Jeep Strokers

New to the forum and sort of new to Jeeps, have a decent '84 with the 4.2 that is a bit tired. I'm in Indiana and happen to live in one of the two counties that has emission testing, however I could plate it as a historic vehicle and not worry about that. I would prefer though to build a nice stroker with fuel injection, pass emissions and get decent mileage as I would also like it to be a nice stock daily driver.

I have the chance to get a '96 Grand Cherokee complete for a great price. I know OBDII is more challenging but am not put off by it. My question is if the ZJ engine is suitable for a stroker? I see all sorts of comments about XJ's but very few about the ZJ and WJ models. I would be using my T176 4 speed with the engine as well, my understanding is that it will require a 4.0 flywheel and starter but there are some issues with the thickness of the 4.0 flywheel vs the 4.2 - which doesn't seem to be taht big of a deal. Again, my concern is using the '96 engine from a Grand Cherokee. Comments and or suggestions are welcome - Thanks.

Your ZJ 4.0 donor engine will work fine.
Having a complete 96 Grand Cherokee along with a good 258 crankshaft will get you off to a good start.

If you would like any help or advice in piecing together a Stroker kit I’d be happy to help.

Thanks,
Russ Pottenger
Bishop-Buehl Racing Engines
531 N. Lyall Avenue
West Covina, California 91790
Work (626) 967-1000
Cell (626) 673-2203
Email: [email protected]

Thank you Russ, I understand that you are "the man" for all things 4.0 based stroker, I'm sure as things progress I will be in touch. This will not be a quick project as I also have a 10 year old, brand new, never installed fiberglass body to work on as well. I haven't decided which will get my time and money first!