What do I need to do to swap a V8 in my YJ?

What V8 do you want to swap in?

I can tell you you need a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of patience for starters.
 
A 350 with carbs will be a much easier swap than anything with fuel injection, that's for sure.

I'd check out http://www.novak-adapt.com, as they have all the conversion parts you'd need and the guides / research articles.
 
Lots of options, and lots of different ways to go here. Some basic choices to make and things to note:
  1. Can you do the fab work yourself? There will at least be motor mounts, but these things have a way of snowballing. I was dragging the welder and other fab tools out regularly on my swap.
  2. Keep the Jeep transmission or convert to what's behind the V8? You probably have a manual; do you want an automatic? Adapting to the Jeep transmission is probably the easier route; you just have to buy the adaptor. No T-Case, transmission mount, linkage or drivelines to wrangle, but there are ways to minimize those things. I just switched mine to a 700R4 without much fuss.
  3. Fuel injection or carburetor? Obviously, carb is a lot easier, but man, the way those FI engines run. But...if you're not experienced with wiring and FI systems, an injected engine swap is a brutal way to learn. I'm pretty good with both, and used a ready-made FI wiring harness, and probably have 60 hours into the electrical system at least.
  4. What era V8 do you want? There's the early stuff; 70's to early 80s with carburetor. Dirt simple and cheap. 90s+ throttle body fuel injection. Old school, tried and true. Can be carbed or FI as you wish. Early 00s versions had port fuel injection and were more refined. LS, late generation with high-tech everything. Guys are spending $$ on these swaps just to get their gauges to work. But if you want to get thrown back in your seat when you romp the skinny pedal, they'll do it.
  5. Are you going to find a running doner rig and transfer everything straight, or go through it all and freshen it? That's a 'where do you stop' can of worms, but unless your doner is a late model rig, you're looking at something with a lot of miles. It will need stuff.
  6. Is this a daily driver and street rig, or weekend trail rig? Reliability and street driveability costs money.
  7. Take what you think you'll need for little things like plumbing, fasteners, consumables, wiring and linkages. Double it. Now double that. You might be safe. In a few hundred more miles I'm going to dump $80 worth of break-in oil out of mine. It took 3 gallons of ATF
  8. For a V8, plan on upgrading your radiator and rear axle. The D35 is not going to last long eating a lot of horsepower.
  9. Plan to enjoy the process. You will get to the point where you just want the stupid thing done long before you're finished. Take a deep breath, center yourself, and keep at it. Momentum and the feeling that you're making progress is important on a project like this. Get out there and work on it even when you don't feel like it.
That's all for now. have fun!
 
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All the small things that support a V8 swap will dwindle a swap budget a little faster than most plan for. nless you are well versed in swaps, it hard to build a solid budget to support it.

A V8 Wrangler is an eye opener.

Leaf springs, big tires, and the factory short wheel base causes a lot of street driven suspension issues. Mainly axle wrap in the rear. And its not always cut and dry when it comes to finding solutions.

It’s fun and thats what matters. What may be fun to me, may not be fun for you.
 
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