neohic

Cleaning up the shop this morning only to make a new mess. I was trying to find a home for a pile of tube and the decision was made that the best way to organize it was to turn it into something! It's obviously on the Eliminator, but that's really just because I didn't want to rearrange vehicles. Going to have to pull a door off to make up some hinges but I'll wait until spring for that. Then comes in the issue of the wiring in the doors. I think what I want to do is relocate the speakers to the kick panels and to use two way momentary switches in the center console to control the windows similar to what the factory did in the Liberty. I think there's some broken wires between the a-pillar and the drivers door that's causing some windows to not work... sometimes the door buzzer works, sometimes not... same with the buzzer for the when the headlights are on. Plan is to simplify things.

Glad to see you back at this, BJ! How far out do you think you are before putting it on its new chassis?

Ugh... yeah. We're the worst. :doh:

... 'cuz 33s. No, they're not staying there. Wheels and tires got swapped with the Baboon for at least another month until something new is figured out for that. These got thrown on so the truck wasn't stuck on stands. Made up a simple bumper for a friend and used this as a jig today. Pretty much another cookie cutter XJ/MJ bumper but it got some juices flowing for me again. :wrench:

:yes:

Does THIS count for any topper modifications?

Made it back home! To my surprise, things weren't all that sketchy either. A little... but something had to be expected. I was keeping up with traffic just fine, but I can just about guarantee that everyone else wasn't going 88 like my speedometer said. :laughin:

^Now that's just freakin cool! :rock on:

Today's update is the seats are freakin cold in below zero weather. Who's bright idea was it to swap in leather? :doh: Bath towel for the win. :idea:

Fingers crossed everything goes well enough. Need to go to St. Cloud tomorrow and the wife doesn't see taking it to work and letting me have the car as a fun idea. 150 miles or so tomorrow. :driving:

:rock on:

I know, I know. I had my chance. :roll: On tho other hand, tomorrow I'm doing something with this Jeep that I need it to be able to do... highway speeds.

... or your avatar? :D

I assume the front clip flips forward?

Vinyl stripe removal DIY :thumbsup:

... and finish the lower shock mounts. :doh:

Not really. Taken it around to a couple places but it mostly just sits unfortunately. I want to add a sway bar before any trips with it this year. Corners can get scary with that heavy 'Nest! :eek:

Lots of dead links but HERE is an old build thread on it.

I had a '95 for a while but it belonged to my parents before me. It was their first Jeep and they got it in 2001... lots of memories with that Jeep. They drove it for a while, I replaced dana 35 number one, and over time it developed the typical electrical issues common to any "older" vehicle. They replaced it with a Liberty (that they now regret) in 2011 and since my wife and I were in need to a good vehicle they passed the title along to me for keeping up on the maintenance over the years... and because it needed more still. I went through and replaced just about every sensor under the hood, put a radiator in it, brakes, tires, another dana 35, then another radiator, and then traded it off in February of 2014. The thing is, my parents got it with just about 90k miles on it. By the time I got it, the Jeep had 170k on it. When I traded it away it had earned 215k miles and still felt just as strong as I remember it years ago. It pulled trailer loads of gravel and lumber, took us on road trips, hardly ever broke down (and when it did it was always a simple fix), and kept doing everything looking good with all those plastic panels even though every time I crawled under it I would cringe a little bit more at the sight of more and more rust. I wouldn't hesitate to get another first generation Grand if the need were to ever arise again.

So everybody knows how MJOTM works, right? Every month another member is selected... I have some fun writing some stuff about them... the rest of the group agrees... positive comments and praise ensues. To be honest, I truly love being able to do this! I get to be the first to know who gets the spotlight, I get to be the first to say congratulations, and before all that I get to be the one to start the secret of who's next. This month is special though. This month was a first for me that I was able to tell the member right to his face! I was somewhat hoping for a big shock but in return was a very casual "hu... well I guess I better get the truck done then". To be fair, this is typically the part where I build up suspense before saying who gets the title of MJOTM for the month. I kind of already did that but there's usually a story or something special that I've noticed about the member. Instead he gets the same casual build up that I got in response. This month's MJOTM is my good buddy... YEAR/MODEL ● 1988 Jeep Comanche Pioneer ENGINE/PERFORMANCE ● Stock 4.0 with 220k Airaid filter DRIVETRAIN ● NV3550/231 with Hack N Tap SYE and custom made HD rear driveshaft Novak Cable shifter for transfer case Sleeved HP30 with 4.56 gears and ARB air locker Rear Chrysler 8.25 with Disc brakes, 4.56 gears and ARB locker COOLING ● Open cooling ELECTRICAL/IGNITION ● Stock SUSPENSION/STEERING ● 3.5 Iron Rock Offroad coils IRO double shear track bar WJ adjustable control arms (4) Crown HD steering 3.5 Hell Creek Suspension leafs INTERIOR ● Replaced creme colored interior with a complete black interior and also put in a brand new headliner. BRAKES ● WJ master booster ZJ rear discs Drilled and slotted rotors on the front LIGHTING ● Rampage Headlights EXTERIOR ● ARB Bull Bar with Warn M8000 97+ mirrors Cut fenders Custom HD rear bumper Rock rails (soon) WHEELS/TIRES ● Wheels and tires are factory OE JK Rubicon wheels with a BFG Mud Terrain Spidertrax wheel spacers MISCELLANEOUS ● Tool box CB radio FULL BUILD THREAD HERE Remember That One Time?... Tell Us Your Best MJ Story ● Well... Pertaining to this truck.. I found the truck on Craigslist when I was living out in Casper, Wyoming working in '08. It was located in Cheyenne, WY. I drove down there in a snow storm to go take a look. I pulled into the address and the owner was no where to be found. This extremely cranky guy come out of no where and started chewing my @$$ for trespassing and they where not 'open' on the weekend. Apparently it was a junkyard but there was no signs or anything.. Strange. Anyway I told him why I was there and he pointed me to where the truck was. I literally had to dig a snow tunnel to get to it because the snow drift was over the truck.... Didn't know what to make of it but decided if I could get the right deal I'd buy it. Drove back home to Casper and called the owner. Agreed on a price and set a time to meet back up the next weekend. I can't remember the exact purchase price but it was $700 or $800. Something came up during the week and I wasn't able to pay the full amount. The owner let me take the truck with a promise of a check in the mail. Normally I guess you tape your title in the back window till you get plates.. In this case it was taping the bill of sale/check agreement in the back window. Talk about goofy! Drove the truck home the 200 or so miles and used something like 3 quarts of oil. It was blowing out of the RMS something fierce. I drove it to work a few times in nice weather due the wipers not working but other then that, it just sat. Well after a month or two I moved back to MN and I was forced to leave the truck due to no way of getting it home. Thankfully I had a buddy that worked for a trucking outfit and his boss owed me a favor. He picked the truck up in Casper and hauled it to a different location in Wyoming at some guys farm. It sat there for 3 months till he was back out there again. One afternoon I got the call that my Jeep was home. Fixed the rear main and drove it all over. Used as a DD for awhile till I started working on it. (See Wyomanche build thread.) That brings us to today. There have been many ideas that went through my head about which way I should or shouldn't go with this build. I'm happy with the direction I choose which is what I would call a resto mod. Mostly all factory jeep parts where used. Parts from XJs, ZJs, TJs, JKs, WJs...... Of course other. MJs.. As it stands now, this is how the truck will stay. See how it does traveling and wheeling out west.. Maybe a LS swap in the future. CC is Awesome!... Why Do You Think So? ● Been said time and time again.. Folks on this site are genuine, dedicated, thoughtful, helpful and best of all for the most part respectful to everyone. (On or off the forum). This is THE resource for anything Comanche. Period. Nothing else even comes close. When I started this project, I didn't know much at all about nothing... I remember researching CC way back then (08) to take on that RMS project laying in the dirt! I have also met a few Individuals in person and found them to have the same welcoming persona then that is portrayed on the forum. Even tho CC membership stretches around the world, it still has the tight knit group feeling about it. Thanks CC for being there! ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● So getting back to the casualness of the response, I think it went down exactly how it should've. Austin, I think you are definitely one of those guys who knows that they've got an awesome truck, has the kindness to help those in need, and the support to keep others interested in this hobby. Anybody here ever make a trade or do business with him?... I bet he went way out of his way to make sure that you got what you wanted for less than you were expecting to pay, right? Locally, I'd call him an important member on MN forums... and not only for being a half way home for Jeeps! Austin, a huge congratulations for being our MJOTM for February. You are very deserving and I very much wish we had more like you! -Ben This post has been promoted to an article

The one inside the radiator? :hmm: I never put an auxiliary cooler in but I really should. Since I'm here, plans are for sure in the works for new bumpers front and rear. Gathering up materials to start with the rear since I know what I want it to look like. Going back to something similar to what I made for it years ago. Still unsure about the front. Trying to think up something that doesn't look so cookie-cutter. Might change up a few other exterior features too like the adolescent light bar... rack?... cage?... thing.

Only temporary. I've got a line on a good set of used 33" Kevlar MTRs.

On another note, I got the new fender skins painted and shot some bedliner on the flares... not that I really need them with the 31s though. :shake:

Well, the Ape got a bit of a down grade today. Trying to figure out the wobble that it has and decided to swap wheels/tires with the Eliminator. No more wobble!... but it's on 31s probably for the rest of winter. On the other hand, it's a real hot rod with the 4.56s!