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Well, I had my buddy Mike go look at a 'manche that is ~ 120 miles away from me. It is an 1988 2WD, 4.0L, Auto, long bed. 74K miles, ex. City of Lake Oswego, OR truck.

 

bed.jpg

 

It's seen some time working, as would be expected from a ex-fleet vehicle, but runs great and has really very little rust. OK, there is a little in the bed.

 

Engine1.jpg

 

Buddy Mike says it starts and runs OK, with no weird noises, and no apparent oil leaks. Mike's and olde farte like myself that's been wrenching all his life, so I trust him on things mechanical.

 

Tailgate.jpg

 

I already have a parts truck located on Craigslist, and there are a gazillion (roughly) Cherokee's being parted locally, so I don't think finding parts will be too hard. :shake:

 

Front.jpg

 

Mike says the tires are "thin" and mismatched, the seller says they are OK. I've been eying some factory alloys with decent tires on the craigslist superstore. :brows:

 

undercarriage.jpg

 

I specifically told Mike to check the floorboards, 'specially the drivers side. He said it's a little 'soft' so I wouldn't be surprised if there is a little rust in there. It does get a bit damp in Oregon, and Mike said the floor mat was a bit wet.

 

pass%20side.jpg

 

So the asking price was $1350. I'm more excited about the low miles than I am bothered by the dents and dings, so I called him and asked him what he'd take. He came back with $1200.

 

Engine2.jpg

 

Even figuring in tires and wheels, that's well within my budget. I'll be picking it up Sunday. My wife barely even blinked when I told her. :cheers:

 

Edit: moved images to Picasa, hopefully they work now.

 

Ken

'88 Comanche "City of Lake O"

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i just bought an 89 2wd long bed manche unknown amount of miles for 500 and it runs

 

 

non of your pictures worked.

:redX:

 

The low miles were important to me, and nothing around here that is $500 is reliable.

 

Not sure what is up with the pictures ... I'll get them fixed this afternoon.

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Check it for a D44 rear axle. Being a city truck, they probably checked off all payload/towing options.

 

As soon as I get it home, I'll be all over it figuring out exactly what I have. :D

 

I've been kicking nic-names around. I kind of like "City of Lake O" as a play on

"City of New Orleans" and the fact this spent it's first 20 years or so being a city vehicle. I could do a custom plate like CTY LKO but I'm not sure anyone but ME would get it. ;-) EX LK O might work better, or just LAKE O. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Oswego,_Oregon

 

Then there are plays on MJ. "Mary Jane" is way over done, IMHO. "Mother Jones" (MAJONES) is doable. (Mother Jones is a liberal viewpoint political commentary magazine http://motherjones.com/). "Mrs. Jones" (MSJONES) could be fun too, as "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfr6jmJOGA8" Me and Mrs. Jones got a thing going on. The custom plate would confuse people, which might me OK. :yes:

 

Thoughts? Comments?

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Showing my age, when I hear Ms. Jackson, I think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh_gaaUiNs8

 

It's home! I picked my wife up from work this afternoon and made the drive down to pick up the truck through snow, sleet, rain and even sunshine. We quickly traded $$ for title and keys, and headed right back north towards home. After a quick stop for gas and to check tire pressures (all OK) we drove straight home the other 100-ish miles.

 

No pictures because I forgot to take any. I'll get some this weekend. The good news: the interior is not blue as I feared. The bad news: it's butterscotch. :eek: Also, I got 3 ignition keys (2 look new and are AMC/Jeep) and NO door keys. :hmm: I found out when I got home the two missing hub caps are behind the seat (one is at least partially broken). Oh, and the factory AM radio either doesn't work, or the fuse is blown.

 

comanche.gif I'm a happy guy this evening!

 

Ken

'88 MJ 2wd 4.0L, AW4, LongBed.

 

PS: Mrs. Frogpirate likes "Mrs. Jones", 'cause she already knows this is going to be the "other woman", and I'm going to be riding her hard. Err, the truck...as far as you know. :D

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My wife already knows about my addictions. :roll:

 

I have found some surprises, both good and not so good. This is good:

 

DSCI0062.JPG

 

Dana 44

 

This is not-so-good:

 

DSCI0082.JPG

How do you break pieces of the bed corner off?

 

This is very, very good:

 

DSCI0070.JPG

 

Huzzah! Traction-Lock!

 

I'm trying to determine if these are Metric Ton springs, or just regular with an extra add-a-leaf:

 

DSCI0061.JPG

 

Most of the rest is stuff I'd expect on a 23 year old truck. The bench seat seems to list towards the drivers door, and of course there is that PIMP seat cover.

 

DSCI0064.JPG

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I don't want to change the gauge cluster, because I love this ODO reading!

 

DSCI0066.JPG

 

"You could hear it on the AM radio..." if the AM radio worked that is.

 

DSCI0067.JPG

 

...and yes, it's lose in there. :dunno:

 

I think the "ROTO BEAM" switch is going to end up powering some fog lights. Or maybe amber rear facing pre-runner style safety lights. :yes:

 

DSCI0071.JPG

 

I'm guessing this is from its days as a city truck. As an ex-smoker, I am totally down with this.

 

DSCI0072.JPG

 

More left overs from its days as a city truck. There is a NMO antenna mount on the left fender as well.

 

DSCI0093.JPG

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OK, now just some generic pictures.

 

DSCI0055.JPG

 

DSCI0056.JPG

 

DSCI0057.JPG

 

Yes, it was cold this morning.

 

DSCI0058.JPG

 

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I call it "patina". My wife calls it "junky looking." :huh???: It looks like there have been a couple different mirrors on that door, including the floppy one that is there now.

 

DSCI0078.JPG

 

OK, she may have a point.

 

DSCI0079.JPG

 

Really though, we've all seen worse examples, right?

 

Property of....

DSCI0059_adj.jpg

 

 

This was also in the glove box:

 

Comanche_Owners_Manual.jpg

 

no door keys though. :(

 

DSCI0095.JPG

 

Hey cool, the numbers match the title!

 

Ken comanche.gif

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Nice truck. I love the license plate "bumpers" so it don't get damaged.

 

They are actually tag lights. I replace them all the time at work (I am a City Mechanic)... They stick out a ton, and they knock off easily.

 

Great find on the truck. I wish I could drive an old city truck MJ. The damage and wear looks pretty typical. All city trucks get treated like red-headed step children.

Rob L.

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They are actually tag lights. I replace them all the time at work (I am a City Mechanic)... They stick out a ton, and they knock off easily.

 

Great find on the truck. I wish I could drive an old city truck MJ. The damage and wear looks pretty typical. All city trucks get treated like red-headed step children.

Rob L.

 

Yeah, they look pretty generic. One is held on/together with a wire tie.

 

The down-side to fleet vehicles is that they get treated like red-headed step children. The upside is that they are often low-mile, and have regular maintenance.

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Yeah, they look pretty generic. One is held on/together with a wire tie.

 

The down-side to fleet vehicles is that they get treated like red-headed step children. The upside is that they are often low-mile, and have regular maintenance.

 

You got it. Mechanically, they are usually very good. But cosmetically, they are usually garbage. I can't even begin to tell you about all the dings and dents we have on all of the trucks. One '08 Chevy we have is on its 3-4th rear bumper, 2nd seat, 3rd passenger mirror, 2nd tailgate... It gets frustrating at times.

 

Rob L.

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Make sure you check out the NAXJA NW chapter,we are a very active group and there are even a few guys in/around Vancouver. Its a great local resource.

 

Thx mnkyboy, I'll do that. I have already activated an account over there (same name).

 

I've been to Boring, and if I lived anywhere other than Vantucky, I'd give you a hard time about it. :brows:

 

Ken

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Borings the most exciting place to live,didn't you see the sign.

 

I actually just moved here from Vantucky,I was over in orchards off Padden.

 

Small world - I lived over off Padden around '02-03. We live over by Lakeshore now. In between we lived in Portland, around MLK & Alberta. When we lived there, we often rode our bicycles out to Boring; it was a normal grocery / potty stop. :D

 

We'll have to get together for a cold one some time. :cheers:

 

Ken

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As I may have mentioned, my truck came sans door keys. I stopped by my local locksmith (Curley's on Hwy 99 for locals) and asked them what it would cost to make a key. He told me $15 if I removed the lock. OK, I can do that.

 

DSCI0108.JPG

 

I decided to pull the passenger lock, as I noticed as I was leaving the locksmith that the drivers side had been "screwdrivered" at some point. :fs1: Getting to the clips on the door / lock handle was a little hard, but not too bad. If you have never done this, there is a plastic clip that goes around the rod. You simply push the clip off the rod, and the rod drops out of the door or lock handle.

 

I don't think this door panel has been washed in the trucks 23 year life. :shake: I sprayed it with Simple Green once it was off, and let it soak while I got the lock out.

 

DSCI0109.JPG

 

The door dust cover was pristine, and it hurt a little to have to remove it. I used a heat gun on low setting to soften the glue, but it curled pretty bad and I think it's probably toast. :( I took the factory speaker out, and it was junk - the surround is gone. Oh well, I needed an excuse to get some decent speakers. :rotf:

 

I tossed everything back in the truck and drove back up to Curley's. The tech looked at the lock, and asked if the truck had a glove box. "Uh, yeah." We then went and pulled that lock out (took 2 minutes) and it is the one he used!! On the plus side, he felt so bad about having me tear the door apart that he only charges me $10 for two keys.

 

I'm hoping to swap the passengers side lock into the drivers door, and find another lock for the passengers side to get re-keyed. Anyone have an extra lock kicking around?

 

Ken

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That would be a long ride on a bike,but there are some nice bike trails around Portland.

 

If you watch on NAXJA there is usually a meet and greet about once a month,good place to meet fellow MJ/XJ owners and grab a beer. :cheers:

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That would be a long ride on a bike,but there are some nice bike trails around Portland.

 

If you watch on NAXJA there is usually a meet and greet about once a month,good place to meet fellow MJ/XJ owners and grab a beer. :cheers:

 

In 2005, my wife and I made up team "Candy @$$ Llamas" for the Race Across Oregon, a little 534 mile, non-stop bicycle race that finishes at Timberline Lodge.

 

http://www.raceacrossoregon.com/rao_history/rao-2005-statistics

 

We were the first ever 2-person mixed team to finish the race. Since then we have backed down how much we ride, but we are still pretty active. Lisa ran the Portland Marathon last year, her first ever. We're slow, but we get 'er done eventually. :brows:

 

I'm also into long distance motorcycle rallies, and rode in the Ten 'n Ten rally last Summer. 10,000 miles in 10 days - well...I actually did 10,505 miles.

 

http://www.utah1088.com/10n10%20Mileage%20Sheet1.pdf

http://www.utah1088.com/10n10%20Final%20Scores%20Sheet1.pdf

 

...and won the rally. My first ever win in a LD rally, and I've done a few. I have been very successful on the last 3, posting a 2nd, 3rd and 1st. For now, I'm done though, as it's an expensive hobby (aren't they all) that I can't really afford, and am not that interested in repeating right now. This was my 3rd multi-day rally (most are 24-36 hours) and they are very draining.

 

Lots of pictures from the Ten 'n Ten on my Picasa page:

https://picasaweb.google.com/FrogPirate/TenNTen02?authkey=Gv1sRgCLr56bmWr-CBRQ&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/FrogPirate/TenNTenLeg2?authkey=Gv1sRgCMvVt8W58tO6ogE&feat=directlink

 

And Cycle World has a blog / write up by Alan Rider, who rode the rally as well.

http://blog.cycleworld.com/tags/10-n-10-rally/

 

My wife and I tend to do things a little on the extreme side. :help:

 

I'll keep an eye out on NAXJA for a call. Beer is good. jamminz.gif

 

Ken

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