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An opinion from people that know MJ's


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To start off, thanks for having a nice site jamminz.gif

Obviously this is my first post, but a serious one. I am considering doing my first MJ project. A fellow co-worker of mine is toying around with the idea of selling his 89 for a $1000. What it comes with is a Dana 30 front with 4:56 gears with trac-loc, a Dana 44 rear with 4:56 and trac-loc, 5.5" lift, Metric ton package (??), 4.0, 5-speed, not sure what t-case. It's a short-bed, has about 200,000 on it, motor is worn - could use a rebuild or replacement. Clutch is good, but truck has a vibration at around 45mph that is believed to be trans related, that's why he parked it. For the bad part: it's been a Michigan truck all it's life and is rusty. He has replaced the floor, but said that it could be done better. Box is rusty, front fender's are rusty. Currently it has Bushwacker fender flares on it that cover most of the rust. Other needs are minor (electrical shorts, needs brake lines), but I'm wondering if this would be a good base for a nice MJ that I could redo and use as a DD/occasional weekend warrior. Any thought's and opinions are welcome. Also, if someone knows where a good deal on an MJ in Michigan/Ohio is, feel free to let me know :D Thanks again!

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I don't know MJ's all that well yet but I'm not new to Jeeps so what about this?...

 

If you could talk him down to say $750 or $800 it may be worth your time. Depending on your budget here is what I'm thinking. Grab his MJ because it has tons of useful parts. Axles, lift, tires etc. Then, find yourself a real nice rust free 2WD MJ with lower miles, much less rust, a good transmission, etc. and swap all the parts over to it. Not only that but you would then have a spare parts truck for your "new" Manche. I would think you could pull all that off for $2500 or so.

 

Just a random thought that came to mind when you mentioned all the parts that come on the rusty one.

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A fellow co-worker of mine is toying around with the idea of selling his 89 for a $1000. What it comes with is a Dana 30 front with 4:56 gears with trac-loc, a Dana 44 rear with 4:56 and trac-loc, 5.5" lift, Metric ton package (??), 4.0, 5-speed, not sure what t-case. It's a short-bed, has about 200,000 on it, motor is worn - could use a rebuild or replacement. Clutch is good, but truck has a vibration at around 45mph that is believed to be trans related, that's why he parked it.

If it's a shortbed, it's not a Metric Tonne. That option was available only on the longbeds. If it has a 5-speed, the transfer case is an NP231. And I don't believe it has a Dana 30 with a Trac-Lok, because as far as I know Dana doesn't make a Trac-Lok for the D30 axle.

 

This one's a tough one to call. People who throw money into their toys always think that everything they've done "adds value" and that they should get it all back when they sell. It doesn't work that way. In general, getting back 25 to 35 cents on the dollar for mods is doing well. Personally, I won't buy a modded vehicle. You simply can't trust anyone else to have done it right, or to have done it the way you want it. I broke that rule when I bought my '88 MJ. I fugured at $500 I couldn't go TOOOOO wrong.

 

Boy was I wrong! That $500 truck was up to around $3000 just to get it registered and streetable. I've got probably close to $5000 in it at this point, and it's worth maybe $2000 ... to the right buyer.

 

The truck you describe has some nice equipment in it, but it does not sound like a thousand dollar truck. $500 maybe. For parts. I like the suggestion to buy it for the drive train, then swap everything into a solid 2WD chassis.

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Thanks guys, you've given me a few things to think about. I'll have to double check on that info about the "metric ton" package and the Dana44. I have not seen the truck in a while, I figure that tomorrow on lunch would be a good time. Another question that just popped into mind, how hard is it to convert the front end to a 97+?

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All bolt on and I agree with all said above about it not being worth 1000 but I can see 500-700 maybe if the frame is good. Also the D44 came in MJs that had a tow package deal on them and they were not the Metric ton MJs just random ones here and there that seem to be popping up alot lately. And welcome to the club

 

Cole

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Well I went and looked at it saturday, and it's in pretty sad shape. Suspension/axle wise it's what he said, but the body is pretty rough. I think that I am going to keep on looking and keep an eye out at the local auctions to see if I can snag one up. Thanks for the help and for having a great site. jamminz.gif

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hey mrclean

 

first off welcome, i noticed you coming from ( i think) gl4x4?

 

shoot a pm to 0007bond or something close to that, hes on gl4x4 as well

 

his name is jeff, he found me my decent MJ, he could prolly do the same for you

 

nice guy to work with, pretty fair with prices

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there is one localy here he wants 900 for it

all i know is it is 4.0 body ruff but not to bad has roll bar (won't sell seperat)4x4

long bed

about a 3 hour drive for u to get here he said it runs nust needs battery

and linkage on trns cace need adj. won't stay in 4x4

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I am gonna say just what others said before in that there are lots of sought after parts on that truck and it wouldnt be a bad one to snag for future use.

 

But, I would never put money into the truck to make it something. If you are gonna build one, make it worth your while. ;)

 

Let him know about this site and all us comanche addicts so that when he decides to part it out we can get first dibs on parts for our trucks before the crusher or some XJ does.

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Guys, be careful how much you talk up any truck's value "because it has a lot of good parts in it." Remember, we ARE talking about a rust-bucket. I'm buying complete, running, solid MJs for between $100 and $500. Yeah, they're 2WD, but they are viable vehicles. If you lads start driving the price of PARTS trucks up to a grand, soon we're going to be paying $2000 for any MJ that runs and hasn't broken in half.

 

COOL YER JETS! A junkyard will tow it away for him for free. If he can sell it to someone for $250 he's ahead of the curve. Forget this "I'd pay $700 for it" stuff. At least ... in public.

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hey mrclean

 

first off welcome, i noticed you coming from ( i think) gl4x4?

 

shoot a pm to 0007bond or something close to that, hes on gl4x4 as well

 

his name is jeff, he found me my decent MJ, he could prolly do the same for you

 

nice guy to work with, pretty fair with prices

 

Thank you for warm welcome :cheers:

 

I did see 0007Bond post an MJ forsale a while ago, but it left me a little weary because I don't know what it would take to import it into the U.S. I've heard stories either way about going through the border. Guess I need to look into it more.

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there is one localy here he wants 900 for it

all i know is it is 4.0 body ruff but not to bad has roll bar (won't sell seperat)4x4

long bed

about a 3 hour drive for u to get here he said it runs nust needs battery

and linkage on trns cace need adj. won't stay in 4x4

 

If you happen to have anymore info on it, please send it my way if you could. I would be interested to find out more on this. Thanks jamminz.gif

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Guys, be careful how much you talk up any truck's value "because it has a lot of good parts in it." Remember, we ARE talking about a rust-bucket. I'm buying complete, running, solid MJs for between $100 and $500. Yeah, they're 2WD, but they are viable vehicles. If you lads start driving the price of PARTS trucks up to a grand, soon we're going to be paying $2000 for any MJ that runs and hasn't broken in half.

 

COOL YER JETS! A junkyard will tow it away for him for free. If he can sell it to someone for $250 he's ahead of the curve. Forget this "I'd pay $700 for it" stuff. At least ... in public.

 

If you happen to find a clean one you would want to sell, send me a pm and we'll talk.

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hey mrclean

 

first off welcome, i noticed you coming from ( i think) gl4x4?

 

shoot a pm to 0007bond or something close to that, hes on gl4x4 as well

 

his name is jeff, he found me my decent MJ, he could prolly do the same for you

 

nice guy to work with, pretty fair with prices

 

Thank you for warm welcome :cheers:

 

I did see 0007Bond post an MJ forsale a while ago, but it left me a little weary because I don't know what it would take to import it into the U.S. I've heard stories either way about going through the border. Guess I need to look into it more.

 

that MJ that you saw for sale is in my driveway lol

 

he knows his stuff abotu shipping to the states, and he also used a broker to ship if u want to that route as well

 

it was just a suggestion, there are MJ's everywhere here in windsor (which is 10 mins from detroit if ur unaware as to where i am)

 

i will keep an eye out for you as well. i know of a nice 4x4 but the guy prolly wants an arm and a leg for it

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