neohic Posted November 17 Author Share Posted November 17 2 hours ago, watchamakalit said: Fi donor for the cj Also no. The CJ has had fuel injection for years. I’ll start dropping more hints once I start pulling parts from the ZJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 It’s no secret that this truck is getting a NP 242. I figured it’d be nice for the little bit of winter driving it occasionally sees when I need it for truck stuff. The all wheel drive option definitely adds a cool factor! Kinda neat going to a salvage yard with a view. The rig that gave up the transfer case is an ‘87 XJ Wagoneer. The miles are high, but I think someone has been in the transfer case before. The chain feels tight and it was fairly clean when it came out. I grabbed the shifter bezel also. Too bad it’s not as simple as just swapping a trim piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle_SX4 Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 3 hours ago, neohic said: It’s no secret that this truck is getting a NP 242. I figured it’d be nice for the little bit of winter driving it occasionally sees when I need it for truck stuff. The all wheel drive option definitely adds a cool factor! I love the 242 in my truck for the same reasons. That is a good condition shift bezel and that color is 87 exclusive very good find. If you didn't grab it go get the shift gate off the shifter it is slightly different than the 231 and will make shifting easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 19 Author Share Posted November 19 9 hours ago, Eagle_SX4 said: I love the 242 in my truck for the same reasons. That is a good condition shift bezel and that color is 87 exclusive very good find. If you didn't grab it go get the shift gate off the shifter it is slightly different than the 231 and will make shifting easier. My shifter is already a custom piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 30 Author Share Posted November 30 Started pulling apart the donor. Friend of mine wants some stuff too. After he gets what he wants and I take what I want there won’t be a whole lot of mechanical components left. Nose to tail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 30 Author Share Posted November 30 Oops… … don’t you hate it when you order something online and the size isn’t quite right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Wednesday at 11:50 PM Author Share Posted Wednesday at 11:50 PM Snow day! We got our first good snow come through last night and it stuck around all day. I stayed home from work but couldn’t sit still with a junkyard fresh NP 242 waiting for me! One last picture before it came out. That NP 231 was part of the original 4x4 swap I did way back in 2006… and I don’t think I’ve changed the fluid since. Not sure if I’ve ever shown my shifter linkage for it either. This was also from 2006. The NP 231 came out of a mystery ‘89 XJ that a friend of mine spotted for sale in the town we were going to tech school in. He wanted the chassis (might still be sitting at his dad’s property) and he talked me into why my truck would be so much more rad if it had power going through two driveshafts. When we took everything apart I was mildly excited to find junkyard numbers written on the transfer case, but it turned out that the chain was already loose. Nearly 20 years later after swapping it into my truck, the chain is still loose and I am yet to open it up to see what else it might need. On to today… … that old junkyard unit was replaced with a new (older) one. When comparing the two, I measured the overall lengths before I pulled it all apart. Both transfer cases externally are pretty much the same should anyone want to do this swap and keep their driveshafts. I was 90% certain I had an earlier 231 with a 21 spline input and I was pleasantly relieved when I had them sitting side by side to compare. The salvage yard I got the 242 from gave me an awesome discount being one of the studs broke off in the case when it came out. It came out fairly easy with some heat and after welding a nut to it. Then I borrowed a stud from the old 231. After that it all went back together same as it came out besides my shifter linkage needing some fiddling. With it up on jack stands I carefully put it through the gears and didn’t hear anything goofy coming from the new transfer case. I’ll get it out of the shop soon to have a go with the all wheel drive function. Everything went pretty smooth with the transfer case swap so I decided to tackle another small project I’ve been wanting to do for years. HELLAS!! I know the round fog lights can be a bit controversial to some on these trucks, but I love the look! New holes were drilled to move them inward from the factory locations. The white covers really pop with the new wheel and tire combo! So… ahem … those might also be a bit controversial with some additional plans I have for the truck. … I think we all know where this is going… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle_SX4 Posted Thursday at 03:01 AM Share Posted Thursday at 03:01 AM Good to see another Comanche with a NP242. You will enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camjeep3 Posted Thursday at 09:21 PM Share Posted Thursday at 09:21 PM Spill the beans already! What are the plans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted Thursday at 10:09 PM Share Posted Thursday at 10:09 PM AWD slammed SCCA track truck to scale Pikes Peak??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Thursday at 10:25 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 10:25 PM 1 hour ago, camjeep3 said: Spill the beans already! What are the plans! 27 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said: AWD slammed SCCA track truck to scale Pikes Peak??? SCCA INSPIRED truck. My donor rig is a ‘94 ZJ with a 5.2 and a NP 249. I won’t be doing a V8 swap, but this drivetrain combo had 3.55s. These obviously aren’t anything special, but the convenience of how I came across this donor just solidified the swap BACK to 3.55s… axle set #4 since I’ve owned the truck. I drove the truck to the car wash on the new wheels/tires and it’s a ripper! The 3.55s will keep highway RPMs happier. The front is just a Dana 30, but it’s got receipts for new axle shafts and bearings. It also has CV style shafts which are super smooth with all wheel drive. The rear is the ZJ Dana 44 which is also not super desirable. For my setup, it’s got a shorter snout around the pinion which means (by my tape measure, anyhow) that I can reuse my current rear driveshaft. Not a huge deal, but overall this whole makeover will be 100% bolt in. Are these the strongest axles ever?… no. They were trusted from the factory to live behind V8 trucks though. Granted, not a high horsepower V8, but my 4.6 probably doesn’t put out anymore power than the ZJ donor did from the factory. I’m going for very unique with the latest version of my truck. I love how many lives it’s had! This is just the next evolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted Thursday at 10:37 PM Share Posted Thursday at 10:37 PM What axles/gears are in it currently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Thursday at 10:38 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 10:38 PM 20 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said: What axles/gears are in it currently? 4.10s. Keep in mind I’m going from a 31” tire to 26”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted Thursday at 10:48 PM Share Posted Thursday at 10:48 PM Are they D30/44? What are you doing with the old axles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Thursday at 10:58 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 10:58 PM 9 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said: Are they D30/44? What are you doing with the old axles? Dana 30 and a Chrysler 8.25. Keeping them for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted Thursday at 11:17 PM Share Posted Thursday at 11:17 PM I dig it, before I got my MJ thats what the PO was trying to do, AWD scca MJ. I love the 242. Never had it before the WJ and its awesome in the snow. Would loved to have kept it in my build but no SYE for the HD version killed that dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Friday at 12:49 AM Author Share Posted Friday at 12:49 AM 1 hour ago, Smokeyyank said: I dig it, before I got my MJ thats what the PO was trying to do, AWD scca MJ. I love the 242. Never had it before the WJ and its awesome in the snow. Would loved to have kept it in my build but no SYE for the HD version killed that dream. If I recall, Troy was considering a 2wd swap on your truck. First time I saw your truck was in his storage unit and he was trying to sell it to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Friday at 02:35 PM Author Share Posted Friday at 02:35 PM Let’s circle back to these wheels. They first appeared in a 2013 thread in a post by my northern buddy Austin. Supposedly the truck they were on came from Two Harbors, MN (way up north around Duluth). It was a 2.5, 4x4 truck with a unique rear bumper and some fancy wheels. The truck essentially got a Vikings funeral. It’s no doubt pots and pans by now, but Austin saved the wheels and used them as winter weight in the bed of a ‘91 Pioneer I bought from him back in 2011. I held onto them this whole time and finally did something with them. Overall, they came up pretty good. Not sure if it was mass amounts of brake dust that turned to rust, but I’ve never seen an aluminum wheel with this must actual iron oxide and rust buildup. On the barrels and bare lips, I started with 80 grit and moved all the way up to 400. The plan was never to polish them for how bad they are. Pitting is still visible where the clip weights lived for years in MN winters. These are welded together two piece wheels so taping and painting was easy by cramming tape and poster board in the seam. Not perfect but for spending a TON of hours hand scrubbing these things I think they’ll do. Tire size is 235/60r15. Backspacing is a little deeper than factory wheels so I’ll be running spacers at least on the rear. I was mildly concerned that they wouldn’t be able to handle the hill getting down to my shop, but everything went fine before the snow fell. It’d probably still get up? I prefer to not drive the truck in the winter though. Needs more low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeyyank Posted Saturday at 12:17 AM Share Posted Saturday at 12:17 AM 23 hours ago, neohic said: If I recall, Troy was considering a 2wd swap on your truck. First time I saw your truck was in his storage unit and he was trying to sell it to me. Yeah who knows. I thought I had car ADHD then met Troy and felt a lot better about my problem....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Saturday at 11:04 PM Author Share Posted Saturday at 11:04 PM I ordered a bunch of brackets that I’d usually just make in my own shop. The rear axle is easy with just needing spring perches, but I took another look at the front I’ll be using and saw a booger welded lower control arm bracket. It’s not seen in this picture, but we all like pictures, so… Ordering brackets feels strange but I’m realizing that the availability of builder parts online makes it way too easy and makes one consider what their time it worth. I’ve been thinking about sway bars today too. I’ll be using the front bar from the ZJ, and I’m considering the rear. For years I’ve wanted to add a rear sway bar and there’s some good information on our site. A sweet setup is using an Xtreme Blazer rear bar with some assorted links and brackets. Another is a WJ rear bar and such. The Chevy bar is around 7/8” diameter, WJ is 9/16”, and the low hanging fruit ZJ I’ve got available to me is 5/8”. Been thinking about recycling my current front sway bar (24 mm) in the rear also but I think it might be overkill. Granted, I haven't measures anything to actually see what would fit either. Any thoughts on that from anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted Saturday at 11:38 PM Author Share Posted Saturday at 11:38 PM 34 minutes ago, neohic said: … Any thoughts on that from anyone? After more interwebbing, maybe the ZJ 25.4mm/16mm bars would be a good choice? Looking around, there’s a bunch of aftermarket options for S10s and other such small pickups. Not that any of those would work in a Comanche nicely, but I’m finding that so many kits are 6-8mm difference from front to rear with the fronts obviously being bigger. Maybe a 25.4/24mm combo might get weird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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