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Thanks Pete! Great advice. I replaced the hood to cowl seal along with the weather stripping, is that what you're referring to? I figured I'd tack it on as it was only another $10

Awesome, appreciate the advice! I'd definitely be interested in buying one of those grommets from you, it's not leaking from that hole (yet!) so there's no rush on it.

Here's what I believe to be the source of my leak. Water drips onto this fuse box (you can even see some wetness right now!) and I think behind it into the cab. The unpainted/rusty part above it acts as a channel for the water. Water comes in from the hood here: And travels down this path, dripping onto that fuse box. Any ideas as to how to fix this? I figure I'll use something to patch that crack above the fuse box, but then the water may just travel elsewhere. I've seen videos of people making beads of silicon around the edges to help keep water out. Does that work? In addition, my engine wiring harness grommet appears to have been cut by a PO for one reason or another. Anyone know where to source a replacement?

Awesome progress!

Went outside the day after a good rain and stumbled on a gnarly puddle in the driver's side floorboard. Pic is actually from the next rainstorm after the progress listed below - the first puddle was even larger! Water is the last thing I want to see in the cab. Not a fan of rust, mold, and stank! So Dad and I installed some new weather stripping from Precision as a start (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pqp-dk-6110-84/make/jeep/model/comanche & https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pqp-cs-6110-84). Here you can see what the old weather stripping looked like. It was a bit worse for wear! Installation was very easy. Even someone as clueless as myself was capable of doing it on my own. I took photos of the before and after but you can't really tell much of a difference, especially of the window trim. It was neat to see the doors naked, and I found a headlamp that the PO had lost inside the door. Still works! When reconstructing the door I noticed a spelling error, curious to hear if any of y'all have noticed the same in yours? (Pioneer "Cheif") In addition to the weather stripping, we noticed that the tops of the doors weren't sealed completely and you could see light through them. So we used a trick I found on the forum and stuck a 2x4 through the open window and pushed the tops of the doors in until they compressed the weather stripping nicely. No more gaps! I suspected the weather stripping and gaps weren't my only issues, though, and during the next rainstorm I pored through the cab to find more leaks. I definitely found 'em! Unfortunately both of my vent windows leak. It's not horrible but since I have some fixed windows ready to swap I figure I'll go ahead and swap them in - unless any of y'all have a solution for me. If I have to swap the fixed ones in it just means I'll need to get A/C that much sooner! Also found the source of the puddle in my driver's floorboard. The fusebox is leaking. As far as I can tell, water is snaking its way in from the driver's side of the hood and dripping down onto the fusebox. I'll attach an image of the possible source in a future post once the rain lets up (currently "fixed" the leak with a nice big tarp) The rear sliding window had a small leak as well. The felt was moist to the touch and the driver's side was just a bit wet below the window. I've "fixed" the leaks for now. She ain't pretty but she works! A bit more to be done before she's up to snuff. Currently sitting on a small treasure trove of parts to throw on her. My brother bought a sway bar kit he was going to put on his Cherokee but never did, he was nice enough to give it to me to throw on the truck. I also got a deal on some upper and lower control arms from Rubicon Express. I only needed to replace the lowers but I figured I might as well do both. Lots to do, just gotta get up off my butt and do it!

Thanks man!

I found that as well when searching that VIN. I did get the truck in Ohio!

1988 Jeep Comanche 5.7L L98 Engine / 700r4 Transmission / NP207? Transfercase / D30 Front axle / D44 Rear axle / Long Wheelbase No original door sticker, currently door from a different Comanche with VIN 1J7FT36S0ML625169 Current Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas Status: Will be on the road once I get new tires and bump stops Notes: Engine/Trans swapped from a 1986 C4 Corvette. Body from 3 different Comanches, front clip from Cherokee. Rear sliding window. Vent windows. Bucket seats. Interior swapped from (original?) burgundy to grey (PO claimed from Eliminator). Exterior is a bit of everything currently - black, green, grey, 3 different shades of red, blue-grey on cab. Current owner: Me!

Appreciate the tips! I know I don't have to remove the smog pump, but I do want to. Like you said the A/C will go on the pass. side All the parts for the swap were sourced from Novak. Here are the ones used: https://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/headers/chevy-small-block-v8-headers/ There actually is plenty of space!

Of course! Here she is! No A/C currently, plan to add one and delete the smog pump you see on the driver's side.

You can fit a number of different engines into a Comanche. I've got a 350 L98 in mine - though I didn't do the conversion myself. Lots of people put LS engines in them. Novak has a great article about it here: https://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/engines/swap-guides/chevy-buick-gm/xj-swap. I've also heard of another company, Overkill, that does LS swaps. You can find them here: https://www.overkillbydesign.com/shop/jeep-parts

Neat! Appreciate you making this offer, will definitely be taking a peek at my headliner once I get home.

Thanks! I'll definitely add the VIN for y'all.

Thanks! Unfortunately I can't go over all the details as I wasn't the one to do the conversion, but the PO used a Novak conversion kit. I was doing some reading before purchase and it seems relatively easy, just remove the old mounts and bolt/weld in the new ones. Here's a link to the conversion guide: https://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/engines/swap-guides/chevy-buick-gm/xj-swap/

New to the forum and a complete beginner when it comes to working on vehicles - will be using this Comanche as a launching point. But enough of that, on to the good stuff! Found this beaut while browsing FB Marketplace. I'm not a car guy - I've been working with my brother (who is) to find myself a vehicle that will serve as both my daily and a means to go camping and fishing on long ~10 day trips. Brother pushed me to get a Cherokee but I really wanted a Comanche. Funnily enough I sent this one to him as a bit of a joke. My exact words, "Look at this Frankenstein!" He had a more learned eye and almost immediately said that he would buy it. Only trouble was that the truck was all the way in Northern Ohio. I'm a bit south of there in Dallas. Lol. We ironed out the details to head up that way - all said it would cost about 1600 to fly up, rent a truck and trailer, and drive it back home. The (now) PO was more than accommodating and agreed to hold the truck for us so we booked everything and went up Thursday after work. Needless to say we bought her and trailered her the 1200 miles back home! Oklahoma gave us a taste of her wrath with not one, but two, hailstorms. Nothing that can't be fixed when we get her painted though. Thankfully we had a damage waiver on the rental. Some of y'all may be wondering about the V8 mentioned above. Well, here it is! PO swapped the straight six for a L98 from a 1986 C4 Corvette. She's truly a Frankenstein with parts from 5 vehicles: 3 Comanches, a Cherokee, and of course the Corvette. Like I mentioned previously, this truck is going to be my foray into the automotive world. Thankfully I've got some excellent resources in my brother and dad but I definitely plan on using this forum and other sources online to get a running start. So far we've found a few things that need fixing: Steering wheel has a bit of play Exhaust is routed too close to oil pan - plan on wrapping exhaust Minor oil leak (likely gasket needs replacing) Minor leaks in valve covers (also gaskets) Dry rot in one tire Reverse lights not wired Minor rust on sides of body above front bumper Tires rub slightly at full turn No A/C!!! Practically a death sentence in TX! Lol As the vehicle is from up North it's got a bit more rust than one from Texas would have but nothing too terrible. I'll add more pics and details as we go through and fix this beast up. Can't wait to get her out on the road and especially out into the forests in East Texas.

Whoa! What a find!

Awesome tutorial! Going to add this to the list