89 MJ

Looks like a nice truck!

Create a new thread in the year that your MJ is, put the VIN as the title and fill out the other info.

So sorry for your loss. What a life, 98 years old. I’m sure he had some great stories. I bet he was a great man.

I'd start with a compression test. Has the rear axle ratio been changed? How does it run when it is cold compared to when it is up to temperature?

Like this? Sorry, I had to

Great work!

Pretty rare. You might be able to find a driveshaft shop near you that would make one cheaper than Tom Woods would be. You could also make one yourself as long as you have a welder and a dial indicator to measure runout.

I just did a quick search on Rock Auto. Looks like you can get a new Renix era distributor and it is a different part number than the HO distributor. So my guess would be no, it will not work.

Looks good! I think graphics will help it stand out though.

I recognized @NRT_Chris’s old Comanche in that video

February 2026 - @Gojira94's Basket Case MJ Build Thread- Year/Model - 1987 Base Short Bed - 2.5L TBI/ AX-4, 2WD, 18.5 gallon tank, W/O AC Day one: Drivetrain- HO on Renix - complete swap from a 1993 YJ (4.0L HO/ re-clocked AX-15/ NP231 with SYE), Tom Woods rear shaft, 1989 Dana 35, late 1999 XJ Dana 30, 3.55 front and rear gears for now, TJ shift tower, Novak NP231 shifter setup Cooling- Open conversion with Late XJ electrical fan using Renix-era radiator mounted temp switch, Added a manual fan override switch Electrical/Ignition- 1989 engine and engine control harnesses, 429 ECU, relocated coil/ module, Durango 160A alternator, big 7 cables, Renix style distributor, NGK wires Suspension/Steering- General Spring 97-555 rear leafs OTA, Rusty's RX-11 hydro rear shocks, stock style shackles, OME 2934 front springs, ACOS, Core 4x4 adjustable upper & lowers, Rusty's RX-16 hydro front shocks, Rocky Road CAD, Trail Forged HD crossover steering, V8 ZJ sway bar w/ Iron Man drop brackets, JKS quick disconnects, home-built steering box with 99-01 XJ pump arrangement, stock Pitman arm, stock stabilizer, HD track bar w/ drop bracket, full steering box bracing, Iron Man steering box spacer, tilt column from a 1989 XJ Interior- All stock, manual windows & locks. 1989 full gauge cluster. Bench seat and mini-console, added aftermarket Sony radio with front and rear speakers. Brakes- Stock 1989 MJ Dana 35 drum setup rear, 1999 XJ cast rotor/ caliper setup, long hoses front and rear, 95-96 XJ master/ booster, complete hand-made brake lines, Wilwood 4444/30 260-11179 Proportioning Valve, rear height-sensing valve delete Lighting- Stock sealed beam headlights w/ harness update, Euramtec interior lights, all else stock except addition of Hella 550 fog lights Exterior- Working on correcting clearcoat in some places, came with a headache rack Wheel & Tires- Cheap black 15x8 -19mm offset steelies wearing Centennial Dirt Commander LT 33x12.50R15, 1.5" spacers in rear only Misc- Added a quartz clock, foot well lighting. Exhaust is a mixed bag of later XJ parts, Magnaflow OBD-I cat and a massive FlowMaster 70 series muffler (deep, quiet). It runs and drives, but there's still a lot to do before I can DD it reliably. I'd love to get a Dana 489 from ECGS (they're local-ish, no shipping) and a new helical gear LSD carrier/ re-gear for the Dana 30. For now, I'm just thankful it's a complete vehicle at last! Best MJ story- First CC member I met, @Dandxj in our local salvage yard. I was lurking politely out of the way while an older guy (like me) was pulling some door moulding pieces from the A-pillars of an 89 XJ. I was wanting the steering column and cruise parts out of the XJ. I decided to chat him up and found out he was a member and introduced myself. CC is Awesome! Why? The people here are the best of the best. No such thing as a dumb question. Good/ old/ new ideas abound. There are members who make things just for our trucks, and I've had the pleasure of buying from several of them. @Eagle_SX4 gave me a CSC to bellhousing grommet for my trans, for the cost of shipping. @500 MJ hooked me up with the unobtanium hood prop clip I needed. My engine bay looks even better and I have 6.5" rear speakers mounted thanks to @boxyjeep.Everybody here seems willing to go out of their way to help someone out with knowledge, experience and parts. That's why CC is Awesome!

That truck does look super nice. For a run around daily driver type pickup that does not see much interstate time, a 4 cyl is a perfect truck.

Yes! I wish those two were still around

I’ve never read this thread before. It was…interesting to say the least.

I believe they made them and you might even be able to get a new one. They are the same as an XJ.

Maybe when it gets three pedals. Until then, I’ll enjoy my clock

Crossed over 114k miles earlier this week. I’ve put just over 1500 miles on this thing daily driving it since September.

No, my truck was a white truck originally. I painted the engine bay black because I didn’t want the body color clashing with the AMC blue engine.

Looks like this color: Whats odd is that is an HO era color. I think it’s Brilliant Blue Metallic, which is the same color as my truck. It’s a Chrysler color from 94-97.

Interesting. One of the other Eagle guys just told me the same thing. Must just be the taps that my dad has that let me get away with it.

I just confirmed with a couple other Eagle guys I know and the bolt pattern did change. Interesting that you needed to drill holes, the ones in my engine were drilled, but not yet tapped.

Must be that and the 87-88 Eagle. I know those had the aluminum cover too.

So it needs to be for an 81-87 engine?

Just to clarify, this is the 81+ valve cover that he needs. 1980 and earlier had a stamped steel one, but that does not fit the 81-90 cylinder heads.