jeepdude89`s 1989 Comanche "Buddy"

[jeepdude89]

Ladies & Gentlemen, Meet Buddy. Buddy is a 1989 Comanche Pioneer, 2.5 I4, AX5 5 Speed, SWB, 2wd. I just bought it last night & hauled it home today. I have been wanting a Comanche for as long as I can remember & now I finally have one! :banana:

I bought it from the original owner for $500. It is almost rust free, it has only been in Tennessee & Arkansas so it is a southern truck. The only rust on it is the drivers side floor. It needs roof & motor work. I haven`t got it started yet, but the po said when he parked it it would run & idle, but once it got over 2,000rpm it would loose power & bog down. I bet the cat convertor is clogged. I am hoping it is something simple. On to the roof, when it started running rough, he parked it under a tree & left it & when the last ice storm came a good sized tree branch fell on it, so the roof is pushed in some. Other than that & the interior being kinda nasty the rest of the truck is in great shape.

So, my plans right now for it are to fix the roof by either pounding this one out or cutting a good roof off a junked mj & welding it on, & try to get it running good, & if I can`t do that or if the motor is shot I will find a 4.0 donor & swap a 4.0 in. So, the madness has officially begun for me! Also, so I don`t get one of these, :needpics: here are some pics:

 

[Comanche County]

 

Ouch! That left a mark! :eek: I hope the PO did the proper thing and chain-sawed that tree into toothpicks for causing that damage.

 

Certainly fixable.

[500 MJ]

Somewhere along the line that truck got a 10 slot grille put on it. An '89 should have an 8 slot grille. Previous work done on the front end...? - something to look into.

 

Also, thats a BIG dent to push out and make right. I think your best bet is to get a new roof like you said.

 

Good Luck!

[jeepdude89]

I noticed the grill too so, I asked the po about it & he said he hit a deer with it & put the grill & front clip from a cherokee on it. I may keep the 10 slot on it or I am thinking about finding a wrecked 97+ xj & maybe doing a complete 97+ swap on it. We shall see. I need to get the roof fixed on it first. I am maybe planning to go to one of my local junkyards next Saturday & cut a roof off a junked mj.

[buxmj]

Welcome to the madness, and yes, ouch X10 on the roof. But if the engine gets running and the roof is the major thing right now, great find! Great to hear not a lot of rust. Do you think you can save the windshield? HaHa.

[500 MJ]

Keep me in the loop if you take that 10 slot off of it. I hoard them like they are going out of style (cause in reality they are...)

[jeepdude89]

You will be the first one I will offer it to. I am thinking about putting a 97+ front clip on it. I kinda like the 97+ look better. I wish they would kept on making comanches up to 2001 like they did with the xj`s. A 2001 Comanche would be sweet!

[jeepdude89]

Update: It now runs! All it needed to get running is a new battery. It runs & idles as good or better than my 01 xj 4.0. Now it is on to fixing the roof. More to come....

[MancheKid86]

try a hi-lift, pop it right out :yes:

[jeepdude89]

I have been working on it the last couple of days & I have removed all the interior except for the dash in preperation for the roof repair & fixing the floor. The only rust on this truck is on the drivers side floor. So when I have the new roof welded on & will have a new floor welded in at the same time. I also removed the busted windshield too. Sorry, I didn`t take any pictures, I was too busy working on it! I am wanting to get it fixed up & going before winter because I don`t have a garage. I have been working on it in my back yard. But I may move it over to my Dad`s garage if I have too. Just thought I would give a update on it.

[jeepdude89]

It`s been awhile since i have updated this so i will give it an update.

I found a good complete roof off an 86 mj in one of the local junkyards that i cut off & hauled home on the roof of my xj.

 

 

I got afew looks on the highway & in the walmart parking lot when i was hauling the roof home!

I got the bad roof cut off & the new one set in place to weld on. I am going to put metal sleeves inside the pillars to give it the proper support it needs. I figured it would be easier to fix the roof this way than to try & fix the damaged one.

 

 

All i have left to do is to get the new roof welded, fix afew little electrical problems with some of the lighting, put in windshield, black slider glass, bleed the brakes, & put the interior back together & it should be ready to go! I got the motor running good now & i picked up a nice set of tan buckets, center console, clock, & full gauge cluster from an 88 xj that i will be putting into it once i start putting everything back together. It has turned off kinda cold here in Mo now & i am just working on it in my back yard so it will have to warm up some before i will get back to working on it. Hopefully i will have it going by spring or no later than summer.

[camjeep3]

awesome. glad you are keeping her alive. You are going in the right direction. Most would just write it off and scrap her :thumbsup:

[MancheKid86]

looking good! :thumbsup:

i wish my 86 looked like that when it got totaled :P

[Comanche County]

Good job dude!

[jeepdude89]

I just remembered that I haven`t updated this in a while and that I never did take and upload any pics of the rebuilding process. Sorry! Here are some pics of it finished. I`m really happy with how it turned out. Maybe sometime in the future I will repaint the rest of it. It has become my new daily driver. Now that I have the bugs worked out of it (I hope) it is averaging 23 to 24mpg. It is a blast to drive!

 

 

 

[ComancheKid45]

Great job.....Glad to see it have a new outlook on life! :wrench: :cheers: