new to the site and to restoration

Hello all,

I'm new to the site and new to project cars ..this is my first one (always wanted one, never had the money... this one was a godsend. ) and would appreciate any tips and help. money is very tight for me so it is probably going to be a long drawn out process which kills me as i have always wanted a Comanche. (this is not my first jeep though had a 93 XJ and a 93 YJ that i miss dearly)

I just bought a 1988 Comanche pioneer olympic edition

the spec's

1988 Jeep MJ comanche Pioneer short box

Olympic package

2wd

2.5 liter 4 cyl

4 speed manual transmission

158.000 miles

i bought the truck out of a guys back yard for $100 it had been sitting for 3 yrs. I jumped it and drove it home! 40 miles without incident

it runs like a champ but needs some body work to the cab and my wifes cousin thinks the bed is shot the undercarriage is fine however. let me know what you think. Also id like to know what is the first thing i need to do to start this project.

first thing.

remove the topper (so you can see the bed better) and rear fender flares to see how bad the bed really is.

also get under and check the floors.

it needs a good cleaning I guarantee that. do that too.

and get rid of the bug deflector, please please please

the deflector has been gone! it came off after the pic was taken i was gonna remove the topper today but my cousin is still sleeping at 3 pm!

the deflector has been gone! it came off after the pic was taken i was gonna remove the topper today but my cousin is still sleeping at 3 pm!

wow....

I'd bet money that the bed is shot. They have a bad habit of rusting like that. When you pull off the flares there will be pretty much nothing left.

The front fenders might be kinda icky under the flares too. Luckily they're easy to get.

The doors look like they can be saved.

The cab looks alright, you will probably have to mess with the rockers a bit to clean them up. The floors might be icky too, but they're an 'easy' fix.

i say if its too nasty..rusty.. just make it a beater.. do a drivetrain swap and wheel the hell out of it

yank up the carpet and check out the floors. the stuff holds water in it :eek: and causes rust and nasty smells

do a light-bulb check on all the corners then DD her!

took the cap (topper) off and got mad.... the inside of the box hasn't a spot of rust on it... do they sell just the bedsides or am i stuck with looking for a whole bed? Ill follow up with cap-less pictures soon

Check in more southern Junk yards. I think one of the guy's on here has a buddy with a yard (AMC 4x4 is it?) with a couple complete beds, and good bed sides, I'm sure he will post up.

JBhill has a complete white bed i think its for sale/decent... ive seen it but wasnt lookin for beds so i don't remember

(he is in GA)

a white bed would be Awesome... but to have it shipped from Georgia to Pittsburgh would have to be very expensive. I found a bed in Cannonsburg which is a southern suburb of Pittsburgh for $350 but the descriptor said it had 6 units of damage. Dents i can work with but every Comanche i have seen up here has rot somewhere on the bed. The bedsides from the guy in AZ might be the way to go... i don't know why they don't make oem replacements though, what does the insurance co do if you get rear ended?

a white bed would be Awesome... but to have it shipped from Georgia to Pittsburgh would have to be very expensive. I found a bed in Cannonsburg which is a southern suburb of Pittsburgh for $350 but the descriptor said it had 6 units of damage. Dents i can work with but every Comanche i have seen up here has rot somewhere on the bed. The bedsides from the guy in AZ might be the way to go... i don't know why they don't make oem replacements though, what does the insurance co do if you get rear ended?

they don't make bedsides cause there arent many of these trucks around, and when they DID make them, they didn't sell.

the insurance co either has you drive them and pull dents, or totals it.

wow this sounds like a business opportunity waiting to happen! I wish i had money to by a press.

wow this sounds like a business opportunity waiting to happen! I wish i had money to by a press.

I wish you did too...

you could find a decent cherokee and steal the rear quarters, and modify the wheel wells to fit the manche.

wow this sounds like a business opportunity waiting to happen! I wish i had money to by a press.

 

I wish you did too...

Keep your fingers crossed!

yeah, given the large area thats rusted I'd need a 2 doors QP's. What kind of welding is needed for this type of bodywork?

What kind of welding is needed for this type of bodywork?

Well, I took the topper off and the 80's style bug shield. I think it looks better without them

I went up and drove it around the property a little bit today, I like the jeep better than my s10 (daily driver) and can't wait till its on the road.... I now see the obsession.

I thought that the jeep was bigger though but i had them parked next to each other and they are about the same size

I, thanks to the help of offroader, was able to get some bedsides for her and as soon as i get the money and figure out shipping ill get it handled. here is how bad the bed actually is .. well actually its just the outside.

passenger side

driver side

one step at a time I guess

another ting that was suggested to me as i was running errands was to use a 1st gen Dakota bed... does this work?

nope. not even close to the same body lines

wow this sounds like a business opportunity waiting to happen! I wish i had money to by a press.

 

I wish you did too...

Fudge... I'm going to make some phone calls this week to a few connections I didnt really think about.

 

Keep your fingers crossed!

I have been holding this information back for a while and now I feel I should come outta the dark about it, and the only reason I haven't doe it for myself is cause i've been strapped for cash.. but I have access to a few breaks (for sheet metal) but are kinda small I would only be able to bend up about a 4 1/2 ' long portion of the box.. but it can be done.. I've even practiced some of the bends required, and they are damn easy bends at that... like I've said I'm just held back by money.

I know a 6'x10' sheet of 2024 t3 Aluminum alloy is around the $500 mark.. but I haven't been able to find a place around here that carries large enough sheets of thin steel cause that would be way cheaper. Maybe it's time that I started to look into that.. cause i know the interest is there.. but would people be willing to pay shipping from canada for something that big

Personally, I guess I'd only consider buying one made of steel. then if I were to do that, I'd remove the section of wheel well support behind the bedside up top so that it would drain and not rust.

Id buy new over used ......shipping for me would probably be the same from canada vs. the other side of the US.

I just got this crazy idea .... if i could find a Stepside bed from a Chevy luv how do you think it would look ... in my head i think it would look cool...has anyone seen one with a stepside?