Project Maggie

[ckahl2]

Hi guys! this is my first project thread here because i just bought me first comanche last week! I'm not completely new to jeeps ('92 wrangler is the DD) but this is my first comanche. Its a 1986 with 163,000 on the GM 2.8 and it came with a plow for the low low price of only $600! When i first brought brought it home i immediately fell in love with it! I posed the question as to what I should do to the truck, and after looking at shelbyluvv's "Onyx" build i decided it would be a TON of fun to swap everything out for 97+. I've never been this deep into a car or truck before so bare with me as i might make some stupid rookie mistakes, but I'm determined to make this work! I'm unsure of the exact specifics of my plan, but I see a full 97+ swap (4.0, body panels, doors, interior, etc.) a D44 in the rear with a D30 in front, SOA axle conversion in the rear, and a lift to match in the front. New wheels and tires (31's?) and a paint job. Should be a moderate build, not a wheeler. Alright, here goes everything!

 

Story behind her name:

So i took it for a short ride, the only problem was the radio didn't want to work (makes for a REALLY boring ride in my opinion) so i messed around with it and after about 30 minutes of chasing wires, it lived! I took the truck out again and the radio was playing "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart. Just as soon as the song ended the radio died again, and never came back to life. My only presumption was that she wanted to be called "Maggie" so that's what her name is! I started the deconstruction soon after, so I still haven't heard another song out of the Truck so It only makes sense!

 

And now for the good stuff...PICTURES!!!

Before any work began (except radio removal for wiring purposes)

 

Couple things about the truck, the wiring was a little messy, there is not headliner and some panels are missing, the door seals leak slightly (hence the open holes in the floor) the body is dented in multiple places (especially the rear corners) since the Jeep didnt have a bumper on the back for a while. The tailgate is broken and slightly dented, BUT the frame is super solid for a northeast truck, the ridiculous interior lights both work, the current tires have less than 1,000 miles on them, the plow is in great working condition, and the truck is an awesome starting point for what i want to do! Wish me Luck!

[87Warrior]

Should be a fun project

 

Subscribing to your build :thumbsup:

[88pioneer]

Should be pretty sweet, good deal for $600. The only thing I would suggest if you wanna keep it more on the streetable side is not going spring over, especially with a 44 out back. Thats gonna give you a whole lot of lift. If you only want to run 31's that could be done very easily. Big lifts are nice sometimes, but they cost big money as you have to replace, or improve pretty much everything.

[ckahl2]

Happy thanksgiving!! Worked on the comanche a little, took the dash off only to realize i need to remove the engine to be able to get at the heater box bolts :wall: :doh: but hey, here are some pictures with the dash removed:

 

 

Thanks for the encouragement! This should be an interesting project as i don't have any way to get the engine/trans out :wall: but i think it should be fun! And as far as not going SOA, what would you suggest so that i can get a few inches of lift? I'm new to some of the comanche specific things like that, so i just assumed it was the best way to go :D

[500 MJ]

Love that shift knob! Good Luck!

[Carl'sMJ]

Looks like alot of work and alot of fun! :thumbsup: Good luck! I look forward to seeing your progress. :popcorn:

[snowboard3r411]

how hard was it to take the dash out like that?? i need to redo my stero wires and think that would be the best way to go

[ckahl2]

how hard was it to take the dash out like that?? i need to redo my stero wires and think that would be the best way to go

 

It was for the most part very simple, ive never taken the dash off of a car before and the hardest part (at least on my truck) was getting the gauge cluster off. For some reason, nothing wanted to unplug, but other than that it was easy! I removed the radio and the heater controls first, then unbolted the steering column from the dash with the two bolts underneath, then I unscrewed the defrost vent (in my case it was so fragile that it actually broke off) and unbolted the dash from the top. The last set of bolts holding my dash in were the two or three bolts on the lower side of the dash. After that i wiggled the dash around enough to pull of everything plugged in behind, then the dash came up really easily and just slid out. I was left with the pile of wires that you see in the last couple pictures, and that was it! Hope that helped!

[ckahl2]

Unfortunately I have to put the comanche away until after the holidays :( the higher ups (the people who own the house its parked at) want it put away "on the river lot" (essentially out of the way and covered up) so that they have the extra parking space for family and friends. Ill still be collecting parts for the swap, but the big projects probably won't begin for a couple months :(

[btm24]

btw I think that you have a comanche X

 

Brandon

[ckahl2]

Bit of an update, Truck is still on hold till it gets a little warmer out and it quits snowing! but i sold the plow setup today and all the money is going towards a donor xj, so soon enough ill have some more motivation to get this thing taken apart!

[MancheKid86]

btw I think that you have a comanche X

 

Brandon

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :shake:

[ckahl2]

Ok, so even though it hasnt stopped snowing since last year, i went out and bought my donor for the 97+ swap this past saturday! It was late, so i didnt get any pictures, but i went over and got some today. I'm very excited to tear into this thing and get this project rolling (only problem is that its still snowing as I'm typing this...)