My original plan was to heavily modify this truck. Keep in mind that I was a young college student with a subscription to Peterson's Four Wheel and Off Road. Modification seemed like the natural progression. I had aspirations of big horsepower, four wheel disc brakes, massive bumpers, etc., etc. Hence, my initial feelings toward the small block Ford. When I found out the 289 was really a 260 with 289 heads, I decided to look for a different motor. Actually, I wanted something bigger. Remember, I was young and immature to the Willys heritage.

I wanted to transplant the 260 in favor of a bigger Ford motor. It seemed that everyone that did engine swaps used Chevrolet 350s. I wanted to be different and use a Ford motor. So, I bought a few books about small block Fords and decided that the 351 Cleveland was the way to go. Off to the wrecking yards I went... Well, I soon found out that the 351C is the Holy Grail of Ford motors and they simply do not exist in urban wrecking yards (at least for the price I was looking for). Then I started to get prices on rebuild kits and found that parts for Ford motors are far more expensive than the typical Chevrolet 350. It was a tough decision and in the end I let my bank account make the choice. Yep, I am a sellout. The rest of the engine details can be found here.

Of course the big engine would need an equally beefy transmission,transfercase, and axles. Unfortunately, by the time I got my head out of my @$$ I was too far into the project that turning back would be very difficult and costly. So I decided to alter my plan somewhat.