JeepcoMJ

lol, like an mj with a 2.5 AND more powerful :D hmm...can a mechanical fuel pump from a 6.2 be fitted to a 6.5?

I think it's definitely something i'm interested in, but I can make it myself... perhaps weld-through like Pete's truck? I really like the strength offered by that idea.

lol, thanks for all the ideas guys!. I'm not doing an exo cause that would defeat the look of the goal in mind. I'm settled for aroll cage inside of it, as long as I can make it tight against the body. i don't have a tube bender to mess with all the exo stuff...even the roll cage will be alot of work with a torch. I need a different tranny...whichever tranny is in the van doesn't have a (working) overdrive, and does have a small crack in it where it leaks..it' needs a rebuild and that's out of the question. plus it's 2wd and I'd have to switch the output shaft or get a divorced t-case. i don't like divorced t-cases. why should an electric fuel pump bother me? mechanicals suck...(i'm biased from being a 2.8 owner) I'd rather use electric. good gas mileage and power is key CET...so i don't think i want to be the only guy with a diesel that gets 11 mpg and isn't in a semi. Pong, why a compact truck frame? if I did that it would be harder to get the diesel to fit, and it would not be as strong, plus then my axles wouldn't work without me making my own perches...I really would like to just reinforce a fullsize frame and not have to mess with axle positioning...I'm OK with body positioning...that's gonna be easy lol. pluss a fullsize would potentially be stronger. ESPECIALLY if i can get an m715 frame for this.

I don't think I'd do anything spectacular with the axles to start out with...I really should hold out for an m715 frame, cause the goal in mind is gonna be dana 60's front and rear. alright that makes the interior rollcage OK. it would add some interest to the vehicle, and peace of mind as well. if I can hide even just half of it...then it's good. yep, i drove the g-van that the engine is in now. the van was rolled 6 times and it still runs and drives with no problems other than the rear axle grinds and whirs and it's got a bend in the frame. but it's not too shabby on speed actually...they'll do 90 no problem with a fully loaded 10,000 lb. tool trailer. I think i'm bent on the 6.5 for the simple fact that it's available to me and seems like it will work fine.

plasma cutter all the way. and I'm gonna have to make some control boxes/signal converters for the gauges...i don't think it's gonna be a simple swap sending units and go. and the tach. will not be working off a simple 3 pulse AC signal either...so i will need to convert that as well. it can be done. and i guarantee with something like this...i'm gonna want full gauges. lol, perhaps an OEM xj/mj diesel gauge cluster with turbo? then i could turbo the engine as well :P if I do this project....it's gonna take not so much time to finish the frame and axles, and perhaps not too much to get the engine and tranny mounted. but the body...will be another story. I can cut, measure, weld, and grind well enough, but the finishing touches on the exterior will be my biggest issue. that and if I have to do any plastic welding...that'll be an experience. but imagine yourself in a powerful, capable diesel comanche, with 4 adult size seats with full power, a sleak, redesigned dash (maybe a 97 to 01 while i'm dreaming), air conditioning, and a nice gooseneck trailer behind you on the way to moab with yours and your buddies wheeling trucks on back.... hahaha, keep dreaming...maybe THAT will happen when they produce the gladiator... this is a project i'm going to think through, and design first. i need blueprints to make this work...because I would like to retain as much structural integrity as possible. I'd probably use this as a DD but wheel it too. the 3800 is basically a street only truck...so this would be my toy

well for economy purposes I would like a manual...but a 4 speed is out. for useability and ease in driving, plus off-road-ability, I suppose i will go auto. a TH400 is what I will do. for t-case I'm not sure what's available. i don't want fulltime so i obviously don't want AWD. what should I do for a tcase? and you're probably right about the roll cage. but it needs to allow easy access to the rear, and for my own purposes, easy removal of interior pieces. as far as I'm concerned, that makes it not within my standards...and I don't want an exo either. although...i suppose if I put the cage in with no interior panels, and got it as tight as i could to the body, I could perhaps construct my own interior panels or even simply carpet the cage to look nicer... whew, i'm lookin at a hefty project here...but this would be killer if I can make the parts happen. Dirty, what do I need wiring-wise for the 6.5 and the th400? I don't know if the 6.5 is electronically controlled or not... or does anyone have a better suggestion for a motor? the 6.5 would be ideal for me but I AM open to suggestions on this. it's currently a dream, but hoping for reality...

more ideas... Dirty, i was thinking along the lines of you with boxing in the frame. I haven't got the option of my own frame, especially since that would defeat the purpose of easily upgrading to a solid frame with limited time spent with axles and springs. I really just want to see if I can do this. as of now, my decision is that I need a 2 door cherokee that's either hit in the rear or has a blown motor...easier to start the swap there and end it with a comanche back half. so, I would box the j10 frame (or wait on this project but continue with design until i find an m715 frame), and add many extra crossmembers. I have the interior planned out...all 4 seats will be power, with all 4 being cherokee buckets and the fronts being able to tip forward. tip-down middle seat for the rear will serve as a armrest. floors will be completely custom with the exception that I will keep the drivetrain hump intact. I will more than likely add some room by making the floor a little lower and removing the incline the floor has to make it a level surface. custom seat brackets will then be needed as well... I don't think i'm worried about body flex. if I mount it as you suggest, and reinforce the frame as you suggest, it should be a good project. I think the way to go is going to be to get the frame, mount the engine, and find a transmission that is suitable to the project. or at least mock up the engine position and figure it relative to the firewall of the comanche and desired height off the frame I wish the cab to be (which will be around 1/2 inch). the bed will have to be a shortbed, a custom stepside, or a bobbed (on both ends) longbed box. this thing will get a gooseneck if I design it with a powerful enough drivetrain as compared to a fullsize. my grandpa owns a construction company and a few trailers i could possibly borrow from time to time. do you think this could be done if the flex situation can be addressed? and would you think it would be a good towing rig when complete? oh, another reason i want an existing frame is for available lift kits. I don't wish to have to piece things together...

thanks...i hadn't thought of bracing. but you're correct. it would be buckets in the front with a full center console (and probably less of a drive hump), and either a comanche folding bench in the rear, cherokee 2dr rear seat, or another set of buckets with a folding center console that doubles as a middle seat. and yup, just front doors. I like the longer doors off the 2 door cherokee though.

not a chance...the guy is a fool and saw another one go for that awhile ago. or he got that much once and for some reason thinks we're all dumb enough to buy it... but I wouldn't pay $50 for a PAIR of tail lights...i'd just convert to cherokee tail lights and do the body work to make them fit

that's my plans on custom floor...i would like to remove the comanche frame rails. put some bars across the bottom of the cab to support it on, and I'd like to actually bolt the body to the frame... worked on the body styling a bit...

like the title says. considering it as the next project as I've got some pretty interesting parts available...a late 70's j10 frame at the JY that is in fairly decent shape, with a dana 44 high pinion front end and amc 20 in the rear. idk what gears. engine-wise I believe I have access to a 6.5 diesel out of a chevy g-van, but am wondering on a tranny. the goal is leaf springs all round, a sturdy seperate frame, good off-road capability, and engine powerful enough for the truck to tow a decent sized trailer while getting fairly decent gas mileage. alot to ask for i know, but I believe that with the parts i may have available, it can be done. this would eliminate the unibody, and allow me to actually extend the cab with parts from a 2 door xj to make a club-cab truck with a 6 foot bed. COMPLETELY different animal i realize, but if you guys have any pointers on if it's worth the effort or not, if it can be done, what am I looking at for structural support.... i'm off work for 6 more weeks, and though i don't have money available, I believe that once i sell my sport truck this is a doable project...perhaps not in 6 weeks, but in a year, sure. input? jbhill i know you will have pointers on mounting to a frame...

i don't get phobias. the only thing i'm really scared of is someone wrecking my truck, or friends and family getting hurt. or having one freaky @$$ death along the lines of a saw movie...

my brother has an 88 longbed pioneer with decals. perhaps the decals were an option? them or the badge? he doesn't have a pioneer badge...

furthermore, Alex's former posession of a documented 88' eliminator confirms without a trace of doubt, that there was a 2wd eliminator offered in 1988.

that made me giggle :rotfl2: :rotf:

alright man, don't make us all jealous of your tools! j/k it's badass

and shorten the rear driveshaft and possibly lengthen the front? not sure on the front...but the rear will need shortened

well, i fell through with fiscus...deal went south on my end of things. so my 87 sport is gonna be leaving once it's ready to go. and this is staying. i'm contemplating parting the drivetrain of the truck, then cutting off the spring and CA perches to level the frame to flat, finding a junk j10, and putting this on the j10 frame. i have access to a 6.5 chevy diesel from a g-van, and i can get a j10 frame, complete with axles and drivshafts, from the JY i go to for cheap. box and reinforce the frame...put the MJ on it, install the 5.2, find a 5 speed 4wd tranny for it, and drop it all in. but that's just contemplation...i'd need to get everything together and that takes money. it'd be a pretty sweet wheeling and towing rig though...with some pretty decent gas mileage to boot.

yup, add a duck-bill to the front. if you can weld, you can make it work.

yea, well, they aren't giving me anything right now...i gotta beat down some doors to do it... (and i have 2 jobs and had about 80 hours a week...this happened @ one job so i'm screwed out of half the money i was making) i was told that my other job should give me disability tho? is that true?

so save my $$$ for a nice one. i think while I'm dreaming i'll just save for a warn. suggestions on one, and measurements? I have the material to build the bumper, or at least the base for it right now. so I'd like to get started on that...i'm laid up another 5 to 6 weeks here right now and no $$$ for the winch

lol, centrifugal force would make it leak out of the tailshaft of the tcase. that's what i meant, not tranny. your axles work like that too... post up more "what if" questions, this could get interesting :P :brows:

so what happens when you break your rear driveshaft out in the middle of nowhere? i mean, if you can remove it (whether it be from the pavement, dirt, or the truck), could you just throw it in 4 wheel and do FWD home? the problem i see is tranny fluid leaking from the rear seal. any reason not to do it in time of need? always wondered what if...

eesh...carnuck that's really bad... OK so i went to the doctor again today for a follow-up appointment on my ankle thinking i would be cleared to work (already scheduled for the next 2 weeks) and i WASN'T! so i fractured it most definitely on march 15th. and now i have loose bone fragments. hell of it is, i don't feel any pain in my ankle. i can walk run, drive, stomp on it twist, turn, whatever. but because it's a worker's comp. issue, i can't be cleared until it's healed. so 6 more weeks...shista. now i have to get all my shifts covered, and keep on pushin the worker's comp. for my checks (i have only recieved 2 weeks worth in the past month) because i haven't any other money to spend due to paying a lawyer to fix a entirely different issue for me (completely necessary). so i thought i sprained my ankle at one job, and was worried that it will be a problem with the other job, so i went to the doc. explicitly to get a doctor's note so i could take a week off. turned into THIS. i feel great...and would not hesitate to work if the doc. said i could. blah

the wire colors are different but the applications may be the same. I put one in a 96 cherokee that i sold...worked great except the backlight was bad.