89 MJ

Not much new with the JK. It went wheeling over the summer with my Comanche and it just got a winch. Otherwise its seeing summer daily driver duties for my mom. She got a Badlands Apex 12,000lb unit with synthetic line when they were on sale at Harbor Freight. On my dad's old YJ, the winch pretty much was only used for yardwork and I've got the Oliver 550 now, so time will tell if this is just going to be decoration or not.

February 2024 - The Bitchin Manchee Owned by @Smokeyyank Build Thread- Year/Model – 1988 Pioneer 4x4 Drivetrain- 4.0 w/AX5 and NP231, HP30 front and D35 rear Cooling- Converted to an open system. Electrical/Ignition- Stock, with 2G battery cable upgrade. R.E.M unit Suspension/Steering- Stock with ACOS to level rake and oversize tie rod Interior- Buckets with full center console. Full stereo with Kicker 8” sub speakers, Kenwood Exelon BT deck and 5ch amp. REM unit. Brakes- Stock Lighting- Harness upgrade Exterior- Colorado red with earned patina. Wheel & Tires- XJ ECCO wheels wrapped in Toyo open country Misc- I currently own two MJ’s, this one and a 92. For a minute I had 3 but was able to sell one off before the wife offed me in my sleep. This MJ is by far my favorite vehicle I own. Currently, I got 5 vehicles with Jeeps coming from every generation from the 70’s. 73 Commando, 88 MJ, 92 MJ and 04 WJ. Slowly building it but it’s not that far from the end goal. Need to refresh the suspension, toss on a little lift, get my turbines wrapped in some 31’s and a regear and should be good. There’s something about cruising it around that is just awesome. Probably the only vehicle I’ve ever owned that I’m content in stock form. About have a stroke anytime I see another one driving around. They are just awesome! Best MJ story- Other than how I got the MJ and getting it back, my favorite story is more just a memory. When my oldest daughter was about 2 she loved to play in the truck. So, we would just go outside, and it was her jungle gym. Fast forward a few years and now my second daughter loves to play in it so the two of them will “go driving”. CC is Awesome! Why?- It truly it is, and this forum is the best spot on the intrawebs. Not only do we got to talk about sweet MJ’s, but everyone is genuine and always willing to lend some advice for all sorts of life events without being a bag of d’s. Forums have been on the declines with other social media platforms on the rise, but CC doesn’t feel like it’s a ghost town at all. Actually, prefer to come here for any jeep related questions than other spots. Great community with tons of knowledge. Congrats @Smokeyyank! Its great to see young people such as your daughters enjoying this truck with you.

I’ve seen pictures of this truck before too. Either a member or on FaceSpace

I drill a 5/16” hole in the top panel, then mig weld the panels together. That’s what my dad does who has been restoring cars for 20+ years does and he learned that working in body shops. I would’ve liked to see spot welds where the factory spot welds would’ve been for strength, but I do like the panel bond on the outside edges more than when people just tack the floor pan in and brush seam sealer over it.

I’ve had good luck with Standard parts and NTKs. I’d recommend getting the CPS for a high altitude emissions truck. This will advance the timing and give you some more power.

Dang it, Jake! You've got me wanting to build a 6 passenger 2 door XJ now and I've got too many projects as it is...

That SJ center seat looks right at home in there. I like it!

That's what I was thinking too. I'd guess that toyota copied Ford. The 9" has been around since the 50s. I dig this project. Being out in the desert really has me wanting something that would do well in the rocks and I'm pretty well priced out of the Wrangler market.

I never thought of it that way. I bet even 4 bolt mains would allow for a ton more boost.

Not to continue the Eagle talk, but it seems most limiteds had that brown. My 85 parts car was light tan on the top with that brown on the bottom

Newcomer broke the 1000hp mark with a 4.0. Just sayin...

Could you go to a dealership and see if there’s any NOS ones around? You’d probably pay through the nose, but it’s better than nothing

Newcomer has done it again. This time with a 1000+ horsepower 4.0. I’m impressed.

Ah, it’s a custom wiring job, that’ll be sure to make diagnosis more difficult

The capabilities of a garden tractor are certainly impressive. My Bolens did very well for 5 years, and there are certain things it does better than the Oliver

I don’t know much about the 2.5, but I’d probably throw a cap, rotor, and plugs at it and run some seafoam in the fuel tank to try to clean everything up some. Also make sure you don’t have any vacuum leaks. @eaglescout526 might as well have a PhD in the 2.5

I could be wrong, but I do not think adapters are made to go from a larger bolt pattern to a smaller one (6x139.7 to 6x135), but I could be wrong. I have no idea on redrilling hubs and rotors, but I wouldn't do it to one of my vehicles. It makes it take so much longer if these parts need to be replaced.

A 19 psi drop in cylinder 6 seems odd

You can also find stock buckets, but that can be difficult. You can look through this: https://comancheclub.com/forum/10-mj-tech-diy-projects-and-write-ups/

Score! I see it already has a different carb on it. Looks to me like a Motorcraft 2150. If you want to wake it up some more, I'd recommend putting a GM style HEI distributor in it.

This is probably the route I'd go until it warms up. It also gives time to save some money. When I did the swap, I had a little over $600 in bits and pieces, but I know I can go overboard when doing things like this.

In that case, I think a reman unit might be the better way to go. You won’t have to clean it or worry about it having issues, it can be dropped in and ran. Plus it’ll have a warranty.

I think he means that he only had water in the cooling system based on this: I have no issues with putting used engines in my vehicles, however I am quite particular about them. I do not rebuild them, but I like for them to have around or less than 125,000 miles on them. I also will not buy one without hearing it run first to verify that it does not smoke or knock. I'll typically do intake, exhaust, valve cover, and oil pan gaskets while they're out. I also like to clean and paint them, but that's pretty optional.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned my attachment collection for this either. I have a King Kutter finish mower. I can’t remember if it’s a 60” or a 72”. I also have a boom that attaches at the 3 point hitch for lifting things. Not pictured, but I have a 3 point mounted blade as well. Anybody that has land but no tractor is really missing out! There is so much these can be used for

I know that it is hard to tell in these photos (no it’s not), but my PTO clutch pressure plate had a minor issue. $450 later, I have a new PTO clutch assembly ready to install when I get home.