Minuit

I was reading CC just now and a thought popped into my head: Would it be possible to create an instrument cluster in the 86-90 style (blue and white) that works on my '91 electronics? i.e. swapping over the temperature, oil pressure and volt gauges and maybe tach over to my idiot cluster or a newer style full cluster. I'm aware that the fuel gauge (would read backwards) and speedo (no cable on the 91) won't swap over, but what about the others? I would also have to make provisions for my column shifter if I still have it by the time I do this. What I'm saying is taking the gauges except for the speedometer and fuel gauge out of this: Image Not Found And putting them into an HO-style cluster. I would keep my old speedometer and odometer in this situation. I wouldn't be afraid of making some changes to the gauges. Any thoughts?

The hardest thing I've ever had to do on my MJ is remove the seat. The seatbelt Torx bolts came easy without the slightest trouble, but the actual nuts holding on the seat brackets gave me nightmares for weeks after. The moral of that story is to always liberally apply penetrating oil to every nut/bolt you plan on touching.

That connector goes to the brake lights and hazards. Easy to miss.

There's a small red cable going to the battery. I'll bet you a hundred bucks it's been unplugged.

Every time I read one of these build threads I feel like my work is insignificant by comparison (because it is). Great work! That is a really tall topper.

Not sure why the OP deleted this... we weren't bashing on him. I just remembered that a friend of mine plastidipped his 350z (against my warnings) and it was peeled off the next time I saw the car two months later because he covered it with a cheap car cover and dust got stuck in the plastic. If you don't ever risk doing damage to your MJ's finish then I suppose it's an alternative to paint. This stuff will never look better than a decent paint job, though.

I believe they are vinyl decals. At least, my '91 Sport decals are. If you don't want to just take them off with a wheel, a heat gun and something sharp (credit card?) will help. If you don't have a heat gun, parking it in the sun will help soften them up also.

The fender flares still look great two months after I did them. These pics were made a few days ago. A Jeep automobile, in its natural habitat. Clear coat really brought these tail lights back to life. I did this a few days after the fender flares.

Thanks for all the comments! I love doing work on this truck, so hopefully I'll never have to stop. Dome Lights: October 2013 The dome lights on our trucks were held in by very flimsy plastic clips that break under the best of conditions. Mine of course were no exception. These are the Euramtec lights I bought. The list price for them is $16 apiece, but they can be had much cheaper through a seller on this forum: http://comancheclub.com/topic/40318-jeep-comanche-courtesy-light-alternative-euramtec-7180-100-for-sale-ind/ These don't use a plug unlike the old ones, but that's not a problem since the factory wires are on quick disconnects already. They can be easily pushed out of the plastic plug with a pair of needle nose pliers. The only modification that's required other than that is to crimp on a larger quick disconnect for the positive wire. In order from the picture's point of view, the terminals are positive (red), door switch (yellow) and ground (black). My lights were supplied with a wiring diagram verifying this. The old lights. The new lights are slightly smaller than the old ones, but they come with a very solidly made plastic adapter. This, unfortunately, makes them slightly wider than the old lights but exactly as tall. The hole in the B-pillar trim will have to be widened by about 1/4 inch for them to fit. It took longer to get out the Dremel tool than to make the holes wider. Just make sure you remove plastic from the same side! (towards the rear windshield or towards the door) :thumbsup: Installed. They are fastened inside the trim very well. These are a quality product, and I strongly recommend them. They're not extremely bright, but they make useful light even when it's pitch black outside.

The biggest concern for swapping in the 4.0 will be the firewall and wiring. Later 86s may have the firewall change in preparation for the next model year. You'll need most of the XJ's wiring that pertains to the front half. If I were you I would convert the entire truck up to the 91+ wiring to make everything match up. There's quite a few wiring differences between the 86 and later models that might be problems for you.

If I was going to do this (certainly not on my MJ), durability would be my biggest concern. Has anyone done this for a long period of time (years) and seen how it holds up?

Thanks! I know it's not the build date of the whole truck, I was wondering if it was a revision date or just the production date of the floor itself. Thanks for telling me though. :thumbsup:

That blue looks great! You've got a great truck there.

Fender Flares: August 2013 Tip: If the fenders aren't completely rusted, don't try to remove your fender flares. You will break studs and you won't be able to fit them back on correctly. I was going to remove the fender flares and clean them up, but after breaking one of the studs I learned my lesson and decided to spray them still on the truck. For this, I used black satin Krylon Fusion but I've heard good things about several other brands. The can says no prep is required, but I gently sanded the flares to remove some of the rough spots and rock chips. Some sanding will also take off the top layer of dirt and faded out plastic so the paint can bond better. Front left after two coats. I would recommend around 3 coats for durability. You want to be fairly generous with the masking, since the Krylon can sprays in a fan pattern. It does come off with denatured alcohol so overspray isn't the end of the world. For 3 coats all around, one and a half cans should be plenty. Make sure you keep your coats even or some spots may be darker than others. After a while I got my technique down and the last two I did looked much better than the first. Right after removing the masking, Fusion is very shiny. A few hours and it will dull considerably, but it still looks much better. Quarter panel paint touch-up and the rear left fender flare after letting the paint dry for a bit.

:eek: This is well done. Almost looks like it's real but I'm not sure on those rear doors.

More pics!

Apologies for not updating this thread recently. I have long since finished the floorboard repair, so I'll update this post chronologically as I remember it. Better pic of the passenger's side right after getting the floor liner out. Not bad for 22 years of rain and neglect. At this point, I decided to pull the dash to get a better look at what caused the water to get in. Turned out to be the blower motor for the passenger's side and the wiring harness junction for the driver's. The passenger floor pan almost ready for paint. I ground out the rust and filled a few tiny pinholes with JB weld. I've never tried the stuff before so hopefully it'll live up to its name. Still a little more left to sand. The floor pan on this side didn't have any holes, surprisingly. I got off pretty well with the floors here. Much better. If I would have done this now, I would have applied bed liner instead of regular paint. Please forgive my poor JB Weld spreading skills. The pan is stamped '9-29-89'. Does anyone know what significance this has? It seems a little early to be a production date for the metal, but who knows with Jeep. The dash, put back together after a good cleaning. Getting the defroster bezel on was a lovely experience that I'd rather not relive. I need to invest in skinnier screwdrivers. Side note: wire nuts aren't the greatest thing to use for car stereo. The lower dash cleaned up fairly well. The new headliner from a1500ram fit pretty well and looks like it belongs there. Ditto with the sunvisors. Yes, I cleaned the greasy fingerprints off :doh: The seat, (mostly) cleaned up and uncovered for the first time since 1992. Looks good. That stain still bugs me. Any tips for getting a very stubborn stain out? Upholstery cleaner does nothing to it. Everything except the radio and fake center console back in. It moves! That takes us back to early in June. For the rest of summer, I chilled out and just drove it. For the work of a penniless 17 year old honors student, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

I got mine for $76. :dunno: 100% certain that "truck" (what's left of it anyway) is beyond repair.

Nice build, but do know that you have quite a rust repair job ahead of you! What are the last 6 digits of your VIN? (serial number) I wonder how far apart our trucks were on the assembly line :thumbsup:

When I did it I put half in the TB with the engine idling (be careful to not pour too fast) let it sit for 15 minutes, and drove it hard for a few miles. The rest went in the gas tank. You can put it in the oil but you'll have to change the oil after a few days.

Looks to me like they've been clear coated like so: Very much worth the time. They look great in person.

Welcome!

:brows:

With the 4.0 you would never have to worry about having enough power to do anything a light truck has any business doing. The 2.5 is gutless compared to the 4.0 but still a perfectly good motor and just as reliable. The turdy eight hundred? 2 more cylinders to feed voraciously but somehow less power. The 2.8 will make a 2.5's mileage look excellent - but get the 4.0 if you get the chance. And you better like vacuum lines if you have a 2.8.

Nice find!