Green Giant

[BryGuy]

A 89' Comanche Longbox in my area.

 

It started out as a 2wd Comanche 2.5L and has spent it's life here in Newfoundland, Canada (google map link for those of you unfamiliar with where Newfoundland is ;) )

 

I've yet to see another Comanche in the 6yrs I've lived in Newfoundland...... which makes it a pretty unique vehicle here.

 

Due to our proximately to the ocean, and our winters (lots of freeze -> thaw), rust is always a problem..... but for a 22yr old unibody vehicle it's a nightmare.

 

The previous owner is known to me, and is more competent than I am when it comes to mechanical & fabrication skills. This vehicle was one of numerous projects that he worked on. Here's the pics and info of the previous owners build:

 

- Removed the front 2wd axle

 

Removing filler put on by previous owner, over dents without holes or rust.

 

Rusty's 8" Long Arm Kit

 

Donor vehicle

 

Started lift kit

 

Cleaned up the front a bit

 

Sitting on 39's

 

Out with the 2.5

 

In with the 4.0 from the donor

 

Added new brakes all around with the upgraded "double diaphragm brake booster"

 

New paint

 

Custom high steer bracket, drag link and tie rod are still a work in progress

 

Swaybar not disco'd

 

Finished front end

[codymanche]

how bad do u rub with those 39's

[Dirteatr717]

I can hear those axles crying from new York! What is that guy thinking!?

[RockMJ]

Planning an axle swap in the future? Looks good other than the stock axles lol. Those rust pictures are going to give me nightmares man.

 

RockMJ

[HardRox-MJ]

wow!! 39"s on a d30 and d35 he is a brave man!!! I'm surprised axels arnt bustin just sittin there lol.... i would be gettin some 3/4 ton or 1 ton gear for under that if i was gunna run 39's.... but other then that its not in bad shape for the area u r in.... i live in NS and all our uni body jeeps or even full frame jeeps rust out so bad... i had an xj and just gave up and parted it out cause the floor and frame were sooo bad that i flexed it out lost a spring hanger cracked the frame and it twisted the uni-body so bad it snapped my front window lol....

 

rust is part of life in our areas i envy u southern guys with ur light surface rust lol

 

 

but nice lookin rig tho... that rustys kit look to be good

[mvusse]

No clue what the limit of a D35 is as I swapped mine out a while ago,but it's most likely well below 39" tires. As for the front axle, I beefed mine up to withstand 35" tires and it's not working. So far I busted 3 u joints, 4 axle shafts, more unit bearings than I can remember, a few balljoints a set of pinion bearings and an Aussie locker. I could beef it up more with chromoly shafts and CTM joints but that would cost more than a D60 swap. And the unit bearings would still be a problem. There's no way that D30 would survive 39" tires for very long.

[H3RESQ]

Ya, most people know that a D30 (HP!!) is good up to 33's well built, a D44 is good up to 37's well built...etc. etc.

 

 

Sure makes the axle and steering look tiny.

[H3RESQ]

....oh and that tie rod scares the $#!& out of me!

[Exxon Valdez Jeep]

That tie rod is awesome! :eek: But seriusly, cool truck. I'd just sell the 39s and put some 35s or even 37s on there. Unless its just for street/ mild wheeling, it'd be alot of work to make it function correctly with the current 39s. :cheers:

[jcComanche86lb]

That's one mean looking Comanche. How much lift is that?

[BryGuy]

It has an 8" Rusty's Long Arm Kit on it, and it's currently sitting on 35's. This was supposed to be my next Jeep project but I missed out on it by about an hour..... which really sucked :rant:

 

The good news is I'm buying an 88 Short Bed tomorrow, and I've just picked up a 96 Cherokee in Mint shape to be used as a donor. Hopefully I'll snap some pics and start a new Project thread. Gonna call this one Camochee (Ca-moe-chee) due to it's horrible camo paint job. It's gonna be a real labour intensive build.... but it'll be fun :yes:

 

Here's a bad pic of the Camochee

[ComancheKid45]

acctually that is an 8.25 rear end. very extreme build, Keep after it! :wrench:

[mvusse]

acctually that is an 8.25 rear end. very extreme build, Keep after it! :wrench:

 

Looking at it more closely, I have to agree. And I know from experience they (at least the 29 spline ones) can handle monthly abuse with 35s no problem. Don't know what their limit is.

[jcComanche86lb]

Dang where's the project? I can make out a set of wheels and a windshield :D. Thats a good job on the camo. Hope to see more updates. Oh and is that picture of the earlier project at full flex or is that just as far as you could go without hitting the fenders?

[BryGuy]

The new project link is in my signature. The previous owner did a good job on the camo paint, but I think it's fugly. As for the flex pics on the Yellow Comanche, the owner forgot to unhook the swaybar disco's for the pics.