meljr

Here is another in Salem -- not as nice, but the price seems right. http://salem.craigslist.org/cto/2311519547.html

Really nice pictures. I was wheeling outside Anaconda Montana on the 4th. They take their fireworks seriously in Montana. I thought they were going to blow up the town. By the way, Black Bear Road/Pass near Ouray is on my short list of trails I want to wheel before dying. The CW McCall song is pretty good also. :clapping: -meljr

Good advice. Wish I followed it last weekend in my JK. :doh: Thought my suspension was unloading in some deep holes in the mud and snow. This is the end result when it didn't go so well anymore and I finally figured it out. Gonna fix the D30 and maybe swap to the Comanche and get a Dynatrac 44 for the JK.

For me, the biggest advantage of a lift is to fit a larger (taller) tire to increase off road obstacle clearance while minimizing the amount of cutting and other mods necessary to reduce tire rubbing and restrictions on wheel travel when turning. For each 1" of taller tire that can be fitted, it stands to reason that 1/2" of clearance is gained. I have not lifted my Comanche yet, but from what I understand from what I read here, a 31" tall tire is about all I can expect to fit without some trimming on a 3 to 4.5" lift, so that will be my target. The lift will come after off road bumpers and a rear axle upgrade to at least a D44. From what I have seen so far Hell Creek will probably be my lift of choice. Good luck with your build. -meljr

Good luck with that. I suspect the MJ Comanche market is too small for large suppliers to bother with. Its a good thing there is so much in common with the XJ Cherokee (in the front and cabin anyway) so there is still a reasonable level of support there even if the parts (bumper, suspension, electrical and most of the drive train) are not cataloged for the Comanche. A couple of vendors who do support MJs are on this forum and there is a great support group among the members, but for the most part, these are questions that have been asked here many times so your best bet would be to look over past posts and the build threads, quite a few of which are simply amazing. I marvel at how ingenious some of the members are. Of course, most of us are thrifty as well, which is another reason why vendors may not dedicate many resourses to our cause. Finally, if you find something of interest, share it -- that's how it works for the good of the order. A recent example would be the mention of a new Hanson rear bumper for the MJ. It's pricy, but it is very close to what I would want, so I might have to invest. -meljr

Wow! Very impressive and the write up was very informative. The axle details were extremely interesting. -meljr

I feel for you. I'm at an age where it is probable my dog will outlive me. I would prefer it that way and as someone said "I'd like to be the man my dog thinks I am". -meljr

I agree. A FC and a 50s Willys Pickup or Wagon are high on my bucket list.

Great find. In 1968, after graduating from HS, I had a summer job as a lot boy at a now long gone Pontiac/Jeep dealership in Portland, Oregon. One of my duties was to pick up lunch for the salesmen and run errands for the service department. The owner had a son my age who was also a lot boy and was a pretty cool guy. His passion was the outdoors, so he also produced and starred in a Sunday afternoon outdoor television show that appeared on a local station. Anyway, we were allowed to drive anything on the lot on these errands. I confess to taking out a new GTO a couple of times, but mostly it was a CJ. With the V6 they were quite spry -- but they didn't weigh much either compared to vehicles today. Enjoy! :clapping: By the way, I like solid axle Toyos (esp. old FJs) and even older Land Rovers. -meljr

Sorry the pictures don't show up inline, but I am having some problem with the submit process not recognizing the size of a couple of the images when I use the img tag. It doesn't tell me which pictures, it just says no can do. -meljr

Last week I spotted a clean looking Comanche on a dealer's lot and bought it on the spot without even driving it first because I didn't have a lot of time and he said it ran good. I have done business with this dealer before and always been satisfied, so why would he lie? The asking price sounded right, so I wrote him a check without bothering to negotiate. Today, I drove it for the first time - all the way home on my 55 mile one way commute on mostly country roads with spotty cell phone coverage. Oh yes, it has over 213,000 miles on the clock. Am I naive or what? Anyway, the gas gage indicated 1/4 tank, so I drove it to the nearest gas station and filled it up. It took 16 gallons and then the gage said full. A quick check of signals and lights indicated everything worked but the backup lights. I accidentally discovered the horn works as well. The transmission shifted fine and all syncros worked flawlessly on both up and down shifts without having to double clutch. There is a little engine noise under load and I couldn't determine if might be an exhaust leak or noisy valve-train. In any event, the 4.0 seemed peppy and I averaged 65 MPH all the way home with the truck driving and stopping straight without wandering or pulling. It even had a decent ride and handled well with the newish Toyo all terrain snow tires on every corner. When we got home, there was still some daylight, so the dog suggested I take a few pictures while he took a crap, so I did. Oh yes, the dog is particular where he goes, so we put the transfer case in 4 Hi and then 4 Lo before driving out by our fallen down barn. I wasn't sure if 4hi was working, but the Comanche came alive in 4 Lo -- idle seemed to increase to where it would be too fast for crawling, so we shifted back to 4hi. The pillar courtesy lights work, both of them and the speedometer, odometer and idiot lights all function (including 4WD indicator and e-brake). The jack is in place behind the seat and secured with the proper strap. There is an after-market JVC cassette stereo loosely installed in the dash that actually sounds pretty good and some crappy speakers behind the seats. It doesn't look like anything was cut up however. I can't believe that seat has 213,000 miles on it. I notice the driver's floor was wet under a worn through hole in the otherwise nice floor mat. This will require further investigation and may be the most immediate issue if there is substantial rust, but so far, this is the only evidence of rust I can find. Rust repair and prevention will be high on the project list. I like the stock wheels and appreciate the newer, matched Toyo tires, but will be looking for a 3 to 4.5" lift and fitting a set of 32" KM2s on 17" rims. There are some other cosmetic issues: missing driver's side door lock and a couple of dents on the passenger side and bed rail. The engine compartment looks complete and relatively unhacked. It looks like the shocks were replaced recently, which might explain the nicer than expected ride. I bought it the day it came on the dealer's lot, so it hasn't been detailed or washed. This truck appears to be a genuine survivor that was used (a lot!), but not abused. The dash pad is uncracked and pliable except for a small spot on the glove box door. Finally, my immediate plans are to fix any cancerous rust issues, cherry the body and respray Old Blue in the original color. This will be followed by linex in the bed, the lift, a front winch bumper for my extra M8000 and maybe one of those new Hanson rear bumpers and some fabricated rockers. Pictures in following posts.

Always saddens me to find out there is one less Jeep in the world, but I guess the good news is that with all the carnage reported above, that no one was hurt and the parts will probably live on somewhere else. Of course, I'm kind of sick also -- I used to think that I needed to save all the old 56 and 63 Plymouths and later Dodge Step-Side pickups. Three years ago, I bought my first jeep and now a Comanche. When will it end? By the way, that 2 door Cherokee was sweet! I want one. -meljr

So am I, thanks to all. I'll probably sleep better tonight. -meljr

Crawled under my newly purchased 89 Comanche Base 4x4 on the lot and snapped this picture of the rear end. Flash didn't go off and I am not very good at identification of parts by sight. Can anyone tell me if it is a d35 or d44? Thanks, -meljr

Wow! You have gone way beyond anything I am planning. Glad to see you MJ is coming back together (again). I'm kind of wondering how long you will drive it before ripping everything apart again for another major transformation. Whatever the Jeep modification sickness is, you've got it bad :clapping: Great work and really helpful writeups. Thanks, -meljr

Me too. I used to have an 88 CSX-T Shadow that I traded for an 89 Chrysler TC by Maserati, but I still have this red 93 former SCCA pace car that was autographed by Carroll Shelby when he drove it at a Viper Club Homecoming at Indy. This was taken just after I bought my JK in 2008.

It's kind of off topic for this forum, but I'll see if I can find a pic to post. By the way, the first time I raced the Dakota was at SIR outside of Kent. I drove all the way up there because I was too nervous to race anywhere someone might recognize me. Won that first race when my opponent red lit. -meljr

This week I bought a new to me 89 base Comanche 4x4 that looks pretty straight and rust free with a 5 speed manual (not sure yet which one) and a well used (200K+ mile) 4.0 that started on the first twist of the the ignition key. It just showed up on a used car lot I drive past frequently, so I stopped in and bought it on the spot. Still have to arrange the logistics of picking it up sometime next week, so the only pictures I have are a couple of shots from my cell phone. I almost bought one of these new in 89, but got a Shelby Dakota (1 of 1500) instead. I still have the Dakota and use it for bracket drag racing. My plans for the Comanche are to build it up for moderate wheeling. I also currently own some other 4x4s including a 76 Dodge PowerWagon Club Cab, a Dodge 2500 Cummins and a 2008 Jeep JK Unlimited which has been heavily modded. The Comanche will inherit the Warn M8000 from the JK, so I guess the first couple of mods will be a 3 to 4" lift and a front bumper. http://www.ampubsvc.com/~meljr/ForTheWeb/Jeep/1989_Commanche/IMG_0088.jpg http://www.ampubsvc.com/~meljr/ForTheWeb/Jeep/1989_Commanche/IMG_0087.jpg Here's a picture of my JK http://www.ampubsvc.com/~meljr/ForTheWeb/Jeep/HPIM1039compressed.JPG