johnj92131

Corvair, the #1 worst deathtrap ever built. It had a javelin-like steering column that pointed straight at your heart. In a head-on with one of those, the front end folded up like cardboard and you were impaled. I'd feel safer driving an Isetta. :yes: In spite of that, I had one for a couple of years. Awsome car those old Isetta's Totally a joy to take the corners on 3 wheels!! Try that with a modern car and you will end up on your head. And with the size of the front door, it was a breeze for anyone, to get in and out of the car. They just don't make them like that anymore. Kind of makes me miss my old 53 Studebaker Land Cruiser with that powerful 120 hp V-8 and the BorgWarner 3 speed automatic. Really did like the hillholder feature on the old Studebakers. All ways wanted a real Bill Frick Studillac conversion. Had a 4 speed auto trans when 2 speed powerglide was the king. Wonder how many on the ComancheClub know anything about these - You, Jim, me. Anybody else?

I will be sending this to an old Corvair buddy. He still has a very nice 59 Chevy Impala and a couple of neat Corvairs he has kept for 40+ years. One of the Corvairs has a pair of triple throat Webber carbs. I was very surprised to see the driver door fly off the Impala. Not too surprised to see the roof deform like it did. The crash seemed set up to put maximum energy into one side of both cars. Still, kind of makes me glad. "They don't build them like they used to."

Sounds like you did a lot of work with the sand paper and a whole lot of time in the prep. So you purchased a spray gun to use with your air compressor. Purchased a 1 gallon can of HVLP primer and applied it with the spray gun. Then finished the job with Rustoleum spray cans? Really do have to ask how much would a couple of gallons of automotive paint cost compared to the $110 spent on Rustoleum spray cans? Especially since you purchased the spray gun. Well, lets see. My compressor (29 Gal 2Hp - 6SCFM@40psi) can't keep up for long with an HVLP gun to apply paint. It struggled with the primer, but at least the primer was being sanded back. I also don't own a good HVLP Spray gun, so the cost difference? Compressor (used) - $500. Dryer (used) - $400-700. Good HVLP Gun - $200-well over 500. Quality automotive paint (at least 1 gal) $200+. Then let's throw in clear, thinners, sealer, etc... So yea, $110 in cans is a bargain. At least compared to doing it properly, which is the only way I would bother doing it when/if I ever get around to it. Also, I took the time to primer because I had to in many spots, it was down to bare metal. I used a filler primer (Self etch on bare metal first) so I could sand it back and try to smooth out the difference in thickness between painted and non painted. I didn't seal it, nor did I bother to do any of the much needed body work (dents here and there). For what it's worth, people think my truck actually looks good. It doesn't look like an obvious rattle can job, which is what I was going for. Yes, looking at your picture, it doesn't look like a spray can job to me. Bed does look very presentable. My dad was a painter by trade, he always told me the key to any good paint job was the prep put into the job before the paint went on. The cost of good equipment to do a proper paint job on a car or truck is why I had Macco do the paint job on the truck. $795 for labor and materials was way less than a proper DIY would cost me. Besides, they were a block away from my office. This Macco shop had a very good reputation. In fact they were the only Macco shop to survive the 2008 Great Recession. All the rest went under. Living in San Diego means Tijuana (and much lower labor rates) is a viable, cheap alternative. One of the other engineers I work with too his older Passat to TJ for a $600 paint job. That car still looks decent, even up close, after 2 years. The paint crew put time into proper prep work. When I repaint my VW TDI, it is going to cost me $3K or so here in San Diego (some estimates were over $6K) with just normal parking lot dings and typical VW factory clear coat pealing to fix. And that is not even with top quality automotive paint. Rather a second tier paint supplier (Matrox?). I just figured out what a "BC pin stripe" is. I tend to forget that most guys here really use their trucks off road and bashing the truck is just part of the adventure. So the "bed liner" and brushed on paint makes some sense for that use/abuse.

Sounds like you did a lot of work with the sand paper and a whole lot of time in the prep. So you purchased a spray gun to use with your air compressor. Purchased a 1 gallon can of HVLP primer and applied it with the spray gun. Then finished the job with Rustoleum spray cans? Really do have to ask how much would a couple of gallons of automotive paint cost compared to the $110 spent on Rustoleum spray cans? Especially since you purchased the spray gun.

Using a spry can to paint a truck is just plain expensive. Not to mention how it looks (most of the time). Any paint job, no matter what you use is no better than the preparation that goes into it. So If you are going to put the time and work into good preparation, why screw it up with cheap, crappy painting tools like a spray can? If you do your own good job of preparing the truck, Maco or any other production shop can shoot the truck for you at quite modest cost. When it was time to paint my truck, I made sure the prep job was well and properly done and paid Maco about $795 to shoot the truck with their upgraded paint. That included them taking off the bed and taking off the shell/topper to be painted also. Still looks decent and shines 4+ years later.

Think I may have seen this offered before: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/4979485021.html $1300 seems steep to me, but I don't want it at any price. This ad has been up for 6 days and will age off in one more day. So here is the phone number listed under the reply button: 4702899157 Not an original San Diego number and he engine is currently in an 89 XJ, so not likely registered in California.

Suggest you try a file with a wood handle for you hand first. Just about any scraping tool would work, again with a wood handle to protect your hand. A Harbor Freight wire brush would be good. They have a 1 inch wide or so brush that is a foot

Yes, this is so true. Exactly what I did - get seat parts from salvage yards, then had the uphostry shop put them together because I lacked both time and knowledge. The foam on the passenger seat usually is in much better condition than the driver seat. The foam on the left side of the passenger seat will be just like new and fits the right side of the drivers seat exactly. Lots of stuff interchanges from left to right. I had a great link to a thread with someone totally stripping down their XJ seats and rebuilding them somewhere. Will post the link when I find it.

I have the entire seat "assembly" tracks bracket seat etc the seat part the part you sit on is obliterated but the base or track bracket assembly is perfect so if I unbolt the seat is there a factory jeep seat that BOLTS to the factory mj bracket assembly.I can fabricate as I have a set of 2 door xj buckets and was going to to the bench swap.But I am all about the easy if I don't have to cut or drill bonus.Just being lazy so has anyone here done something like this? Like ParadiseMJ said. Get the seats recovered. The foam can be replaced. The seats can be as good as new. When I converted my bench seat to buckets, I had an upholstry shop mix and match a bunch of seat parts till I had a near perfect set of OEM buckets. It is very do able.

Paradise MJ is exactly right about how important the MJ seat brackets are for installing ZJ seats. I have bolted in the ZJ seat in place of my MJ bucket on the drivers side. While the ZJ seat is larger and a bit wider, it does fit with no issues for me. My son borrowed the MJ for a couple of weeks, so I can not take some pictures. Will look to see what old pictures I have stashed on the work computer or the home computer. (Lost the phone because I dropped it a week ago. Only able to salvage a couple hundred pictures). I used the stock MJ bucket seat brackets, then got some steel from Home Depot. Ran 2 pieces of flat stock (1.25 x .25?) from the front bracket to the rear bracket. On the ZJ seats, I cut the entire floor brackets with a grinder. Think there were about 5 rivets on each floor bracket to grind. This left me with the stock ZJ seat adjustment track/mechanism intact. I drilled the former rivet holes oversize. Then used 2 more pieces of same flat stock to go from one side of the seat adjustment mechanism to the other side. The flat stock was bolted to the seat adjustment track/mechanism. So with flat stock bolted to the MJ seat brackets and flat stock bolted onto the ZJ seat adjustment track, I started to test fit the seat in the MJ. I used a couple of clamps to hold the seat in place while I sat in the seat and tested the position. When I found the "right" position, I marked the flat stock where I needed to bolt the ZJ seat to the flat stock on the MJ seat brackets. Then drilled and bolted in place. Now, I drilled all the holes in the flat stock oversize so I would have some wiggle room when the bolts were in place. I also needed to shim up the back of the seat in quarter inch increments till I had the seat level the way I wanted it. Because the MJ seat brackets are not level front to rear or left to right, I used a different number of shims on the left rear compared to the right rear. A lot of trial and error time was spent shimming and adjusting the seat position before I finally bolted it down. Since putting the ZJ seat in the drivers position, I have taken a couple of long day trips (325 miles total) and one 3 day trip to San Francisco area (1100 miles total). The ZJ seat is a big comfort improvement over the MJ bucket seat. Before I install the passenger side ZJ seat I want to have the the foam replaced in both seats and add the fold forward mechanism from a 95 XJ to the ZJ seats. And I am still toying with the idea of finding some ZJ power leather seats for the final installation. The 93-95 Grand Cherokee leather seats to not seem as tall as the cloth, manual seats or even the cloth power seats.

same reason we all do... cause they are cool! got my NOS bedside hanging on the wall next to my MJ racing poster. :D no NOS taillight in it though. just a nice looking one. So Pete, does this mean I should expect your check on Monday? Those NOS tail lights would look GREAT just stacked in the bedside!

It really is nice to post MJ items in Salvage Yards for other members who may be in need/want. But as I read this, I am wondering where Crazy Ray's yard is?? We need a City/state/province. Again, dybamx, you are doing the community a great service by posting rare finds like this - just need a little more information. This is intended to be a constructive comment and a "thank you". Hope I don't come off the wrong way. And no, I am not looking for this item, maybe the next item I will want.

Anyone here wants an NOS set of tail lights - I will sell you my set for $550 - But only this weekend!! Seriously, prices like these make me wonder why I keep things like the NOS tail lights or my HESCO aluminum head. And half the other "spares" I keep that I will likely never uses. Things like 4 extra tail gates, 3 sets of bucket seats, a spare Drawtite rear hitch and a factory step bumper. Then again, Anita has an explaination: I am just STUPID.

Don, You are an amazing resource!

Know you are asking for a stock replacement vacuum tank and I do not have one. BUT... Have you seen this thread in the DIY section? http://comancheclub.com/topic/46475-how-to-move-your-vacuum-canister/ The thread also contains a link to an earlier thread that may interest you.

Jim has it right! Long block is head plus a short block.

How about using the Ebay "ask seller a question" feature?? I would try telling him you are local and would like to inspect the tail lights, just to make sure Ebay doesn't think you are trying to purchase outside of Ebay.

Rancho has been around for quite a number of years. Their old location on Clairemont Mesa Blvd is now a Mossy Nissan Store. Rancho also sells VW in just the last year or so. FYI, Penske has a whole lot of franchise in the area. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet is next door to Rancho.

Jim, Having survived a couple of wild fires here in San DIego, just be prepared to evacuate and pack a few things you can not do without. NOT MJ stuff. Things like pictures, Passports, insurance documents, etc. Then be sure you have at least 2 different evacuation routes clearly planned. Most important - get your self and family out of their EARLY. For you Easterners, you can not out run a wind whipped fire storm. Just simply can not do it. The 2003 Ceder Fire in San DIego destroyed more than 2800 homes, including 360 in my own Scripps Ranch neighborhood. That fire jumped 24 lanes of I- 15 freeway with no problem. It stopped at the I - 805 only because the wind change directions. Had the wind not changed, the fire would have burned directly to the Pacific Ocean. Best of luck, Jim.

There were 2 MJs at the Sparks Pick and Pull last week. I did not check the rear axels, but one had a good tailgate and stock bumper. Headlights looked like new. Marked "Silvania Halogen"

Do you want a chrome drip rail or a black drip rail?? Just asking to clarify what you want.

For some reason, he has not sold it yet. http://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/4944665210.html

San Jose North was on my list for next weekend. Any of the XJ's looking good, or are they all picked over also? Found a nice 91 XJ in Sacramento with a great over head console. Not sure I need want it. The Sparks Nevada Pic a part yard also has 2 MJ's. One of them had a nice rear bumper and tailgate. Both had nice tail lights, but that was it. Both had bucket seats, but very poor condition.

fiatslug, What yard did you find them in? I have been scouting yards in the Central Valley this last weekend, took a trip to Sparks to look at a couple of truck today. Not much to find. Had planned to go over to the Bay Area next weekend, supposed to be a couple of trucks in yards there. But if you can tell me where not to go, that would be good. JJ

Jim, Did you ever get a VIN # to verify the model year?