I-4 Ready for removal   The oil and coolant were then drained…Â
Engine drained
 Several smaller items were removed before the engine, such as the battery and the radiator. After unbolting the engine from the transmission and removing the motor from it’s mounts, we attached the crane and lifted the 4-cylinder engine out of the engine compartment. Â
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Lifting out the 2.5LÂ
Lifting out the 2.5LÂ
Clear of the engine compartment Â
Once the engine was out, we set our sights on the transmission (A904 3-speed automatic) and transfer case (NP207), neither of which was worth salvaging. We pulled out the bolts holding the transmission mount to the chassis and just let the assembly drop to the ground. A new transmission mount will be built from scratch for the TH350 that was purchased to mate up with the 305 V8.
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Old transmission and transfer caseÂ
Old engine, transmission and transfer caseAll that’s left of the Cherokee now is a mostly-empty shell. There’s still a lot of stripping-down to do, including pulling out all electrical, cleaning out the engine compartment and painting.
Empty shell - all major mechanical components are out
This day in November of 1999 was during a break in my freshman year at college. The Jeep sat in my dad’s workshop basement in New Hampshire while I obtained my BS in Small Business Management in Ohio. The only progress that has been made on the swap since the removal of the old engine was the mounting of the V8 to the chassis during the same break in ’99. Progress stalled when I met a girl a few months later, became engaged to her and married her in 2002. “Real life,” with real bills and real time commitments then set in, so the project got back-burnered. The Jeep has been moved three times since (documented on the Moving The Jeep page), and is currently sitting in my enclosed cargo trailer awaiting two things: 1) A garage with enough space to work. 2) My Duramax to be paid off so funds can be allocated for the project.
Update 10-5-10: As of last August, the Duramax is paid off, and now I’m going to get caught up on a couple of other bills. When we look for a new place to live at the end of our lease next year (9/2011), a garage with enough space for my tools  and the Jeep is on the list of “necessities”! Unless I have a windfall between now and October of next year, don’t get too excited for any progress here before the beginning of 2012…