89 MJ

Of course, gotta protect the toys.

I don’t know, Pete. I’m thinking more along the lines of keeping this more as a daily driver and getting a wrangler for wheeling.

Picture of where the axle caught a rock. Plus a couple more from the trail.

Thank you. It wasn’t too painful, no cosmetic body damage was done aside from a couple of scratches. They can easily buffed out, you can’t even really see them unless you know they’re there.

No, the pinstriping is only minor now that it’s been washed. I was more worried about where I smashed the diff off of a rock

More pictures Now out to clean and do a damage report

Can’t call it a pavement princess anymore. My parents took my mom’s JKU, my brother’s girlfriend’s family took their JKU and I took the MJ. Good times!

I like this. A lot

I also ordered a new valve cover gasket because the old one leaked some. It always was making a lifter noise and couldn’t figure out why. I know why now. The rocker arm broke. Thankfully the piece was still partially attached and no damage was done to the pushrod.

I ordered new carpet, which meant it was time to fix the floors. Friday I’m headed on a 5 hour round trip drive to get a new windshield to get rid of the leak. Floors after pulling carpet. Not great, but better than my MJ was. Rust cut out. Didn’t get pics of the passenger side. Whoops. New metal welded in and painted. And new carpet in. It’s like a whole new car!

Fuel pump lock ring as gasket replaced as it started leaking. Other than that, it’s been a solid daily driver.

I’m not sure. Probably more like making it mechanically sound but keeping it visibly how I always remember riding on it.

Yes, it is a ton of fun. And it’s proven to be very handy. We live on 6 acres and this is anyone in my family’s first time owning a tractor.

Yes! Its weird, but some Eagles were a 6 passenger, despite having wide front bucket seats. I just need to find a male end for the other side though. Mine was not originally a 6 passenger car, but I needed to replace the buckle and I found this one, so I got it.

What does every college student that moved across the country need? That's right, a tractor! I actually got this because I inherited it. A very close family friend - my brother and I called him Grandpa Jim - passed away and I was left this tractor. I have wanted this tractor from the time I knew what a tractor was, so it is very sentimental. I believe this tractor is a 65. Its 41.39 drawbar horsepower with 6 forward gears and 2 reverse gears. So far, I've refreshed the ignition system with new points and condenser, a new distributor cap, a new distributor rotor, new plug wires, and new spark plugs. I also replaced all of the loader hydraulic lines as they were all leaking. I am waiting to do an oil change as the oil looks very fresh and I have to wait until it is nearly out of gas to remove the fuel tank in order to replace the valve cover gasket. I will replace the sediment bowl and oil pan gasket at the same time along with a carb rebuild. When I got it: After pressure washing it for the first time:

The Eagle has been earning its keep lately! A very close family friend of ours passed away, so I have been helping his widow clean up their land. The car is hauling a sauna here. And with all the hard work its put in, it needs to be treated. A new seat and radio panel along with a correct radio have been installed. The old seat had many broken springs, so this is much better. It also got a set of Hella headlights, like I have in my MJ. They aren't cheap, but they are absolutely worth the money in my opinion. This week I will be calling a local junkyard about a Dana 44 from an XJ and ordering a new valve cover gasket.

June 2023 - @CaptainPatchy's 91 Build Thread- Year/Model - 1991 Jeep Comanche Eliminator Drivetrain- Originally a 2wd 4.0 with factory AW4 now swapped with a late model (96'ish) external slave AX15 and a stock dana 35 rear end. Cooling- Mishimoto aluminum radiator with Derale triple electric fan setup. Electrical/Ignition- Mostly stock, soon to have K Suspension complete electrical upgrade kit installed. Already have their headlight harness installed as well. Suspension/Steering- Suspension up front is Grand Cherokee rear coils paired with Monroe 32346 shocks and the rear is custom lowering leaves from Alcan spring and Monroe 32207 chocks. Gives around 3" lower in the front and 4" in the rear to get rid of the factory rake and balance it front to back. Has an 1-1/8" front Addco swaybar paired with their 7/8" rear bar and shortened links. Interior- Factory buckets with floor shift center console. Previous owner did a custom "eliminator" embossing on the headliner above the windshield and I had the drivers seat recovered to repair the few rips it had when I got it. Brakes- Stock hardware for now Lighting- LED headlights up front and bulbs installed all around. Exterior- Mostly stock, has a front valance off a mid 90's S10 with fog lights ran to the factory switch in the cab. Wheel & Tires- 03' Mustang SVT Cobra 17x9's with 26mm offset initially wrapped in 275/40/17 toyos and had 1.25" spacers on the rears to bring them flush with the fenders. Just recently swapped the rears out for 17x10.5s with 20mm offset and got rid of the spacers. Those got brand new 315/35/17 toyos to match the fronts. Misc- Over the few years I've had it I've collected 3 trophies and a plaque from the different car shows I've entered it in, proudly displayed in my office. Best MJ story- Too many fun experiences to count, but for me this story started with an 88' I had 7 or 8 years ago. For reasons I'll leave out, I had to sell it and while it wasn't a great example of the truck being rusty and crusty like all things in the midwest, I regretted it for years. It was a cool truck, and I knew enough about them to know that I wanted another BUT it had to be post-renix and it had to be rust free. I never thought I'd get as lucky as I did and find one but here we are! My best story with this truck has very little to do with the truck and everything to do with how I acquired it. My father and I, on a whim, loaded up his trusty old F250 and drove 8 hours away, spending the night in a hotel room and trailering it back on a Uhaul because he could see how important to me it was. To me that's a core memory, that I'll treasure for the rest of my life, and I get reminded of that every single time I drive this truck. CC is Awesome! Why? I bought this truck right in the beginning of the pandemic, and right before I bought my house with my now wife. Having something to tinker on and having welcoming, knowledgeable people to bounce ideas off of has been priceless. This group, obsessed with these silly little trucks that few know exist and even fewer care about, is magical and an absolute wealth of information. Between this and the FB group, there were few weekends I wasn't out asking questions, or posting pictures or just reading about new, inventive ways to do things and I have this small group of dedicated people to thank for that. My truck might not be everyone's cup of tea, but that's what makes this group great, is they'll still talk and give advice or suggestions anyways! I couldn't have gotten where I am without you all, thanks. My first truck, 88' Olympic Right after my Father and I picked it up Doing actual truck stuff around the new house After winning a "unique jeep" award Growing pile of accolades Fall of 22' before going away for the winter Custom flag style tailgate emblems Wider rear wheels/tires put on spring of 23' From the back, 315's are WIDE How it sits now.

D30 in the front, looks like an 8.25 in the rear.

Ummm, I hate to break it to you, but that’s not an 86. It’s a shortbed Sportruck, neither of which existed in 86.

I think I’ve got the nice dash bezel that matches it. I might sell it, but I kept it wanting to trade it for a silver one.

I love my Eagle! And a fantastic article.

Sound deadener has been laid down, and he installed a vinyl floormat and reinstalled the seat. It's getting close to hitting the road.

Check out this thread. SEM products would be the correct way to do this and are reasonably priced.

Bed has been disassembled and the bedsides have been primed and bedlined on the inside. I believe they used Raptor liner, which we also use in the bed of my truck and it has held up very well, and I use it a little harder than this truck will probably get used.

May 2023 - @JimBorecky's Gray Ghost Build Thread- Year/Model – 1989 Jeep Comanche /Sport Truck Drivetrain- 4.8L Iron block LS Gen 3(LR4) / 4L60e / Gm 261LD transfer case. Dana 30 and 35 currently. Ford 8.8 waiting on garage floor to be welding in place. Cooling- Aftermarket 3 core radiator Electrical/Ignition- Mostly original with LS harness wired into existing harnesses, with some additional modifications to get the gauges working with the LS engine and 94 Cherokee instrument cluster. Suspension/Steering- 4.5” lift Mostly stock steering Interior- Stock, but new headliner and reupholstered bench seat Brakes- Stock Lighting- Stock Exterior- Stock with some aftermarket additions that were made after the truck was first purchased in 1989. Push bar and rear bumper. Wheel & Tires- Powder coated aluminum hurricane rims with 3D printed hubs, and Firestone Destination M/T 32x11.5/R15 Misc- I’m the original owner. This was my first major purchase out of college. Spent most of its life as a 2WD four banger. Then my son decided one day to turn it into a 4WD V8 after it left him on the side of the road. Parts were donated from a 89 Cherokee and 2001 Silverado. This is still a work in progress, but aren't they all? Follow the continuing build here. Best MJ story- Yeah……. Those are better left for a bar conversation. Keeping my mouth shut due to statute of limitations not expiring yet. LOL The name Gray Ghost was given to it by a friend of mine. Currently painted in anti-theft gray. Yes I only paid $7000 for this truck brand new. Well it had 49 miles on it. :) CC is Awesome! Why? No where else are you going to find a wealth of knowledge as you are here, related to your truck. As @JimBorecky got it in 1989: As it looked prior to the LS swap: Now: