PCO6

That's pretty neat. I'd be afraid though that I wouldn't be keeping my eyes on the road. My main criteria for radios is a volume knob I can turn while wearing gloves! Odd that he would put it in what appears to be a much newer car.

I dragged this thing home a few weeks ago and now I have to get rid of it.

I wish I still had a few of these hanging around ...

This JVC aftermarket radio will be going in my MJ the next time I pull the dashboard fascia. It worked when I pulled it!

My Brother did this on his '66 Ford Country Estate SW. I keep meaning to pick one up to see if I can make it work on the rear wiper of my XJ.

Yes ... and much more to come!

@JMO413 - You might find this one handy too.

I may have recorded some measurements already. I'll check and post them here and if not drag it out to measure it. I can probably send more pics in the meantime ... stay tuned. I actually got this and my sports bar with a parts MJ that I bought. It was also an '88 Eliminator that was 1 month newer than mine (Jan. 1988). It was way to good to part out so I took what I wanted and sold it. The owner had installed a tonneau on it. It wore out and this was a replacement he bought at a dealership in the late '90s but never installed. The cross bar mounting holes were in the bed of the parts MJ. When I looked at the bed for my MJ, it had the holes too! I know it never had a tonneau. I've never looked at another MJ for the holes but they may be on others. Both had 2 holes on each side for I think #8 sheet metal screws. The parts car had been screwed into but mine had not. The holes were punched, not drilled.

No. The picture on the cover of the '86 Accessories brochure might give that impression but the fit around the sports bar is fairly loose. It would leak for sure. The picture inside the brochure is of an MJ without a sports bar. All of the pics make it look like it is very flat and tight and like there is no bow underneath it. Mine would never look as good as the pics! Here is the page from the brochure and a pic of the underside of mine where the bars would go through. The holes are simply closed with Velcro straps.

LLOL.

I didn't think it was an original piece mainly because of the spelling mistake. The tonneau was no doubt made by an outside supplier but it's pretty funny that the mistake wasn't caught. I appreciate the added info from @CoastChief. I have the '86 Accessories brochure provided above by @Pete M but it doesn't include any part numbers.

The metal cross bow is installed at the mid point of the bed. I've included the other 2 pages of the instructions for more details. The covers are pretty basic and would be easy to make. If I can help with dimensions I'd be happy to. Replacing the Velcro strips with snaps would be the way to go. My Brother has a '87 El Camino (last year made) and that's the way his works, which is much easier! The cross bows on his are wood and the hardware looks like basic marine parts. I think I'm going to keep mine. My '88 Eliminator is pretty original and I'm wrestling with modifying the cover. I definitely would not want to go with the original Velcro design and would replace them with snaps ... so much for originality.

Re the above, here is the thread I mentioned. @CoastChief posted details from another Accessories Guide and one of the worksheet pages shows the tonneau I have and the corresponding Part# (4th up from the bottom). At $143.95 in the 1980's I can see why there might not have been many sold. Jeep Comanche Accessories guide - OEM INSPIRATION - MJ Tech: Modification and Repairs - Comanche Club Forums

I have one that appears to be correct based on a Part# that someone found and posted here in another thread. I have Model: 8982-200-691 for a short bed with a sports bar and it would suit my MJ. I Initially dismissed it as being original because the instructions have nothing to indicate that it's a MOPAR or AMC part and Comanche is spelled with 2 m's. Someone found the above part number (all of them I think) and it matched up. I'll try to find that thread as it had some good info. What I have is new and has never been installed. I can't imagine it would ever look as good as what's shown in the '86 Accessories brochure. The main problem I have with it is that it is secured by Velcro down the sides of the box and the tailgate. It would look OK when installed but terrible when it is off. Here are a few pics ...

Spot welders are handy to have for body work and general fabrication. I built a stand for mine which is similar to yours. It's foot operated so you can use both hands to maneuver what you're working on. I also added a timer which is good for different gauge metals. I can detach it from the stand quickly by removing 4 bolts. Years ago I picked up a Porta-Spot welder at an estate sale. The lady holding it was adamant that it was an arc welder. When I told her it was a spot welder she started to argue with me. She then said "$50" and I said ... "nice arc welder!".

I had a set of MOAB wheels powder coated for my XJ. I had several to choose from so I took in one of my worst and one of my best to get a price quote. The guy said it didn't matter, they could do a good job on any of them provided they weren't damaged (chipped or cracked rims, egg shaped stud holes, etc.). He was right and they turned out great. The price was $100 CDN ea. (about $75 US). The process was to dip them to remove the original coatings, heat them for off gassing, media blast them and then do the powder coating. I figured I couldn't buy new wheels for that price and of course there are some that you just can't get. I went with the original silver but there was a lot of options. Sorry that I don't have a "wheel only" pic but this is how they turned out ...

Kind of like working on a Jeep.

It might get better yet. I wore glasses for 40 years. In my mid 60s I told my Doctor that I thought my eye sight had improved. He tested me and it had. He filled out the forms on the spot and sent them to the Ministry of Transportation. A few weeks later my new driver's licence arrived with no glasses required. He said it's rare but it happens. Glad to hear you're feeling well!

I've had decent luck with it. Again, far from show quality. I wonder if it might be that it's a LOT hotter and probably more sunny where you are. Mine will be covered in snow for 4 months of the year ... that's gotta help! lol

I haven't sprayed with Rustoleum but I have with Tremclad enamel which is basically the same thing, just more popular and available in Canada. Rustoleum owns Tremclad. I'm doing my LJ right now and you're right, good spray, cut, polish, etc. and it turns out well. Regarding "shine" are you referring to Rustoleum lacquer or enamel, or both? I haven't shot lacquer in decades and it was a Dupont product. I've never shot Rustoleum/Tremclad lacquer other than aerosols. The Tremclad enamel shine has been OK, not the best and certainly not show quality but good for my Jeeps and the way I use them. I like doing it myself and keeping things simple because there's always something that needs to be touched up or reshot. I took mine in for a new windshield yesterday. It was 0*C and a bit cold. I returned a few Jeep waves along the way and I think I startled them.

I have Grote LED's on my MJ & XJ and really like the white light and the "sort of" period look. They're not heated though so I'll hold my comment on how they are in the winter. I have KC HiLite H4 halogen lights on my LJ. It's a nice light and period look too but not as bright.

I have a couple of trailers that I currently use and a project under way. One is a Coachmen Clipper Express 9.0TD that I bought last year and made a lot of modifications to. It's the one that my wife and I use to camp with. It's a tear drop but some refer to it as a tear "pop" because of the roof design. It's nice to be able to stand up in it. I built an off road trailer that I use on my own (my wife doesn't like it ). I can carry my kayak and bike on it by replacing the basket rack shown below with other racks. It's great for other purposes too. With the racks off it holds an ATV and it has a 2,000 Warn winch buried under the smaller metal box on the tongue that's useful for pulling things up into the box. I'll be hauling home a 4.0l motor this wknd for example. I also plan to build a clam shell style RTT for this one. I also have a fibreglass trailer project under way. It's a 1986 Cadet. I'm replacing the original frame with one that will be more off road suitable. Among a lot other things it's going to require modifications to the wheel wells to open things up ... but it's all fun!

My '88 Eliminator taken a few weeks ago.

My Brother I tried to rescue this one a few years ago. We showed up with a truck & trailer but it didn't want to go any where. We managed to drag it around in the owner's field hoping we could free things up but all we did was chew up his grass. The wheels were all seized and he wouldn't even let us whack them with a dead blow hammer because he thought he had "classic". As bad as it was the tail lights were almost new and the original rear bumper was in excellent shape. Those alone were worth what he was asking for it but he wasn't prepared to part it out. e

Apart from my MJ, my other rides are Jeeps too. I have an '89 XJ, an '03 TJ and an '04 LJ. They're all daily drivers but my LJ is the one I use the most during the winter. I'll be relying on the TJ for most of this winter though as I'll be painting the LJ.