Skorpyo's '89 Eliminator

[Skorpyo]

I'm definitely a Jeep guy, and now that my MJ is officially my 4th jeep I've resigned myself to a lifetime of pouring money into these things. I started with an '88 Cherokee, then a '99 Cherokee, bought a '72 CJ-5 project, and now the '89 Comanche.

 

I still have the '72 CJ-5, which I spent nearly 2 years (and way too much money) re-building. Here's some shots of it:

 

Ground up rebuild (the fram was only to block paint!)          Finished - all fiberglass body, 304v8, 3-speed

 

My '99 XJ is still in the family, I sold it to my father-in-law Bob who still wheels it every year. I'm his spotter and his official sponsor (since I'm always buying him parts for it!) but after back surgery I couldn't be a driver anymore.

 

Bob's '99 Cherokee (formerly mine)

 

Late last month I finally found an MJ I was interested in buying. I was looking for a SWB, manual with a 4.0L, 89 or newer and found one across town for a great price.  I picked it up the next day and brought her home.

 

It's a 1989 Eliminator, 4.0L (96,300 original miles), 2WD with manual tranny (will update once I'm certain what kind). It drives really well, and has been well kept. The color is close to the original as it was repainted, and poorly as it's flaking off is some spots. I haven't pulled the carpet on it yet, but will be doing so this winter to be sure the floors not rotting out.

 

 

 

Aside from the fog lamps and bug guard it was pretty much 100% stock. The previous owner had painstakingly replaced all of the interior pieces that had gone bad over the years and managed to find a pristine headliner. Everything on the truck worked including the bedlight.

 

So my plans for the MJ at this point are pretty minimal since it really doesn't need much. I'm pretty sure I'm going to swap in 4wd in the spring since just this past week I tore up the yard backing it up to my back fence! I don't plan on building this up for wheeling, or as a show truck, but I want to keep this thing running well and in great shape so my son (who's 7 now) can learn how to drive a stick on it when he get his license.

 

This will probably be a thread I update only every so often as I find time to do small things to it, but figured I would share.

 

Planned Projects for Toby V (In No Particular Order)

1. AX-15 swap and 4WD conversion
2. Rear axle upgrade (D44 or 8.8)
3. Brake Booster Upgrade (WJ or XJ)
4. Hood Lift
5. Paint Job (unsure of color yet)
6. Re-key all locks to match ignition
7. 97+ Mirrors
8. XJ Roof-rack
9. Headlight conversion
10. New rear bumper and hitch (Class III)
11. Small lift, 3 inches at most
12. I'm sure I'll think of more....

Tim 'Skorpyo' Kilpatrick

[Skorpyo]

At this point the only major work I've done to the Comanche, hereafter referred to as Toby V, is swapping the front grill trim for chrome. I'm a sucker for the chrome look since my first XJ had an all chrome front end and I loved it so...

 

We found a '91 Laredo in the JY and since the front end was in great shape we stripped it down and kept the shiny loot.

 

It took us almost 2 hours to dismantle the MJs front end due to some stuck bolts, nuts etc. I'm sure they'd never been removed in the 24 years of it's life...

 

The truck has AC, but it doesn't work because of a leak. the PO said it was near the firewall, but we checked and it wasn't there. When we took apart the front, we found the leak... it's gonna need a new coil in the spring when it starts to warm up.

 

I also found out the header panel "bolts" are much weaker than I am as I snapped one off...whoops.

 

Here's the gratuitous shots of the mechanics:

(This one is me)                                                                                           This is my father-in-law Bob

 

We managed to get everything back together and it came out looking pretty good. Here are the before and after shots.

 

Who ever had owned the XJ had used rattle can black on the body and there was a LOT of overspray onto the chrome. I have to say that the best way I found to get it off was with a Mr. Clean magic eraser, those things rock.

 

Not bad for a few hours work...

 

Tim 'Skorpyo' Kilpatrick

[Skorpyo]

Sorry the photos weren't working. I had to sign up for a flickr account and had never used that before. Guess I used the wrong links the first time. 

[yellaheep]

Hey, another former NAXJA guy has found his way over here to ComancheClub!  Long time no see Tim! 

 

I was in a similar situation...... bogged down with XJ's 'cuz I couldn't find a decent MJ.  2 years ago, I got my '91 Eliminator and it's been nuts ever since.  All my XJ's are gone and I have 5 MJ's now....... it's a sickness...... :D

[Skorpyo]

Hey, another former NAXJA guy has found his way over here to ComancheClub!  Long time no see Tim! 

 

I was in a similar situation...... bogged down with XJ's 'cuz I couldn't find a decent MJ.  2 years ago, I got my '91 Eliminator and it's been nuts ever since.  All my XJ's are gone and I have 5 MJ's now....... it's a sickness...... :D

 

Hah it is a sickness! Long time no see to you too! I'm still an active member of NAXJA but the Comanche community there is too small to be a real resource specifically to MJs. I still use their forums for researching the MJ stuff cause the XJ and MJ are pretty much the same from the doors forward  :D . I've always wanted a pickup and finally decided to bite the bullet and since I still love the XJs so much what better choice than an MJ! I'm sure this thing will turn into a money-pit too, just wish I'd bought it in the spring so I could have had the summer to work on it. Now I need to re-engineer the garage so I can work on it through the winter. So many plans, so little space, time and $$. At least our sickness is fun!

 

Tim