Plumdog Millionaire

Venturing into the world of renewal, I've embarked on the meticulous journey of stripping the Comanche, paving the way for a ‘vibrant’ paint overhaul. Opting for a timeless pure white, I aim to embrace simplicity for a sleek and clean aesthetic. So far the hands-on process has demanded more than 70 hours of dedication, as each layer is meticulously peeled away, unveiling the raw potential beneath. With the arduous phase of stripping, sanding, and scraping behind me, the canvas is primed, ready for the delicate dance of body filler and dent repair, where every imperfection will be meticulously addressed, turning her into a rolling work of (f)art. Honestly, it’s kind of shocking as I peel away the previous years of colors I added from almost a decade ago and brings back some hilarious and sometimes disturbing memories of my past knowledge of working on cars. 

Lately, I feel like the wiring has made me go mad 🥴 

I’m running the engine bay and interior harness in the same spots as the Cherokee to eliminate any confusion or issues when I make repairs or install the dash/HVAC and because I have a 98 at my disposal for reference. Long nights and many, many parts orders has helped me make tremendous progress. So much so, that I put the engine mounts in! It’s very close to getting the freshly rebuilt 4.0 (not a stroker, yet) and transmission in. I just want to check, and check, and double check everything before the engine sits in her final place to hopefully never get removed.

The engine needed some minor parts such as PCV valves, grommets, an Inlet Air Temp Sensor and a few other odds and ends. I’m still looking into a good factory replacement spark plug as I know some of the later model four liters are picky with spark plugs. I’m also trying to find a set of replacement oil drain pan bolts/studs along with replacement Valve Cover bolts as the old ones were mostly gone and are so rusted that I’d rather not throw them on. 
 

The plan is to complete the engine harness this weekend and prep the interior by installing the main firewall harness, the rubber insulated pad, HVAC, and the dash so I can start mounting the 97 doors at a later date. 
 

If anyone knows or has pics of how they mounted their 97+ door latch, please DM me as they will be very useful and I will be very appreciative 

-PDM

One year ago today started a series of changes for the better. I switched jobs to become an Aircraft Mechanic Instructor, had a child, traveled a ton but mainly to my favorite country, Japan.
 

I have made some time to work on Chief. I focused mainly on the 97+ conversion (say what you will but it is a heck of a lot easier to maintain and makes for an easy daily to/from work)

January: Removed the interior for in response to a water leak. The water leak was found and fixed (passengers side door seal pinched and ended up tearing). Carpet removed only to find my floor pan rust was 1000x worse than the years prior so that started the floor pans. Also removed the powertrain from the Comanche. It was old and tired. Started to show signs of a blown head gasket, and had over 250K miles on her. Started and completed the engine rebuild. New, updated windshield Courtesy of Safelite. 

February-April: I focused on my career and family. COVID was kicking off and quarantine gave me some time with my wife and daughter, and the three dogs. I did periodically jump in the garage after the family went to bed to finish the floors and take measurements for the conversion

May-Present day: I started the swap. Headed back and forth to the storage unit to inventory all of my parts. Bought a 1998 XJ to use as a template for where things needed to route with the intention to part out but discovered I’m now the second owner and has the original window sticker. Really neat!

A few months have passed, with two vacations, multiple 12 hour shifts, installing new shop lights so I can see what the heck I am doing,  and a pregnant wife of 6 months, the XJ is completely gone, body and all. 

The engine had had a blown piston skirt, milkshake, and the oil pump showed signs of imminent failure. After ordering a remanded 0331 head with a 5 year warranty, I’m left trying to order parts for the remainder of the engine internals

My goal is to get the engine rebuild completely done within the next two weeks, then start tearing down the Comanche and prepping for the “new” parts. I uploaded some progress pictures from the week or so of total work I did. Keep in mind, it is just me tearing this down so time is wasted with trying to maneuver certain thing so I don’t have to ask for help from my wife or someone from work.

Cherokee has slowly been stripped and this weekend will be the engine/trans/t-case removal. Have a local jee guy coming to help cut the Jeep up so he can get some parts for his help. 

Starting the 97+ power train swap. Throwing in a Chrysler 8.25 rear, D30 front (just keeping the XJs stock axles until I get the coin to throw into bigger axles, tires etc), stock 2000 XJ 4.0L, auto trans, np231 T-case with SYE, plus the dash and all electronics/accessories. Let the long nights filled with cussing and beer begin! Wish me luck

🍺😬

SS 19

The winter months were productive for the Comanche. I finished ordering some much needed parts, installed/repaired a few major components, and also reorganized some extra parts I had cluttering up the garage 😬. Bought some Gray Pioneer seats, ordered new seat brackets from Brandon Scarbrough, dash repaint still in work, still trying to fix my power steering issues (foaming fluid which is air in the system). 

So so close to being roadworthy but yet so much more to do.

-EP 

It’s been awhile since I posted but quite a bit has been done to my Comanche. Freshly painted last night, updated to bucket seats, new tail lights, 97+ front clip conversion(I have a donor for the full swap), Lund visor found, interior being painted from Tan to Gray and much more tedious work. 

Changing out seats and ripping out interior is a PITA