[Shadow22]

OK, first off a 2.5l turbo in a jeep would not be gutless... I've got one of the old turbo shadows and am running 15 pounds of boost with NO INTERCOOLER on stock T1 internals. Granted, i would not run more than 15psi without an intercooler but with the turbo internals it is quite safe with higher octane gas. It is not hard to get 300hp with at least as much torque out of the 2.2/2.5 liters. Also, in '89 Chrysler went to the common block (meaning the 2.2 and 2.5 use the same block) and the only difference with the internals is the crank (longer stroke) and pistons (They are shorter in the 2.5 to allow for the longer stroke). There are lots of these engines around as you could get them in pretty much any k car that Chrysler built in the 80's and early 90's, even in the old caravans before the v6's were available.

Granted, the N/A upgrades are the easiest to do, but on a budget it is quite possible to upgrade to a turbo setup, though it is not worth doing unless you get the internals. As long as you have the common block (89+) internals from either engine will work, but you will then be stuck with the displacement of the engine that you used for the parts. Otherwise, all the external parts are the same too, except for the computer. You must get one that matches your displacement.

If you want the power, Go with the turbo... its totally worth it and not that expensive as you can get all used parts pretty cheap. If your just looking for a small boost, just stick with the N/A stuff.

And for the record, you dont need forged internals for more than 6lbs of boost, in fact the stock t1 internals are all cast except for the rods, which are forged. The cast crank is safe up to about 300hp in the common block motor, any more than that and things will start to flex.