87 MJ Chief

As mentioned above, clean off old product first. Then apply CRC Marine corrosion inhibitor. It's not as expensive as others; spray can application; soaks into tight spaces; dries after 12 hours so debris doesn't stick to it; real world tested with good results.

Wishing you luck on your Hooniche build. Small goals lead to big dreams. Take it one step at a time as you learn. Making a to-do list marked with "priority 1", "priority 2" and "someday" will help you. Example- P1 Get Rolling PB Blaster, 3lb hammer, wire wheel for drill P1 Stop surface rust 220 sandpaper, self etching primer SD make roll cage metal tubing P2 remove bumper cut-off disks, 3 boxes of Band-aids Figure out which 'skill' you want to learn first, then start applying that to your Comanche. You know what tools / equipment / experience you have. Removing the DS fender, doing the work to get it in primer, then reinstall, would not be a loss at this stage. Sanding the wheels, fresh coat of paint, polishing trim rings and painting center caps would be cheap-n-easy, plus you'd like the way it looks each time you step out to work on it. The first steps most of us take on a "project" are- Start-Run-Stop. If you can get it that far, most everything else will fall in to place. At least at that point you can drive it around the block, or attempt to drift it around 50-gal barrels in the back yard as you tap in to your inner-Block!

I think I just found @Pete M's Colorado Red flares he's been looking for. lol

Congratulations on MJOTM!

"L" (G's big brother) is into automotive toys too. He has the '51 Willys and a '69 Dodge D100 long term project truck. L is at that stage where girlfriend comes first, so he's more interested in just keeping the XJ getting him from point A to point B right now. With a little time and a lot of luck, we're going to get my '73 Duster and his CJ-2A ready for the local main street cruise-ins this summer. We may take G's Chief to one, but only half the family can fit in those bucket seats . After 3 nights a week on a creeper, does it change into a sleeper?

I came across that one the other day. I'm kinda like @Eagle and can't see spending that amount for a shade. Having one that fits correctly, and quickly, would be worth more than the cheap one's that are designed for steep angled tall windshields. When 'G' starts driving the Chief, he'll need to pop one up at school / work, and it's currently facing west while we're working on it outside. I've got a @MiNi Beastversion (lol) in there now. I may see how aggravating it would be to trim it down for a better fit.

Since the Chief will be sitting outside a lot over the coming weeks, we wanted to get a windshield sun shade to help protect the interior from the evening sun. Sun shades cost from $6.00 at Walmart to $60.00 at Morris4x4. There's universal fit, "custom" fit and you can even have them printed with your image. Here's the problem- universal fit is too long (top to bottom) for a MJ and requires cutting which turns into a mess. So called custom fit are just made smaller that normal and have terrible reviews. What sun shade are you using? Know the manufacture or place of purchase? Did you just make your own? I would like to hear what options are out there for the MJ's.

The "Exterior Cargo Light" was option code- LPE on G's '87 Chief.

I'm glad I could contribute a little help to the community. My wife and I are sooo proud of G right now! He stays on me to 'show him' how to do things, and gets mad if I just do it. We are still putting together a restoration to-do list. We haven't had any time to work on it over the past few weeks. G's big brother is 16 and daily drives a '00 XJ, so that keeps me on a creeper about 3 nights a week lol. Thank you @87MJJeepfor your comments. G will be tickled to hear "cool kid with awesome taste".

We've had several people ask us here at the radio station about new automotive cassette stereos. To my knowledge, no one (in the USA) offers a new head unit anymore. I went as far as calling Crutchfield and a couple others to see if they knew of any niche manufactures. There just isn't enough interest in the cassette option anymore. Kinda like 60's and 70's 8-track players. What I'd suggest is, keep your stock head unit in the dash and install a hide-away system like we do for our old Mopars (mine's a '73 440 Duster). Cost is +/- $350.00 but you can play 80's / 90's music from your SD card while sitting at the main street meet-up and keep the original look. here's the link to classic industries- https://www.classicindustries.com/product/S102.html?srsltid=AWLEVJwSKGIhnaQHdLMVoL2tCo8KEMeiaZDqCq3xSjJohuaz95OsKpzY00s

Had a few minutes to work on G's Chief so I wanted to fix the pass side headlight. Once i got the headlight removed I found the problem- The 35 yr old plastic bucket screw mounting inserts had broke. I purchased new ones (2 per pack) from O Reilly's, and fished them in. Put everything back in and adjusted headlight angle. Had to use long needle nose pliers for the top one and a long flat screwdriver with masking tape for the side slot.

Thank you @Pete Mfor the swag! G was surprised and tickled to receive it.

G got his CC t-shirt and had to wear it to school the next day. He picked olive green with black print.

And don't forget the classified section right here in CC.

Yeah, our's is missing it and it is on the option list, so that's getting pulled for sure. You guys have bout talked me into skipping work tomorrow! G and I have to move his '71 Gladiator tomorrow evening, so I'll be pushed for time till Monday.

Welcome to CC. I'm imagining AAR inspired side stripes to go along with the hood treatment, and black / polished fin turbines.

I will give an update on this one in the next few days. It may be 3/8/22 before I can set aside enough time to get a good inventory on in. Yard owner didn't seem too interested in selling it complete, but I will ask. I tried to think of some of the ISO parts you guys have been posting, but the few I could remember (top grill trim, tailgate, rear bumper) were either damaged or missing.

Appears to be a 1986 XLS. Owner says it's been there a long time. There might be a piece or two left, but not much. I will check on it in detail in the coming days / weeks. It's located in North Carolina.

Restoring an '87 Chief and need the factory sport bar to complete the build. Local pickup can possibly be arranged within the NC, SC, Va, Tenn., WVa area. Thanks.

One of the first things we need to replace is the PS black seatbelt webbing. Is it better to replace the entire assembly or just the webbing? Is it an MJ only assembly? Thanks!

I looked through the registry and it seems to me, there's only around 30 Chiefs listed. Some in the junkyard, some modified and a couple stock. My question is, how does that affect the value of the one's that are on the road? What I mean is- is there a different valve range for stock vs modified? I know any classic vehicle is worth what someone will pay for it, but you don't want put in more money than it's worth. My belief is to keep a classic stock, but is that still what makes a classic "valuable"? Is it ok to switch it to open cooling? is it ok to upgrade the ground points? At what point does it make a difference? A '69 Road Runner is worth less if it has 18" TorqueTrust wheels, but a '69 Road Runner tribute build with a Hellephant and 6-speed SST will ring the auction bell. Has the classic auto world changed to the point that "original" means less than "stock appearance"? Not a single 'classic auto value' website can tell us what Comanches are valued at. Why do we have to wait for the plastic surgeon to buy that $21.5 Eliminator to know what that Eliminator is valued at? That's my 2-cents! lol

Thanks! We're looking forward to the restoration. There's a few parts and pieces that we need to find, and a couple that need to be replaced. I'll post an 'ISO' topic soon. I sure hope we can find a sport bar some day.

Here's two pictures of number twenty-two!

This will be a story, an adventure, a restoration that starts with a 12-year old boy's dream of driving his Jeep pickup to school the day he gets his driver's license, This '87 Comanche Chief was sold new in the Charlotte, NC area. The original owner removed the sport bar and tailgate at some point to install a utility type bed cover for his work. The sport bar got misplaced through the years. This Comanche is virtually rust-free with the exception of the tailpipe. The owner is "G", our 12-year old son. He is an old-soul kid who like's 80's county music, old cars and wears jeans, boots and a trucker hat everyday. His plan for the Comanche is to restore it to 'factory original' and use it as his daily driver. His other project and weekend ride is going to be a 1970 J-2000 SWB, Dauntless 350, 3-sp in the floor with ProComp 35's. He is currently working however he can to earn the money for both projects. His football jersey number has been 22 since 1st grade. I guess tomorrow would be the perfect "start date" for the Comanche. So it begins- 2-22-22 for #22.