84' Eagle to Super Eagle conversion

[huggyb1972]

We are on to the next phase of the Eagle that we I bought for the old lady. I have seen many different SAS threads and there are several that were executed very well and some that were well not so pretty but they get the job done. I wanted to try a different approach and since Cherokees are just everywhere I hatched a plan to use the v8 ZJ platform to breathe new life into the otherwise plain Jane Eagle we have.

The Eagle
 

The donor
 

The Grandy  has the popular 5.2 Magnum with a substantial rod knock we will be replacing that with the much more powerful 5.9 Magnum. What I would like to do is cut the body off the Cherokee leaving it as a running and driving chassis upto and including the complete firewall and dash board and so forth, and then lengthen the chassis 4" to match the wheelbase of the Eagle and basically set the body on that chassis by leaving a open hole in he bottom of the car that will match up to the ZJ platform left over.

I purchased a complete Grandy that looked pretty good so the repair work would be minimal. the dashboard is approximately 3" wider than the Eagles but most of everything I can see so far give me encouragement that I can make this work and work well.   

[Prafeston]

This shall be interesting to watch!

[huggyb1972]

Don't suppose there is anyone with pictures of the floor pan from inside of an eagle such as ours is there?

[amcfool1]

hi, that is very ambitious, and good luck to you. the question one needs to ask, is, why? grafting an Eagle body onto a ZJ chassis will give you neither an Eagle or a ZJ. What do you expect out of it? Speed, off roadability,  reliable daily driver? smooth luxury cruiser? Interesting concept, but what do you want the end result to be? good luck, gz

[eaglefreek]

Since both are unibody vehicles, your welding skills will need to be top notch, plus there is quite a bit of engineering involved to make sure it doesn't fold like a pretzel in a crash.

[huggyb1972]

While it is a unibody if you are familiar with it the grand utilizes 2 frame rails that run the entire length of the vehicle unlike the eagle which does not. I wouldn't imagine it wouldn't be really any worse as far as crashing goes, they weren't rated that high in the first place we'll hope we don't crash it anyways . In reality it would be no different than building a tube chassis and pinning everything to it except that the suspension geometry is already worked out this way and all the systems of the grand should still function as if it was still a grand.

  The end result would be Eagle with the driveline of the grand which is a great platform off and on road and all the power, and modern conveniences of the newer vehicle. 

[macdude443]

Looks like a beautiful Eagle.  I wouldn't touch a thing.  I have to say Why as well.

[carnuck]

Since both are unibody vehicles, your welding skills will need to be top notch, plus there is quite a bit of engineering involved to make sure it doesn't fold like a pretzel in a crash.

Or even the first major speed bump!

[carnuck]

While it is a unibody if you are familiar with it the grand utilizes 2 frame rails that run the entire length of the vehicle unlike the eagle which does not. I wouldn't imagine it wouldn't be really any worse as far as crashing goes, they weren't rated that high in the first place we'll hope we don't crash it anyways . In reality it would be no different than building a tube chassis and pinning everything to it except that the suspension geometry is already worked out this way and all the systems of the grand should still function as if it was still a grand.

  The end result would be Eagle with the driveline of the grand which is a great platform off and on road and all the power, and modern conveniences of the newer vehicle. 

Unless you have a Grand Wagoneer (last built in late '91) there is no full frame. The unibody has a rectangular box that isn't strong enough to stand on it's own (Youtube Grand Cherokee convertible folds up on first bump)


JGC drivetrain swaps are a nightmare due to requiring ALL the JGC sensors being installed in the host vehicle and most have the chipped key after '96. I tried to do the swap before '00 and finally gave up and that was on a 4.0L drivetrain! Cherokee HO harness swap was much simpler. Clearance problems with the brake master/booster were avoided. What's so modern about a motor that went away 15 years ago? 5.2 and 5.9 rarely saw 200K miles and the 42RE and 45RE trans aren't so great either. NV249 always in 4wd tcase? What a worthless POS! I sold my last one for $150 and was happy to get that!


PPS: If you think the JGC front diff is an upgrade, well, it's not. Eagle and Grand Cherokee use the same low pinion Dana 30 stuff, even with the 5.9L.

[carnuck]

If you were close to Seattle, I'd say come on over and hack on the '93 JGC I have sitting in my yard to see how weak it is before you butcher those 2.

[macdude443]

This just sounds dangerous.  Plus it's a beautiful car to begin with.  Why spend all that effort to "modernize" it?  Just my thoughts.

[amcfool1]

hi for pictures of a floor pan, go to "project cars" here, and then to "81 SX4, new project, " about 4th post from top. this is an SX4, but except for length, same as all Eagles. couple good shots of the floorpan. again, though, the 5.9  V8 was rated at 245hp, a bone stock 4.0, at 190-205 hp, a 4.0 stroker, at whatever you can afford, so we don't really see the rationale of this graft. if you want a fast, modern Eagle, put in a hopped up 4.0, and the trans of your choice, and you will still have an Eagle. As for the comforts and conveniences of a modern car, well, the Eagle IS a modern car. How will you make all the "modern" features of a ZJ work on an Eagle body? rewire power windows,? redo the wiper motor linkage/motor/electronics? redo/rewire modern climate controls? auto climate electronics, ducted how? in an Eagle body? Stereo? A modern sound system is easily put into an Eagle, but not easily grafted from another vehicle. Auto door locks? etc, etc. these are the "modern" conveniences that the Eagle does not have, or needs. This is not meant to discourage you, but to maybe present some issues you may not have thought of. "Modern" cars are basically a closed system running off a central computer, and are next to impossible to "hack", in a way that improves anything.The Eagle, while "modern" in the sense that it has AC, PS,PB, 4WDR, unibody, IFS, doesn't have those "toys" that new cars have, like GPS, touchscreens, Sirious, traction control, ABS, etc., and it really doesn't need them. Here we are ALL for folks doing what they can with their Eagles, but cutting one in half, and throwing away the real EAGLE part, the drivetrain , seems kind of wrong. And there will be one less Eagle out there! anyway, good luck, post pictures! gz

[Nightpath]

I will be honest, from somebody who has cut apart Cherokees and Grand Cherokees.

The Eagle's frame is magnatudes more stronger if it's not corroded apart. It is vastly thicker than a GC, to the point if you took each over a ramp the Eagle could do repeat performances while the Grand would buckle.

This is not an exageration. I would rather see a drivetrain swap done, or splice out the subframe from the GC and graft to the Eagle. You will regret ripping that Eagle apart.

Or save money, stroke the Eagle and swap the 994 out with a 727, toss in a NP242.

[carnuck]

I have cut up Eagles, Concords, Hornets, XJs, MJs and FSJs. The flexibility of the bodies changed over the years due to crash testing. Jeeps pretty much didn't change much until after '00 but they did beef the Eagle frame from 2wd to 4wd. My '82 Spirit had most of the in-frame braces the Eagles had.

Grand Cherokee subframe is part of the body. (I still have one if someone wants to cut it free and see for themselves)

[Jurjen]

Looks like a beautiful Eagle.  I wouldn't touch a thing.  I have to say Why as well.

+1