89 MJ

I think it depends. If you don’t plan on having the truck forever, I think an LS will hurt the value long-term, so I’d do a stroker. If it’s a forever truck, LS swap that puppy and get more power and parts availability.

If it’s dry, I’d do a compression test.

I did not know that about these CJs. You may want to check out the Facebook page “BC Vintage Jeeps”. They are out of Delta, CO and sell lots of CJs and parts. And they deliver.

October 2022 @Comanche SS's Comanche Fun-Runner Build Thread- Year/Model - 1989 Jeep Comanche Sport 4x4 Manual, Came with a D30/D44 and AX15, bought it from the original owner in Whittier, CA...When I got home I found the original window sticker and every service record since the day he bought it...all from the same dealership in Whitter, CA. Drivetrain- Currently the truck has a Shelby supercharged 5.3 Liter LS based engine, behind that is a 1999+ 2WD 4L80E with some internal upgrades Cooling- 24''x19''x3'' Northern Aluminum Radiator, and a Derale Trans Cooler Electrical/Ignition- The chassis wiring is all stock and intact, the engine and trans are running off a Holley Terminator X-MAX Suspension/Steering- The front suspension is Equal length and centermounted I beams from Ford, the steering is double swingset equal length all custom made. Interior- All stock...Bench seat and all. Brakes- Front brakes are Ford 3/4 Ton discs and rotors, WJ master and booster, rear brakes stock for now (dana 44) Lighting- Amazon special LED lights all around Exterior- All Hanneman Fiberglass Fenders and bedsides, rattle can driveway paint job with Rustoleum Smoke gray Wheel & Tires- Pro Comp 15x8'' rims, 33'' General Grabber X3's Misc- Tons of Misc. on a build like this... Tons of fabrication and engineering into it too. Best MJ story- The build hasn't been on the road much in the last few years, but it does not fail to break necks and get the normal car guy walking up to it in parking lots scratching there heads. CC is Awesome! Why? A great community for the regular Comanche lovers, my build has progressed further from a Comanche than most, but when I have stock jeeps (of which I have a few others) this site is a great resource for information and troubleshooting. I also have met many great friends, families, and peers from this site. Congrats, @Comanche SS! I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of it in action.

Personally, I would get a complete body (hood, fenders, tub, grille) that are rust free and do a complete body swap. This way, the body will have patina so you can still use it and not worry about scratches or dents and it will all match. I think if you make it shiny, you won't want to drive it.

I’d say so. I turned down 15k for mine in the spring.

Verify the gauge is working first with a mechanical gauge. If the gauge is accurate and the truck doesn’t make any oil pressure, I would put an oil pump in it and run it.

I’ll bet they’ll be stamping full bedsides within a year.

I was just wondering about this build the other day. Thanks for the update!

I did a custom add-a-leaf (not a kit you can buy) in mine. It stiffened the ride up and made the truck feel more planted. I wouldn’t call the ride harsh at all.

I've been doing some research on these cars more lately. This is a very strangely optioned Eagle. It is a base model car, so it has crank windows, manual locks, manual cloth seats. The strange part is the number of options that the car has that I haven't seen on a lot of higher trim cars. Some of these options include cruise control, or the 2.73 gears (standard was 2.35 ), the rear cargo cover, AC, tilt column, and, most unusual, the rear wiper. I don't think that I've seen another rear wiper car in person ever. But right now, I am thinking about giving this thing a mild build so it will be good to come to school with me next year.

Poor guy. Good luck

Mexican built?

I’d be a little worried about that old oil starting to break down some.

That’s an impressive number. I ran my MJ (4.0, 5 speed, 4.10s on 31s) across WI and got 20 mpg running 75 most of the way. They are surprisingly economical on the highway.

I would try Bleche-White tire cleaner. It cleans up old, yellowed whitewalls very well.

I'm running the same conventional 10W30 Valvoline in my Eagle, garden tractor fleet that I run in the Comanche, and when I change the oil in the '40, its getting the same stuff. The Eagle, Comanche, and '40 get/will get zinc additive when I change the oil too. 10W30 seemed to be the oil to go with at at the time. IIRC, that's what we run in all of the old cars at work too.

Quite the collection!

Nice! If you click the "My Projects" link in my sig, I have build threads for my garden tractor collection too.

No sir, it was loaded with a forklift as it had no wheels and tires on it at the time. That was the only time I had that in the back of the truck. I would’ve used a trailer, but I didn’t have time to go home and get it. I know @jpnjake hauls garden tractors with his truck too. Not sure how he loads them though.

Shouldn’t be an issue at all. I had 700lbs worth of garden tractor in the bed of mine.

The ACC carpet is good. Their vinyl flooring is not. ACC seems to be the only producer of the carpet and it’s much cheaper on RockAuto.

Above the large door is a Willys Wagon grille, then a 51 Chevy truck grille, the 34 grille to the right of that, and on the next wall is a 46 Chevy car grille.

A side by side comparison to my parents 17 Sierra that they bought wrecked and are fixing. The grille above the little door in the shop is the grille off of my grandpa’s 34 (see first post for story). It’s been 6 years since these two front ends have been under the same roof.

It is very, very neat! And the temperature change going up with is crazy.