jeff351

Jeep Comanche pulling a tugboat

Well, another new year. Hope you all stayed safe Among all the other projects I have going on, I'm almost ready to drop the freshly rebuilt 4.0 into Scuzzy. The head is at the machine shop getting a valve job and a once over. This block (I forget if its an 88 or 89) is .030 with a Stage 1 cam from Cleggs. A couple differences I discovered between the 98 block in my donor XJ and this block: there is no coil mount or head dowel pins on the older block. I'll get over it. Also in this picture you can see the beginning process of making an engine cradle to stow the spare engine until I decide what to do with it.

nice fabrication work on that trans/shifter hole and the crossmember

A day late but close enough to Christmas. AI thoroughly confused by a Comanche pulling Santa sleigh

I think AI is confused....

Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia!

Merry Christmas! This one looks like its Rhino-lined

holy cow! Not sure how you survived that one! Prayers to you for a full recovery

really cool project. Brings back memories when i was a kid camping in the family Coleman pop-up camper. I can almost smell it just by seeing your pictures.

AI has a whole different perspective "jeep comanche launching into space"

Maybe. But the 8.25 ring gear bolts are not 'left loosey righty tighty' as 99% all other bolts are

I didnt get any of that. Just went to Bing on my PC, search at the top, and click the Chat icon. Then below where it prompts you to ask a question, just type in whatever you want.

MJ on tank tracks

Jeep Comanche Swimming with Dolphins

Maybe we can start a running list of images you get playing with Chat GPT and the AI ability to make pictures of anything. Kind of fun. Typed in "1989 jeep Comanche truck being driven by cats in the snow" and it gave me this picture in about 30 seconds.

Had a moment of panic when i went to remove the ring gear and the first couple of bolts snapped off. Thought about it that night and suddenly a lightbulb went off. Left hand threads? Sure enough - yes, you can remove the ring gear if you use an impact gun regardless of which way you "loosen" the bolts. Once the heads snap off, just tap the gear off with a hammer.

Gravity lesson - don't lay directly under something heavy and bulky like a steering box, and unbolt it while being distracted. Lucky I turned my head quickly enough to only get 3 stitches in my lip.

"old style forum"....dang am i that old?

I have a stray cat who has befriended me. She likes to sleep inside the parts XJ in my driveway while I pull parts off for my 97+ conversion. She also learned how to use the dog door in my garage. No mice here!

I'm curious how well your HF ball joint press works. I almost bought one last week but decided to just rent one for free from local auto parts store.

The donor XJ came with a Dana 30/Chrysler 8.25 with 3.07 gears. Not the best combo, so I'm changing them to 4.10 ratio. I just finished the front axle, came out pretty good. Patience is the key, after 3 tries with various shims I got the rotational torque, back lash, and gear pattern spot-on. One side-project my wife and I have is capturing feral cats in the area and getting them spayed/neutered. This one, who we named Lucy when we caught her almost a year ago, suddenly made a reappearance last week, and is now sleeping in a heated cat bed under Scuzzy. Super friendly and is good at catching crickets in my shop.

I'm a big fan of Eastwoods. https://www.eastwood.com/paints/rust-solutions/rust-treatment-removal-products-how-to.html

I have an XJ tank in mine. Plenty of fabrication required but its not impossible. Looks factory from the outside. I did a complete 97+ conversion from a donor XJ. Swapped over 100% of the wiring so its just plug and play.

wow...lucky to be alive after that!

My engine/trans isnt installed yet so was hoping to set the pinion angle before I do all that. No worries..I'll just wait and weld it up after I get it all put back together.