HUGE round of applause for Mr Nakkas! good on ya! you are my new hero as this is something im planning myself and seems you have done your homework (at least you are coming to the same conclusions i found in my research on this).

DONT plate the frame rails. Novak is correct - u most certainly want a little bit of flex there but i would definitely put a cage in it to help the body structure itself from going this way and that (unless u arent going to wheel hard which is unavoidable for someone with a V8 Jeep)

you will find the V8 is 112lbs lighter than the 4.0L (assuming you got an alloy version) so power to weight for DPI should be a no brainer and hassle free.

you will NOT have a piston slap prob - Holden solved that early on so assuming its a post VX version it should be good

make sure you fit a new oil pickup tube o-ring to the pump connection. these had probs and were updated. a deformed/worn o-ring can cause low oil pressure and they are only $20 from the dealer so do yourself a favor (we learned the hard way)

Novak is your best friend here - they have proven their worth over and over for me in planning our first V8 conversion - 3 more conversions are in the works and these guys have all the answers

the AC system can be kept but like you say you will need a whole different accessory drive system to move it all up out from between the frame rails. and its very expensive. im gonna sh*t-can mine when the time comes but then again i dont live up north in the heat.

put a 44 in the rear - PLEASE....the 35 will be a goner in nothing flat! and get some CTM style unis all around (this will be the first thing to blow)

the worst part of this is going to be the wiring interface to the jeep gauges and the header clearance for the steering (remember, DPI will want 10mm of clearance all the way around the drivetrain). Novak can help you with both (and probably already has). you will also need to do something about fuel pressure as the Jeep pump will only put out 49 psi and you will need about 60 (again, ask Novak - they have a new kit out).

only thing i would do different is to go with a 400 trans but the 700 s/b just fine. looks like you have a 4L60E which is a good unit as well (and actually easier to fit and edit software-wise assuming you get a proper dyno tune).

All the best with this project mate - i am looking forward to watching the progress. Glad to see someone with enough balls to go V8 instead of stroked. thank gawd im not the guinea pig this time!