lakewood Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 two weeks ago i bought a 86 mj 4wd 5 speed with the lr2 v6 for the princely sum of $600. for the mileage the motor and transmission are great some minor damage to the drivers door and rust in the drivers floorboard. Six days later I purchased for $500 a 86 mj 2wd i4 automatic motor is not great 300000 miles on it the body dash and interior are super. I can't believe it was headed for the crusher. I don't see any rust on the body. Both are deep south vehicles. The problem is I would like to restore the 4wd and use the other for parts, but is it feasible to replace the cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbrand Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 First off, welcome to the club! :wavey: but is it feasible to replace the cab? In a word, no. The Comanche (and its Cherokee sister) are unibody vehicles. The cab does not unbolt from the frame, because there is no separate frame, at least from the back of the cab forward. You could replace the cab piecemeal by welding in replacement bits from a donor, but that would take serious time, skills, and equipment. Assuming you're not an expert body man, you'd be much better off to swap the good drivetrain over to the 2wd truck. You have all the pieces, so it would be a lot of pull from one, put on the other. If you're organized and know your way around a garage, you can do it. The other factor is that the L4 is not much less stout than the V6, and gets way better mileage. Maybe rebuild that, and go from there? Get a 4.0L Cherokee donor? What do you want to do with the truck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Welcome! Can you post or PM me the last six numbers of the VINs? Or if you choose post them up in the registry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakewood Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 first purchase 1JTWL6518GT132145 red 4wd ac v6 5 speed SECOND TRUCK 1JTHA6613GT064821 white no ac auto i4 940 transmission Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakewood Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 my first truck was a 91 mj fresh off the lot and totaled two years later. I was just looking for a beater truck to haul trash to the dump and boat to the lake or boat to the dump ( wife's idea VETOED) but after driving it home I decided to restore it not all original but close. I have restored a 66 mustang and a 66 F-100 wife doesn't know about second truck yet. Son will turn 16 in a few years and he has claimed the first one, so I think it will be something he can help with also. I"m not really sure what I'm going to do with them yet other than than make one out of two. will post pics in the registry in a couple of days. any one know where I can get a center console for a 4wd 5 speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I did much the same as you, bought a truck to use for hauling stuff back and forth for house projects, and fell in love... it is now my baby and is getting fixed up, but still used as needed. I also bought a second one for parts, but found out, its too nice to scrap the rest, so it will eventually get fixed up too. And a bad spot in the floor is NO reason to need to change the cab or transfer all parts from one truck to the other. Just patch up the floor and move on. It has been documented on these pages many times, and will get you back to what you might consider a nicer truck. I'm assuming youve never encountered a northern vehicle or northern MJ and seen what rust really is! I'm glad to have my rust free southern trucks after growing up in Michigan and dealing with it for too many years. And seeing what some of the members on here go through to try to bring rusty MJ's back from the brink will make you glad to have what little rust you have. If they are both as relatively rust free as you say they are, you need to fix them both! Just keep an eye on Craigslist for Cherokees for cheap and youll have everything you need to fix these baies up. And for a full center console, just find one you like out of a cherokee, and block off the parking brake hole... or adapt a Cherokee parking brake to your MJ! Good luck with your build, start a build thread in the projects section, and SAVE BOTH THOSE MJ'S! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 :agree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbert001 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 :agree: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakewood Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Being from south carolina salt is only used for food. Both trucks will be saved the bad transmission and motor in the white mj is mostly due to poor upkeep and repair by the previous owner. the motor and tranny now seem to be working well for 300,000 miles. went to pull a part for a door and hinges. will fix that problem in a couple of weeks. Told the wife the white was just a parts truck. (she is not buying it). So now I'll have a beater, the white one, while I restore the red 4wd then after that I'll start the white one(god I can"t afford for her to divorce me). Thanks for the welcome and kind words. I'll start a rebuild thread when we get started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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