5.7 Hemi A Body Swap

Lot of questions, I'll try to be brief.

If you plan to use the factory fuel injection and computer contact Hot Wire Auto at hotwireauto.com they have been doing jeep 5.7 and 6.1 Hemi conversions and can steer you in the correct direction for getting the factory computer to work. Contrary to popular beliefs the "manual transmission" computer is not rare, with the factory service tool you can turn on and off automatic and manual transmissions. I.E. you select whether the car has an auto or manual, in the sevice code. The factory service tool is required to see this menu. The tool is $4500.00, this is why Hot Wire Auto can charge 695.00 to "program" your computer.

I am pretty certain, that all other who websites that are making harnesses are simply reselling the ones from Hot Wire Auto. (Disclaimer, I am not affiliated with Hot Wire Auto in any way shape or form.)

There have been guys who've simply modified a factory harness and got their cars to run without throwing codes. It can be done, but it ain't easy.

You'll also need a fuel system compatible with the fuel system. At a minium this means you'll need an electric fuel pump and fuel regulator. The cheapest way to do this is with an external pump and a fuel filter / Regulator from a GM LS motor. (They both use the same pressure)

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/LS1-Fuel-Filter-Regulator-Kit,41791.html

All of the information below ASSUMES YOU ARE USING THE FACTORY K-MEMBER!!!

Oil pans are available from the following sources: Milodon (cheapest, won't work with Alter-K-Tion) Charlies Oil Pans (people online have complained of workmanship issues) or Canton (Beautiful workmanship,but pricier than Milodon)

Motor Mounts: People have made their own. That being said, TTI makes mounts for BOTH biscuit style and Spool Type mounts. There mounts fit smal block V-8 K-members ONLY. If you have a slant six car, start looking for a K-Member. Street & Performance also makes biscuit style mounts.

Headers: TTI makes headers for A-Bodie, you can also use factory 5.7 Jeep Manfolds. Truck manifolds will not work. The TTIs are worth quite a bit of HP over the stock manifolds. Jeep SRT8 manifolds will work with the Alter-K-Tion but will NOT work with the factory K-member. The outlet hits the steering and can't be trimmed enough to fit.

Power Steering: At this point if you want power steering, your only option is the RMS Alter-K-Tion. There is a thread on this website where members are exploring getting power steering to work, but at this stage it is not yet possible.

Accessories: Truck accessories all fit, car accessories are more problematic. The car alternator location may require a little trimming. Again pics of this trimming are on this website and bigblockdart.com The spool mount interferes with the Car mounted A/C compressor, though I THINK you can make the compressor fit with the biscuit style mounts. Car power steering pump is not a problem, except you can't have power steering. ;)

Cooling: Depending upon your motor, whether it is a truck or car will determine where the water inlet and outlets are located. As a result you'll need a radiator that matches. The cheapest method is to simply use either the biggest A-body radiator or even a B-body radiator and have a radiator shop move the inlet to match your motor.

You'll also need an electric fan. I THINK only a few trucks came with engine driven fans. The fan should be thermostatically controlled.

Oil Filter: The stock oil filter will hit the factory K-member. You have two options. 1. You can buy a filter relocation kit that places a block off plate and oil lines to a remote mounted oil filter. (Some on the internet claim these will eventually leak, I am unsure I ran braided lines on a dunebuggy for over ten years without a leak, but your mileage may vary) Your other option is a 45 degree filter fitting used on some jeeps, downside you'll need to trim and box weld your K-member for it to fit. Lots of pics of it, look around on this website to find examples.

If your interester in the various options for mounting your hemi including aftermarket K-members you can read my blog posting about Hemi motor mounts Here:

http://drhemi.blogspot.com/

Regards,

Joe Dokes