2001 Comanche Crew Cab - Detroit Didn't But I Did!

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Cherokee preparation / disassembly begins-

A fabricated stiff cross brace from the upper rear door hinge to rear door latch is crucial for maintaining  door post alignment

 

 

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upper rear door post cut   NOTE: The fabricated frame and cross-bracing must hold upper rear door post aligned

 

 

– floor pan / frame rail / rocker box are cut – Offset cut to use all of the driveshaft tunnel

 

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floor pan cut separated from back portion
NOTE:  Saved as much of Cherokee driveshaft tunnel as possible

 

 

 

 

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1987 – 2001 Preparation
Comanche rear section and Cherokee front section  –  bringing them together

 

 

 

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Comanche rear  post / roof section and Cherokee rear door upper post / roof section – achieved
final Comanche Crew alignment.  It was a very big relief when the rear door was re- attached and all the door / body gaps were in alignment – we had a successful project in the making – just along way to go

 

 

 

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Transition completed for Comanche  lower post section and Cherokee upper rear door post section  –  Upper is Cherokee / lower is Comanche

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comanche  Rocker box section and Cherokee rear rocker box section  (the Comanche rocker box was narrower than the Cherokee at the transition point)

 

 

(the Comanche rocker box was modified to match the Cherokee dimension at the transition point)

 

 

 

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 18 ga. hand made driveshaft tunnel  – shaped with cardboard pattern in a borrowed sheet metal roller (3 hour process but was a first for me)

 

 

 

 

 

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Comanche and Cherokee rear roof gap  –  Note the raised ribsections in Cherokee roof – Comanche was flat but 1” taller

 

 

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Comanche Crew rear roof section after welding a 2.5” wide Cherokee ridged section to smooth transition piece from the Cherokee and a Comanche smooth rear roof section which was taller and tilted forward and down at the front for a rear roof spoiler effect

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rear lower Cherokee door wheel well opening against the Comanche lower door post – more fabrication or we could leave it for air conditioning

 

 

 

 

 

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After the stretch the body line on the Cherokee ran up hill in the rear door.  The Comanche rear cab metal ridge must be cut out and moved up ¼” to re align with the Cherokee rear door and the bed shimmed up the same amount .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Exhaust, Driveshaft, Emergency brakes, Fuel and brake lines (wiring remaining)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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01 Cherokee rear clip – plastic gas tank mount (reusing a portion in Crew Cab)

 

 

87 Comanche rear frame – will mount Cherokee plastic gas tank here (where spare used to be)

 

 

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01 Cherokee gas tank mount in rear of 87 Comanche frame (rear mount detail – note factory straps are reused)

 

 

 

 

 

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Used 02 Nissan Frontier “Crew Cab” roof rack is a perfect fit

 

 

 

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The name of the new crew cab is “COMANCHE CREW”  (The “Crew” is from a new Dodge Durango)

 

 

 

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First time out of the shop as one piece

 

 

 

 

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Bed Rear Fender Flare Fabrication
The 87 Comanche bed original rear fender flare was the old style (early design did not match the lines of the late model front 01 Cherokee flare)

 

 

The plan to match the front and rear flares uses 2 front 97-01 Cherokee (left and right) fender flares
cut in the correct places to make one new late model rear flare
(the 01 Cherokee rear bumper extensions and rear fender flare did not fit the Comanche bed)

 

 

 

This picture shows the two front 01 flares cut and installed on the bed side
(the center seam will be molded into one seamless flare – perfect fit to the bedside)

 

 

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Interior – Recovered rear Comanche bench to match front buckets

 

 

 

Step bars are from a 2012 Toyota Tacoma

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New Off Road Bumper (JCRoffroad)