My 86 Comanche Project

[CommaComanche]

I started this thread over on the garage journal and started running into people from here so figured I should also post it here. This first post is a copy and paste of the project updates. I'll update this one along with the other from here on out.

 

Enjoy.

 

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Today I was out in my garage working on taking the transfer case and transmission out to diagnose a noise / shifting problem. I actually found a hole in my transmission and will be fixing that along with rebuilding whatever needs to be to make it road worthy again. While I had the transmission pan out I gave it a nice bath but that wasn't clean enough so I took a wire wheel to it.

 

 

After seeing how pretty that looked I noticed how ugly the rest of the mechanicals of the truck are. Sooo.... I turned it into a full overhaul instead of a "make it run" repair. I didnt take many more pictures but here is one I took right after I removed the hood.

 

 

I'll update this thread as I make progress on my extremely anal overhaul of this fine piece of Jeep history.

 

 

This.... All because it was too dirty....

 

 

 

Right now I am spending a lot of time snapping off bolts. Lol. Should have attacked the truck with pb blaster.

 

What i am actually working on is clearing the path for the engine / transmission removal. There is no way to get things looking the way I want without doing a full break down and reassembly. That will let me thoroughly inspect, clean, paint, and replace anything that is worn. There is also a rats nest of wires under this hood. I am going to reroute a whole lot of the wires, probably fabricating some type of conduit to run them through to hide and protect them.

 

Project update:

I've been awake for over 28 hours. Damn afternoon shift makes a normal sleep schedule impossible if you want to have any kind of life to go with it. So, since I'm so tired I decided to move to easier stuff. Getting access to the rusted floor pans. They are going to get replaced with new.

 

Step one was getting the drivers side door out of the way. Success.

 

 

Next step is to get the bench out. 3 of the 4 drivers side nuts came out suprisingly easy. This one is another story.

 

 

Not really sure what I am going to do about it. I can't get anything I own to grip it. The carpet isn't bad and I might want to keep it.

 

Got it!

 

Had to use what I have to make it work. Used a harbor freight center drill bit, a regular drill bit, a cold chisel and a 3lb drilling hammer. Just beat the heck out of it till the nut broke. Figures the one bolt I actually want to break on this truck won't. When I weld in the new floor plan I'll take care of that stud.

 

 

 

Onto the passenger side....

 

Status update...

 

Seats out!

 

 

The passenger side came out a lot easier

Here's why:

 

 

With that bracket destroyed I am now seriously considering installing buckets and a console. The center of the bench is useless anyways with the 4wd selector right there. I am thinking maybe going heated leather. Time will tell.

 

Here is this masterpiece of a headliner repair. Not my fault.

 

 

And notice built in surround sound.

 

Now i am working on removing all of the garnishes so that I can pull the carpet, inspect for any other rust, and figure out which garnishes need to be replaced.

 

 

Oh, I was anticipating doing a restoration on this truck for a while, just wasn't planning on doing it now. Somewhere in there is a NOS chrome tail light, another good condition used chrome tail light, new weather seals, a new chrome grill, and new amber marker lights.

 

 

Back to work... Err... Poor word choice... Back to play I go.

 

I'll let the pictures do the talking here. I obviously have a lot of cleaning, grinding, cutting and welding to do.

 

The truck has been in my garage for more than a month. Under the carpet was soaking wet. The rubber backing on the carpet just held the water there against the metal. I'm amazed it didn't stink. The carpet was cut up and removed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that's gonna be it for today. Most likely I won't get back on it until Sunday. Hopefully Sunday I will be able to pull the engine and trans out.

[CommaComanche]

Got scheduled to work today so nothing will be getting done on the comanche. But, I am ordering the new floor pans and POR-15. Lots of it. The entire cab interior, frame, inside the fenders, engine compartment, inside the doors, inside the tailgate, under the hood, and any other hidden metal surface is getting a good coating.

[CommaComanche]

Got out into the garage a bit today. Got the gas tank out and gave it along with the gas in it away on craigslist. Worked on getting the box off as well

4 of the 8 nuts came off with a lot of pb blaster and elbow grease. 2 bolts on each side need to be cut off, the nuts are completely round from rust.

 

I decided a bit more on what I am going to do with this project. Earl*t was a big chunk of inspiration.

 

The truck will get a roll pan, a 3 inch lift, and cherokee buckets and console. I wanted to change the dash to either grey or black, but the brown has grown on me so I'll do brown leather seats. Going to send the visors, console lid, and steering wheel to an awesome leather tooling guy I've done business with before.

 

If i can find a 4bt Cummins engine for a reasonable price I will do that swap, if not I will rebuild the 2.5 it has now.

 

To wrap it all up it will get a coat of light cream pearlescent paint. Think coffee in your cream.

 

Didn't take any pics today as there really isn't anything to see. Except the gas tank is gone and a few bolts are missing from the box.

 

Slowly getting there.

[earl*t]

Thanks for the nod. Folks like you and the extent of work you're doing is truly inspirational. :thumbsup:

[CommaComanche]

Gotta give credit where it's due man. Thanks.. I'm striving to make this comanche show quality.

[Megadan]

After seeing all that rust, it makes me appreciate the fact that my truck has a nearly perfect body on it, even if I am pretty much replacing every mechanical component due to wear, damage, or tom foolery.  It also makes me want to rust proof it....  I will definitely follow this progress.

[CommaComanche]

Yes! Rust proof it! I am glad I got my hands on this one. Seeing the state of the rust someone else may have used it as a donor vehicle or it may have ended up in the junk yard. One more saved.

[Skorpyo]

Great start! I'm looking forward to seeing the progress. Earl*t's truck is a beaut hope to see more like it on here.

[CommaComanche]

Idea update:

Saw an old pickup with the spare tire stored in the bed at the passenger side front corner. It had a hard case / cover of sorts on it painted to match the body. My trucks gotta have that!

[earl*t]

Idea update:

Saw an old pickup with the spare tire stored in the bed at the passenger side front corner. It had a hard case / cover of sorts on it painted to match the body. My trucks gotta have that!

That's interesting. I've never seen anything like that before. I don't suppose you took a picture?

[CommaComanche]

Sadly I didnt. It was in my view and gone in about 5 seconds. I have searched and searched to find a picture of a similar setup with no luck.

[Bhfear]

Looks like a sweet project you got going. If you decide to put a full console in let me know i have one in that mj tan color.

[CommaComanche]

I decided I had to drop back by and give a small update of sorts since I haven't been on here in a while.

 

The Comanche project has been worked on a little bit over the past 6 months. Sadly I feel like it is falling into the worm hole that so many projects fall into in which they become storage shelves. I have been working long hours and spending more time working on my daily driver 95 ram cummins than on the Comanche.

 

My buddy also turned his project into a donor when he found a 88 c10 with a near perfect body to match his 88 rust bucket. So we have been working on that quite a bit.

 

The progress that has been made on my Comanche is more disassembly. The motor and transmission has been removed. The rear axle was also pulled out and cleaned to a beautiful shine. I am waiting for my buddy to finish his donor swap so we can get the donor out of my yard and I can bring in another donor for the Comanche. In the months that it has been sitting I have changed a few ideas in my head. While I am still going to make it a beauty of a truck I am also going to make it very off road capable. I decided it is a Jeep. Not a Cadillac. I will post some updated pictures of the progress this coming Monday. As long as my shipment of floor pans and POR-15 arrives this week I will be welding those in and rust proofing the interior and underbody on Monday.

 

I really need to push myself to get out into my garage on my truck more. Seeing a few of you wanting to follow the progress gives me a bit of a push in the right direction.

 

Updates and pictures to come very soon. PROMISE! 

[CommaComanche]

Looks like a sweet project you got going. If you decide to put a full console in let me know i have one in that mj tan color.

I do plan on doing a full console for sure. Now that I am going the donor route I am not sure what color the interior will end up being. I am hoping to find a wrecked Cherokee with a good motor/trans and interior. Maybe I will have to get a couple donors to get what I want. If it ends up being tan and I need the console I will definitely contact you about it. Thanks for the offer.