89comanch

Small update. Running and driving successfully! I managed to get it to it's probably first car show the other week and it faired quite well on the road. I have a black mj sitting in the garage from before I bought this gem and this white one will be getting all the suspension and rear axle from the black one (factory 44). Hopefully in the next 2 weeks it will have a full 4-5 inch lift with adjustable control arms and have a spring over 44 in the rear. Oh and I have a set of XJ Lace wheels that will be going on it as well with some 33s. I'm hoping to start the TDI swap toward the end of next month. I'll try and document it all here.

@buxmj I'm thinking I'm going to keep it stock till I have major issues with either the engine or the transmission. I will most likely be putting in the mj dana 44 I have fairly soon though. Oh definitely a good thing it was far away! I would have gone and checked on it every day!

Believe it or not, I have most everything I think.. Are the blue cluster and those wheels rare?

Oh yes! This thing is absolutely factory fresh! I am debating putting in a rx-171 radio in it that I have on the shelf.. I'm not sure if I should!

My story has to start back in 2016 when my MJ love started. I had an absolutely rusted out XJ that I picked up from a buddy and thrashed around for a couple months before seeing what I thought couldn't be a real thing on craigslist. A truck that's also a jeep? No way, not real! Well, I messaged the guy and ended up trading that rusty pos XJ for a not much better off MJ. I learned a lot from that 89' 2wd long bed and my obsession grew from there. 2017 comes around and I have to sell the MJ to pay some bills and clear up space for other projects and not 2 months later I'm getting the itch again. Searching craigslist, Facebook marketplace, local ads just to see what was out there. 2018 rolls in and the Mrs. and I go camping near Idyllwild (a mountain town in southern California) and there it is, a white short bed MJ with a hard top that looks like it's been on there the day it rolled off the dealership lot. It has flatter than flat tires and dirty as all heck but I NEED IT! Upon closer inspection and probable trespassing, there is somehow no rust on this thing, the interior is dirty but mint, and the tags are from 2007. About 2 months later I make it back up there, the MJ is still there and I leave a note for the owner hopeful that I'll get a call. 6 months later and I'm back up there camping. The note is gone but nothing else has changed, so I leave another note. 2019 now and I go back up yet again. Like last time the Comanche is still there but the note is gone. This time as well as leaving a note I talk to all the neighbors I can find, the post office, and the realestate agency in town trying to get a phone number or something for the person that lives where the MJ is. No luck. After all that I've now lost hope on getting this MJ and have restarted my search for others in my vicinity. Early 2020 I find a beat up, not running 89' but the bed is FULL of parts, the suspension is way upgraded, bucket seats, ax15, 4x4, dana 44 rear (actual metric ton), the works. The plan then becomes engine swap and wheel it forever. Then I get the call... "Hi my name is... You left a note on my mothers car, she passed away last year. Are you still interested in the Jeep?" Two months of anticipation go by and I'm back up in Idyllwild checking this jeep out. This thing (excluding the dirt) is a pristine example of an all factory, nothing messed with MJ. It's in even better shape than I could have hoped! I knew that because it had been sitting for probably 15 years that a lot would need to be gone over and replaced but with a winch and some tow straps we got it on the trailer. The tires might as well have been from before the wheel was invented. They had been sitting so long that about 75 degrees of all 4 were a straight line. I didn't have room at the time at my house to work on it so I dropped it off at a buddies place an hour from my house (the only place it could go) and proceeded to get to work. It needed a whole fuel system, tank, lines, injectors, filter, and pump. The gas was so bad it had clogged up everything and there was about 4" of rust in the bottom of the tank. Thankfully someone down the road was parting out an 88' for an LS swap (pretty cool build.) so he gave me everything for 50$! Deal! An oil change and a fuel system swap later and it actually started up! Not only did it start, it ran well! I hadn't gone through the cooling system, or the brakes, or the clutch yet so I definitely didn't run it long or try and drive it. A trailer ride home and now we're at today! It's finally in my garage and I've started really going over it and replacing quite a lot. Things replaced so far/on order are radiator, coolant lines, thermostat, thermostat housing, clutch master cylinder, alternator, battery, plugs, wires, the usual stuff, brakes, wheel hub bearings, and probably some other things as well as massive cleaning! Edit: Forgot to mention! I bought it from the daughter of the original owner! Photos attached are 1. + 2. Circa 2017-2018. How I found it 3. My buddies picture at his place 4. New wheels, on blocks for easier work 5. Got it running ( just before trailer home) 6. All washed up 7. + 8. First interior pictures 9. + 10. First engine bay pictures

Working on it now!

So the wheel change happened because the wheel/tires that had come on it were flat for many years and had let water in which caused the bottoms of all the white wheels to rust. I didn't want to risk it with safety and someone was selling this wheel tire combo near me for 75$ so I scooped it up. In the first picture you see the rims are sitting on the ground! The plans for it were TDI/ax15 swap, proper mj dana 44 rear, bucket seats, center console, lift and tires, but it's so original and clean I can't bring myself to do that at the moment. I have a LOT of comanche parts sitting around in my garage as well as a parts vehicle with everything I would need but I want to clean it up and keep it original for now. It will definitely be getting the dana 44 soon and when the ba10 goes I think I'll put in the TDI and AX15 but for now I'll be keeping it original. I'm still waiting on some little parts and cleaning everything up. The interior so far has cleaned up nicely. I should have it down to our local cars and coffee Saturday the 27th (South OC Cars and Coffee) and after that I'm taking it to a friend for a full interior/exterior/engine bay detail. The blue is growing on me and the Mrs. loves the bench seat so that'll be staying as well. My next task is to figure out why none of the dash works and I'll be putting in a rx-170/rx-171 (I forget which is on the shelf) radio with door speakers soon as well. I feel like I almost need to start a build thread. Good call fiatslug87! I'll be ordering that now!

Updates! Not sure if this is the spot for this. Current owner: ME! After 3 long years of trying to get this vehicle, losing hope, and buying another one, I finally have it! Vehicle is as stock as they come. Absolutely nothing aftermarket is on this car (until now... newer oem parts). Whole fuel system, coolant system (mix of cleaning/replacing), brakes, and clutch master cylinder have now been replaced. First picture is how I found it in 2018, 2nd picture is now March 2021, First engine bay pictures, first interior pictures.

Sweet! That's a long list to go through! I forgot to mention the larger gas tank

Year, Make, Model. 1989, MJ, Metric Ton Engine / Trans / Transfercase / Front axle / Rear axle / Wheelbase 4.0L, ax-15, np231, dana 30, dana 44, long bed Build date: February of 1989 Current Location: Region will do, state, and area of state. Rancho Santa Margarita, Southern California, USA Status: Is it still on the road, is it in the junkyard? Project awaiting work? Bigger plans are in place for it but it will be back on the road shortly. Planning on putting a 2014 2.0l TDI engine in it mated to the ax15. Notes: The 4.0l is out of a 1990 MJ and was "built" by a jeep shop in the area. I'm not quite sure what all has been done to it. Aftermarket rear bumper It was a red truck that someone sprayed black with what appears to be a rattle can. I wish it was still red. Factory bench seats 4.5 inch rough country front lift Absolutely bitchin gauges Spring over on the dana 44 in the rear Factory hitch Current owner: ME (as of May 2020) Will keep you updated on the progress of this MJ!

Year, Make, Model. 1987, MJ, Unknown at the moment Image Will hopefully be coming soon. Engine / Trans / Transfercase / Front axle / Rear axle / Wheelbase 4.0L/ ba-10/ np231/ assumed to be a dana 30/ dana 35/ short bed. Build date: (its on the driverside door sticker, in the form of month and year) Unknown Current Location: Idyllwild-Pine Cove, Southern California Status: I do not own this vehicle. It is currently sitting in a yard, I believe it hasn't moved since 2008 (the last time it was registered). I was trying to purchase this vehicle as I drive by it frequently but I haven't been able to contact the owner through mail and I can't find a phone number. Notes: Floor shift ba-10, I can't remember if it's bench or buckets but I believe it is bench seats, white truck with decent paint still and black trim. Factory wheels and tires, no aftermarket parts that I can see other than a color matched snugtop. Everything is in decent condition even with it sitting for 10+ years. No noticeable rare factory options. I hope, if it isn't me, someone can save this one and get it back on the road.

Thank you Minuit!!! I've been tearing my hair out trying to figure out this dang radio wiring! Your link is a life saver! Quick question though. How do I tell which is postive and negative? (I was looking at page SJ 29 in the 1990s jeeps manual)