JeepFiend413 Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Hey Everyone. I'm new to Comanche Club. I bought my first Mj a few months ago and started doing t complete teardown and rebuild. Its and 86 mj with the 2.5L 4 spd 2WD. My plans are to do the full conversion, interior and all. Building a flat bed for it (cause P.O. hacked up the bed pretty bad) Long arms, Dana 30, Chry 8.25 locked F/R. 4.0L Ax15 and Np231. Ive been creeping on this forum since i bought the Mj and figured id throw my build up on here. Ive already started the conversion and started a thread on Cherokee Forum, but i figured the experts on Mjs are here. So no better place to post. Anyways on with it. Pretty much just gonna get you caught up on what ive done in the past few months. Been going slow with school and work full time. The day I bought it. Within and hour of it being back at the shop i tore into it. Tore the Motor and trans out. Then Had to cut the core supports out so I could weld in the new 97+ core supports. Drilled out all the spit welds and spot welded and stitch welded the new ones in. Finished tearing out the dash and started cleaning up all the unnecessary brackets and such. Next was to mock up the new dash to locate the new mounts. The new mounts. The dash in. (The 2x4 is holding up the steering column bracket cause i have yet to get that bracket) Then did the front end and door conversion. Thats about all I've done in the past 5 months. Need to go to the junkyard and get some other odds and ends to continue on. Shes not pretty but I have plans for her, Ive wanted a manche ever since i bought my first jeep when i got my license. So when this deal came along (350$) came along i took it. Ill be using my current jeep as the donor for all the dive train and such. But its still my DD so i have to get as much as i can done to the manche before i swap everything over. The rotted out beast. Ill be posting more as i go along. I will have questions through out and would love your guys help. Please feel free to give feedback and tips id really appreciate it, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuah edwards Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 That's really cool :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rymanrph Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I may be wrong, but I believe the '86 firewall is different and you may run into some clearance issues with a 4.0L (assuming that's what you're putting in it). That truck looks familiar with all the red accents. I wonder if I've seen it on here before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a4xnut Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Nice looking shop you have to work in! I believe Rymanrph is right. I've seen a 258 swapped into an early XJ before and they did was the core support. They might have had to massage the firewall a little with a hammer, but IIRC, there wasn't any major surgery involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Way to save that poor MJ. Looks like it lived a hard life. I always like following other's 97+ conversions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 That orange stuff is horrible :ack: Always nice to see a clean 97-up swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 I may be wrong, but I believe the '86 firewall is different and you may run into some clearance issues with a 4.0L (assuming that's what you're putting in it). That truck looks familiar with all the red accents. I wonder if I've seen it on here before. Rymanrph you are correct. I went to the junkyard this weekend and cut a firewall out of a 99 xj and will be modding the fire wall so that it will look clean. i have seen someone else on here do it that way and i liked how factory it looked instead of beating into submission with a BFH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Nice looking shop you have to work in! I believe Rymanrph is right. I've seen a 258 swapped into an early XJ before and they did was the core support. They might have had to massage the firewall a little with a hammer, but IIRC, there wasn't any major surgery involved. Thanks it make life so much easier, way better than the days id have to work outside in the driveway. That orange stuff is horrible :ack: Always nice to see a clean 97-up swap. Yeah i don't kknow what the PO was thinking. This mj needed to be saved, luckily i got it when i did. I love this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Also on my journey to the junkyard there was an 88 Mj shortbox, thing was mint it was a shame it was there. But i took the opportunity to get some parts i needed. A headliner, the trim that goes from the kick panel to the b pillar, the side vents for the cab, and the backer board that goes behind the seat as well as the steering colum bracket that gets welded to the inside of the fire wall. Once i get a my phone replaced ill post up some pics of everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 So I am finally getting back into working on the MJ. Life happens and the jeep go pushed to the side. So my xj finally bit the bed. I pushed the driver front leaf spring mount up through the floor. I started with the firewall of the 86. I needed to mod it to fit the 4.0. So I cut a section of firewall out to put into the Mj. The Mj firewall marked where I want to cut. The section cut out. The comparison of the sections. The red one is from a 98XJ The new section welded in. (I'm not the best welder in the world) I also moved the hole for the new steering column and had to move the hole for the clutch master cylinder. Unfortunately i forgot to take photos of this. I seam sealed the patched in sections. Washed everything down and prepped it for some paint. i also modded the square hole to a round one for the main wiring harness to go through the fire wall. With all the done it was time to move back to the interior and put the steering wheel bracket on the inside of the cowl area. In the picture I also put the firewall insulation and HVAC unit in. So then it was time to tear apart my beloved Xj. With the XJ torn apart for the most part I stared putting the engine bay wiring and such. Once that was done i made some seat brackets, put my 98 buckets in and installed the dash for the final time. Then i took the interior harness out of the xj and began to take out all no essential wiring. The wiring harness before. The Harness after. And all the crap taken out. Its been a very busy two weeks for me. I'm not waiting on some parts. Got a clutch kit, mounts, new fuel pump module and fly wheel coming. Once those are in the drivetrain is going in. Also getting a fuel cell an RCI 2162a and a genright fuel ring to mount the oem module. Ill be updating more when progress is made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstone53 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I love reading these 97+ swaps, how much time has it taken to get the dash in and functioning? Something you think could be done in a weekend if you got everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I love reading these 97+ swaps, how much time has it taken to get the dash in and functioning? Something you think could be done in a weekend if you got everything There is more to just swapping in the dash. I'm not sure about making the new style gauges work with the old wiring harness. But the swap over of the dash was very straight forward. it only took me about 2 days to get the dash in. Imo i would just swap the wiring from a 97+ into the manche and get rid of all the old wiring. but thats just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I forgot to post these last night. When i went back to Massachusetts to visits my family i picked up some axles that i will be building for my manche. I got a ff dana 60 rear and dana 44 front from a J20 Jeep. as well as a dana 300 tcase. I plan on flipping it and doubling it as well as twin sticking it. but that will be later on down the line. I couldn't pass up a deal. I got it all for 100$. Its pretty cool that this thing is going to stay all jeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Finally got my all my parts for the motor and trans. Will be installing them this week and motor will be going in this weekend!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepFiend413 Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Last weekend I installed my new clutch and cleaned up the motor and trans and finally installed them into the mj. Then this weekend i brought in the xj and tired the rest of it down. Removed my axles gas tank my evap stuff and other odds and ends. Cut all the brackets off the rear axle and put the axles in the mj. the perches are just clamped in place wight the u bolts tip i get a drive shaft made and can sort out the pinion angles and still need to get new shock mounts. Got my gas tank ratchet strapped in tip i can get my fuel cell. Just want to get the thing running. Put the exhaust in. Still need to make a mount to hold the muffler in place, it will be getting a turn down right there as well. Then finally i started her up for the first time!!!!! sadly the video won't upload. It runs well and nothing caught on fire so thats a plus. I still have a lot of work left to do. I hope to have it on the road by oct 18th. Thats the day of the uwharrie fall jamboree. I hope i make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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