Last time we checked, two cases of a certain happening didn't exactly qualify as a trend, but we hope we get more than a pair of Jeep-destined Lexus V8 engine swaps in the future, so we can talk about the offroading community's tendency to troll luxury by turning to such heart transplants.
What do you mean by "not sure about which swaps we're mentioning here?" The first one came back in January, when we showed you an XK Cherokee that had borrowed a V8 from a 1990 Lexus LS400 and we are now back on the topic to give you a JK Wrangler whose engine compartment accommodates a 1996 LS400's vee eight.
As you're probably suspecting, the two shenanigans come from the same guy, a man who likes to treat mechanical stuff like LEGO and also enjoys telling us about it via Reddit - he enjoys the American_Locomotive nickname.
For now, the Lex-powered Wrangler is still in the work-in-progress phase, but as the piece of footage below proves, the engine has been installed and breathes. Oh, and before you point your finger at the heresy of such a swap, you should know the Wrangler's 4.0-liter L6 was reportedly spitting oil for the fun of it, hence requiring a "new" engine.
As it often happens with such far-stretch swaps, the results end up being a massive sandwich of parts. To be more precise, the 1995 YJ Wrangler sees the 1996 Lexus 1UZ V8 working with a re-drilled Toyota 4Runner V6 flywheel and pressure plate, a Camaro V6 clutch disc, a Jeep NP231 transfer case and a 1967 Chevy SM420 4-speed manual tranny, which has an extreme 1:1 first gear ratio.
The rest of the cocktail includes the Jeep's factory 4:10:1 final drive, a 31-spline Ford Explorer 8.8-inch rear axle and a Lincoln Mark VIII electric cooling fan to keep everything at the correct operating temperature.
Unsurprisingly, the project has involved tons of custom work, so pieces such as the 3/8-inch steel adapter plate for the gearbox are on the house.
Now that the mechanical side has been taken care of, the wiring job might just make all the work done so far seem simple. Then again, isn't this what building is all about?
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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