An original owner

[buxmj]

Sorry, haven't posted in a while, still enjoying reading through all your updates. I think the only thing I have done in the last year and a half is paint the wheels and drive it. Reached a milestone I thought would take me forever to reach. Since my mj has not been my daily driver for about the last 8 years, the miles don't rack up like they did the first 15 years of ownership.

 

 

 

[buffalob]

Love the color man. I have had mine in the paint shop 6 weeks and the only directive I gave the painter was, " get the color as close as you can to the wheels" I am dying to get it back.

you painted your wheels to accent the truck, I am having the truck painted to accent the wheels...go figure.

Really like your color combo.

 

Bob in Denver

[NewfieMJ]

Original owner ? That's even more rare than a MJ with solid floors :laughin:

 

You've done a great job keeping up with appearances , the truck looks very good .

[buxmj]

I haven't posted in a while and figured it was time for an update.  The mj is now in the driveway because of my new project, a '58 cruisers inc lapstrake boat which is in pretty bad shape but on it's way in the restoration.  The mj had been neglected so I spent several hours the last few days with a clay bar and car cleaner/wax getting the bird crap and dirt out of the paint.  Although it has been 4 years since it was painted (I had it painted in 99 also) the paint is still in great shape and I don't want to let it fail.  I also bought a car cover to help keep it clean.  I still want to do some upgrades that include brake booster upgrade, fuel injector upgrade, getting the ac working again and several small projects.  I really appreciate all the time you guys put into your mjs, they are inspiring and helpful.  I wish I knew just a small percentage of what some of you guys know about these vehicles, it's amazing.  Thanks for the inspiration!
Buck.  

[Minuit]

Beautiful. There's no other way to describe it. From one street MJ owner to another, keep up what you're doing and don't feel bad in any way for it. Some MJs weren't destined for the trails. :thumbsup:

[buxmj]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to celebrate a happy occasion.  Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the purchase of my mj.  I am excited to have owned this vehicle this long.  I am wondering when it will be worth again what I paid for it, just over 12k.  I am so lucky that it has spent all but 1 year of it's life here in the sunny state of Florida.  Although it doesn't have any issues with rust, it has been painted 2 times because of said sun.  Still stock all around, put in a new clutch last year, I think it is my 3rd clutch.  I do have the ax 15 so no issues there, hopefully never!   It is driven a few times a month and still drives and moves well.  Need to get the ac fixed so I don't have to go through another summer w/o ac, unbearable here.  I like when a stranger comments on how nice it is or someone gives me a thumbs up. I still have not had a person ask if it is for sale, don't know what it would take to let it go, a lot!   I have been a cc member for almost 5 years and really enjoy all the info, pics, knowledge, humor that you all have shared.  

Buck.

[Nobles41]

Nice looking truck for the mileage you have on it. Your topper looks to be an original Comanche accessory. Well worth the cost of it.

[buxmj]

Sorry I lied.  The one thing that is not stock but is nearly priceless to me is the bedslide.

[CGCWO]

So I open this page and to my surprise find a truck with almost the exact paint scheme I am going for on my 89 SWB 2.5L 4spd 2wd. Mine will be gunmetal gray metallic over black rockers, flares and header.

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[buxmj]

Nice looking mj you have.  Can't wait to see it finished.  The painter I used deserves the credit.  I think I was leaning towards black flares and he said to go ahead and paint the lower part black and the cowel and the drip rails black.  He also went slightly darker grey than the factory grey.  I painted the topper and didn't do a great job.  I will probably have somebody repaint the topper someday.  Unfortunately my painter retired so will have to find another.  

Buck

[benjy_26]

Your truck is gorgeous, Buck! Thanks for sharing it.

[buxmj]

Thanks benjy_26! Just reread your thread, amazing work on your mj. Wish I had your knowledge.

Buck.

[benjy_26]

Thanks for the kind words, Buck. :)

[buxmj]

I found some upholstery so I can get my drivers side bucket done.  The seat cover and the seat itself on the passenger side are in great shape so I didn't want to pay to have both seats done.  I found the webbed material at a place in Detroit, said it might be the last 2 yards of material in existence so I scooped it up.  I only have to replace the webbed area, I found an upholsterer I am comfortable with and will try to get this done in the next month.  This is a pic of the passenger side of course.  Yes, it has been lonely most of the time driving the mj! 

[BlackBeast]

Looking Great!

[buxmj]

This is the new upholstered driver's seat next to my original passenger seat.  The guy did a great job and I didn't have to spend the big bucks to have them both done.  

[buxmj]

Got a lot done on the mj this last weekend.  I bought some things at a u pick several months ago and finally had time to get them on the truck.  I got the door seals and mirrors from a a 98 xj.  I also finally put my spare tire winch back in so I don't have to carry the spare in the bed any longer.  It is nice to have to close the doors a little harder to completely close them, great seal.  The mirrors look so much better than the stock mirrors, plus a little bit bigger mirror, better vision.  The cable had broken on the spare tire winch and I had taken it apart and put it back together a year or two ago and never put it back in, wanted it to be safe.  Luckily the cable broke at the end and was in great shape.  I think I read every post on this subject and came up with this combination.  I put a knot at the end of the cable (thanks Jim for that suggestion) and then used 2 cable clamps.  I also used to 2 ratchet straps (thanks Don) to take the weight off the cable and I hope it lasts, it should.   I also have 2 new to me floor mats, thanks Rob.   

[Minuit]

Wow, the seat looks great. I have a set just like those waiting to go into mine. I keep trying to find a good condition cover for one in the JY but I haven't had any luck.

[buxmj]

I don't post very often but always enjoy keeping up on everyone else's threads.  It is overdue for my yearly post. When I had the driver's seat out I decided to pull up the carpet and see if I had any surprises and yes I had some rust, mostly surface rust but some had gone through.  It is interesting because it was caused by having a very bad clutch master cylinder leak years ago, the through rust was not on the flat, lower part but at the curve, almost under the pedals. After sanding and priming the good floor, I formed a piece of medium gauge steel and riveted it down while also using sealer and then plenty of bedliner inside and out.  If it ever gets another paint job I will pull both seats and have the whole floor done right.  

 

I was going to put new speakers in the b pillars but realized I just needed to rebuild the 4.5" speakers of the Pioneer boxes I bought many years ago.  I bought a foam repair kit off ebay for $25, took the boxes apart and repaired the 4.5's, the speakers sound good as new.  I have new door speakers but waiting til I get a new stereo before I hook it all up.  

 

 

Since my mj has earned its retirement several years ago, I keep it under cover most of the time.  It actually stays cleaner that it did when it was in the garage.  

 

And even though the paint job was done almost 7 years ago, it still looks great.

Last weekend I changed out the starter, for once, no foul language was used!   I don't think a pic is needed here, just glad to post when something goes smoother than I was anticipating.  No bloody knuckles either, for me, that is amazing.  

[Minuit]

That's pretty much exactly how the floors on my '89 rotted out, except the driver floor is pretty much completely gone outboard of the frame rail and the trans tunnel is pretty crusty until about halfway up. I don't remember if you said anything about it, but have you checked your fusebox for damage? Almost all of the manual MJs I've seen have much worse driver side floor rot than automatics, so I'm thinking clutch fluid definitely helps the process along. That, and I at least have a nice trail of rust leading right up to the fusebox and it seems like you do too.

[buxmj]

Hey Minuit, I have checked the fuse box and I don't see any obvious damage but I need to look much closer to see if there is corrosion anywhere. 

 

Buck.

[buxmj]

 

So after many years I have a good functioning stereo and working door speakers. I had to fix the nest in the dash that I let 2 other people do.  After looking on here and other sites for help with speaker wire color codes, the one I used that matched my mj was from the '89 xj diagram.  The stereo that I had installed 26 years ago (free installation) they trimmed the bezel around the heater controls, which I didn't notice for a long time and then drove me crazy that I hadn't noticed.  Then ten years ago I paid one of my former students to install a stereo that I bought from him, he didn't even get the constant hooked up and the cd player wouldn't release the cd all the time.  So this time I did it myself and took my time.  I pulled a bezel from a xj, it doesn't have the chrome pinstripe and I like it.  I didn't replace the bulb for the existing clock in the dash, the stereo has a clock and I didn't like the green anyway, pleasantly surprised with the result. 

I hadn't posted what I did for a center console.  I went into a Jeep dealership at least 10 years ago (it was one of the many dealership closures) to get something for the mj and saw this on the floor near the parts counter marked way down, $20 I think.  It was for a cj and was much taller.  After looking at it and realizing it was just a plywood box I asked if I could take it out to see if it would fit between my seats, it did and I bought it.  I took it home and took the staples out of the bottom, took the bottom off, cut the box down, replaced the bottom and cut the pleather and restapled it and have used it since.  I wish I would have cut the box at an angle but I really like it because it gives me some storage, has two cup holders and I can take it out when I need to carry something between the seats.  

 

Buck

[buxmj]

Hello everybody, I don't have any updates on my mj other than I now have it parked back in the garage, I had a wooden boat project in my half of the garage (my wife won't give up her parking spot) that had to go to the burn pile because I found more rot and decided it was too much work to save.  It has worked out well because I was able to switch insurance companies to Hagerty, they want the vehicle to be in a garage.

 

I went to a Jeep dealership that I had never been to the other day and was at the parts counter when a salesman came up and asked if I was driving the Comanche and he said he wanted to buy it.  I told him I probably won't ever sell it but everything has a price.  I told him I have it insured for 10k and he would have to offer me more than that if I would even consider it.  We were walking back outside and he actually said, "Would you take 10k for it today?"  I told him no thanks and he gave me his card and said to please call him if I decided to change my mind.   I have not had anyone offer me that kind of money, made my day.  

 

Buck.

[500 MJ]

I have not had anyone offer me that kind of money, made my day.

 

Buck.

Great story, it is a great feeling :)

[buxmj]

Replaced the original overflow bottle with a new aluminum one from Mac's radiators. I can't count the number of caps I replaced over the years and I can't believe the original bottle lasted this long but it sprung a leak and I decided to get something that I hope I don't have to worry about. I also cleaned the passenger side of the engine, it was an oil slick mess but now much better.

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