That makes more sense to me as well. I have no clue what this will cost, but I am pretty sure you will have to do it yourself to keep the budget under control. But if it cost X to swap in the factory equivelent, and X + another half-X for the upgrade, then it seems to me that the upgrade would be the way to go.
I believe I would buy an auto YJ same year and swap all your parts over and sell the old one with the stock parts. Or.... take the moment to upgrade to a used or new automatic TJ, swap all parts that fit over, then sell the old one with stock, not applicable parts. I know it seems you have a bond with this jeep but it is just a machine, keep that in mind or you'll go broke. I've been riding ships for 20 years and grow attached to them but without the crew they may as well be razor blades.
Findinga donor YJ for the automatic & associated bits looks like a snap, found several for minor bucks this afternoon just poking around on the web. However, the crate engine/700r swap sounds like LOT more fun...next winter's project, perhaps.
What? Just a MACHINE? Hey, this here YJ & me have been from coast to coast, from cruising the beach in FL to the top of Mt Evans, Black Bear Pass, Moab, Mt Washington, you name it. It isn't going anywhere.
Thanks, Bill, lots of good information, including the fact he used an Atlass II with the 231 bolt pattern, which is what I'd be doing.
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