Comanche of the month, Dec 2010 --- XJS4EVER's 1989

[Automan2164]

End of the year boys. Lets close out the year 2010 with one of our original members. :cheers:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-----December 2010 - XJS4EVER's 1989 "SUMTHIN"-----

 

 

MODEL AND YEAR

1989 sumthin. I've no clue if its an X or Pioneer or what. VIN might tell me huh?

I call it FRANKENSTIEN due to how many parts are not original.

 

Here it is after I first got it..

 

With a 3" lift & 31's on Hurricanes..

 

As is sits now at 5" on car tires and home made shell..

 

 

ENGINE & PERFORMANCE:

So far just the stock 4.0L, but cold air intake is comin! I did put on a throttle body spacer and noticed a slight power boost at highway speeds.

 

DRIVETRAIN:

Stock D30/35 combo, 307 gears, NP 231, vac disco front axle [yuk], and I think the trans is a Pukegoat not the AX15.

 

COOLING:

New 2-row rad, converted to open system, LeBaron hood vents

 

ELECTRICAL & IGNITION:

Needs replaced asap. I keep losing entire circuits and half the dash and domes quit workin :fs1:

 

STEERING:

Nice n tight, out of an XJ of the same year.

 

SUSPENSION:

SOA, 3" coils and a bunch of coil spring isolaters in front. I didnt have enough lift in front to even it out so I actually put XJ rear shackles on it to drop me 3/4" in back :nuts: ..

 

These brackets were made from rear swaybar mounts from XJ's. My own design ..

 

INTERIOR:

Trashed when I got it. Busted bench seat, no mini-console, dash smashed. I Frankenstiened in the interior from an 89 XJ [4dr]..

 

BRAKES:

OEM but I am going to install ZJ rear disc. Like so.. http://http://www.myxj.net/blog/35/comment-page-1#comment-30966

 

 

LIGHTING:

OEM but I took the roof rails and rack from an XJ and built this adjustable light bar. Nifty eh?..

 

WHEELS/TIRES:

First stock, then 31" mudders on Hurricanes, then P255/70-15s on junk alloys, then 33's on TJ Canyons, then back to car tires on the Hurricanes.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS:

COBRA CB, 750w amp pumping two 12" woofs and two 6.5" mids in a custom box that completely took every inch of rear space behind the seats. They came from a 4dr XJ so I can't tilt them so...

 

The fleet!

here's the ol Varmint..

 

The 89 XJ..

 

The 91 XJ..

 

Cin's 95 ZJ..

Oh hell I don't have any uploaded! :eek:

 

 

Best MJ story

Geez where do I start. I have only had the Frankenstein for 3yrs and havent had the stories me and the ol Varmint had so here's a Varmint story..

Truckin down a Colorado trail [slaughterhouse. Petes been there] when suddenly my rear end goes vertical and I'm looking out the windsheild at dirt road. Alone, I get out and my rear axle is under my rear bumper and the driveshaft is 20' behind me. The centerpin that sits in the hole in the spring perch came out somehow and the axle fell out - literally - and was only held onto the truck by the shocks and brake lines.

NEVER EVER BE WITHOUT A HI-LIFT OR TOOLS OR RATCHETING STRAPS!!!! So I hoist the rear end up to the max my 48" hi-lift could go, and wrapped the ratcheting straps to lightening holes in the 'frame' under the seats, and used those to winch the axle back into place. I bolt everything together and let it down and away I go. 'course that all took me about 2hrs and everyone who came by all said and I quote "sucks to be you" and drove around me or went off trail and up the hill. No offers of help at all. And WAY out of cell phone range too. :fs2:

 

 

What owner loves best about CC

Two things.

 

Thing one - you're the finest bunch of people in the world and I love all of you deeply. But why dangit are all of you so flippin FAR AWAY??!! :(

 

Thing two - Be proud of yourselves because this group has some of the finest minds I have encountered. The vast wealth of knowledge here astonishes me. I thought I was savvy but I'm just a pup next to these folks. I love the post-97 XJ front clips and doors you are putting on these MJs. I know one gut who grafted in the tail lights too. Some cool bodywork there.

 

-Rick

 

 

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rick, you are one of the originals. Not only are you one of the proud few to make the transition to the club over from the Yahoo infancy, you posted some of the most b-e-a-utiful pics roaming around the Colorado trails in the Varmint. You have been there when Pete needed a place to crash after traveling cross-country in his beast of an MJ, and are always there to help a member. Most recently, life had dealt you with some tough cards. I hope you know that the club is still here, and still behind you 100%. Be it an escape from the day, or a hail mary from states away. You inspired me back in the day to believe that a 4 cylinder could do it, and that longbeds were cool. :chillin: As I always seem to say, the MJOTM is about the member more so than the truck, and Rick, your one hell of a guy. It is my pleasure, to introduce you as December's MJOTM.

 

Congratulations brother. :cheers:

 

Rob L. (I'll let Pete pick his favorite trip pics and post them)

[Pete M]

Var-mint! Var-mint! Var-mint! Var-mint!

 

:jump: :jump: :jump: :jump:

 

 

 

[cluricaunne]

awesome truck, congrats on COTM

[glundblad]

Nice truck.

 

I am not sure why but i really like white comanches. So much so that I think I have a problem. :ack:

[Unglar]

Congrats! I love white trucks too, does that make it an epidemic?

[btm24]

Cool truck and great guy(from what I here). Congrats! :cheers:

 

Brandon

[mjeff87]

Congrats Rick :cheers:

 

you deserve it.

 

Jeff

[Akula69]

Congrats!

[neohic]

I'm diggin' the whole fleet... simple, purposeful, and home-built. I remember when I first got mine and looking around online for other MJs. The Varmint was one of the first pictures to come up and it was the picture of it all twisted up on the rocks. AWESOME! The simplicity of that gold rig made me love these trucks and realize how capable they are. Thanks Rick and congratulations!

[XJs4Ever]

WHOA! Me on the MJOTM page!! :brows:

 

Took me awhile to figger it out cuz my website expired and the email aint a-workin now neither. So the old reliable email that I will change in my profile is as always XJs4Ever@yahoo.com until further notice..

 

My wheelin crowd has vanished so ther isnt much to say about this one yet but I would like to share one more pic from a Moab trip in the ol Varmint from a few years ago. One of my faves...

 

 

Believe me, having a phobia of cliffs anyway, it freaked me the HELL out creeping up to the edge of that rock! :eek: Wondering if my foot would slip off the clutch and send me over the edge of a thousand foot drop. All I saw out the front was sky. But I wanted the shot and got it YEA!! :banana:

 

BIG NEWS!! The garage rehab is officially done WOOO HOOOO!! I just wired up a new used opener so I will be building a thread to stick up in the pub in a couple days! YOW! :yes:

[freakjeep93]

when was it gold. all the pics you have from day one show it as white. then a couple are gold? looks good anyhow.

also i thought this was the 2.5L one?

[jpnjim]

:thumbsup:

[Pete M]

when was it gold. all the pics you have from day one show it as white. then a couple are gold? looks good anyhow.

also i thought this was the 2.5L one?

 

 

The gold one was Varmint, his old truck. The white one is his new, current truck. :thumbsup:

[comanche13]

congratulations on getting COTM!

 

Got any pictures of the axle falling out?

[freakjeep93]

 

The gold one was Varmint, his old truck. The white one is his new, current truck.

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 12:51 pm

 

oh okay . i was confused for a sec. what happened to varmint?

[XJs4Ever]

 

what happened to varmint?

 

Ate a valve and/or rod one day. Had it been a 4.0 I woulda fixed it but I was never a 2.5 TBI fan and that night I said ADIOS AMIGO and sold the whole thing for $400 but FYI it had a lotta problems like a ripped frame and tweeked body and it was time to admit it was no longer worth the hassle.

[HOrnbrod]

Back in the late 80s thru early 10s, I was stationed in various posts in the Pacific. Wherever I was, I most always had a Jeep RHD or LHD XJ because of family. Had always wanted an MJ (HO of course since I knew better by then), but since we were only allowed one vehicle, it was not an option. I had to leave the family six months early to return to the States permanently in 01, and searched the Internet grabbing all the MJ info I could find from the old Yahoo CC, and I stumbled on Ricks MJ Site. Found one I liked in VA, asked Rick for info and advice, he translated the VIN and concurred, and I bought it sight unseen. The rest is history. Thanks for your sage advice Rick-man, you are a true MJ Pioneer and well deserving the MJOTM award mate. :cheers:

[Pete M]

Yeah, Rick was a HUGE help in the infancy of the internet. always willing to help out his fellow Jeeper in any way he could. He had one of the first sites dedicated to MJs and was one of the first to do actual how-tos on the projects he did. :cheers: When he invited me to Moab in 05, I just had to go. screw the cost, the 48 hours of driving, and the high odds of being stranded on the side of the highway, I was going to make it if I had to walk. :D Best vacation ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(that's Carly in the foreground, my co-pilot for the trip)

 

 

the following weekend he led a trip up into the mountains by his home. here he is watching me chug my way through the mud.

 

 

 

 

and hanging some rubber:

 

 

[COMJNUT]

just saw this, way to go rick!

 

more photos of the varmint,

 

Image Not Found

 

Image Not Found

[XJs4Ever]

Thanks Scott! Damm I do miss that truck. The sliding rear window, the sunroof. If it hadnt self-destructed, it'd still be out in the street today.

 

Well its my b-day so I am off to the garage to see what kind of trouble I can get into. The new/used steering stabilizer seems to have helped the wobbles but I still havent taken it on the highway yet.

[james750]

Congrats on MJOTM Rick. I think I have some pictures of the day we went to go pick your truck back up on Slaughterhouse...

[XJs4Ever]

Thanks for the save, James. In 12 years of off-roadin thats the first time I have ever had to leave the rig behind. Chains might have gotten me out in front wheel drive but maybe not. That was my last wheelin trip and for someone who used to go weekly I am suffering major withdrawls.

[james750]

Did you stop wheeling because of the breakdown?

[XJs4Ever]

Nah I just have nobody to go with. The guy who got me started on the wheelin gig is always too busy with family or is out of town, and everyone else either turned into @$$holes or have no 4x4's anymore or don't have the same days off as me. Theres always runs posted on CO4x4.org but I don't know those guys and although I would tow them out and/or give them a ride home - they wouldnt do the same for me..a stranger. I learned that hard lesson one day.

[james750]

Yeah, my summer got really busy, really fast, and I wasn't able to go on too many runs, but your always welcome to come along when I am going. I'll let you know next time I am going out, but I need to fix a lot of things on the truck for next summer and am also dealing with my dads totaled XJ (blue XJ that he brought along on Illinois Gulch last season) part out or rebuild as well this winter since some lady rear ended it on Santa Fe, so it may be awhile before I can head out again.