I've had my 1997 Cherokee pretty stripped down for the last few months as I toil away at it’s construction. The interior is gutted to make way for a custom roll cage and dash and the engine, trans, and t-case have all been pulled so each of these can be rebuilt or replaced.
The stock engine has more than 156,000 miles on the odometer so I picked up a remanufactured 4.0L I6 from ATK. Instead of simply swapping over all of the parts from the old engine I'll use a later model 1999 and up intake manifold fuel rail, and injectors, in an effort to achieve some additional horsepower and torque. The later model manifolds came along when the 4.0L engine went distributorless.
The intake is larger with a greater interior volume and the intake runners are more curved for a smoother flow. The plenum chamber is also larger. I picked up the manifold from Maxed-Out Off-Road in Klammath Falls, Oregon. I'll be installing the later model manifold on the ATK 4.0L engine and detailing the process in an upcoming issue. When the engine complete it will be installed in the 1997 Cherokee, which I hope to have race ready for the 2009 season.
ATK VEGE offers a full line of remanufactured engines for both domestic and import vehicles, and also remanufactures and distributes cylinder heads, crank shafts, and transmissions. ATK engines are reverse-engineered to eradicate any factory deficiencies.
High performance crate engines are also offered and are professionally built to meet varied customer needs. ATK currently offers high-performance engines for Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler applications and also produces a Stroker 4.0L Jeep engine that is used by racers in the JeepSpeed racing series. These engines and many more are available through ATK’s high-performance division.