neohic

Hell yeah! CJ content!!

You kids need a role model.

I’ve been looking at the rear sway bar that came out of the donor ZJ. In the ZJs, they fit above the upper control arms in a very compact space. I think it’d fit in a similar spot above the axle in an MJ but either moved rearward or turned around backwards from how it mounts in the ZJ. I’m yet to crawl under my truck to see for sure but I know that packaging will be tight being I’d like to continue carrying a spare tire.

Yup. Haven’t looked around yet but it’s an option I was considering. As far as cost, I really just have time invested in the ZJ.

Welp… I gambled and lost. Not 100% lost, but I had a bit of a bummer surprise. Yup. Not to say that a Dana 35 wasn’t possible in a V8 ZJ, but I can’t think of one that I’ve ever found. Of course this would be the first! The reality is that I should’ve paid closer attention, but here we are. Also, these have 3.73 instead of the assumed 3.55s. Not a huge deal, but between that surprise and the rear axle I almost walked away from the set. Is the rear axle going to be fine?… probably. Feels odd going from a Dana 35 to a Chrysler 8.25 and then back to a Dana 35 though.

I voted for the Dana 18 also. The offset outputs is perfect if you want to keep the suspension low. Dana 20 with 18 internals makes for a sweet setup too.

Sounds like you already know it.

This. Buick 215 odd fires were all the rage in flat fenders. Now the 4.3 is turning into the cheap(ish) V6 swap in the early CJ world. Put one in front of an SM420 and you’ve got a very compact setup.

Did this sell?

After more interwebbing, maybe the ZJ 25.4mm/16mm bars would be a good choice? Looking around, there’s a bunch of aftermarket options for S10s and other such small pickups. Not that any of those would work in a Comanche nicely, but I’m finding that so many kits are 6-8mm difference from front to rear with the fronts obviously being bigger. Maybe a 25.4/24mm combo might get weird?

I ordered a bunch of brackets that I’d usually just make in my own shop. The rear axle is easy with just needing spring perches, but I took another look at the front I’ll be using and saw a booger welded lower control arm bracket. It’s not seen in this picture, but we all like pictures, so… Ordering brackets feels strange but I’m realizing that the availability of builder parts online makes it way too easy and makes one consider what their time it worth. I’ve been thinking about sway bars today too. I’ll be using the front bar from the ZJ, and I’m considering the rear. For years I’ve wanted to add a rear sway bar and there’s some good information on our site. A sweet setup is using an Xtreme Blazer rear bar with some assorted links and brackets. Another is a WJ rear bar and such. The Chevy bar is around 7/8” diameter, WJ is 9/16”, and the low hanging fruit ZJ I’ve got available to me is 5/8”. Been thinking about recycling my current front sway bar (24 mm) in the rear also but I think it might be overkill. Granted, I haven't measures anything to actually see what would fit either. Any thoughts on that from anyone?

Let’s circle back to these wheels. They first appeared in a 2013 thread in a post by my northern buddy Austin. Supposedly the truck they were on came from Two Harbors, MN (way up north around Duluth). It was a 2.5, 4x4 truck with a unique rear bumper and some fancy wheels. The truck essentially got a Vikings funeral. It’s no doubt pots and pans by now, but Austin saved the wheels and used them as winter weight in the bed of a ‘91 Pioneer I bought from him back in 2011. I held onto them this whole time and finally did something with them. Overall, they came up pretty good. Not sure if it was mass amounts of brake dust that turned to rust, but I’ve never seen an aluminum wheel with this must actual iron oxide and rust buildup. On the barrels and bare lips, I started with 80 grit and moved all the way up to 400. The plan was never to polish them for how bad they are. Pitting is still visible where the clip weights lived for years in MN winters. These are welded together two piece wheels so taping and painting was easy by cramming tape and poster board in the seam. Not perfect but for spending a TON of hours hand scrubbing these things I think they’ll do. Tire size is 235/60r15. Backspacing is a little deeper than factory wheels so I’ll be running spacers at least on the rear. I was mildly concerned that they wouldn’t be able to handle the hill getting down to my shop, but everything went fine before the snow fell. It’d probably still get up? I prefer to not drive the truck in the winter though. Needs more low.

I wonder if this is the same one that was somewhat recently for sale but the body was all mismatched? https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/littleton-1986-jeep-comanche-turbo/7899586245.html

If I recall, Troy was considering a 2wd swap on your truck. First time I saw your truck was in his storage unit and he was trying to sell it to me.

Dana 30 and a Chrysler 8.25. Keeping them for now.

4.10s. Keep in mind I’m going from a 31” tire to 26”.

SCCA INSPIRED truck. My donor rig is a ‘94 ZJ with a 5.2 and a NP 249. I won’t be doing a V8 swap, but this drivetrain combo had 3.55s. These obviously aren’t anything special, but the convenience of how I came across this donor just solidified the swap BACK to 3.55s… axle set #4 since I’ve owned the truck. I drove the truck to the car wash on the new wheels/tires and it’s a ripper! The 3.55s will keep highway RPMs happier. The front is just a Dana 30, but it’s got receipts for new axle shafts and bearings. It also has CV style shafts which are super smooth with all wheel drive. The rear is the ZJ Dana 44 which is also not super desirable. For my setup, it’s got a shorter snout around the pinion which means (by my tape measure, anyhow) that I can reuse my current rear driveshaft. Not a huge deal, but overall this whole makeover will be 100% bolt in. Are these the strongest axles ever?… no. They were trusted from the factory to live behind V8 trucks though. Granted, not a high horsepower V8, but my 4.6 probably doesn’t put out anymore power than the ZJ donor did from the factory. I’m going for very unique with the latest version of my truck. I love how many lives it’s had! This is just the next evolution.

I’ve got one I’m my stash I can make a template from this weekend.

Snow day! We got our first good snow come through last night and it stuck around all day. I stayed home from work but couldn’t sit still with a junkyard fresh NP 242 waiting for me! One last picture before it came out. That NP 231 was part of the original 4x4 swap I did way back in 2006… and I don’t think I’ve changed the fluid since. Not sure if I’ve ever shown my shifter linkage for it either. This was also from 2006. The NP 231 came out of a mystery ‘89 XJ that a friend of mine spotted for sale in the town we were going to tech school in. He wanted the chassis (might still be sitting at his dad’s property) and he talked me into why my truck would be so much more rad if it had power going through two driveshafts. When we took everything apart I was mildly excited to find junkyard numbers written on the transfer case, but it turned out that the chain was already loose. Nearly 20 years later after swapping it into my truck, the chain is still loose and I am yet to open it up to see what else it might need. On to today… … that old junkyard unit was replaced with a new (older) one. When comparing the two, I measured the overall lengths before I pulled it all apart. Both transfer cases externally are pretty much the same should anyone want to do this swap and keep their driveshafts. I was 90% certain I had an earlier 231 with a 21 spline input and I was pleasantly relieved when I had them sitting side by side to compare. The salvage yard I got the 242 from gave me an awesome discount being one of the studs broke off in the case when it came out. It came out fairly easy with some heat and after welding a nut to it. Then I borrowed a stud from the old 231. After that it all went back together same as it came out besides my shifter linkage needing some fiddling. With it up on jack stands I carefully put it through the gears and didn’t hear anything goofy coming from the new transfer case. I’ll get it out of the shop soon to have a go with the all wheel drive function. Everything went pretty smooth with the transfer case swap so I decided to tackle another small project I’ve been wanting to do for years. HELLAS!! I know the round fog lights can be a bit controversial to some on these trucks, but I love the look! New holes were drilled to move them inward from the factory locations. The white covers really pop with the new wheel and tire combo! So… ahem … those might also be a bit controversial with some additional plans I have for the truck. … I think we all know where this is going…

Oops… … don’t you hate it when you order something online and the size isn’t quite right?

Started pulling apart the donor. Friend of mine wants some stuff too. After he gets what he wants and I take what I want there won’t be a whole lot of mechanical components left. Nose to tail.

It’d be even better if it shifts into gear! My buddy texted me about an hour ago saying he’s stuck at his shop because it wasn’t moving.

So… the “wheeling day” turned into a flat tire on the trailer, then getting pulled over before leaving town for not having brake lights, and then turned into trouble shooting wiring issues for the next five and a half hours. The rigs looked great!… but there were no rocks to be had. After most of the day in the shade on a cold day working through wiring, we got things figured. Why not start something else?! We dragged this into my buddies shop to see what it’ll take to get it to run… for reasons. Guess what?! We didn’t!! We both called it a day with tails heavy between legs. All in all, what a great day of playing trucks!

Small update… maybe a bit of a blog? “Side quest”. I haven’t spent much time in this little CJ this year. The top came off… it sat… then the top went back on. Currently, I’m waiting for some wheeling friends and, while I’m not taking the CJ where we’re going, I’m still excited to have it out. These are a group of dudes that I really don’t know and I’m sure they’re expecting to see me waiting in my Eliminator. It’s always fun to meet new people and see them experience things that seem ordinary to me but brand new to them. Perhaps maybe a bit of showing off?… probably. These are Jeep people though. Albeit BIG Jeep people riding on tons and 40”+ tires. I’ll try and take some pictures while I’m out today. Won’t be much for CJ content, but it’s arguably part of this thread being I took the CJ over to the guy’s shop where I’m getting picked up.