V8 conversion requirements?

What all is required to do the Hemi swap? Is a new tranny also required? Obviously it's freakin $$$$$$ so is it just better to go the forced induction route?

After running a recent 3500ish mile trip it became much more apparent what I already knew: the 3.8, even with factory tires, has no balls! Fine for playing around on the farm or putting around town but on the I-10 & I-20 it was woefully inadequate.

Sadly my JKU will mostly be on road more than off but it could still benefit from some help in the get up and go department when pulling onto the highway. Still stock all the way around with plans for a conservative 3-4" lift & rubber in the 35-37" range later on.

Being it will see a darn sight more asphalt than soil with occasional long distance road trips I'm hesitant on gear swaps. Averaging 19mpg over most of that 3500 miles was nice. I know the Hemi won't get near that, but that's for later on if we move to Florida which will change much of the lift/tire parameters.

The sound alone gets better with a Hemi... http://youtu.be/DgaVk6Ac7oI

I have no personal experience with them though, so I would also be interested to hear what people have to say about this.

To be honest after reading my own post it quickly became obvious that I can't justify a Hemi. It'll a supercharged upgrade.

Check out MoTech. It's Chevy. That's my plan!

MoTech is good but that's $5k before you even have the LS and Trans. If you work with Novak Adapters, those guys will set you up for a fraction of that on a JK/LS conversion. That will save you some serious money up front to put toward that all aluminum LS engine. Various vendors now make the JK/LS conversion harnesses, just search it. The conversion is still not an easy one on the difficulty scale. But I was told I couldn't effectively put a big block Chevy in a Scout II either and have it be a good wheeler, which I did years ago - with advice from Novak.

If you are going to supercharge it, seriously consider saving up the money and putting a hemi or ls in it. Two of my good friends have done ls conversions using MoTech kit and 2 others have hemis. Both work great. Ls gets the nod for $$ and better trans. If you had a12+ and we're able to keep trans would be different story. The reason I say save is 2 of the guys already had superchargers. And a few others I run with have them. Some have ripp, some have sprintex, the one guy tried both. They have all had issues with them, every manufacturer. By time you are 5k in for the supercharger you are halfway to a junk yard ls swap if you use Novak, hot wire etc. Now if you plan to pay someone then you aren't even in ballpark. Many will probably say the superchargers work great, maybe they do for some. All I can tell you is I have seen them all used and all had issues.

Honestly, if you just want some extra highway bang just regear your diffs & go procal or another tune. It'll be WAY cheaper, more reliable, and get you ready for bigger tires. Basically just change the powerband your current drivetrain operates in.

After that go intake & exhaust. You'll need these anyway if it still isn't good enough and you still want to go woosh.