Jeep Comanche 3800
Hey everyone it's good to be here,
I've got a 1986 jeep comanche. no, this doesn't belong on this forum until...
you look under the hood.
It came with a 2.8 GM v6...which you all know is a junk boat anchor of a motor. I initally wanted to do the 3.4 upgrade, but found a 1996 camaro for $350 (completely totalled).
It had a 3800 buick v6 in it,
5 speed
other than that, it had a/c and power locks and windows.

it was running and driving when I got it...but you can obviously see it was beyond repair.
I put this motor in my comanche

and modified my bellhousing to fit the swapped starter. the throwout plate assembly also had to be modified

dropped it in the truck...there's alot of custom work here. had to build mounts, exhaust, etc. I did all the wiring on the motor using the factory connectors, etc.







it was a fun project. ran and drove great for awhile, I've blown 3 dana 35 rear ends with it now, and two ax5 transmissions. I'm upgrading all of this soon.
I'm planning 4.10 gears and 31' tires on the truck for now.
does anyone have any suggestions for easy mods on this motor to make it a bit more efficient? I built this truck more for show than anything...so no, i don't need mud bogger horsepower.
Thanks,
Pat
I've got a 1986 jeep comanche. no, this doesn't belong on this forum until...
you look under the hood.
It came with a 2.8 GM v6...which you all know is a junk boat anchor of a motor. I initally wanted to do the 3.4 upgrade, but found a 1996 camaro for $350 (completely totalled).
It had a 3800 buick v6 in it,
5 speed
other than that, it had a/c and power locks and windows.

it was running and driving when I got it...but you can obviously see it was beyond repair.
I put this motor in my comanche

and modified my bellhousing to fit the swapped starter. the throwout plate assembly also had to be modified

dropped it in the truck...there's alot of custom work here. had to build mounts, exhaust, etc. I did all the wiring on the motor using the factory connectors, etc.







it was a fun project. ran and drove great for awhile, I've blown 3 dana 35 rear ends with it now, and two ax5 transmissions. I'm upgrading all of this soon.
I'm planning 4.10 gears and 31' tires on the truck for now.
does anyone have any suggestions for easy mods on this motor to make it a bit more efficient? I built this truck more for show than anything...so no, i don't need mud bogger horsepower.
Thanks,
Pat
[&:] well the usual bolt on goodies would be your best bet as long as your not trying to make a v8 out of a v6. headers, cold air/ram air intake set up, minor ecm reprogram, free flowing exhaust and the like will provide tangible results without out requiring hours of tweek and tuning to avoid engine damage and drivability problems. Dont waste time and money on things like horse power in a bottle (unless its nitrous), larger throttle bodies or little chips or bypasses that claim horsepower gains. the basics of airflow are your best bet kurt
ORIGINAL: t9ojetpilot
[&:] well the usual bolt on goodies would be your best bet as long as your not trying to make a v8 out of a v6. headers, cold air/ram air intake set up, minor ecm reprogram, free flowing exhaust and the like will provide tangible results without out requiring hours of tweek and tuning to avoid engine damage and drivability problems. Dont waste time and money on things like horse power in a bottle (unless its nitrous), larger throttle bodies or little chips or bypasses that claim horsepower gains. the basics of airflow are your best bet kurt
[&:] well the usual bolt on goodies would be your best bet as long as your not trying to make a v8 out of a v6. headers, cold air/ram air intake set up, minor ecm reprogram, free flowing exhaust and the like will provide tangible results without out requiring hours of tweek and tuning to avoid engine damage and drivability problems. Dont waste time and money on things like horse power in a bottle (unless its nitrous), larger throttle bodies or little chips or bypasses that claim horsepower gains. the basics of airflow are your best bet kurt
well, about the only thing I can do out of that is ECM programming, and nitrous.
...my exhaust is custom, my exhaust manifolds are custom built (all by me), and cold air is custom built...none of the camaro parts will fit without heavy modification :P
where would I go for ECM programming in southeast wisconsin?
anyone know the gear ratio for a 96 camaro 3800 with a T5 5 speed?
check your gear ratio post for info on your ratio question. as for the ecm check ebay under camaro parts. for what seems like a reasonable fee there is a guy who will do some minor tweeks to your computer. i have not personaly used him yet but i have talked to him and seems like an intelligent individual who knows what hes doing, theres one possibility. I know theres others just google camaro ecm reprogram kurt
so it's been quite some time since I've updated this.
I got a solid 2, maybe 2 and a half years of driving on this truck, before it got hit on the driver's bedside, and sucked something into the number 3 rod bearing.
in those 2 years, I blew a total of 5 ax5 transmissions, and 4 dana 35 rear ends.
it now has a dana 44 rear from another jeep comanche, with disc brakes off of a jeep liberty.
The trans to go back in it is a combination of a '93 Chevy s10 T5 case and output shaft and a 1996 Camaro "World Class" T5. This will be coupled with a jeep np242J sealed output transfercase. I've got both transmissions apart right now and am in the process of putting it back together.
The purpose of this combination is to get the taper bearings that the "World Class" transmission has, so I can preload it accordingly and hopefully end up with as bullet-proof of a trans as possible behind it.
I'm just about ready to put the motor back together...did a bit of work to it while I was in there, having the rods, pistons, and crank cryo-treated right now. discovered that it has a mild competition cam in it and was already punched .030.
I'm putting an Eaton m90 super charger on it now, and running it with the intake plenum, wiring, computer, and sensors of a 2004 pontiac grand prix gtp.
picked up a new to me rust free box for it, too. I'll post pics soon.
I got a solid 2, maybe 2 and a half years of driving on this truck, before it got hit on the driver's bedside, and sucked something into the number 3 rod bearing.
in those 2 years, I blew a total of 5 ax5 transmissions, and 4 dana 35 rear ends.
it now has a dana 44 rear from another jeep comanche, with disc brakes off of a jeep liberty.
The trans to go back in it is a combination of a '93 Chevy s10 T5 case and output shaft and a 1996 Camaro "World Class" T5. This will be coupled with a jeep np242J sealed output transfercase. I've got both transmissions apart right now and am in the process of putting it back together.
The purpose of this combination is to get the taper bearings that the "World Class" transmission has, so I can preload it accordingly and hopefully end up with as bullet-proof of a trans as possible behind it.
I'm just about ready to put the motor back together...did a bit of work to it while I was in there, having the rods, pistons, and crank cryo-treated right now. discovered that it has a mild competition cam in it and was already punched .030.
I'm putting an Eaton m90 super charger on it now, and running it with the intake plenum, wiring, computer, and sensors of a 2004 pontiac grand prix gtp.
picked up a new to me rust free box for it, too. I'll post pics soon.



