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Supercharged LS3 crammed into an XJ

Skruffy

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Poway CA
Hello all,
I have been lurking in this forum for years and have learned a ton of great info. I will now attempt to make a contribution as I stuff a 6.2L supercharged V8 into my XJ.

I have been wanting to increase the power in my Jeep for several years as it keeps getting heavier with all the upgrades. Also a growing family meant towing a trailer and 40mph in second gear damn near redlined pulling that thing up hill just wasn't gonna cut it. I settled on an LS3 because there is tons of info on the Gen III+ chevy small block swaps into XJs. I intend to use Novak's motor mounts, cooling system, and adapters.

I went through the a giant hassle to be able to buy cars from online auctions and bid on a 2010 Camaro SS. The hood was smashed and electrical down so no way to tell how many miles or really what engine was actually in it. I big risk, I know. I bid and won the auction.
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[/SIZE][/FONT] After another round of hassle I finally got my hands on the car and totally hit the jackpot. Turns out it was the very rare, expensive, and coveted factory supercharged edition. This later became the ZL1 (I think).


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I repaired a broken 12+Volt wire jumped the car and it fired right up. Only had 33k miles too. Super lucky for me. So now the question is will it fit?
We know that the LS3 will fit but that supercharger sits pretty high and may require modifications to the hood. I dont really want to do that but will if needed. The other question is will there be room for the intercooler? I hope so.

I hope some of you will learn a bit from this and I am certain that I will need your advice along the way. Seems a little stupid to have a 575hp XJ but sometimes power is simply fun. I built a custom Air suspension for Skruffy, it is very similar to the Airock suspension for TJs. In fact Steve, the owner of Airock, was super super helpful for me while I worked on that project. I really should have created an entire thread about that project and perhaps I will someday if folks are interested. Because the suspension is entirely adjustable in every way (height, stiffness, rebound) I am confident that I can responsibly drive the XJ without being too reckless.



Here is a photo of Skruffy, you can see the air springs in the rear
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As far as emission go, it is not a problem for me. I will just include all the factory stuff. Since the engine is a 2010 and the jeep is a 2001 as long as it passes as a 2010 Camaro it will be fine. I am not concerned about the loss of power since I am already 175hp over what I was planning on.
I am also planning on using the Camaro's 6 speed auto transmission. I am concerned about the rest of my drivetrain being turned to soup but the axles are Rubicon DANA 44s and the drive shafts are top of the line. The transfer case is the stock NP231J and Novak insists that it is good to 700hp. We will see!


Thank you all for the years of support!


 
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Making good progress today with the LS3 removal. The joker that owned the car before me installed some sort of exhaust flap system that would dump the exhaust right behind the catalytic converter. This made everything very tight and it is a wonder how he got it in there to begin with.



I am temped to pull the seats out of the camaro and put them in the XJ since my XJ seats are getting beat up. Anyone know if they will fit? Never messed with seats before. Is it worth the effort?


Thank you all.


-Q
 
I am pretty sure I have everything prepped for the removal here. The goal is to get it out today.
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Pics aren't showing on my end.

Sounds like a fascinating project. Congrats on winning that motor jackpot.

One important detail I don't see addressed is the mating of the 6 speed transmission to the NP231 T-case. How do you plan to mate those up? Is there an adapter for that on the market?
 
Pics aren't showing on my end.

Sounds like a fascinating project. Congrats on winning that motor jackpot.

One important detail I don't see addressed is the mating of the 6 speed transmission to the NP231 T-case. How do you plan to mate those up? Is there an adapter for that on the market?


Thank you for the interest.
I will again address the photo issue. Third try is the charm.


For the mating of the transmission to the transfer case:
Novak makes an adapter that will work although I will first need to either shorten or replace the output shaft. I really wont know for sure until I can get it out and count the splines.
 
Some photos from today
Ready to pull:
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Pulling: You can see Skruffy in the background. He is pumped!
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Pulled:
7b49aae17422f29d8de1c4cf4c5a6f4b.jpg
 
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Still not seeing the pics?
 
Yes, that looks really clean, do know the mileage?
 
Yes, that looks really clean, do know the mileage?




Far out! The photos work. I will go back and clean the rest up later.


I got the car home and reconnected the battery cable that had been cut in the collison, and much to my delight saw 33k miles. Everything looked really good in there and I started it too. Fired right up.
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What trans is that?
 
So far you've done the easy work! Now comes all the hard work.
 
Need to size it down, there is a test forum on the bottom of the page for this.
 
I am confident that I can responsibly drive the XJ without being too reckless.

I call Bullshit.:gag:
 
Pics work!

:yelclap:

A bit on the large side, but at least they now show.
 
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