First step into Jeep life.

    First step into Jeep life: realizing how much work and money your Jeep needs.

    Finally having my ''new'' Jeep in my possession, it was time to put hands on the work.

    My dad was on board for the project. Thank the Force. Because I may be an Engineer, but I'm not savvy in car mechanics. He had a construction business so he owns a lot of tools. Every tool I could possibly need to rebuild my Jeep. Since I was a kid, there has been something peculiar that, at this point in time, I've come to realize my dad has it also: we don't like anyone repairing our stuff. If we cannot repair it, it's because it cannot be repaired. Pretty rude/bold thing to say, but that's what we feel. And we cannot give anything to anyone to repair because we know for sure that person will not solve the problem and make it even worse. So, we transported the Jeep to his place, parked it in the backyard and started assessing it in depth. Obviously we did a general assessment before buying it. It was in good general condition. But one thing was not in my original plans or dreams: it's been engine swapped.

 

    Previous owner did not like the stock engine and manual transmission. He decided to replace them with a Vortec 4.3L 262 V6 and automatic transmission with a New Process Gear NP231 transfer. Both axles are stock Jeep: Dana 30 and Dana 35. Its to be noted to the reader that many years ago, Venezuela was the most important country in South America in car manufacturing. Chrysler had one of the biggest factories here and Jeeps were fabricated and exported to all South America. Sadly that no longer is the reality. But, anyway. What I'm trying to say here is that possibly a lot of things on the photos will appear strange to the eyes of USA people. All CJs and Wranglers made here had their ''Venezuela only'' edition. For example, there is the Jeep CJ7 Llanero. Which was only sold in this country. And a special hard roof for Jeeps CJ7 Renegade, which mine has.

    Returning to the engine swap situation. At first I was not conviced. I wanted to revert everything to stock. I did a little bit of research and learned that this was a normal swap done in many countries because of the reliability of this chevy engine. But another thing was in my mind: this engine was also converted from inyection to carburator. That eliminates the need for a computer, sensors, etc. At that moment I felt insecure. But stopped and thought for a while: what do I need go on adventures? I need the most reliable vehicle possible. That led me to think: engine is reliable, carburators are simple and cheap, no sensors, no inyectors, no computer, no nothing. So, if I rebuild it perfectly and tune it the best way possible, I'd have the most reliable engine available to my pocket. And most importantly of all: I know what I did to my engine, how I rebuilt it, what spare parts I used, where did I put everything and how I designed it. So that I would do. My dad wanted to just take out the engine, rebuild it and put it back in. But I didn't. I wanted to strip apart the entire vehicle. And at that point is when I realized: what the hell did I just stepped in?