1983 Jeep Cherokee Cummins Diesel Conversion rust free Hi folks I am selling my 1983 Cherokee S widetrack that has been converted to a Cummins diesel. First off let me say that I built this Jeep as a driver, it is reliable, runs great, and is fun to drive. You can take this to your local cruise-in and it will turn a lot of heads, however it is not a concourse winning show car, I built it to drive. Please look at all of the pictures and the Youtube link posted below. Here is a synopsis of the listing below:
1983 Cherokee S widetrack
1992 Cummins 12 valve
Remanufactured injection pump
40 horse Bosch injectors
New seals and gaskets
4 inch exhaust with straight through muffler
3 row all aluminum radiator
Rebuilt transmission with extra clutches and synthetic fluid
Towing shift kit
New heavy duty torque converter
3:31 gears with synthetic gear oil
Skyjacker 6 inch lift
BF Goodrich 33×10.50 tires with 4000 miles
Black Forest Green paint
Raptor liner on rockers, wheel wells, and under hood
27 gallon aluminum fuel tank
This Jeep was bought new by a couple in Ohio but spent the winters in Florida towing their camper so it is basically rust free. I removed a small amount of rust in the lower rear passenger quarter panel and in the drivers side floor pan. The rust was cut out and then new steel welded in, the repairs were then coated in etch primer and the entire jeep was primed in epoxy primer before being top coated . Otherwise the vehicle is rust free. The Cummins engine and the transmission are out of a 1992 a Dodge 3/4 ton truck. The engine had about 150,000 miles on it when installed. I replaced the seals and gaskets, and adjusted the valves before installing it in the Cherokee. The engine also has a remanufactured injection pump which has not been turned up and the timing has not been advanced. I also installed new up to 40 horse injectors. The engine has a 3 inch downpipe which flows into a 4 inch exhaust with an open muffler that exits behind the passenger rear tire. I installed a 3 row all aluminum radiator which has been more than adequate. There is plenty of power on tap with more available if you want. The transmission was rebuilt and extra clutches were added as well as a towing shift kit and a heavy duty torque converter, which return nice crisp shifts. The tranny is a Chrysler 47RH/A618 so it has overdrive which is operated by a toggle switch and there is no lock up converter. I wanted to eliminate the need for any computers as I wanted it to be cave man simple. This set up works quite well with the factory 3:31 gears, and rolls down the highway very nicely. The axles are the factory Dana 44 in the front and AMC corporate model 20 in the rear with 3:31 gears. This model 20 is the strongest version they made and the ring and pinion are roughly the same size as a Dana 60. I have towed some with this Jeep, driven it and continue to drive it and enjoy it. The Jeep had a lift installed when I purchased it that appears to be a Skyjacker 6 inch kit. It is rolling on BF Goodrich all terrains that measure 33×10.50 and have about 4000 miles on them. The tires are mounted on steel rims with old school Jeep hub caps and stainless trim rings for that retro look. This Cherokee sits about as high as a new 3/4 ton 4wd as they sat pretty low from the factory. The Jeep gets around 20 miles per gallon in a mix of driving. I have never checked the mileage on an all highway trip. The paint is not black it is actually Black Forest Green which is a newer Jeep color that looks really sharp on this ride. The wheels and door handles are Medium Fern pearl which is a newer Jeep color as well. I also sprayed the rockers, wheel wells, and under the hood with Raptor liner (tinted to match) for added protection. The interior is original and in decent condition, it is presentable but not perfect.
This is the way it looks when I drive it, I purposely did not spray it down with “dealer juice” just to try and sell it. The cons list is short but includes:
Small amount of bump steer from the lift kit
Gauges function but the fuel and oil pressure gauges are tempermental
There is no heat or A/C as I haven’t needed it
The Jeep is mostly finished but there is still room for you to make it your own
I have added this video link from Youtube of a walk around Greenville, Pennsylvania, United States