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Relyt120's Dd Clair-E


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I have been putting this off for a long time but have a lot of free time today so I'll go ahead and post this up.

 

I got my truck in the summer of 2011. She is a 1989 Comanche Pioneer,4.0, 2wd, d35, auto on the column, with about 280000 miles on it.

 

I really am just guessing about that mileage because the guy I bought it from at a pseudo car lot, really it was just a garage with cars out front, said the gauge cluster had been replaced and it actually had 140k miles on it rather than the near 240k the clock was showing.  

I was inclined to believe him because it ran very well, but then I realized ho hard it would have been to find a cluster with the shift indicator installed and other factors so I think the guy was full of sh*t.

 

Back to the main event....

 

I've had the truck ever since and have done numerous things to it such as:

New hoses

Alternator

Radiator

Grill

Fogs

Temp gauge

Bumper

Tailgate

Recovered seat

Valve cover

Wrecked it

Replaced sheet metal after wreck

97+ nose

New bed

Head gasket

Paint

Numerous oil changes and plugs etc

Open cooling system conversion

Added an inverter

Horns

Power windows/locks

Jeepsticker decals

Remote start, with remote locks

And a bunch of other stuff I know I'm forgetting.

 

It has always been fun but I have had a few stumbles along the way.

Hopefully the next post with all the pigs will paint a better picture that this one.

 

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Here are the pics from the craigslist ad I got it from.

Had to drive from Nashville to Glasgow ky. Not a bad drive and definitely worth it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The date stamps are definitely wrong, this was in 2011.

 

Picked it up for $1175.

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This is when i got it home. I was definitely excited and had to take a bunch of pics of the first vehicle i ever bought.

The thing was older than I was, had a hole in the gas tank, and a headliner that would cause green snow to pour down at the slightest agitation but it was all mine with money i had earned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I got to work quickly buying a few parts online where i could find them, mostly cosmetic. I had a lot of ideas but no skills so I couldn't do too much at first. 

got a fey bumper, replacement tailgate, grill insert, removed the bed bars, added a tool box. easy stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Installed the fog lights i got for Christmas to a switch in the dash via a relay of course....then i wrecked my baby ='(

Driving home from school on the interstate and this lady in a camry slammed on her brakes at the last second , guess she wasnt paying attention to traffic....her brakes were good enough to stop on a dime, mine would have been lucky to stop on a silver dollar. :doh:

 

 

 

 

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All in all it was not too much damage.

Bumper was toast, fender was crunched, header panel was shot, fan contacted the rad and it sprung a leak, definitely could have been worse. The worst part is my fog lights i had just put on were ruined. :fs1:

 

Time for the tear down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Since I was in a repair phase i started to collect parts. Like a replacement bed, the one on it had been damaged heavily and my paint guy said it was not worth saving.

 

 

 

My cousin gave me a hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think i got out the door with the bed, tailgate, lights, harness for less than $250.

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Got all my ducks in a row and managed to get the old girl back together, with a 97+ header panel too.

Couldn't find workable fenders or bumper so i went with what i could find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Me and my painter worked out a total cost of $1600 for the paint job, not including door jambs, and I would pay him to paint like one or two parts at a time. Worked out really well since i had everything to be painted as a spare part less the hood, doors, and cab.

 

Here is the intermediary paint job results:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

record of the paint code for future uses.

 

 

The parts sat stored in my hallway nook and in the garage for at least a year while i saved and bided my time to get the cab done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As you can see there are things I did to the truck but didn't document but that is basically how it sits now from the exterior. Ima get some more interior pics to show y'all how that is now, the seat and all.

 

I drive it everyday to and from school/work waiting for the next thing to replace upgrade.

I have another that i drive only on weekends you can see it in my signature.

 

It all started from this truck that I would pass on the way to visit my granny. I didn't know what it was called and hated the orange paint but i knew i wanted one and now i have two... you can't beat that.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Brakes started scrubbing this past week so i decided to replace a bunch of brake parts up front while i was at it.

 

replaced:

 

Brake pads

rotor/hub assembly

wheel bearings

calipers

 

wish i had thought ahead and bought some new soft lines but i didn't.

 

still need to bleed all the way around but my step dad usually helps me with that

speaking of which i picked up some THICK steaks and a 12 pack for fathers day, can't wait for that

 

no pics because i was covered in grease and brake fluid but trust me those reman calipers are pretty with those new rotors!

 

thinking about getting these rims eventually

 

 

you guys think they will look good?

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Picked up a pair of the silver trimmed tail lights from SpectorMJ 

not sure how i like them on there yet but here they are:

 

 

Maybe a good polishing would help? a little touch up paint :dunno:

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  • 3 months later...

been having issues with my aux temp gauge and my switches for locks/windows. I didnt wire them very well the first time so i pulled out the wiring and am redoing most of it. Also relocating the bank of relays from under the dash to under the hood... Tired of having to mess with wires under the dash. 

 

Not sure if i ever uploaded anything about the relay bank but its six relays where each set of 2 controls something (left door window, right door window, locks) and I have simple dpdt and spdt switches in the dash with a gauge panel that control them by sending a ground signal. I originally had a couple of polarity reversing switches but I rewired it so my remote start module could control the locks via ground and so i could use smaller switches to fit the gauge panel. Ill snap some pics when I get everything back together.

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  • 6 months later...

Have been having a lot of problems with death wobble lately.

I have never done anything with the steering on this truck so I ordered a bunch of new parts to get it taken care of.

I tried to get the tires balanced first but it actually made it worse/more consistent.

 

Also I am going to pull the dash and neatly re-run a bunch of my wiring.

I added an amp and sub after Christmas and ran it very amateurishly just to get it working in the cold.

That plus all the wiring I have running to both doors for the locks, windows, and mirrors along with miscellaneous other wires for my remote starter/keyless entry system mean that my wiring is a nightmare up under/around the dash so it will be well worth it.

 

While I'm at it i need to replace the A pillar trim on the driver side, at some point the screw hole for the mount broke off so it flaps around and drives me crazy.

 

I am going to update this with some overall pictures of the truck as soon as i get a change to snap some.

 

Also I had to replace the starter a week or two ago, it would barely turnover with two batteries and a jump box hooked to it; man that new starter cranks so much faster than the old one!

 

Oh yeah! I also upgraded to the Volvo 155 746 Injectors and cleaned up my fuel rail. 

 

yeah man i need to upload some more pictures!

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Oh yeah i forgot! I also made myself a clone of the supplental head light harness I ordered from Amazon.

I was not a fan of the odd relays they used and some exposed wire at the connectors and I needed a second one anyway for my other truck.

So I went ahead and made a clone with 14ga wire and standard 40amp 5 pin relays. 

Here is what I used:

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