89 MJ

Build Thread- Year/Model - 1987 Comanche Chief 4x4 manual 5 speed – The War Horse Drivetrain- - 2.5, 4 cylinder - Rebuilt engine bored out 60 over, new pistons, rings, cam bearing, rod bearings, main bearing - Upgraded Borla exhaust header - Rebuilt transmission and replaced gears - New clutch pressure plate and throw out bearing - New front driveshaft and rear driveshaft - New universals in front axles - Flowmaster Super 44 chambered muffler Cooling- - Stock, new crossflow radiator Electrical/Ignition- - Electronic Fuel Injection Suspension/Steering- - 4 inch lift with Skyjacker MAX Hydro Shocks Interior- - Completely gutted(twice) - Originally Red/Maroon, replaced with Gray - Both floor pans were rusted through and replaced. 3M Har-Hyde rust converter applied - SoundSkins Pro and Thermo-Tec Acoustical/Heat control shield - Charcoal Vinyl flooring - Bench seat, re-upholstered with Raybuck cover - Rockville 5.25 door speakers with NOS door panels - SMS Headliner with Dirtbound Overhead Molle rack and Baja Designs dome light - Minuit Enhanced Radio with Auxiliary input, Blue LED illumination, button backing - Ghetdjc320 Enhanced HVAC panel with LED back light - 97+ Wrangler shifter console(with cupholder! Not installed yet) Brakes- - New brakes all around and new rear drums Lighting- - New Euramtec Universal 12V Auto Courtesy Flip pillar lights - Lasfit 3” LED Sport Series Off-Road Fog & Spot lights - HWstar 2022 Bright Anti-glare LED headlights Exterior- - Currently only has a primer paint job until remaining rust and body work is completed. Will be finished with Jeep Dark Blue 5J paint color, original to 1987 Jeep models with matte black accents. Wheel & Tires- - 15 x 8 Mammoth Boulder Wheels with BF Goodrich All-Terrain K02 tires Misc- - Oscar Mike Compass hood decal - Moto Built Jerry Can Mount with Jerry Can(mounted in bed) - Fab Tech Spare Tire Angled Mount with spare tire - Dirtbound Short Bed Comanche Rock Sliders(not installed yet) - Black Trail Rated 4x4 & 1941 75 Years Anniversary badges - 5% window tint(driver/passenger/rear slider) - 25% window tint on windshield Best MJ story- Prior to purchasing my Comanche I had a 2000 Ford Ranger, which literally fell apart. I had the great idea of replacing the Ranger with a Comanche. After finding my truck on Craigslist, about an hour away the endless ideas of what I wanted it to be started running through my head. As a kid I was never interested or entertained by anything automotive, much to the disappointment of my father. Working on this restoration with him in the garage on almost a weekly basis has quickly become one of my most favorite things, while enjoying a brewski or 2! Not only being able to see the progress from week to week, but having the ability to spend all this time with him has been awesome! I can’t calculate the amount I’ve learned over the past few years. CC is Awesome! Why? The Comanche Club is AWESOME! Without this club my truck would undoubtedly not be what it is now. The amount of information readily available with a quick search is amazing. The members here are the most knowledgeable and happy to help people around. Without the Classifieds section I might still be searching for a variety of different items. Kudos to @GrandComancheand his father for fixing that truck! Check out the build thread for pictures of that bed--it was ROUGH. These projects that are completed with family members are the best!

Nice thing about these old Pontiacs is that all of the 60s-70s blocks were the same. There was no big block or small block, so if for whatever reason you need a different engine, just about anything would work. Of course, I’d want a 400 or 455, but you could put in a 326, 350, or 428.

You’re going to have to weld it back up and paint at least that part to fix it correctly

Last I saw (no gas stations within viewing distance of my part of campus), gas is about $3.59/gal down in Tucson, AZ. As of last Tuesday, gas was about $3.50/gal in Holmen, WI.

Looks like it should be a good one!

Sorry about the delay, but here are exhaust pics. It routes just behind the bellhousing to the passenger side, the goes under the driveshaft near the rear end and out the driver side.

I’ll have to run it with the REM then. Thank you.

I always thought that the electric fan kicked on at 235

Mechanical engineering. Same as you, correct?

I’m flying out this time, but I’m sure I’ll be driving something there or back at some point and definitely will! I’m just not going to be able to quite have a bed collection the size of yours And that might be trouble for me… Will do!

Don’t worry, I’ll still be around here and none of the projects are going away. There just won’t be any updates on them for a while. Today, I am leaving WI to head out to The University of Arizona (in Tucson) for college. It’s going to be a change of scenery, but it should be fun. I’m going to have a hard time not scooping up rust free MJs too.

Glad to hear it, it doesn’t get lugged

I’m think I’ll probably replace it, it’s cheap enough that it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t solve the issue. I believe that it does, I’ll have to make sure though. I probably will. Considering everything else in our collection turns 2100 at 70, I consider 2700 at 70 pretty high

Thank you At this point, that’s where I am at too.

I do have a good, OEM shroud on it

Fan clutch was new with the radiator, hoses were new with the engine swap, block was flushed with the engine swap, and it was a new water pump when I got the engine. It seems to be getting plenty of airflow too.

Going to and from Kenosha, I noticed the temp gauge creeping up in my 89 4.0. I was turning about 2700 RPMs at 72ish mph (4.10 gears and 31s). The temp seemed to sit right at 220 in clean air and would creep up more (225-230) when following someone. All numbers verified with an invaded thermometer. I have an open cooling system with the Mishimoto radiator and a stock thermostat. The AC was not run at all and outside temps were between 75 and 85. The temp would get that high after about an hour of driving. What can I do to keep the temps at 210 or less? I would like to bring the truck to AZ with me at some point and don’t want to deal with overheating when I’m down there.

I do not have a repair manual, so no help here

The ACC reproduction ones seem pretty nice. I got mine from RockAuto

Sliced potatoes fried up, but still a little floppy, then dusted with Parmesan cheese.

I’ll get pics of the exhaust on mine later. It goes from the driver side, to the passenger side, and back to the driver side.

Following! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions on the car

I couldn’t ignore. Whoops

Fantastic pictures, thank you! It was great meeting you and your family too! Hopefully we can get together again at some point with both Comanches.

And a small taste of other vehicles at the show. It was very Javelin and AMX heavy.