Dusty_Jeeper_60

1991 white Comanche built on 8-90. 4WD, Long bed, 4.0L, 5 Spd Manual. The interior is pretty basic, grey bench with manual windows, locks, mirrors, and no AC. Truck was in pretty rough shape when I picked it up, very much stock and low miles @121k, now has a 97+ front clip, JK Rubicon Rims, 3" lift, 3 row aluminum radiator, Grand Cherokee bucket seats and a fresh DIY paint job. Would be curious as to where it originally was sold as the truck had sat in a barn for quite a few years in Enterprise OR after getting a slight fender bender. Truck currently resides in Sedro Woolley WA.

If i find some clean factory turbines I may swap them out, as I have a comanche that needs a set of tires to so it may end up getting those JK rims if I find good factory replacements for the Wagoneer

Aw ya the stock rims ended up being kind of a major bummer, I went in to get new tires and it turns out that one of them was cracked.... And finding a replacement wagoneer rim turned out to be impossible.... The worst part was I had them completely polished and they looked sweet before I found out one was cracked.

Figured Id post a update on this old girl, I pretty much have it finished other than just little odds and ends. As with most projects it took more time than I anticipated, luckily not more money than I was willing to spend. Most of the stuff took time such as removing the old wood vinyl wrap and then installing new vinyl wrap and trim. The pinstriping took alot of time too but was well worth it in the end. Little details always make things stand out so much better and I went through and pretty much replaced all of the chrome bits other than the rare 21 slot grille. I ended up putting some brand new rubicon JK rims on it which are dirt cheap right now. Everybody and their brother is practically giving them away; I ended up paying only $500 for a set of five wheels and tires which were brand new! I also ended up putting on Napier fender flares which I highly recommend and are of good quality, especially with how expensive bushwhackers are. I'm probably going to end up selling it by the end of the year as I am not a big cherokee fan, but I couldn't let this one just sit and rot away any more than it already had and I want it to go to someone that will actually take care of it.

Oh nice, that's cool you are able to find that info, I always was told that the pre 89 stuff didn't exist at all, so even something (albeit of questionable accuracy) is still pretty awesome. Out of curiosity are you able to find the build numbers (aka how many units were built) of a certain model? I own a, in my opinion, and others opinion rarely optioned Diesel XJ Wagoneer, and me along with some others are curious as to how many other Diesel Wagoneer Cherokees were ever built which is tricky because it is a 85 of which records are scarce.

How were you able to figure out the build date out of curiosity?

I would definitely agree with the installation of a block heater and winter grille cover to help with your temperature. Living out in northern Idaho I deal with the cold all the time and not having a decent block heater can be a major issue in itself. I know when my dads 7.3 powerstroke block heater went out a month ago it noticeable to say the least, the blasted thing wouldn't start no matter how many times you cycled the glow plugs, which were less than 6 months old. I would suggest that you get those glow plugs replaced asap though, even during summer months when you wouldn't think you are using them they are still important and can shorten your diesel's life if they aren't working properly.

TD Conversions supply multiple different adapters, you can get one for a 4.0L, chevy small block, Toyota, and so on. To make a VW work on a Willys t98 you need a VW adapter from them to make it work with a chevy small block bellhousing. Then you get a adapter through advance adapters to adapt a chevy small block bell housing to a T98 and voila. No one has a specific adapter to make the VW work with a T98 directly, so you have to get creative.

Oh yeah, and since somebody has pointed out the grille is upside down, everytime I look at picture of this wagon it has bugged the hell out of me, so trust me, that is going to be one of the first things I fix when I get some time off!!!

Yeah, I know its a pretty crap motor, the only reason I bought it was due to the rarity of the options and how clean it was. I am also a heavy diesel mechanic by trade, and I have already ordered a timing belt for it from Europe just as a precautionary measure. Just a tip don't search for parts through a U.S. parts dealer you won't find anything as you guys have mentioned already. I actually searched on Ebay UK to find all of the parts I needed, even though ironically U.S. Ebay won't list the same search results; even though they are the same company. The nice thing is that you can still have these parts shipped to the US, it just takes about a month to get here if you don't want to pay full premium on shipping. So while its not the speediest solution, it is a solution, which if any of you have worked on really old vehicles, any solution is a good solution sometimes . I don't think It is the same jeep that was posted on craigslist years back, as I understand the guy I bought it from purchased it back in 08 in a private sale from the original owner who had been keeping it in the garage for the last couple of years due to health issues. Far as I know the original owner lived in east Washington most of his life and then moved to Idaho in his last years of ownership. I don't think this thing has seen the road since maybe 06-07 and even then it wasn't much from what I understand. I hope that the engine makes it for a while, but I am prepared to do either a Kubota or VW swap if it takes a crap on me. I don't have the vin with me as the jeep is still in Oregon being stored at my parents farm, I currently live in Idaho right now due to my job (field service diesel mechanic). I will post more info when I can get back home in a month or so. The funny thing about this Cherokee though is when we went to start the thing, other than some dirty battery cables, and a crap battery, this thing fired right up and idled smoother than all hell, which surprised me since I had read some not so nice things about the motor. So hopefully the engine doesn't sh*t the bed anytime soon. As of right now I am I putting together the last of the bits needed to VW TDI swap my Willys pickup, where I have learned a lot about how to mod something, while keeping it looking stock. I started out on the "keep it stock bandwagon", by restoring my 60 willys pickup back to stock and putting over 50k miles on it, but after the engine took a sh*t on me I realized I like to drive it rather than look at it sitting, so I am currently doing a engine swap, but leaving every other bit of the truck stock. This is why when people cry out and say keep it stock, I say "do you like looking at the rig sitting on jack stands in the garage, or driving it?" You would never know this truck has a swapped engine, but it does, which is what makes it fun to look at, and drive.

Well that kind of reaffirms my suspicions. I think I'm going to end up giving it a metallic grey vinyl wrap over the wood, similar to the picture posted below, but with the 2019 rubicon rims which people are selling for dirt cheap ($1000 for 5 brand new never used wheels and tires) which you can't beat. I might also delete the yellow amber side markers and go to clear, which should clean up the front as well. I think other than that I'm probably just going to leave it the way it is and just make it into a daily driver from there.

@Jeep Driver: It is a 1985, I misspoke when I said it was a later grille, I meant a early grille. Everybody is going to hate me when I say how much I paid; so all I'm going to say is I traded it for a 99 chevy Tahoe that had a dead motor along with a little cash. I'm not a big fan of the wood paneling, but I am willing to live with it if it is as rare as I believe it is. I originally bought it as a economical daily that I was going to moderately build, with all add on's being easily reversible if someone wanted to return to factory. (AKA no cutting wheels and rattle can paint jobs if that's what your concerned about). This is why I was thinking of just vinyl wrapping over the wood paneling which would (A) protect the original wood paneling from more sun fade, (B) help get rid of the 80s ugliness, which I know I will get much hate from some for thinking that . However since I started doing some research, during which I couldn't find another example existing, that's when I realized what I must have stumbled upon. At this rate with all the responses I'm thinking of leaning towards doing just a good cleaning and a light cosmetic restoration. It will then probably be posted at a major auction, as I really am not interested in something like this in its stock form, and I know there are others who want it more than me. I am a hard core jeep lover, but I like the earlier "real steel" jeeps like my Willys pickup, the Kaiser M715s and the FSJ Cherokee Chiefs of the late 70s. I also bought this Cherokee because since I am jeep nut I hated to see the thing to continue to sit and deteriorate in a back lot (also I can't resist anything that's diesel powered ). But if its to rare to make it look halfway decent in my opinion (aka no 97-01 grille swaps or bumper swaps) then I may just have to move it on to someone else who is willing to put their money where there mouth is. @eaglescout526 : The system sentry is one of the few options that this thing didn't come with, but I don't know if it was a available option to have it with a diesel, as the diesel's were entirely mechanical (a 1 wire motor technically if you don't count the glow plugs) and didn't have a computer/electrical system, like the gas motors to link up to the system sentry. @WahooSteeler: Yes it is the same diesel engine that was available to the MJ's and standard XJ's. Has anyone ever heard or seen of a diesel wagoneer though? As of right now the only parts that need replaced or added are: antennae (.99 cents at junkyard), a set 4x4 badges of which I already have from my comanche, and a tan drivers side door armrest of which I don't have and was the only part of the interior that wasn't perfect (looks like they took a chainsaw to it ) and may be tricky to find from the junkyard in mint condition.