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'88 Eliminator... Feb. 2009 - Jan. 2023


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Edit for the easy of finding some highlights of my build pages:

'88 MJ Eliminator: Miss November
'89 Sportruck: Archer
'88 MJ Bed: The Comanche Camper / Miss Half September

'98 XJ: The Pirate Baboon

'86 MJ: The Jim Oshel Edition

 

... and now back to this regular scheduled thread.

I'm not really new to the site... I've just been more of a viewer than anything else. So I decided that I might as well share my two MJ projects. The first is my beloved 1988 red Eliminator that started life in Washington and somehow ended up here in Minnesota. Being that it was only here for a couple of years, everything was still super solid. It also started life as a classic Eliminator (only 2wd). So, that had to change! While I was in there I lifted to about 3 inches and added the 31s. A rebuild in the engine bay was also in order so I figured I may as well punch it out to a 4.6L. Currently, it sits in about a million pieces waiting for me to finish my shop so I can bring it home and finish the body work and paint. My other is more of a play thing that I decided to build after thinking about all the time I was throwing at my red truck with the thought, "... hey, what happens when I bounce it off a rock after it's all done?" So the solution? ANOTHER COMANCHE!!!! This time I found a 1989 Eliminator that was in much worse shape than my red one, but still very driveable. I made a deal with the owner and came back a week later... but there's a twist!... his son took it a jumped it 50 feet... twice. The plan was to just drive it as is, but then that turned into another 4wd swap just to get rid of the bananas that once resembled axles. So, again, since I was in there I redid the floors, seats, fuel tank, and so much more just to get it back to driveable. Oh... and the owner just wanted to get rid of it.. so it was free! I've got plenty of build pictures of everything so don't be affraid to ask about anything. Enough said... enjoy!
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That engine looks like a work of art. Wanna throw it in my truck till your paints done? :yes:

Sorry, but the engine has been in the truck for over a year now... sadly how long it's been sitting... but it's very happy in it's current home! I've got more pictures of the engine that I'll throw on later.

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what kind of wheels on the silver one they look sweet. and the trucks look good

Those wheels are off of a 2004 Ford Explorer and are of the 17 inch variety. They were a metalic silver finish, but that was way too flashy for the rest of the truck. Tires are 33 inch Mickey Thompson MTZs on the rear and soon to be on the front as well (just waiting until I get my camber figured out... why burn up good tires?).

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  • 3 months later...

I finally got around to getting pictures of my red truck with the engine back in it. I've been putting up a new garage in my yard and times have been tight. The 4.6L runs awesome and has tons of power under the skinny pedal!

Picture of the fans also... I decided to keep the mechanical fan for now, but these little guys reduce coolant temps by about 20 degrees! They run off of an electric thermostat or off of a switch.

Also the only rust on the whole body (which is amazing for being a MN truck).

Also got a Chrysler 8.25 for the 1989. It came out of a 4 cylinder Cherokee so it's got 4.10 gears. Ebay supplied the matching gears for the front... which STILL has camber issues.

I did however figure out my awfull handling of the front (besides the camber). The upper joint of the track bar is completely toast.

More to come soon... I hope.

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I'm sorry man, but you killed that engine by putting it in that dirty engine bay... :shake: WHY, WHY, WHY??????

 

That dirty engine bay was an amazingly clean engine bay when it was put in over a year and a half ago. Since then it's been bouncing between a barn and a dusty driveway.

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  • 7 months later...

YAY! I've got time to get back to my old red truck. I sold the grey truck a few months ago due to a change of jobs and now I'm down to one Eliminator. I took all of the good parts off of the grey one before selling it, so I've got a pile of parts waiting to go back on something.

 

I'm starting with the axles and moving my way up. The stock Cherokee 4.10 Chrysler 8.25 I had got Grand Cherokee disk brakes and a new diff cover. I also pulled the seats and carpet and found no rust at all (hard to believe for a MN truck!). I went ahead and sprayed some bedliner for good measure.

 

Sure feels good to have time this little guy again... kinda like seeing an old friend you haven't seen in a while...

 

 

Even got a couple new door stops out of it!

 

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tell me about that front receiver.... custom?.... i want one, how much?

 

I made that about four years ago when I was still in school (now I'm teaching the class!). It's all 1/4" stainless (minus the reciever tube) and all bolts on with no mods to the cross member other than getting rid of that aluminum block in front of the steering box... what the heck is that for anyhow? :dunno: Then, to hide it, I took the rear license plate/fuel filler cover off of a mid '80s Monty Carlo.

 

 

Since I'm putting my bumpers off of the old grey truck on this one, I guess I really wouldn't need it anymore, but still want to keep it... you know, just in case. But if the need is there, how much would it be worth to you to make another?

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If you still have the visor off the gray truck, I would be more than willing to take it off your hands.

 

I do... sits up in the rafters of my other garage. There aren't any major cracks in it that I can remember. You far away? Free... come get it!

 

What's the specs on the 4.6L?

 

It's blue! :yes:

 

More specifically: Bored 35 over and has a 4.2 crank and rods, I advanced the cam a little bit with one of those funny looking "broken" woodruff keys, the head isn't an HO unit (I should've gotten one though... trying to save some money at the time of the build) but it was match-ported, polished and a three angle valve job, and then the intake was mildly polished as well, Pace Setter ceramic coated header, 5.0 fuel injectors, high flow oil pump, and it all comes out a future 2 1/2" exhaust (not installed as of yet). I'm probably forgetting something important too...

 

Truck looks good man, nice job on everything

 

Thanks man!

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  • neohic changed the title to '88 Eliminator... Feb. 2009 - Jan. 2023

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