MSH5337

Hey everyone. A few months ago I was given a rolling MJ chassis. The motor and tranny has been removed, as well as the interior. It basically just the shell, but the frame and unibody is perfect! Not a bit of rust anywhere. Well today, I had a friend offer to sell me his 98 Cherokee for dirt cheap. 100k miles on the motor. I'm sure I'll be getting in WAY over my head, but I've started thinking about just transferring everything from the XJ over to the MJ being that it's a complete donor. I've read through Alexia's 97+ build and have got a lot of my questions answered, but one thing I haven't been able to figure out is what I'll have to do with the driveline. The XJ is 4wd. The MJ is 2wd. I'm guessing I'lI have to switch over both axles from the XJ right? Will they bolt right up?

That's a good idea, I'll have to ask around. There's a Comanche at a scrapyard just right up the road from me. How difficult would it be to remove the mounts from it?

I'm about to start surgery on a piece of my frame that is rotting out. I removed the bed today and noticed that 3 of the 4 forward bed mounts are pretty bad as well. Has anyone fabricated new bed mounts? I have an idea of how to do it, but any tips/advice would be much appreciated.

So, my frame is rotting out right where the leaf spring hangar attaches and I believe the hanger is compromised as well. Does anyone make replacements for these? If not, how difficult would it be to cut one off of a parts truck. There's one at a scrapyard just right up the road from me.

I feel comfortable doing the majority of the prep work. When it comes to cutting the replacement pieces and welding them in though, I'm definitely going to get some help. I'm just pissed at myself for missing this, and that the POS selling it "forgot" to mention it. SMH. I did take a hammer and chisel to the rest of the frame though and it seems super solid. I'll know more after I remove the bed. Hopefully this will be a one and done fix. I've read a lot of the XJ guys will weld in entire frame sections from a rust free donor vehicle. Is something like that possible in this case, or are we better off going with what's previously discussed?

Thanks for that man! That explanation helps a lot. Would the repair pieces be welded in flush, or overlap the frame? I am one of the worst welders you will ever meet, but luckily there's a guy in town who's a wizard at it. I'll give him a shout tomorrow with those details and see how much he'll charge me. The funny thing is the other side looks dang near perfect, and I can't find a spot of rust anywhere else on the "frame". But like you said, that doesn't mean it's not there.

One more.

Here's another view of it.

Hello everyone. I've been looking for a Comanche for years and finally jumped on one this last weekend. Though I thought I gave it a thorough inspection, I messed up. I either completely missed the frame damage/rot, or did it myself hauling it back 4 hours on a tow dolly. There's a hole in the bottom of the frame right in front of the driver's side leaf spring mount. Looks as if the mount is pushing up through that hole, but it's hard to tell. What do you guys think? Will this be easy enough to repair? If so, what are your suggestions? Thanks in advance.