Tbarber16

So I’ll start from where I think I left off. Last I checked I was installing shock mounts for the rear bypasses. Got those welded on and the bypasses in. Then moved to the front. Like I said I used T&J performance upper shock mounts and used some 1/4 plate and welded it to the axle for the lowers. It’s not pretty but it worked... for a little while. Had to text out the clearance for everything and of course had to flex it out.

Wow guys. It’s been a while! This will be short and sweet. Just kind of an update. I got the front bypasses on the truck with the help of T&J performance upper shock mounts. And custom fabricated my lowers. I did have the truck in the dunes early August. It did surprisingly well! My only major issue was the drivers side rear bypass seal blew out. Leaking all the oil over the back half of the Jeep. And the truck wanted to overheat pretty badly. It even got to 265 just cruising around. I still have the triple fans on the radiator and I’m thinking I should build a shroud. On my way back home from the first dune trip I saw another comanche for sale on the side of the road. Of course I had to stop and check it out. And one week later I went back north and bought it. So I will have to start a new build thread on that truck. Once I got the red Jeep home I had noticed the frame was broken right behind the steering box. The truck wouldn’t like to turn to the right very well. So when I investigated the issue that’s when I noticed the steering box was completely moving the frame where it had broke. A few things I did before my next dune trip included removing the old radiator and installing a aluminum 3 pass radiator. Removing the thermostat. Adding a OEM Cherokee radiator fan. And installing another fan next to that. So now I have a giant radiator and two high cfm fans. Did a complete coolant flush and bled it the proper way. Should keep it cool right? Wrong. Anyways. I’ll update again soon. Here’s a teaser

Well. Long time no posts. Or progress for that matter. I found out it looks pretty dumb with the front bumper on after I got the front clip on. Oh well. I’ll go a little more in detail of what’s been going on once I get some time to write. But for now here’s some pictures.

Here’s some more from this evening

That is the EXACT same truck as mine

Here’s some progress. Started laying tubes.

I am planning on ordering hannemann 6” bedsides and just affixing them to the cage and frame. So no bed at all.

Progress. Going to start laying tubes soon

Some progress pictures. Got the bed off. Got the fuel cell temporarily mounted. Got 1 cross brace halfway welded. Trans cooler is temporarily mounted. Fuel pump temporarily mounted. And I finished welding up one of the seat brackets this evening.

Our trucks are twins!

Hey thanks for the reply. Probably gonna end up running 12” triple bypass shocks up front. That way I’ll leave a little room to bump and strap. Hopefully gonna order the shocks within the month. I bought a set of 18” triple bypass for the rear. Now I just need to figure out how to get 18” of travel out of the rear without a 4-link setup.

Small. Update. Parts have been rolling in for the truck. But haven’t had time to work on it. Have another project on my hands. Wish they made fiberglass like this for the Comanche

Okay. I refreshed the page and it decided it was okay I put the trans cooler picture in. Cool. Like I said. Feel free to judge. I’m always open to new ideas. And yes I know. It can’t lay flat like that. I’ll adjust it so it has airflow. When the bed is off.

Well. The site is being dumb. Even though the picture of the trans cooler is less than 1.95mb. And even though I’ve sized it down to 200kb to where it’s blurry as hell. I still can’t upload it. So here’s a picture of the lines where I tapped into the existing trans cooler. Dual coolers FTW!

UPDATE A few things happened. I got my trans cooler plumbed. It’s just laying in the bed for now. I’ll throw some pictures up. Feel free to judge. I also removed the mechanical engine fan and replaced it with a single electric fan mounted in the center of the radiator behind the grill. Not wired yet because i want to test the amp draw and add a relay accordingly so I don’t burn the truck down. I was driving it around just to get a feel for how it’s going to handle and overheated it. Oops. I also picked up some PRP seats yesterday and have those sitting in the truck for now. I have to make brackets for them. Do you guys think I can modify some Cherokee brackets to work? I’d like them to be very sturdy so I might just have to weld some brackets straight to the floor and bolt the seats to them. We’ll see. Plans for the next few weeks are to get the bed removed and start mocking up the fuel cell. And on that note. What is everyone’s experience with in-line fuel pumps. Rumor has it the E2000 pump works well. My only question would be; What changes do you have to make to the fuel rail and fuel pressure regulator to handle the max pressure of 95 psi? And also do you just take two wires from the existing pump plug and use them for the new pump? Any info would be appreciated. Il’l do my research as well.

Thanks for all that info! I’ll definitely reconsider cutting all that inner fender well out. Id like to run 12” stroke triple bypasses in the front. And now that you mention it I think by lowering the bottom shock mount a little, I’ll be able to achieve the space for the bypass to get almost its whole movement. I’ve still got some measuring to do. Like I said I’d really like to run 12” bypasses but if I need to I’ll go town to a 10”. Ill have to make some cardboard cutouts of extended and compressed shock lengths and see what kind of room I’m going to need.

The last picture is after I straightened out the upper fender mounting panel thing.

UPDATE The updates are gonna get really boring so bear with me. I adjusted the links the other day and ended up removing the passenger upper link all together. Seems to feel a little better going over bumps and through the suspension cycle. So I’ll probably run it a 3-link setup for now. I took the front fenders and header panel off. And found some real crap... i knew the truck was in an accident because the paint is chipped in a few spots and it’s blue underneath. But a lot of the truck has been replaced. The header panel. Fenders. Radiator support. Hood. Possibly doors. And everything that the fenders and header panel mount to has been boogered up. I can see that the frame is crunches in the front drivers side in front of the coil all the way to the bumper. And the wheel well has had some serious massaging with a hammer. I’ll post some pictures. But this really tears me up. Not sure how I was so oblivious. BUT, the build won’t end. I wasn’t planning on this being a show truck. Just a toy to play with while i build a beamed, v8 comanche. Anyways. Got the mechanical fan removed and the electric radiator fan mounted. It’s gonna fit nicely behind the crooked grill so I’m happy about that. Just need to do the wiring for it. Gonna mount my hella 1000’s on the front bumper and run the wires for that as well. Next time i have the truck in the shop. I worked on the tranny cooler for a bit. Mocking it up and such. It will be next to the fuel cell in the bed. And the fuel cell. That’s for another day.

Haven’t really tested the flex much. Doesn’t seem too bad. I’ll have to stick a hi-lo under one of the front tires and check. Gotta do that anyway to figure out where to mount my bumpstops.

I’ve got long arms. Rustys jeepspeed kit actually. I bought a rustys track bar too, with a drop bracket. I'm pretty sure the angle the track bar is at is too severe. And it’s moving the axle side to side. I guess I’ll have to order a new track bar and mount it on the top side of the axle. And hope that it won’t come in contact with anything. I’ll do some research.