Jump to content

Project Turd


Recommended Posts

(alt+p)

 

Well here it is. But its starting out on the wrong foot. We didn't get a mile away and it died. We pulled it back to the dealership and put it up on the hoist to find the fuel pump quit. So I'm going to go after it with a car dolley next week. My oldest boy gave me the idea for the name. On the way home he made the comment "Dad, you gave the same amount of money for you cj years ago and it was in alot worst shape than this, and you made that nice, if anyone could polish a turd, you could Dad" So hence the name in the title.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something I forgot to ask earlier. I did notice when I first took off in the comanche and drove the mile before it died, that the front end was squirrely. while it was broke down we did a quick check on the front end to discover the frame to be cracked where the steering box mounts. Is this common on them? my plan is to weld in some plating to reinforce it. Once I get it home that is :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has it been offroad alot?? I ask because that is usally a weak spot due to the force of turning in tight spots on a trail. Just be careful welding the unibody cause it don't like it if done wrong. If you search on here i put up a link awhile ago about Unibody welding. Someone may have it or try searching on yahoo for the "unibody welding bible its a really good write up. Hope this helps

 

Cole

Link to comment
Share on other sites

go check on mallcrawlin.com for a good guide on welding to the unibody, that's a grandcherokee site. It's in the faws on the forum.

 

As to the question of it being common, yes, if the truck has seen a hard life.

Most people weld up the cracks, then use a unibody stiffener plate.

Something you might want to consider is a product like the JCRoffroad unibody tie in plates.

They are a plate, and they bolt into the factory bumper brackets, the steering box bolts, and the factory winch mount holes in the frame rails. It greatly stiffend things up, and will give you somthing to build a front bumper off of in the future.

http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/mer ... y_Code=XJB

I think they're worth the $60 they're askng.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll check these sites out, I did look at the bumper brackets, looks like something you could make easy enough.

 

I went to go after it again yesterday with a car dolley. the tires on it have dry rot so I took some spares. The lug nuts are so rusted they won't come off by hand. I got discouraged and just came back home. I'm starting to get a bad taste in my mouth on this one. I read how great these comanches are in here but I have to honestly say I'm starting to have my doubts....don't anyone take this the wrong way, and I'm not saying I'm giving up yet. But I will say one thing. I went after quite a few parts scouts that sat for anywhere from 2 to 8 years and all I had to do was drop in a fresh battery, 10 gallons of fresh gas and within 10 minutes I was driving them home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I had a question for the wizards. Is the transmission bell housing bolt pattern the same for the 88 inline six as the old 258 inline six that jeep had?

Just doing a little pondering.....if it is, I might have an idea for a cool build.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

""JCRoffroad unibody tie in plates. They are a plate, and they bolt into the factory bumper brackets, the steering box bolts, and the factory winch mount holes in the frame rails. It greatly stiffend things up, and will give you somthing to build a front bumper off of in the future. I think they're worth the $60 they're askng."""

 

 

Or buy some plate steel and make your own. We made a set for $19.00 and only took 2 hrs :D And when we paint them they will look like the JCR's jamminz.gif

 

Charles

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I had a question for the wizards. Is the transmission bell housing bolt pattern the same for the 88 inline six as the old 258 inline six that jeep had?

Just doing a little pondering.....if it is, I might have an idea for a cool build.

yes, the 4.0 shares the same bellhousing as the 258, and the AMC v8's.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"

 

 

Or buy some plate steel and make your own. We made a set for $19.00 and only took 2 hrs :D And when we paint them they will look like the JCR's jamminz.gif

 

Charles

for some of us, 2 hours is worth the 60, adn they come with all the hardware you need.

What can I say though, I won them at a raffle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I had a question for the wizards. Is the transmission bell housing bolt pattern the same for the 88 inline six as the old 258 inline six that jeep had?

Just doing a little pondering.....if it is, I might have an idea for a cool build.

yes, the 4.0 shares the same bellhousing as the 258, and the AMC v8's.

 

really! hmmmmmmmm....... :jump:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Oh, I had a question for the wizards. Is the transmission bell housing bolt pattern the same for the 88 inline six as the old 258 inline six that jeep had?

Just doing a little pondering.....if it is, I might have an idea for a cool build.

 

Okay, a little more update on this idea, My plans are to mount the comanche cab on a full frame, cut away what isn't needed to make this work. I have found a frame set up that was originally equipped with the 258/auto/dana 20. The reason for this is to have the newer fuel injected six bolted up to some stronger hardware-dana 44 front and rear.

what I need to know is, will the starter for the 88 camo six be the same as the starter for the old 258?thats the only problem I forsee right now. It would be nice to have the newer body with the fuel injection and the old school drive train. Some what of a body lift could be accomplished on mounting the cab, and I can purchase the suspension lift down the road if needed. I'm planning on doing this on a scout frame, as they came with 258's also. I can swap over the tank with the fuel pump, lots of options there as I'm going with the flatbed.So I'm looking at mounting the scout 258 auto(727 torqueflite) to the newer six cylinder. Using the dana 20 and scout drivetrain with lock outs. This whole set up would be lighter than a scout would be and I have a room full of scout parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem I see with your plan is the Crank Position Sender.... it is located on the bellhousing on the newer4.0's. The way to solve this would be to use propane or buy the adapter.. I would opt for the pane just for the cool factor :D BTW Scout frames are pure beef and old binders rule when it came to toughness, damn shame the bodies went to poo poo so quick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem I see with your plan is the Crank Position Sender.... it is located on the bellhousing on the newer4.0's. The way to solve this would be to use propane or buy the adapter.. I would opt for the pane just for the cool factor :D BTW Scout frames are pure beef and old binders rule when it came to toughness, damn shame the bodies went to poo poo so quick

 

Could this sensor be put in the scout automatic? and what adapter are you refering too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They sell a kit to relocate the CPS to the harmonic balancer.... kinda pricey at 400. I wish I had a spare 4.0 trans laying out. What it is. is a window that lets the CPS (ignition trigger) see the marks to ttell it when to fire the coil. I suppose with some careful planning, and machinging it sould be done to a TF727.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow, very pricey for me. I'm still rolling ideas around on this one. I may just go to the old 258 carburated and sell the manche at this point. drop a cab of about anything on there that would work. did they carburate the first manches' that came out??? I like the cab and style of the comanche. would like to keep this idea afloat. could use the one I bought as a parts rig. just bouncing ideas around for right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the 85 4 bangers were 2, I know my first Xj was. I was reading on pirate yesterday about a guy who did the very thing you were talking about. windowing the TF727 so he could install the CPS. It didnt have a tech writeup with it, otherwise I would have copied and pasted the link for you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But the only 'Manche carb in the US was the 2.8 in '86.

Why not run the Scout drivetrain?

 

I'm listening.....how could a guy run the whole scout drivetrain with the 258 and make it work with the comanche cab? There would be a lot of by-passing the computor. Would it be possible to fuel inject the 258 without the cps? this would be a option I would consider.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since the Scout is carbed (educated guess), it'll only require something like 3 wires to run, so basically the computer goes bye-bye. For clarification, I'm talking Scout motor, tranny, t-case.

It seems like your basic body swap, like a Yota cab on a Bronco frame, only with a little more saw work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since the Scout is carbed (educated guess), it'll only require something like 3 wires to run, so basically the computer goes bye-bye. For clarification, I'm talking Scout motor, tranny, t-case.

It seems like your basic body swap, like a Yota cab on a Bronco frame, only with a little more saw work.

 

I agree with ya on this, but how many gremlins would I run into with gages, and any other dash components? Also, are any of the jeeps set up to do a fuel injected swap? or anything that doesn't involve the cps? Or is using the cps my only option? Just think of how nice it would be to have a full frame underneath one. and by using the scout drivetrain, I can put the front driveshaft on the passenger side and use the scout axles with lock outs and have 44's. this would also give me a 5 on 5&1/2 bolt pattern and use all the extra rims I have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...