Comanche Joe Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Even tho I have posted a couple of times, I have never formally introduced myself. My name is Joe T from NJ and as of recently I am a first time Comanche (or any Jeep for that matter) owner!!! The Good. 1987 Jeep Comanche longbed 4x4. I6, Auto. 139K miles. Paid $300 (he wanted $600). Starts and runs very strong, tranny is smooth as silk. Plenty of power sounds great. New exhaust, brakes (incl rotors), shocks, steering dampner, and all "Death Wobble" repairs have been made. The Bad. Rear main is leaking, but at a managable rate. I have decided not to fix it unless it gets worse, or if I find someone to do it for a couple hundred as I have decided not to tackle it myself. Ton of rust, including floorboards. (PO used a piece of sheetmetal on drivers side, but no welds or screws! It's just sitting beneath the carpet) Good news is that the rust on the body seems to be mostly surface right now, except for a few spots (see pics) The only reason I have this truck is that I was looking for a beater, just for normal runs to home depot, or just your ordinary homeowner weekend bull$h!t. I wasn't partial to any make or model. I found everything from a '78 F-150 to a '91 Nissan Hardbody. The Manche was the first one I looked at, and when I drove her I knew it was the one. Now I have to be honest, I wasn't planning on doing anything to this truck. Just try to fix the rust to make it more presentable. But after finding this site, you guys have me wanting to throw on a 5" lift and a set of 33's!!! (As a single guy and a car enthusiast, this might actually happen!) Seriously tho, this site is great and so are it's users. I had no idea that there was a subculture of people with these trucks. I am glad to be a part of it! I have decided to take on the rust first. I spent some time yesterday scraping off the bubbling paint from around the rust areas, then hitting those spots with some 60 & 100 grit sandpaper. This week I am going to use some naval jelly and rust preventer paint, and some fiberglass to patch up the holes. When all is done, I am going to get some cans of sand color (think US military color, and yes, i said CANS) paint and spray her down. I am excited to hear any comments or suggestions.... You all will be hearing alot from me! Joe T '87 Comanche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Oh, what's that saying? Welcome to the addiction. You know how I'd deal with that rust. SAWZALL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 That interior looks tasty! Since you're fixing rust, pull that bed liner and check for it there. Water and moisture can get trapped between the liner and the bed, but it isn't always a problem. Full gauges? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Actually, that is a forking cool interior. Fix the steering wheel and it would be something I'd go for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche Joe Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 No, no full gauges. I guess between that and the opening rear window are some options i'd like to have.... Under the bedliner is ok. Already checked. Nothing wrong with the steering wheel, I just had that cover laying around. Thx for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Comanche Joe - utt oh.........sounds like you got bit by the Comanche Bug :eek: Yea, these darn things seam to grow on you, and it is very hard to get them removed. I don't think that they came up with a medical solution for it eather. Anyways, welcome, and great find there sounds like some of the work has been done, and it just looks like surface rust on the body, I think your looking for the term "rattle can" paint job, which will work out just fine for a quick touch up. I've never heard of anyone using Naval jelly on the rust, might work, lets us know. If you can get your hands on a right angle grinder with a wire wheel, even brass wire, that cleans up rust spots really fast, and you can blend into the painted areas with it, Also you can get a sander disk for it for the bondo work. And whats with this "subculture of people" :laughin: I kind of like that ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOMJ87 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I used spray paint on mine and it turned out ok. Just spend as much time as you can on prep work thats where the look will be decided and I used 12 cans on my truck and its a SWB plus i didnt do the bed interior yet. Welcomae and i hope all goes well. Cole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirsMJ86 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 i bought an 86 from NJ and there was no rust but surface. all i did when i got home was use a DA sander and rustoleum gloss spray paint. oh and also on the rust spots i used some silver por-15 to prevent it from rusting any worse and the silver kind levels out the ruff texture of the suface rust. i would just use por-15 and fiberglass patch over those nasty holes rather then hack it up, unless you are making a trail rig instead of restoring it then just start hackin :D . and welcome to the club. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Paint job #3 on my yota was rattle can. Turned out pretty well, and I only used 5 cans of WalMart paint at 97 cents a piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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