glundblad

I know this isnt what you asked for but I was curious if your '87 loses coolant? I bought my '87 new. It used coolant every since I bought it. I took it in several times but finally I gave up and top it off every so often.

I bought a 4 post about a year ago. Personally, I have been very happy with it. It only requires a 4" concrete pad. The brand is Advantage and it is an 11,000 lbs lift. It is made for extra wide trucks. I have an old F150 raptor. Those are wider than a typical F150. I also have a full size expedition. Both of those fit on it very nicely. The wider runways help the raptor but since the posts are further apart to support wider vehicles, its much easier to drive the expedition on it. I also have the somewhat narrow Comanche and a couple of very narrow Datsun 240z cars. Everything fits on it perfectly. The extra width makes the posts further apart and the runways a bit wider (but the space between the runways remains the same as other lifts). Plus with a 4 post, you can park underneath it so you can get away with a 1 car garage with a tall ceiling and store 2 cars. :) Best of luck.

I sold mine to a poor unfortunate sole while I was in high school. Then one came up for sale locally. I test drove it with a friend of mind. I couldnt believe how fast that car was especially compared to others I have driven previously. I hit 70mph in 2nd gear and chirped going into third. No z car I have owned since was nearly as fast.

Eagle, this is a very touching story. Congratulations on being such a fine human being.

Most of you probably don't recognize my name. I used to frequent this site a lot but life sort of got in the way, but I still troll the site from time to time. I was a little surprised to run across this post on a comanche forum. I own 2 240z cars (ok actually 3 depending on how you count). I don't know if you have been keeping track but these cars have really gone up in value in the last 7-8 years. The worst thing you can do to the car is put a different engine in it. It would probably drop the value of the by half. In its factory form, it is still good for 120mph which is plenty fast. Depending on the year of the car, a 5 speed can go in pretty easily but the sheet metal around the transmission tunnel will cause problems and the center console will no longer fit. Just an FYI. Oh, and one thing. I don't know how much you know about 240z but contrary to popular belief, they do not rust. Not at all. Comanche rusts. 280z rusts. 240z rots. Like a wet box of tissues left in a rainstorm. My first car as a kid was a '73 240z. I bought it used in '79. When I bought it, the car should have been scrap metal but I didnt know any better. Frame, floorboards, rear quarters, front fenders and the rockers. The hood and the roof were fine though. :) I also have a v8 powered f150 raptor (the original version). Losers will drive up beside me on dual lane highways and then tromp the accelerator pedal as they have something to prove. I get the same thing from my 240z. If it were mine, depending on it's condition, I would leave it stock and I would not let it get wet. Best of luck! :)

I used to frequent this site a few years ago but life got in the way. In another post, I mentioned I was restoring old Datsuns. Neohic asked for pics along with any updates on my '87. So assuming I know how to upload pics, here it goes: I liked 240Z cars since I was 15. I bought a '73 as my first car. I later sold it. In the mid 80's I bought a second one and kept it for a couple of years. I traded it in on a new '87 Comanche Chief for my wife's daily driver. About 6 years ago, I bought a '71. It has about 60k original miles on it and is in very good condition. These cars don't age well so finding one in unrestored good shape can be challenging. Here is a pic of it: I struggle with common sense so about 3 years ago, I came across what the Datsun community refers to as a "Series 1" 240z. It has some features only found on the earlier cars. This one is vin #53xx meaning it is one of the first 5300 cars sold in the US. It was in desperate need of some love. It needed some rust repair work and a new paint job. I did a bad thing and changed the color from factory white to factory 918 Orange. The color is very nice but my florescent lamps don't allow for good pictures. The second picture is probably the most accurate rendition of the color: I was able to find a new Nissan dash for the orange car. A rare find for sure. Moving the wiring and gauges is not very fun (it sucks beyond imagination): Regarding my comanche, as I mentioned, I bought it new in '87. We later sold it to my father in about '95/'96. We bought it back off him in around 2009 if memory serves me correctly. We needed to replace the bed and fenders. There was rust behind the flares. Then we gave it a new paint job and new "Comanche Chief" decals. It now sees about 200 miles per year and gets stored in the winters. The truck was restored to factory condition with a few exceptions. When my dad had the truck, it was garage kept but the garage didnt have a door so the rear leafs were in pretty bad shape and needed replaced. When they did that, the leaf specs must not have been correct to the truck because it raised the rear by about 3/4". The rake in it looked way off. That is visible in the 2010 Comanche of the month photos elsewhere on the site. To correct it, I replaced the front coils with OME springs. That gave the front a 3/4" lift. It looks factory now. Don (ie Hornbrod) suggested I go with OME shocks so I did. I also bought an OME steering stabilizer. I really like the OME shocks. Funny comment about Don. Everyone spoke highly of Bilsteins so Don bought a set to replace his OME shocks. He had the Bilsteins for sale a few months later. My truck came with what Jeep called the "Optional Heavy duty axle" which was a Dana 44 with limited slip. It also came with the factory roll bar as seen in the pics. I think the truck has 90k miles on it now. It came with factory fog lights on the front bumper but they were rusted bad. I found a new set of Marchels and installed them. Later I was able to locate a new set of the original (but cheap quality) ROL fogs. So I remove the Marchels and put the factory replacements on along with the factory covers. The truck came from the factory with a black interior. I was able to find black Cherokee Limited leather seats to replace the bench. It sits much nicer now and I have no fear that my head won't go through the rear window in case of a rear collision. I was also able to find a full size black console. Finding black anything can be tough. Over the years, I was able to accumulate a couple of factory rear bumpers and the necessary plastic trim. The comanche of the month pics still shows the embarrassing aftermarket bumper. I was also able to locate NOS taillights which were scarce a few years ago. I found some NOS rear mud flaps. I also found the fronts but I havent installed them yet. I assume finding NOS comanche parts is about impossible now? I apologize for the poor quality pics. I didn't have any good side shots but notice the rake is gone now. It is only a mild rake just like factory: Here are the fogs. This is exactly how the truck looked from the front when it was new (sorry it is so dark): Here is the factory rear bumper with the new components on it. Just to document for posterity, the bumper has a flatter finish from the factory than it does in this repaint. But at least it is straight: Here is my black interior with my XJ leather seats. I was very happy with how they turned out: So there you have it. If anyone is restoring a chief and needs a picture of something, please let me know.

I would gladly mod a truck that wasnt in great shape but not one like this. I don't understand what possesses people to hack them up. These trucks are a very rare find when in good condition. So many people who get lucky enough to find one in mint shape run to home depot for a saws-all and start cutting it up. That truck looked like it was in great shape but not any more. I am in the middle of restoring an old classic car. The hip thing to do to these old cars (Datsuns) is to cut the fenders and install flairs and/or do an engine swap. It sends the value down the toilet. :(

I wanted to explain and document what went wrong with my clutch. But first a little background. It is an '87 with factory everything including the transmission. The truck is stored in a climate controlled building and is driven under 500 miles per year. It is stored in the winter. The last time I drove it was late July 2019. 90k original miles. I started it up early this summer and I felt tension in the clutch then something let loose. No pressure at all so I couldn't put it in gear. I checked all the recommendations above. A week ago, I pushed it out of the garage so the wrecker can load it up and take it to the mechanic. They called a few hours later and asked for clarification about the problem. The clutch was working fine. So apparently, the clutch got air in it from sitting. They bled it for me and called it good. The truck runs fine now. My mechanic recommended that I pump the clutch a few times if it happens again. So I will. But it goes against my instincts because the pedal feels like it isn't doing anything. Apparently it is a common problem for vehicles that sit a lot.

I didn't know AX15 could also have an internal slave. I assumed it was such a bad idea that Peugeot invented the concept. Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I will start keeping an eye out for one. I really need to drive this poor MJ a bit otherwise, it will sit for an entire summer.

Check the fuse block for fluid? Oh no. I hope not. I won't see the truck until at least this weekend. I don't keep it at the house. I hear you regarding your broken record comment. My truck has 87k miles. It was my wife's daily driver for most of those 87k miles. My dad owned it for about 10k of them. I know what the drivetrain has gone through and it has had a very easy life. If I go to a JY and get an XJ AX15, I have no idea if that transmission has been thrashed or not. Plus I have no idea how long that thing has been sitting there in the weeds. Would you still do it?

hmm. I couldn't see where the linkage connected to the master. I assumed it was buried but if that isn't the case, I need to circle back and double check that. It would be nice if the linkage went out. The master had plenty of fluid in it. But last fall, I noticed fluid dripping on my concrete floor. I assumed it was the rear main leaking but now I am wondering if it was the slave.

No. The clutch doesn't engage. The pedal feels very soft as if it isn't moving anything. On my Datsun, I can look at the back side of the pedal and see what it is moving. On the Comanche, its not that easy. :)

Hi everyone, I have an '87 4.0 Comanche that I bought new back in the day. I store it in a climate controlled garage during the winters. When I started it up this spring, I felt something in the clutch pedal give that felt like the spring broke. It still has its original Peugeot transmission and last fall, it ran and shifted like new. I know the history of the Peugeot transmission but I also know the history of the truck (plus I am rebuilding an old sports car in my free time). I really don't have plans to swap the transmission. On my old sports car, the spring is staring right at me when I raise the hood but I can't see a spring on the comanche. If I recall correctly, the slave on the comanche is inside the bell housing. Is it safe to say the spring is in the bell housing also? In other words, do I need to drop the transmission to find out of the clutch seized or if a spring broke? Thanks Gary

I THINK I qualify. I'm the original owner. I bought my 1987 chief from a Fort Wayne Dealership who traded it from a Jeep dealer in Albion Indiana. Then I sold it back in '93 to my dad and bought it back about 10 years ago. I originally bought it new mid summer '87 if I recall correctly. The little 100lbs wife was set on a wrangler as her daily driver until she saw the comanche. I think it has around 86k miles on it now. https://comancheclub.com/topic/20543-comanche-of-the-month-mar-2010-glundblads-1987/

I couldn't agree more. I remember when I bought my '87 off the showroom. It was my wife's daily driver for about 10 years. You get to know a truck pretty well when you have owned it for 10 years. Then I sold it to my father. He had it for 10 years IIRC and put about 10k miles on it. When I bought it back, it ran ok but not great. It just sounded different and didn't idle smooth. I took it to the shop several times. The last time I took it, the truck started up and sounded like it did in '87. It took me all of 10 seconds to figure out that they fixed it. It was a cheap sensor that needed replaced. I don't have that issue with my 1971 Datsun.

I'm with you. Most everything built after 1985 or so look like clones of each other. To me a Ferrari looks like a Lamborghini looks like a Maserati. I like stuff that you know immediately what it is, like this Shelby 427. Ah, the Shelby. Nothing beats a massive souped up muscle car engine on a go cart frame. That's a car.

I must be getting old. The lines on new exotic cars just don't do it for me. They all look alike. Some even look like a Hyundai to me.

It has been my experience that when you are hit by another driver, that body shop you hired no longer works for you. The work he performs and the quality of the end result are in the hands of the other person's insurance. Very frustrating. Look at it this way. At least you didn't get hit by someone with "Progressive Insurance". You have not lived until that happens.

Hi, I have a 1971 car that I bought about a year ago. The previous owner bought the car from the original owner. I would like to find the previous/original owner. I realize carfax doesn't go back to the beginning of time but I need to go back only to about 2000-2004 for a 1971 car. The original owners owned the car for over 30 years. Would Carfax reveal the owner during that period? Thanks

The best way I can describe the OME shocks is that it makes the suspension feel a little more modern. It still drives like a truck not a rough old one like it did (even when new btw). My suspension feels great now except the gearing in that stupid factory steering box ...

I had the original "Wrangler Radial" on my '87 and I wasn't a big fan either. I seem to recall they went pretty fast. I still wanted Wrangers after I restored my '87 just to keep it factory. I was pretty pickey. I wanted outlined white letters and everything. I went with "Wranger Radial Silent Armor". I am glad I did that. That, along with the OME shocks worked out pretty well. My son has a set of Duratracs on his Grand Cherokee. They did a great job of going through snow and they wear like iron. But they are loud. Lots of road noise.

I can't vouch for the Nitrocharger but Old Man Emu, absolutely.

Greetings. I am over by Columbia City.

I am about 35 miles west of Ft Wayne. If you are in my area, if you cut it, I have free firewood. :)

I always thought I could be a good photographer with one limitation. I am suck. I could never get proper aperture/shutter. If I set to full auto, the camera always wants a photo with perfect light. In low light conditions and if you want a low light photograph, that never works. THEN if you go on vacation to a place you know you will never see again, and its indoors, then you get the different colors of light and light balance is all screwed up. I could go on and on....