neohic

What are your thoughts on a three core XJ/MJ radiator? I've got a nearly new copper three core in my XJ and I'm overly tempted to use it. Found an old build thread on another thread and the guy used a two core with his 5.2 swap... claimed it cooled it fine with a couple electric fans. I can't help but doubt.

Happy 2017! We're a little late, but we made it all the same. So what's new for this year? Got any plans for that new build? Maybe that big upgrade? How about just keep on with the keepin' on? It might be too soon for some of us, but for others who already have their year planned out there's always something new to look for, eh? How about another year of Comanche of the Month?! Let's start it off, shall we? YEAR/MODEL ● '89 base ENGINE/PERFORMANCE ● Renix 4.0 with Volvo injectors and an HO oil filter nipple to run a bigger filter. Near future goals is a 58mm TB and custom cowl intake. DRIVETRAIN ● 2WD AW4 column shift powering a stock d35. Soon to be replaced with a 98 XJ's 29 spline 8.25 regeared to 4.10 gears. Front axle is the same 98 XJ's front beam almost completely rebuilt with new parts. COOLING ● Spectre premium open system radiator with a deleted heater valve and "custom" Jolly Rancher soda bottle overflow canister :D ELECTRICAL/IGNITION ● I have a set of Mean Lemons 2awg cables ready to go on once I have the time to clean the grounding point as well as install the cables... busy season. 100AMP Carquest rebuilt alternator to get me by until I have my stock unit rebuilt to 140 AMPs. SUSPENSION/STEERING ● Steering is Moog brand V8 ZJ tie rods with an XJ/MJ drag link and trac-bar. Stock sway bar (28mm ones are tough to find...) suspension is mostly stock other than adding a 1.75" puck to the front coils without the rubber isolator so that it would level the truck out. Oh and completely rebuilt WJ upper and lower control arms! Next is a ZJ 12.7 ratio steering box. INTERIOR ● Mostly just stock blue with a bench seat other than my ported 10" sub and upgraded door speakers. And a Pioneer headunit, of course. The interior is fixing to get some upgrades when I find a good set of ZJ or XJ buckets. I will be redoing the sound system again, as well. Adding Alpine component 6.5's to the doors running off an amp instead of the Kicker Coaxial 5"1/4's that I already have running off the headunit. Trying to fix a ported Alpine Type-R 12" sub in a bass tube box as the center console but not sure if it will fit. We'll see! BRAKES ● Fronts are the 98 XJ's usual stuff. Rears will eventually be disks and I have a WJ MC/booster to go in along with messing with the proportioning valve to make the rear brakes work better. LIGHTING ● Headlights are Rampage (I think?) H4 casings with regular H4 55/60w bulbs powered off of an Ebay 10 gauge wire harness. Hella bright... my brother was jealous of how bright my headlights are. I replaced the side markers with clear ones. The rear is stock until I get a LED bar as an extra backup light. Interior I have LED Eram-tec(or however you spell it...) dome lights and soon the entire interior will be LED. I'm considering going 100% LED with this build. EXTERIOR ● Pretty much stock. The whole front clip and drivers fender are from an XJ because I wrecked the Jeep (story later!) WHEELS/TIRES ● Offbrand 235/75/15 street tires on TJ Canyon wheels which I have painted black and added chrome lug nuts and center caps. The rear has Trail Sport 1.25" spacers to pop the tires a little bit. MISCELLANEOUS ● Reese front hitch, Krustyballer rear hitch, FEY black diamond plate step bumper, diamond plate tool box, flowmaster super 44 muffler with no cat. FULL BUILD THREAD Remember That One Time?... Tell Us Your Best MJ Story ● Just about the only story I have had with this Jeep was a long period of time before and after I became owner of it. My other MJ has plenty of stories behind it because it was always breaking down! This one has been quite a reliable piece of gorgeous machinery, though... Story time! It all started when I began working at the local Winn Dixie at 17 years old. I would drive by this bread factory and out front sat a gorgeous blue MJ... best looking one in town. After about a year the MJ stopped showing up at the factory and I figured the man sold it. I always hated that I never got to stop by and talk to the owner. Every day my brother rode with me to work (we both worked at Winn Dixie. Now we're both at Publix) I would tell him about how I wish I could own an MJ that nice and how I wanted to drive it and ect ect... fast forward to about 6 months ago I see an MJ pop up on Facebook. 108k, low miles, automatic... has an overheating problem. I message the guy and set up a time to come look at it (ya'll should remember all of this!) After I pull up and talk with the guy I realize that this MJ looks EXACTLY like the one from the breas factory! So I ask him if he worked there. He said no, but that his father used to work at the factory and he always borrowed the MJ because he had to pull a trailer sometimes. So this MJ was the beautiful one I always was drooling over! I couldn't believe it. After a month he gets in the title for the MJ and I fixed the overheating problem in his front yard, paid him 1k and drove it home (he was very upset that I was able to fix it so easily). Fast forward 3 more weeks and I hit that deer on my way to work... totaled the Jeep. I was so upset until my insurance company contacted me. They gave me 1800$ and left the title un-salvaged on the MJ. WHAT?! I made 600$ after the price of the Jeep and fixing the deer damage myself. I love to tell that story because it's unbelievable to me! And I still can not believe I own the MJ that I truly never believed I would own CC is Awesome!... Why Do You Think So? ● The people here are truly amazing. I'm the member of many forums and this is the only one that has such kind-hearted, knowledgeable, down to earth people who are always willing to help. We all share a similar love for an amazing type of vehicle and it really shows in how we help each other with keeping them on the road. I frequent this forum almost as much as I do my social media accounts. I've learned so much from Comancheclub that some friends now call me "Comanche" or "The Jeep Guy" because of my knowledge behind MJ's and XJ's. I owe it all to ya'll! Way to go, buddy! This is one of those "slow and steady wins the race" kind of builds that I really dig. It's simple and to the point. Crap happens (as you've found with with the fancy new red fender), but we just keep plugging along. I kinda like it!... but I'm also a sucker for mismatched body panels. Looks great! Congratulations on being our first MJOTM for 2017! -Ben This post has been promoted to an article

I had some major rot in my XJ when I started working on it. Ended up cutting templates and making up my own patches.

Might've missed it, Bo... what are you plans for a radiator? Looks like there would be interference with the steering box should you plan to be using the ZJ unit, yes? I'll be starting a 5.2 swap on my '86 soon as well.

Seems as though whoever bought everything is starting to sell them off. https://pueblo.craigslist.org/cto/5942631754.html

Curious to see what you have in mind for a dash. I'll be doing a 5.2 swap with a ZJ soon and plan on using much of the wiring like you did.

... 5.2 donor locked down.

Yessir. I know that build just about inside and out. Doubt I'll be going the '97+ way that one is though. Sharp truck, anyhow! I liked it before it was silver but I LOVE it now!!

It's my bosses truck. '72 long box with a 6.0 LS, 4L80, CUCV axles, and 37s. The thing is a beast.

That's also one of the reasons I'm now leaning towards a 5.2/5.9. My XJ will probably give up at least its axles to this build as well. Being that they put the 5.9 in front of a Dana 30 and the crap-tastic aluminum housing Dana 44 in the ZJs, it would fit quite well with my axles with 4.56 gears and 35s. One thing that I really like about my current wheeler is that the parts are easy to find and relatively inexpensive to replace. I'd like to keep that going with this one.

Nailed it. Unintentionally, this truck is turning into a challenge for me to see how cheap I can build it as well.

It could still happen, but I've grown tired of playing the mismatch game of "this block and those accessories and that oil pan and... and..." The Mopar 5.2/5.9 platform is tried and true plus they fit with minimal fuss. Between ZJs, Dodge Rams, Dakotas, and Durangos there are plenty of donors too. Besides, the only reason I was thinking LS in the first place was because of the availability through the shop I'm working at. The initial price is definitely right and the aftermarket is unbelievable for the LS, but looking into every little nickle and dime piece that it takes to do a complete LS swap into a Comanche is killing it for me.

Well... looks like inspiration has struck in the form of a 5.2 ZJ. Need to come up with an engine but everything else has low miles. It's pretty much just a wiring and trans donor, but it's a start.

... and a 4wd front axle.

Clever! Is it adjustable so you can still dial everything in?

Well, gents?... that just about wraps up another year here on CC. I think it's been one hell of a year! Plenty of good members, new build threads, and plenty of good tech. What else could one want from the internet?! Oh... that's right... how about one last month of Comanche of the Month? We've made it this far! How about we finish off with a good one, eh?! This is the last month for 2016 and this is your spotlight MJOTM... YEAR/MODEL ● 1987 jeep Comanche 2wd ENGINE/PERFORMANCE ● Stock, for now. 746 injector upgrade in the future. Hopeful for an AX-15 swap after I'm done with high school. DRIVETRAIN ● Original 4.0, BA-10, factory Dana 44 w/ posi. COOLING ● Stock ELECTRICAL/IGNITION ● Added front door speakers. Cruisers tips performed. Mopar cps bypass kit SUSPENSION/STEERING ● Stock INTERIOR ● Bucket seats, Cherokee center console, door panels with wood trim. BRAKES ● Stock....for now. LIGHTING ● Factory b-pillar lights and footwell+ashtray lights added from a Cherokee. EXTERIOR ● Many dents, chrome bumper, chrome grille/headlight surrounds, chrome door handles have been added. WHEELS/TIRES ● 235/75/15 Goodyear Wrangler radials, Vision Warrior wheels FULL BUILD THREAD HERE Remember That One Time?... Tell Us Your Best MJ Story ● I have many stories, especially since I've been riding in this truck since I was five, but the most memorable is probably from this year. Traveling to Los Angeles from Las Vegas, I had faith in the old jeep but I had never driven it that far before. Being an old truck I was pretty nervous, but knowing the truck ran flawlessly it got me to the destination and back home without hesitation. That's where my love for it grew more. It didn't leave me stranded and on top of that it was hanging with the new cars on the freeway without feeling like it was going to fall apart. Also I love getting asked about my truck and getting compliments on it. I love how unique it is. CC is Awesome!... Why Do You Think So? ● All the great people that are willing to help and that are respectful with lots of knowledge. Cruiser's Renix tips so I can keep my heep running. Also hornbrods MJ had inspired me to put chrome on mine with hopes to get my MJ to an immaculate condition like his one day. This truck really sums up the year just great. These little trucks continue to run and keep going with simple care and respect and yours is a prime example of this. Well done! Great truck, great member, and another great year in our own piece of the automotive world. Tip of the cap and cheers all around! -Ben This post has been promoted to an article

Interested in other's opinions on this. These are really neat engines with pretty good reliability reviews.

^ Ha! That's the first thing I thought of too!

Very interested in this! Been planning an LS swap lately and this would be awesome from someone in the know. :thumbsup:

Welcome back, Clark!

Right?

So where do you pick one of these up and how much? Never sold in the U.S. as a direct injection diesel. Not much support in the U.S. for the engine?... ... I only suggested Ben use it in his new found project in hopes that someone on this forum would see it and pipe up about it if they had any knowledge to share. I did a little bit of looking around at this and that are pretty neat little engines! Only reason I'm set on an LS is because of how cheap I can do it. You sure there, BJ? :hmm: This is the first MJ I've had that I've got no real direction.

Not really. He's got a gold '86 he posted up about recently, his white SporTruck, and a blue SporTruck that I didn't recognize. Not yet! There will be some kind of "Special Edition" something-or-other once the build actually starts. Still no real plans for it... just in case anyone was wondering. :D

If an engine swap is in the future (likely) it'll be an LS. Through connections at the shop I work at, I can do a turn key LS swap for under $800. MY CURRENT WHEELER is failing me fast. This truck photographs nice, but the body is full of dimples from a major hailstorm. The only good straight sheet metal is from the lower body line and down. I'm really leaning towards putting it in the same streetable wheeler status category that my XJ is currently in, but the decision needs to be made as far as how far I'd go with it. Plenty of time though... no idea when I'll have time do anything with it.

Here you go, Jim: http://comancheclub.com/topic/51603-1986-the-jim-oshel-edition/?do=findComment&comment=525518