DesertRat1991

Seems like you've made more progress than most towards eventually being your own boss, which is the dream for a lot of people. Have you considered bringing on an apprentice to give yourself a break from the manual labor so you can focus on growing your business? Getting more into the sales/marketing/e-commerce side of things might be the new challenge you are looking for while still leveraging your existing knowledge base. Beyond that, I would say learn to code. If you do it well, you're looking at a 6 figure desk job with plenty of opportunity for entrepreneurship.

Is it really important to you to maintain the stock wiring? If not, you could probably bypass the stock setup with much less headache. I used this $10 harness for my aux lighting: MICTUNING MIC-B1002. It's good to 40A and comes with fuse, relay and switch. You can replace the switch with any style you like -- possibly even the OEM switch if it uses standard spade connectors. Regarding the legalities, when I lived back east I recall that the state conducted annual DOT safety inspections as part of vehicle registration renewal. The inspection station checked things such as airbags, lighting, seat belts and even wiper blades. There is no such thing in the state of Arizona. No one is ever going to look in to how OP's fog lights are wired up.

Thanks, fellas! The paint was touched up at some point in the past and I've added a fair share of trail scuffs and scratches since I've owned it, but she still cleans up nice. The graphics are original. Way way back, I spent several days working with q-tips and acetone solution to clean all the overspray off the graphics, corner lenses and tail lights.

Painted and mounted a set of Krustyballer's SWB sliders:

No lockout on my '91.

Bumper, end caps, gill, headlight bezel -- Crown makes pretty much all that stuff. Hit a junkyard for the fender and the backets behind it which are probably bent as well.

There are a few bezels on ebay: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283635318528 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F202821257097 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223789994131

Keep the MJ. Sell the WJ and pick up a more modern and reliable daddy-mobile. It's good to have a truck in the fleet for doing truck things. Plus, I don't see why you can't mount the car seat in the MJ until the WJ is back on line?

Wow, great work bringing this one back!

Insane score!

Got a set here for long bed models only. Sturdy and straight with some surface rust that was painted over sometime in the past. Would prefer to sell as a pair. PM if interested.

Here's a cargo light and switch plate: https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/pts/d/glendale-jeep-comanche-cargo-light/7029115848.html

I checked back through my picture folders and came up empty. It's funny, I took pics of the new vs old springs from almost every angle except on that inside arch face where the stencil was. To OP, I would just say call up and verify where they are currently sourcing from if it matters to you. Also, Sir Sam was the guy I was thinking of that had an issue with his bushings:

I am 99.5% certain these springs are not made in the USA. First, because my military wrapped springs arrived with "MADE IN MEXICO" stenciled on them in yellow paint. Second, because I came across shardein's post from 2017 which pretty much confirmed this product is "shipped from Mexico." Unfortunately, I didn't grab a pic of the stencil before I painted over it. OP, did we mention that these spring will arrive unpainted, with no rust inhibitor? Also, at least one guy posted on here that his bushings were installed way off center upon delivery. If you're really lucky, you might get a spring with a manufacturing defect like a misdrilled hole for the spring pad. See my picture below. *thumbs up* As best I can tell, these springs are lovingly crafted by blind Mexicans, for bottom dollar. I have no complaints about the spring's performance, but do not expect American made build quality.

Shouldn't be any issues with the axle swap other than driveshaft length. If you're going to yank the D44, you might as well snag the Metric Ton badge off the tail gate too. Even if you don't want it, some guy out there will pay a stupid amount for it.

Paint gun? Rattle can? Or roll on?

Lookin' good! What setup are you using to shoot your paint?

Will you be building any more sliders this year?

The Dana 30 and Dana 44 both use a 26 spline end yoke.

I think every young person should work at least one manual labor gig to help them appreciate the value of a good education and a cushy office job. Office jobs ain't all bad. There's nothing I miss about about coming home aching, sweaty and stinking everyday.

Lift and tire size?

Not sure I would call it a '"direct swap" since there are a few potential pitfalls, but it's certainly doable with the right combination of parts. The big thing is to be mindful of the input gear length, in addition to the spline count. The AX-15 should have enough room to accept short and medium gears, but trying to fit up an NP242 with a long gear could cause you some issues. The long gear NP242s were most commonly used on the WJs, so avoid those. Assuming your truck currently has an NP231, the shift linkage will be the same, the metal shift gate on the trans tunnel will need to change, and the electrical connectors to the XFR case will be different. ETA: Just remembered that at some point, the speedometer sensor changed from being cable driven to an electronic sensor. Just another thing to look out for.

Very nice truck! Congrats!

Will you ever want to move to bigger tires? ...at any point...EVER? If so, then you then you might as well plan to go 3.73 or higher now. Plan well, and pay once. Other things to consider: - The carrier break on the D30 is at 3.54/3.73. Meaning, if you want to re-gear it to match the 3.73 in the AMC20 you will need to buy a new carrier. About an extra ~$75-100 depending on where you shop. - The carrier break on the AMC20 is at 2.73/3.07 so you should not need a new carrier if you move down to 3.55 - When seeking quotes for your gear job, ask how much they charge to do the job with the axle installed on the vehicle and how much LESS they charge if you just drop off the stripped down axle for a bench top gear swap. Dropping off the stripped down AMC20 for a gear swap may save you hundreds compared to driving the truck in and having the D30 gears swapped. The D30 gear job requires more time and labor from the shops perspective. - Regarding finding a completely different D30 with 3.73 already installed -- good luck with that. Those aren't very common.

But... that XJ tho... Are those the original Marchal fogs? How's the interior look?