Comanche Limited

[dasbulliwagen]

Finally adjusted my electic fan, not running so much now, only when needed.

 

Was informed yesterday that my 86 Mj project vehicle will need to be moved soon from its parking place behind the dealership, so this weekend it will get dragged back in the shop so I can swap the front axles between it and my 87 to continue the 4x4 conversion. I also need to bolt the rear axle back in the 86 as it is curently sitting unbolted over axle out in the parking lot. And the front axle isnt sitting on any springs so it is resting on the bumpstops with its azz in the air! I will be putting my 87's beam axle in the 86 with a set of JK springs Ive had laying around just to see what happens. This truck is too rust free to junk, so Ill have to go begging again to see if I can park it next to the recently aquired 86 Cherokee.

[MoparMatt77]

Finally adjusted my electic fan, not running so much now, only when needed.

I will be putting my 87's beam axle in the 86 with a set of JK springs Ive had laying around just to see what happens.

 

How much does the JK springs lift the comanche? I am very curious to find out.

[dasbulliwagen]

Finally adjusted my electic fan, not running so much now, only when needed.

I will be putting my 87's beam axle in the 86 with a set of JK springs Ive had laying around just to see what happens.

 

How much does the JK springs lift the comanche? I am very curious to find out.

 

I didnt end up putting the JK front springs in as I was running out of time and didnt get to unbolt the original springs from the beam. As far as length goes, they are about the same length as 2wd 4 cyl front Mj springs, but I have no idea about the spring rate. They are for a slightly heavier vehicle so they might have lifted the front a little, but I really couldnt tell you. If the spring rate is heavier, they may just be about the same as a 4wd spring. They are the same diameter so they would have bolted up perfectly.

 

As an update, I got my Wagoneer door installed and adjusted, and the Wagoneer door panels painted black to match the rest of my interior. It turned out looking really good, though the armrests are having issues drying fully. I'm hoping with some time in the warm sun that they will dry better and not be as sticky feeling. No pics this time, camera was dead. Ill get some later and post up. Next step is to wire the doors up to make the windows and locks work. I installed new 5 1/4" speakers in the doors and have working tunes for the first time in this trucks history. And I also now have a working clock... I put the new one in, and it didnt work....so to the parts dept, found chrysler still shows a part number for the clock, but it has been discontinued and there are literally none available in any dealer in the country. So I decided to go back to square one.... checked power to the clock at the fuse... fuse was good, but corroded! Cleaned the terminals, and now have a working clock! Which means the old clock was just fine before I tore it apart and threw it away! :fs1: :doh: The old one was brighter than this new one too! :fs1: Anyways progress is being made slowly, but surely. I also need to now remove the woodgrain from my waggy doors, and then polish the truck up! My trailer hitch build is on hold for a little while, but will eventually get finished too.

[86MJ2WD]

I'm goin with COMANCHANEER .

[dasbulliwagen]

Havent updated in a while, but then again havent done much. The woodgrain is all gone, but I still need to polish it. I'm kinda waiting till I do a little bodywork to the rear lower bedcorner. At that time Ill put the finishing touches on the rear bumper.... knocked off my temporary plate holder loading a lawnmower the other day, almost grabbed one off a used cherokee here at work but didnt get it in time. I have a list of stuff Id like to get at a picknpull anyways... need to convince the wife to let me have a few bucks for it, Though that may not happen till next spring. Still have my 4x4 trans sitting here on the floor waiting to go in, and have almost finished making new rear spring shackles to get my stance back after putting the 4wd front axle and springs in the front. I need to update all the pictures of everything too... coming soon, I promise.

[Walkenvol]

I prefer the look of the cherokee bumper to a step bumper myself. The license plate is an issue though as I wouldn't want to mount it in on the tailgate. Have you considered cutting about a 12" section out of the center of your cherokee bumper and fabing up an angled section with sides matching the cherokee profile where you can mount the license plate in the traditional location? I've seen folks do this with a Wrangler front bumper to make a rear bumper and thought it turned out well. Here's an example - http://www.cj-8.com/forum/showthread.ph ... 96&page=11

[AMC-MJ]

It basically looks like a front bumper mounted to the rear . . . looks nice but i ma just and go chrome step on mine WHY ? ! ?

Well, because i'd have to build a reciever hitch which will only lead me to towing things i shouldn't be ;)

 

We'll see how it goes, I may be asking you about how to build or buying a set of mounts from you

Mike

[dasbulliwagen]

Still havent done much to the truck lately. I did finally take some door panel pics to show how thet turned out painting them black. I did them with the Krylon Fusion Paint and they have held up pretty well. Beyond that, all Ive been doing is driving it, as is eveidenced by it turning over 350,000 miles! Ive been using it regulary to haul scrap off for recycling, which has allowed me to buy a nice new Hobart welder and Argon tank setup. And the other day it blew a hole in one of the heater hoses, so I replaced all the heater hoses yesterday and put in some new coolant.... good to go again.

 

here's how the door panels started.

 

Here they are after a couple years or so of use.

 

 

here's the big moment!

 

 

 

[knever3]

Those door panels look good. So why is it that they stopped making "Cool" interiors after '86 or so? I would hate to say this but the Ford Bronco 2 interior was very nice too around that time. Come to think of it, so was the Tempo. Glad to see you are keeping the old school stuff.

[dasbulliwagen]

I have some updating to do. Its been too long. I need to get some pics up of it with the JK take off wheels and tires. Been dealing with some overheating lately as well. So many things I want to do just never have the time. Pics to come soon!

[dasbulliwagen]

Time for a real update. As stated above, Ive added some new JK takeoff wheels to the truck since youve last seen it. I used Spidertrax adapters, to try to keep it reliable and safe. With little to no lift over a stock 4wd I only have minor rubbing. I can live with it no problem. Buying the takeoffs and the adapters was really cheaper than getting new 15 inch tires for it. I did do MINOR trimming to the lower edges of the flares.

 

The comancheclub sticker I got from Pete finally went on just in time for the East Coast Willys Restoration swap meet. I handed out a few cards, but otherwise received very little attention from a group of die hard Willys enthusiasts. It was a nice show, makes me want an old flatfender. 

 

The night before the Willys show, I installed a new radiator. I had been having intermittant overheating issues lately so I ordered what was advertised as a 2 core radiator. Most of the real 2 cores I saw advertised were $250 and above in price. This one was $150. I got it and found it was a single core, but double width. I'm not sure how they get away with advertising those like that, but I guess as long as it cools better than a regular single core Ill be OK with it. Taking the old one out, I could then see all the issues the old one had. Leaking had begun, and the inner cores were getting clogged up. Before the new rad, I tried a new cap, and new thermostat, but they didnt help. The pump isnt that old so I wasnt worried about it. I was trying to see if those items would fix it without having to spring for a new rad. I added a new TJ 2.5 18lb rad cap with the new rad. Should be an improvement over the stock 13lb cap. 

 

My booster is starting to leak quite a bit on me as well. Time for a WJ swap. I'm hoping to go to a PNP this weekend if the weather holds out. There is one about a half hour north of me. Ive never been to one before, so it should be interesting. ive been to other junkyards that have let me wander around and look, but not one like this. I love looking and wandering through them. It seems like such a peaceful place, for some reason.

 

Ive been wanting to do paint and bodywork on it, but there is never enough time or money. I'm begining to think about a roll on Rustoleum, just for ease and speed of application. To do several coats with wetsanding in between should make for a decent end result. And affordable. I can buy a little bit here and there to spread out the cost. 

 

 

 

 

[dasbulliwagen]

Just a minor update to get back to the top. Added a junkyard ZJ steering box. That made a difference in the quickness of the steering. Went from 3 1/2 lock to lock, to 2 1/2 lock to lock. The old box was leaking too so it was time. I'm now getting an intermittent pump noise, but it otherwise works good. I also started adding WJ control arms. The grinding and cutting process is taking much longer than I anticipated, so I only have one on there right now. I need to do the others pretty soon. Just never enough time. I also took a bottle of Clorox bleach cleaner spray to it to get rid of the moldy look on the old faded white paint. It looks better now than it ever has since Ive owned it. But overall it just slow but sure progress on the old girl. I don't see myself ever getting rid of it, so I have time.

[dasbulliwagen]

I'm still only running one WJ control arm, and have been with no issues. I may try to install the others after the first of the year. Just ordered an RRO MJ control arm drop bracket set to prepare for lift. I hope I don't have issues with RRO like Ive read about. I did a little searching but didnt find a ton of complaints about them so hopefully Ill be ok. I'm also in the process of installing the WJ booster and master Ive had laying around for two years. I just need to finish flaring the lines into the MJ block and bleed the system. Hoping I don't have issues with the rear prop valve. If I do I may be eliminating it as well. The 1986 stock Wagoneer radio is starting to give me troubles, so I'm looking into either having it repaired or replacing it with something new. I really like the original unit, and have issues with confusing tiny buttons on the new stuff, so I may just have it fixed. I traded the motorcycle in my sig for a 1960 F100 4x4. The bike had been sitting for 7 years at that point and its value was about the same as the truck. Ive yet to start working on it, but it needs just about EVERYTHING so time will tell. I thought it best to save it from the kid who had it before it got really messed up. Again I'm horrible at updating and I'm not on here as much as I used to be be, but I'm not going anywhere. Love this place. Keep up the good work.

[dasbulliwagen]

ttt

[Minuit]

What you've done so far looks amazing and I'm really interested in what you have in store for the future :)

[Airborne Janitor]

Looks great, I like the 16" JK rims on there!

[desbennett004]

^^^^ Same, I might get some JK take offs for my white MJ. Looks good!

 

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

[dasbulliwagen]

These JK takeoffs are 17" just FYI. They rub a little while turning but not enough to bother me. The rears also rub when loaded down with 2000 lbs worth of scrap metal, but that doesnt happen that often. I hope to do the full lift in the spring. I put some 5.5" springs and some weld on rear perches on my list for santa, so hopefully he will come through. I already have a ProComp adjustable track bar on it and I'm hoping it is big enough to go with 6" of lift. I have it screwed all the way in right now as it is with little to no lift. If i need to get a longer one, Ill deal with it when the time comes. 

[Dzimm]

Nice looking truck. I really like the Wagoneer front ends. Would love to see it with wood panels all the way back. Any current pictures?

[dasbulliwagen]

 

 

 

 

 

 It still looks just like this. Hopefully will have some changes in the spring!

[dasbulliwagen]

Found a set of Firestone MT's  in 255/75R17 on custom gloss black wheels all in like new condition pulled off a JK for $400. Havent paid for them yet but I'm leaning that way to go with the lift next year. I'm not thrilled with the tire brand or the wheels, but they arent bad. Ill post a pic as soon as i get to host the pic I took. I want to check the backspacing tommorow too compared to my stock JK takeoffs. 

[dasbulliwagen]

 

Here are those wheels I mentioned. What do you guys think?

[Mitch89]

Ever thought of painting the outside rim of the tail lights silver like the original waggy lights? Just a suggestion.

[johnj92131]

How is your night vision with the Quad headlights?  I "assume" they are just stock sealed beams? 

 

I like the simple white paint job.  To me the fake wood trim looks...well  "fake".

[dasbulliwagen]

I have yet to pay for the wheels, but they are asking me to do it soon, so I guess Ill get them. For that price I can re sell them for a profit if needed.

 

I finished my WJ brake booster and master conversion. The initial braking feels better than before, but it won't lock the tires. I need to go through the special bleeding procedure for the rear load sensing valve and re check. I decided to cut the original brake booster end off with the brake switch and weld it on to the WJ so I wouldnt have to drill and fab the switch onto the WJ rod. This gave me the opportunity too to make the length correct as the WJ rod is slightly longer than the original. Got it all together and had no brake lights. I thought maybe I melted the switch parts but I didnt. After removal I found one of the switch terminals had corroded and got hot in the past and after reconnecting this time it would no longer make good electrical contact. So I got a new switch, and all is good with the brake lights.

 

Santa was pretty good to me. I got 5.5" springs, and rear weld on spring perches. I then bought some Bilstein 5100's to go with all this and the RRO control arm drop brackets that I got in November. Lift will be happening soon. I'm wondering about doing this as part of the Steering and suspension class I'm teaching at the local community college at night. I worry about that though due to the amount of time consuming fab required. Its hard to tell an inexperienced kid about modifying parts to make them work on something they were never designed to work with when they are just trying to learn the basics.