Moosieus

Here's an interesting anecdote - I've a cheap Borescope I purchased at one point to chase down a plumbing issue in my house. I ran it down cylinder #1 on June 1st, and it looked like this... Pictured from bottom to top: The piston, cylinder wall, head gasket, (covered in gunk), and the cylinder head. I'm no ASE Master Tech, but to my untrained eyes, that looks awful. Everything was covered in oil and gunk, spare the valves (not pictured): Here's #1 as of today, September 1st :O There's still apparent carbon deposits on the piston and cylinder head, but the cylinder wall is clean and the head gasket's visible. Also looks like the carbon's starting to disappear near the edge of the piston. And yes, the engine still has oil in it... I checked Now I can't empirically identify what fixed this, and I've no idea what cylinders #4-6 look like... But I am extremely pleased.

Alright, time for backfill: For day one the engine was running rough and idling around 1k. Initial investigation revealed an improperly seated air filter, and black residue on the intake hose and throttle body. Spark plugs looked fine. My dad and I ran two cans of intake cleaner that’d been sitting in the garage for time immemorial. After some choking, sputtering, and careful application of throttle, she was idling happy at 500 and running much better. Got a new air filter installed and properly seated. I’ve stuck to fueling up at “Top Tier” participating gas stations, treating each fill up with Lucasoil injector cleaner, and avoiding short trips. In the months since I’ve taken the truck out for day trips, and several late night Italian Tuneups on the interstate ;) It's all together made a TREMENDOUS difference. At some point an earnest rebuild’s warranted, but for now she’s running well within tolerance of a high mileage example.

Interesting! If I'm reading this right, "SELLING DEALER: FCA US LLC" + "YALA | EXECUTIVE LEASE PROGRAM" + "YAN | ACTIVE LEASE VEHICLE (NBU)" + "4BAA | COMPANY CAR TRACKING" + "4E3 | ASSEMBLY PLANT TRACKING" = most likely a pre-production test vehicle leased to a Chrysler employee? That could explain why the first registration on CarFax was dated to '93. Perhaps I'm reading into this too much. Would "WJHP" be the code for 10-slot wheels? I've no idea what was on there originally. Everything else seems about on point. Thank you so much for this!

Year, Make, and Model: 1991 Jeep Comanche Eliminator. Images: Candid photo prior to swapping light fixtures: Door sticker: New light fixtures, front: New light fixtures, rear: Config: 4.0 Litre HO / AW4 / 2WD / Chrysler 8.25" / Short bed Build date: 10-90 Current Location: Montgomery County, Maryland. Status: Runs and drives. Not in immediate duress and is road worthy of interstate travel. Registered with Maryland historic tags. Notes: White exterior paint with Eliminator graphics. OEM wheels MIA, replaced with later model "Ecco" wheels. Factory fog light housings, bulbs and reflectors MIA. Gray interior with bucket cloth seats. Floor Shift. Fitted with AC (non-functioning at time of writing). Manual windows, door locks, and remote adjust mirrors. Fixed vent windows. Modifications deviating from stock include JW Speaker 8910 LED headlights, Oracle LED tail lights, LED turn signals (OEM unknown), and an Offgrid Research LED flasher module. Head unit is a BOSS Elite BE9ACP.X which replaced another aftermarket, single DIN head unit. Current owner: Yours truly, with love. 3 or more prior owners.

For a while now I've wanted a classic car - classic to me at least, maybe "enthusiast" is more appropriate taxonomy. Unrelated, I wanted a practical truck for hauling stuff when occasions warranted. I don't have space or attention for both, ergo I started mulling over ideas for a classic truck. I grew up in a '97 Cherokee Sport that my mom has to this day. I've memories in that thing from childhood, to high-school, to commuting to my first career job. In spite of that, I somehow made it to TYOL 2025 without learning about the MJ. One evening I'm scrolling Facebook Marketplace while chatting with a friend, and... "Holy $#!&, they made the XJ into a truck!?" "Oh yeah, the Comanche." Everything came together in an instant: I'd found a capable and unique truck with good parts availability, and a throwback to my childhood at that. It's also a relatively simple beast fit well to my novice skill set. I was smitten to say the least. I introduce you to Daisy, circa the trip home in May: Daisy was daily driven around Southern Maryland from 1993 to 2001 per my recall of the expired CarFax report. In 2003 she was sold at auction to a couple who retired to North Carolina. They drove Daisy gingerly over the next two decades (~2,000mi/yr IIRC), but did no more than what was needed to keep her rolling. That's my guess at least, based on the "next service" card in the glovebox and general condition of things. She was sold to the now prior owner in October of last year who replaced the alternator, fixed the headliner, and drove her to college for a semester. As a fun aside, they said they took Daisy off-roading in North Carolina sand dunes exactly once before deciding consolidate projects. For context, Daisy is an automatic, 2WD, open diff Comanche. You can probably fill in the blanks as to how well that went :) I'll backfill my progress here soon, but it's more than I can do in this immediate sitting - I've a laundry list of stuff done, and a laundry list of things to do. I'll conclude this post with my vision for Daisy: My aim's to keep Daisy street-able with some modern niceties, learn as I work, and take the time to do good work.

I’m looking for some 1991 4.0L HO airbox photos to compare against. I couldn’t turn up any conclusive results when looking for images of the same model year. The changes between the Renix years, HO, and later revisions don’t help matters. Mine’s been hacked together in some fashion, definitely not factory. I’m new to automotive stuff, so I’m still actively learning

What’s the tell that it’s been repainted? I don’t have a trained eye for it.

I peruse Facebook Marketplace for idle fun and save each Comanche I come across. This one stood out as worthy of mention, appearing to be highly original and in good condition: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D6XDm1GWF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Someone recommended I look at the (Blank) Slate on account of wanting a truck and already owning EVs. Someone else said it kinda looked like a "Comanche". At that moment I discovered Jeep made a truck based on my childhood car ('97 XJ my mom still drives), and was immediately smitten. I'm now the proud owner of a Comanche Concerning the Slate, there's a lot that concerns me just on paper. The retail price is closer to ~$27k, with the ~$20k figure being after a $7,500 non-refundable credit on your federal tax return. The base range is purported to only be 150 miles, with an "available accessory battery" extending that to 240 miles. Based on the architecture of contemporary EVs and my layman knowledge, that's a pipe dream and unlikely to happen. I've more concerns, but I'll leave it at that. It's nice to see a truck that lends itself to customization though, lots of straight body lines and relatively easy colors to complement.