Stroke a 4.0L or Fuel Inject a 4.2L

[jfriesen]

I have a 1984 CJ7 with the 4.2L 258ci I6 matched with a TH350 and Dana300 with 95k miles. And I am planning on picking up a 1995 4.0L in the next week or so. While adding horsepower is definitely desirable the goal is to create a more capable rock crawler for less money than the SBC conversion folks.

From the research I've done there seems to be 2 schools of thought, if your goal is to stay with an AMC\Chrysler I6, which is also my goal.
1.) Convert 258 to fuel injection by installing HEI distributor and 4.0L cylinder head, or
2.) Stroke 4.0L by installing 258 cam shaft,

Another goal is for me to do most of the work myself with the exception of any machining needs. Am I right thinking that the cost of doing either are roughly the same? If so, how do either of these compare? Which one wins? Which one provides better real-world 'numbers', not just numbers in a lab testing?

Thanks in advance for everyone's feedback.

[jfriesen]

"Bueller"

[IH 392]

Only thing that beats Cubic Inches is Cubic $$.

[GreenYJ]

You're going to have a complete 4.0 and 4.2. Sounds like you’ll have most of the parts to build a low buck stroker. And cubic inches is torque, which is good for rock crawling.