neohic

Absolutely amazing MJ in 3... 2...1...

For sale. Here’s your opportunity to own greatness!

YES!!! Been following this build on Pirate since the beginning. HUGE fan!

I think it’s amazing what you’ve done in four months.

Good to see you, Pat. I look forward to this!

The exhaust under the ZJ was pretty cut up from the manifolds past the catalytic. With where I ended up putting the engine though I’m not sure if it would’ve helped. Originally I wanted to do a true four link up front but the exhaust on the passenger side got in the way. If if I were to do it again, I’d definitely look into a stock ZJ y-pipe even if I’d have to cut it some to tighten things up.

I last talked to him about a year ago and his wife about six months ago. I try and check in once on a while... I’m due.

The exhaust is pieced together from what was good under the ZJ donor and what was left of a custom exhaust from an International Scout. There isn’t anything under there that couldn’t be duplicated by an exhaust shop.

We’ve got a customer at the shop who brings his Unimog around for work. I love driving it!... easy to stay under speed limits too.

Just been driving the truck from time to time. Been thinking about finally finishing it and selling it too, actually. Just haven’t bonded with it. That, and the next Jeep is well on the horizon. We’ll see. Had some good company at the shop today.

Happy March, Comanche Club! Here's something fun to try... think about when you got your truck. Where did you get it from? Did the test drive go smoothly? No?... but you got it anyhow, right? How long was it before you started working on it? Some of us have had our MJs for a while now and others not so long. It's no competition, but some of us make the most out of owning a Comanche. This month let's have a look at a build that I've enjoyed since the beginning. Here's this month's MJOTM! YEAR/MODEL ● 88 SporTruck ENGINE/PERFORMANCE ● 97 TJ 4.0L, 99 WJ intake, 93 XJ exhaust, Volvo 746 injectors, 97 HO throttle body, GM 2.8L TPS, GM IAT update, stock MAP moved to throttle body, 105A CS130. Renix MPFI to the end. DRIVETRAIN ● 95 ZJ D30 (3.73), 94 XJ AX15, 93 XJ NP242, 95 Explorer 8.8 (3.73) w/drums. COOLING ● 00 XJ Radiator/Open cooling conversion, 97 TJ fan clutch, heater valve delete, added 93 XJ aux fan (controlled by REM) ELECTRICAL/IGNITION ● 1990 XJ ECM and distributor, stock 88 otherwise. SUSPENSION/STEERING ● Roughly 3" front lift ZJ front coils w/ 2" spacer, custom RE joint based adjustable uppers (16.5"), fixed lowers (16.25") adjusted dual caster mounts to stretch front out about 3/4" or so. Rear is SUA Bastard pack using A mix of stock 2wd and 4wd packs with Dakota leaves mixed in. INTERIOR ● A work in progress ... 90 XJ 4dr Laredo seats, 96 XJ "wood like" dash bezel, custom "medium sized" console with embedded REM. Interior recolored Charcoal grey and Black. Custom "built to fit" behind the seat speaker box. BRAKES ● Front 00 XJ spec, Rear 95 Explorer spec, 95 ZJ Booster and master Cylinder, 93 XJ Proportioning valve, Stock prop valve delete. LIGHTING ● Stock headlights with relay harness added. JK fog lights wired into EGR solenoid circuit as DRL's EXTERIOR ● 00 XJ front clip swap, cut down JK front bumper. "free if it fits" farmers field brand canopy. Current truck color - less ugly than it used to be, but still under construction - last on the list. Let's call it green-ish. WHEELS/TIRES ● 09 Charger 17" 5 spoke wheels, 255/75r17 JK leftover BFG MT and Wrangler MT. 1.5" spacers on rear 8.8. MISCELLANEOUS ● Swapped 92 XJ SAE guages into my Canadian metric cluster "cause I predate it". 92 XJ tilt column, 93/4 XJ front doors and rekeyed locks to Ignition. One key is me. Oh Ratmanche ... she's a working truck, she's not overly pretty, but she's reliable and sound. Honestly has yet to let me down, the new motor should help keep her that way. FULL BUILD THREAD Remember That One Time?... Tell Us Your Best MJ Story ● Haven't really had a moment to remember yet, she just runs and works reliably. Only real moment was the purchase day ... Talked the owner down to less than half asking price, the radiator was literally crumbling, the trac bar was so worn out it was a half turn of the wheel before the turn started (after the body was finished shifting over). E-brake failed after the test drive. Made it easy to get the price down. It was ... an interesting trip home after. 2 days later and my spare 00 XJ parts later and she's been my DD since. CC is Awesome!... Why Do You Think So? ● Because the knowledge here is excellent, and the group in general is quite personable. Here I've found hard to find help and parts when I had almost caved. The only forum I still check in to. Congratulations! Like I said, I've been watching this build from the start. So many times our stories start off just like this one that we question if we should even buy a vehicle. We do... we always do. Things are broken but we fix them. Things are ugly but we make them look better... kinda. Things always need attention but we still love our trucks. Sometimes the best vehicles on the road and just the old reliables that we can't seem to stop driving. On behalf of your truck, thanks for keeping it running! -Ben

Doing really good! Any updated pictures of the truck?... people love pictures.

Mr. Mike!

Here’s a couple jems from a while back. These happened on the same wheeling trip when the ol’ Ape was still around. Friend of mine got high centered and just went for it. He got loose and then ripped the crossmember out from his XJ. Ratchet strap to the rescue! The next day say it was pointed out to me that my leaf springs were fanning out way too much and then started twisting around. Maybe I should’ve gotten around to putting clamps on? Ah well.

Dang... those wheels. Very well played, sir.

Shipping was the clincher for me as well. Never pursued it after bringing it to a FedEx and getting totally blind sided.

Hey there, Tim! Still down to give a hand with those floors whenever you’re ready.

Mmm... Love that bumper. Easily my favorite in the aftermarket right now.

I really like the idea of them. The execution though seems to fall short with me. Pretty sure it's the vertical plate mounts in the rear and the "IKEA flat box" bolted together look that kills it.

Welcome to our second month of 2018, Comanche Club! Funny how these things sneak up on us. First it's a new year. Then we've already gone through one month. Then we get to spotlight a member who came into this site swinging. He's only been around since August of last year but this build has really made a huge splash! I think he's a shoe-in. YEAR/MODEL ● 1988 SporTruck ENGINE/PERFORMANCE ● 4.0 HO DRIVETRAIN ● AW4/NP231with boostwerks linkage/ Tom Woods rear shaft/ Dana30/C8.25 COOLING ● Stock cooling system from an '01 XJ with an added Hayden trans cooler. ELECTRICAL/IGNITION ● Stock '01 XJ SUSPENSION/STEERING ● Metalcloak 4.5" coils Metalcloak adjustable trackbar JKS disconnects Rear SOA on stock 2wd MJ springs INTERIOR ● '01 XJ interior swap. MJ specific trim painted Agate to match XJ dash and door panels Reupholstered headliner, visors, and rear cab panel BRAKES ● Stock '01 Xj LIGHTING ● Hella Ecode headlights w/relay harness Led bulbs in all other exterior lights EXTERIOR ● Gunmetal Grey Metallic paint 97+ XJ front clip swap and XJ doors JCR front and rear bumpers WHEELS/TIRES ● 15x8 MR1X Mamba wheels 33x10.50 BFG ATs MISCELLANEOUS ● XJ 3rd brake light mounted on the rear of the cab. Aftermarket sliding rear window and 97+xj windshield being installed this week EZ Cool insulation on almost every surface on the interior FULL BUILD THREAD HERE Remember That One Time?... Tell Us Your Best MJ Story ● I jumped on this rust free MJ from North Carolina almost exactly a year ago. I didn't have a solid plan for it but I knew I had to have it. Buying a 2wd truck in the middle of winter in Pennsylvania while living on a mountain was not the best of ideas. It was weeks after I bought it before the snow and ice melted enough that I could give the truck a good run down. My first trip took me to a building supply store where I picked up some lumber for a workbench project. I was so excited to have a Jeep truck and doing truck things with it that I didn't notice that I parked on a tiny piece of ice. It was enough to get stuck on with one tire spinning while the other 3 sat and watched. I eventually wiggled free after several minutes and drove home with my top speed of 48mph. Once I got home and unloaded, plans for the MJ began forming in my head. I was officially hooked. Minutes later and I was stuck once again but this time on a dusting of snow. CC is Awesome!... Why Do You Think So? ● I could not have made this truck into what it is without the knowledge on this site. I have been lurking on this site for years reading through various member builds. There are many great builds on this site and many have helped me acquire some knowledge for my build. I have three build threads that I constantly visited and would like to aknowledge. Alexia, Backdraft, and Rymanrph all have great threads and I drew on each of them heavily for inspiration and motivation. I have read these threads over and over for quite some time. So much so that they are some of my most visited sites over several years. Thanks to everyone that has ever posted a thread here about their truck. Without this site I would not have had the ability or confidence to take on a project like this on such a unique truck. A Jeep truck. Wow. Just wow, Aaron! It really goes to show that a good base is the start of all great builds. It definitely goes without saying that your truck is absolutely gorgeous in that stunning gray along with the blacked out Moabs and just enough details to draw us in closer. Super MJ! -Ben

Been wondering where you’ve been off to! Welcome back, sir!!

It’s still your month after all!

Wait... what?! Indiana?

Lots of good info in that video. On the aftermarket side of things, updating the knuckles and brackets are a big plus. Not a fan of the CAD, but I get it. Overall, some steps in the right direction.