glundblad

My mj is not my primary transportation. Since I bought back my mj, my primary transportation has been a 2002 tahoe z71. It was a tank. Then I dumped it 1 1/2 years ago for a 2011 tahoe z71 pos. It was a turd. I dumped it and bought a '13 ford raptor. I love the raptor and I was shocked the first time I drove one. It has exceeded my expectations in every way. I don't drive the mj in the winter and since spring has arrived, I can drive it now. But the bed is serving as a spot to store furniture for a remodel I am in the middle of. So it is parked in. It is killing me that I can't drive it now. We love that old truck. Every time we clime in, it is a priviledge. I love the look, I love the way it drives. It is tough. The engine runs like new. Some think the dated look of the interior is bad. I look at what people do to these poor trucks (hack the fenders, bob the bed, "modernize" the interior) with a certain amount of disgust. don't get me wrong, to each his own. But when you take something that is old and modernize it, you are making it something it's not. But soon they will all be "modernized". I will take the classic look any day. I know that if I sold my mj, it would get the same modernization treatment (ie molestation) by the next owner. It's a classic so you will need to use a key to unlock it. Suspensions have advanced alot since it was built but it will take anything you give it. Most of all, it is a jeep. The jeep brand is not what it was. The comanche is what jeep was. When the mj came out, it was a big deal. When the 4.0 came out in '87, it was a bigger deal. My mj lacks cruise, power locks, automatic and the ac needs replaced and it is not very fast. I hit 60mph in my raptor going through a corn field. I wouldnt dream of that in the MJ. But I know could beat the tar out of it and it would care less. I bet it would rock crawl better than the raptor (or at least as good). I wouldnt sell my mj for $20k.

You are a sick man. Do you have a book with this stuff in it? :rotf:

I saw those articles too. Bent right behind the cab. I don't think I will be jumping anything at 100mph. I don't even drive in the snow.

I must confess, I hate that thing too. I always disliked trucks that were trying to be street cars. If someone gave me one, ditch the short sidewall tires and rims, rip the ground effects and lift it. THEN it would work.

I am one of the few on this forum that remember when they first came out. The wife and I both liked how they looked. You also must remember that back in that era, Comanche's main competition was Chevy S10, Ford Ranger, Mazda (can't recall), Datsun and Toyota. The amount of torque it produced was quite cutting edge. Of couse, AMC did their best to counter act it by messing up the gearing but still. Now, there arent very many of them left and many people don't even know they existed.

I think they sell better in some parts of the country than they do in others. Some in my area have one on the lot almost all the time but I see one on the road about once per month. They sell alot of them in the Nevada area from what I understand. I don't know if they met their sales objective on Raptor or not. But I believe the one I have is close to the end of it's product life. If they decide to keep Raptor, it is still going to be different than the one I have because the new F150 is coming out soon and the Raptor is based on the F150. My poor MJ has taught me that I may as well start a Raptor hoard next to my MJ hoard. If I would have done that for the MJ 20 years ago, I would be in pretty good shape. It is really cool though. If you search for a bumper, you can actually find one on ebay. It is a lot more fun than dreaming of finding one. I think I will get a front and rear bumper, maybe some front seats, and a set of spare tires and wheels. Oh and a ... I hope the wife doesnt find out. :brows:

Several months ago, I traded the old tahoe in on an F150 raptor. I really like it. The thing I like most about it is that I can go on ebay and actually see new parts for sale. For those that don't know about Ford, many believe this is the last year for the current version F150 and rumor is this is the last year for the Raptor (for awhile anyway). That means 2010 - 2013 is it. Raptor is very different than a stock F150. The bed is different. The front fenders are different, the hood, the fender flares. interior. etc. I am thinking of buying a raptor front bumper and a set of spare rims. I feel like if a bed shows up somewhere, I need to snag that too and front bucket seats. I have two black consoles for my mj, 3 rear bumpers, 1 spare black interior, 4 black seats, plus my original black bench (although I refuse to believe I am as sick as Automan). :rotfl2: Meanwhile, the raptor has fallen prey to the same victim as the comanche. Those that get them, run them hard. So I would bet their time on earth is limited. If you were me, would you start accumulating parts or is that just the comanche in me coming out? I have made hints of "Limited Production Truck" in the raptor forum but they don't seem to buy it. They think parts will be available for a long time. So what do you think? Accumulate, hoard, or forget it?

I would caution you about going to a JY to get replacement sections of your bed. Most likely, the JY beds are in at least as bad of shape as yours considering you live in OH. I have searched about 10 JY's around my area in Indiana and got lucky and found a bed in excellent condition. To this day, a few years later, I still havent found another one. I keep looking out of habit. Pop those flares off and look behind them on any clean bed. It can be a fright. If possible, I would encourage you to go south to find one. Unfortunately, as others have already mentioned, yours really isnt in that bad of condition.

Don talked me into OME shocks. I went ahead and bought an OME stablizer too (mine is a 4x4). I believe that thing is the single greatest improvement I have made to any of the stock components. It is fat and barely fits compared to stock but it works like a champ.

Road salt would have been better? Wow, I hear Michigan road salt is worse than Indiana road salt. :laughin:

I tried it but mine didnt come apart.

Electrical issues on a comanche? Oh yes. I have had tons of them. They are very common. I have had to replace my battery several times since 1987. My factory radio puts out crappy sound and I recall changing bulbs on several occasions.

No offense Don but I still see grass. :laughin:

For some reason, I thought the Rubicon (JK Rubicon that is), came with an upgraded transmission oil cooler? Am I correct or am I just forgetting things?

I paid $200 for mine in completely rust free condition but I would have been willing to pay more than twice that. In my area, they don't exist.

I will probably get flamed but the least desirable year is probably 1986 with the V6 engine... I will keep my head down for saying it.

I'm thinking he is right.

I don't understand. I have downed trees that have been on the ground for years. They have moss growing on them. If they were cut up today, they could be burned today and would make great firewood?

I think you did the right thing by yanking that roll bar. It was definately not factory. But selling it? That is another story.... :(

Unless they are black...

Nice truck by the way. Love the tube bumper. You don't see too many of those very often any more.

I agree with Eagle. My Chief did have a cloth bench (and still does but it is hanging on a wall in the garage), non-leather 3 spoke steering wheel and no cargo light. It has a dana44 but only because it was an option. I vaguely recall the off road package but mine didnt have it (skid plates were part of it if I recall correctly). But it had factory tow hooks but as a stand alone option and no tilt or cruise.

I have an '87 with 4.0 and 3.07 gearing/5 speed. I feel the engine and truck in general run like they did when new (I am the original owner). I never understood the comanche commercials when they came out. They claimed the high amount of torque & HP yet mine struggled to move down the highway on it's own. Then I installed a tach a few years ago and saw how low the RPM's were running as I went down the highway. Now I treat it as a 4 speed and use 5th only on highway driving at 65+mph. Jeep should have never sold the 4.0 engine with that high of gearing. If it had 4.10/3.73 or even 3.55, I bet it would have made a world of difference.

The older MJ's can be a little tricky to get running correctly. I had trouble with mine and couldnt figure it out. Eventually, I took it to a mechanic who couldnt figure it out either. Then I decided to take it to a Jeep dealer. The problem turned out to be a faulty sensor which is very common. Now it runs like it did when new. If you plan to keep it, I suggest you give that a try. Try to look for a mechanic that has been there for many years. Then they will have had AMC/Renix experience. The money has been spent. Either you keep it or sell it. If you want to keep it, you may as well get it running and get some use out of it. There are a lot of folks on this forum that would like to have it. Whether they can afford it is another story. But if you sell it, you will only get out of it what it is worth.

I just don't get it.