1987Comanche

He has a clean title b/c, at this point, the title hasn't actually changed hands. When the truck was totaled his insurance paid out, told him the vehicle was worth $xxx, and gave him the option to either keep the truck or let them take it and sell it at the auction. He kept the truck and the title never left his possession. Title laws vary by state (not sure what UT says) so I'm not sure how the title transfer is handled. Certainly Carfax et al have a record of the wreck. In the case of my '65 Olds I would have likely ended up with a clean title as she didn't have a 17 digit VIN. No one could find body parts to fix her, however, so I let the ins company have her. FYI the insurance auction company is IAAI.

LKQ self-serve in Greenville, SC has a '95 XJ 4.0 5 speed 4WD that was intact as of Sunday. Had an ABS D30 in it.

OneOverZero runs Redline and he likes it. I've used synthetic 10W-30 with Lucas in all of my AX-15s and they seem to do well. I think anything but GL-5 would be just fine.

Doesn't the MJ have a hidden VIN that's stamped on the driver's side uni-frame rail in the area of the door? I recall seeing one stamped into the body of one of mine but I can't remember exactly where (or which MJ, for that matter...). In the case of a rust bucket it would be impossible to read but his truck looks very clean. Virtualjeepclub.com had a few links that discuss VIN stamps on an XJ. What you really need is a friendly DMV inspector or cop to give you the list of all the hidden vin locations. wildaboutcars.com is also an excellent resource. Haven't looked for the XJ/MJ factory assy manuals but I found one for my Olds there.

Chrysler should be able to provide the selling dealer and original in-service date. I'd start with the Jeep customer care line: 1-877-426-5337 Also have you pulled the door panels? If there's a build sheet with the truck it's typically behind the driver's side door panel.

That's a really cool truck that, frankly, I never knew existed. Good call on saving her :thumbsup:. Can't wait to see more pictures. Would the DVLA accept an approximate build date, based on the engine serial #, stamping dates in the sheet metal components, etc? The engine has a production date code on it that is only a few weeks ahead of the truck build. She looks like she's been well maintained and is rust free. Off the top of my head I can think of one area with an exact date stamp. The driver's side wheel well has a few different stampings welded together and, on my '92, one of those has an actual production date stamped into the sheet metal. I can go look for the exact location but, if memory serves, nothing needs to be disassembled to see it.

262,2xx when I rolled in the driveway from work today...

Found this on CL. Looks like it's exactly what you're looking for, though IMHO it's a bit pricey. http://greenville.craigslist.org/pts/4652481334.html

I've been researching the remainder of Georgia's 4WD conversion and was reading through the AX-15 manual. When I replaced Maura's input shaft seal and swapped the external bearing retainer I ended up with a leak. The AX-15 manual has a spec for input shaft installation depth but it's essentially useless as it gives no references for measurement (measure from, to...). Looking at the machined pocket on the bearing retainer (old photo of Maura's shown) I think the seal needs to be bottomed out as the entire pocket is machined: What has everyone else been doing with this seal? Most of the threads I've found just say "replaced seal" or "installed seal."

Doorman makes one for the HO engines. P/N 34171. I think they're about $40 new.

It might be worth checking the pull-a-part to see if there are any Comanches. I pulled the complete cat back exhaust from a SWB Renix truck and had to cut, reposition, and lengthen the hangers on the system to make it work. The bends and length were correct for the HO truck. It required some work but I picked up the whole system for $30.

3 total though I've only owned 1 at a time. '87 SWB 2WD 4 banger. Sold her to pick up the '90 4WD I-6. Sold her to pick up the '92 SWB I-6.

No, she came from the outskirts of Atlanta, about 40 min from where I bought Georgia. She's definitely been a southern car all her life. Other than the condition of the underside, factory A/C on a convertible (even though it's non-functioning) is a dead giveaway.

Picked up a 69 Cutlass S convertible yesterday and brought her home. Like every car she has needs but the paint job is presentable, interior is pretty good, and the body/underside are in great shape. The only issue I had was that it was HOT and that convertible is HEAVY. The Suburban seemed to really struggle beyond about 57mph so I just took it easy the entire ride home. 95 degrees towing a 69 Olds convertible with a black truck means she was working hard. Clean underside:

The vice grips & pipe wrench both failed me. I did find a replacement fill plug somewhere along the way and looked closely at it. The center of the bolt is hollow, which is why cutting the od away in pieces worked. When I took enough pressure off the bolt to trans mating surface I was finally able to turn it. FYI drain and fill plug both have the same thread, if memory serves. The drain plug is solid and magnetic but I don't see why it wouldn't work in the fill location.

I ended up cutting the bolt head apart with a Dremel, then ground flats on what was left so I could lock onto it with vice grips. It was a huge PITA.

No Jim, I think it's for the best to let her go. The auction house has a fee of $250 to get in the door + whatever the bid might be. The collector car insurance adjuster attempted to locate parts and, after 3 days, called me to ask if I knew where to get a bumper, decklid, gas tank, etc. We had a brief, but frank discussion and he guesstimated $25K to properly fix the car using parts on hand and make her look like new again. Way more than the insurance payout :cry:

Well the deed is done. Drove past the salvage auction yard today and saw her sitting up front. I stopped, took a pic, and kept going. It was too painful to stay for more than a minute:

Well he complained about everything he possibly could and my response was to completely ignore him. He couldn't take being ignored so he sued alleging nuisance, negligence, trespassing, and something else (I forget what). The charges? The storm water runoff from my house was causing "a breeding ground for noxious insects", "irreparable damage" to his property, that when push mowing my mower wheel was "at least a full wheel width" (1.25"?) across the border, and a bunch of other bs. End results? My estimate is that he spent $43K in legal fees, my homeowner's ins paid to re-route one of my gutter drains, and I told them I'd never mow that side of my yard again. He's a neat freak and he now sees a 10' tall border of weeds and garbage whenever he looks out his back door. I was, however, the first person to congratulate him on his victory after 10 hrs of mediation.

Update: She's totaled :rant: :mad: They gave me an ok price on her after some spirited negotiations. She's in the basement now. Watching them come haul her away with a wrecker is going to be really painful but their buyback price was nuts.

At least your idiot neighbor didn't try to sue you for $60K. I lived that dream...what fun :fs1:

Pete's comment on headrests is spot on. I always thought whiplash wasn't that big of a deal and the ambulance chasers overemphasized it. Now that I'm living the dream my opinion has switched 180 degrees. Whiplash sucks... I think the frame & tail pan can be pulled but finding body parts for a '65 88 makes finding MJ parts look like child's play. The big box insurance company (kid's insurance) must have discovered what I already knew. Earlier this week they were talking repair. They called yesterday discussing total loss. The value they quoted yesterday was insulting, espec for an original car with 50K miles, #s matching drivetrain, build sheet, and Protect-o-Plate.

17 yr old kid playing with a cell phone rear ended Becky Sue, the nicest car I own. I was at a dead stop and he plowed into her at about 30mph. Cop asked about skid marks and I said "what skid marks? He never bothered to hit the brakes." As she had no head rests we went for a wild ride. ER, Dr. all that good stuff. Going to take a while to get back up to speed after this one. Unfortunately I think Becky Sue is done: bumper, tail pan, decklid, gas tank, rear frame cross member, symmetric ripples in the quarters, driver's door doesn't shut correctly anymore. Interestingly he didn't break the tail lights...his car was too small to hit her entire rear end at once.

Got her aligned this morning. I was surprised by how far the caster was out. Prior to the axle transplant I was always at the low end of the caster spectrum. We pulled 3 shims out this morning (2 fat and one skinny).

2WD front axle is out: Waiting on new axle: Positioning new axle. That thing is one heavy SOB... Axle is in!!! :banana: Back on her own front wheels: