Timeless Builds A Comanche

[Timeless]

A couple years ago I "built" my first rig.  A 1999 XJ.  It started out as a near stock truck, eventually got 31's, then 33's and 4.56 gears...then I went a little nuts and re-did everything.  When it was all said and done, the truck sat on 37's, D44/D60, 3-linked front end, stretched wheelbase with a meager 5.5" or so lift.  Mild by some perspectives, pretty cool by others.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the rig was a bit too impractical for what I ended up needing.  It did 75 on the highway easy and was kind of boring off road because it just straight up got it done.  I remember the first shake down run at Rausch, blues and blacks that were previously challenging were a walk in the park.  The truck wasn't a trailer queen so I was some what adverse to beating the hell out of it and breaking things.  So I sold it.

 

Prior to selling it, I was on the lookout for an older Tacoma or Comanche.  I wanted to stay in the Jeep family, but the taco's were really tempting me.  This paired with the fact that all of the Comanches I was seeing in the north east were rotten from our winters forced me to extend my search radius.

 

In the summer of 2012, I found a listing on JF for a 1987 Comanche with some reasonable mods for what I thought was a slightly high, but almost fair price.  After seeing some photos and speaking to the owner, I decided to send a deposit.  The only catch was the truck was nearby Charlotte, NC...only 700 miles away.

 

 

 

A flight later, the sellers brother in law and wife picked me up at the airport and off we were to see the truck.  I was excited and nervous but was in good company.

 

I knew the truck had a few quirks but didn't expect water pooled on the floors creating a humid micro-ecosystem in the cab, the spray paint on the bed had deteriorated exposing it to the elements, a few mice lived under the battery amongst other things.  Had I not flown half way down the east coast, I would have walked away.  But this truck needed saving.

 

We worked out a deal and I was off to drive back to NY with the soothing sound of a lone cherry bomb "muffler" destroying my sense of hearing.

 

I made it back to NY the next day after driving almost straight thru the night and immediately ordered a proper muffler.  Installing it a few days later, I noticed the engine sounds previously masked by deafening exhaust noise.

 

There was very evident valve train noise.  Thinking it was just sticking lifters, I went through the gauntlet of oil changes, marvel mystery oil, seafoam to free the lifters.  No luck.

 

I decided that I would eventually rebuild or replace the engine, but would drive the truck as is until the motor grenaded or I found a suitable donor.  So that's what I did for the last year and a half.

 

in the interim, there was some strange stuff I wanted to undo/fix like the cowl induction intake:

 

 

I also stripped the bed, cleaned up the rust and POR15'd the pitted areas.  Then hit it with some primer.

 

Then it was hunting season and got to cold to work on the truck...so I drove it through the winter with big plans for spring.

[Timeless]

I'll spare everyone the little stuff I did in 2013 as its pretty boring...replaced grounds, seats, center console, engine parts, blah blah...

 

I did start gathering parts for the build...a HP dana 30 and 8.25 from a friend who ran them briefly before upgrading.  4.56 Yukon gears, new bearings, aussie locker in the rear, ruff stuff covers...a perfect set up from the MJ.  I bought all new consumable parts for the axles except for unit bearings and decided to do a disc conversion on the 8.25.  Ball joints, calipers, pads, rotors..you name it.  I wanted these axle to be fresh.  I lobbed off the pieces I didn't want as the plan was to run a RK 3 link up front and obviously I needed to redo the rear perches.  At some point I also threw on some 33" duratracs.

 

 

 

 

 

Then a friend stopped by:

 

And I put on doors from a 1997 XJ

 

And acquired front body panels from a 2000 XJ

 

The rust on the bed was starting to really piss me off and I had nightmares of the POR15 lifting off so I stripped the entire bed and media blasted all of the rust

 

Then sealed it with DP40 epoxy primer

 

After all that work, I was thirsty and decided to do some therapy mowing

 

Over the course of the summer, I spent probably 100 hours on the beds body work trying to get it as smooth as possible.  After all that, I realized this amount of body work was making me hate my life.  After getting everything as good as possible, I sealed it with more DP40 and decided I'm going to have the pro's finish the trucks body work.

 

By now, it was fall again, hunting time, and the truck was good enough for my frequent trips upstate.  I got alot of funny looks in this multi-colored jeep, but everywhere I went people would always ask about this weird jeep pick up truck.  More than one person thought I had chopped up an XJ.

[Timeless]

By late fall, I was convinced the truck was dying.  The engines fuel economy had dropped, start times were longer, it began to run rougher.  After throwing parts at it, I decided I was wasting my time and I needed a new motor.  Knowing that much of the trucks wiring was screwed up from 26 years of tinkering, I realized that whatever I did next needed to be right and I was going balls deep.

 

A couple weeks later a 1999 XJ popped up with some cool bolt ons popped up for sale on craigslist and JF;

 

And I bought it.  This jeep quickly earned the name "Red Berry Deathtrap Express."  Between all the rust on the unibody, the terrible steering geometry causing insane bump steer, the alignment being way off and the exhaust rubbing against the gas tank, the name was 100% valid.  This jeep needed to pass on its good features and leave its bad ones behind.  I swear that if someone bought this rig to actually drive on a road or any speed about 10 mph, it would have killed them and any passer bys.  It was the hairiest thing I have ever driven.

 

Then the winter really set in and I couldn't do anything truck related so i drank my sorrows away and played that silly cards against humanity game;

 

Two weekends ago it was warm, so I decided it was time for Red Berry Deathtrap Express to go under the knife.

 

This was the first engine I ever pulled and it was easier than I expected.  There is however one bolt connecting the engine and bell housing that refuses to come out.

 

I then tore the dash and interior apart, which also was easier than I expected;

 

Then i started tearing into the suspension/driveline;

 

And that's how she sits for now.

[neohic]

 

Nice!  :laughin:

[Timeless]

Nice!  :laughin:

 

 

One of those things...I'm hoping I will be able to better repair that down the road.  Some low amperage TIG welding will be in order.

 

I realized that I never disclosed my plan for the truck;

 

Red Berry Deathtrap Express will be donating its interior, engine, etc. etc.  This will be a 1987 to 1999 conversion project. 

• Axles will be the D30 and 8.25 previously mentioned (unless I find a rear Ford 9 or something a bit beefier but still relatively light in the near future)
• Suspension will be SOA in the rear with stock leaves and either a custom built 3 link for the front or an off the shelf 3 link or radius arm set up...though I'm not a fan of radius arms.  Time will be the determining factor here.  Shocks are TBD.  Either OME's or Bilsteins of the longest possible variety.
• Tires/Wheels - 35" Kevlars from Red Berry
• Driveline - Coolers/filters added wherever possible.  All accessible engine and transmission gaskets and seals will be replaced.  All fluids flushed/replaced
• Bumpers/Armor - Logans winch bumper up front and very likely a JCR DIY that I will add a swing out tire carrier too out back.  I need my bed space.  Skids will be built/used wherever possible and I may clock the transfer case for a flatter belly.  I am really concerned about the rear quarters...I'm not sure what to do there yet.

 

I want the truck to be a weekend wheeler and be able to drive for 11 hours straight without any concern.  It will be used to access trails for hiking and biking, hunting grounds and other hidden outdoor awesomeness.  And of course, I need to look pimp getting there.

[mark.deady]

good to see she is coming along. i can t say that I'm proud of some of the mods intake included but it worked for the time being.... i wish i had more time with her... did you keep the hydro boost? that was i think the best mod i did to her... please note this was my first off road rig. i did so much web searching for free and cheap mod its just crazy.... i used the plate as a cover for the ugly hole under it... cool idea bad execution...lol. i agree that muffler was a bad choice. it was on my list to change but due to orders to ak it never got taken care of... also i did not understand how mech incline my brother in law was... i chose to sell her as she already spent over 10 years sitting in my grandmother in law's barn that i just could not have it happen again... hope to see more pics of the build.

[Spectormj]

looks good 

nice lookin rainbow mutt 

[Timeless]

I got red berry pretty well stripped and finally got it out of the barn this weekend.  The rear leaf's were fun to get out...not.

 

 

Haven't use the recovery strap in a while...

 

Rainbow mutt and the low riding XJ

 

Near final resting place

 

And now I have quite the mess to clean up

 

As I get everything cleaned up, I'm going to try to figure out a plan of attack for the MJ.  I'm not sure if I should completely strip the rig and build back from just the unibody, or do the build in stages .e.g. remove interior and engine and replace with 99 XJ parts, then remove axles and suspension and replace.

 

Now the MJ fun can begin...

[Timeless]

good to see she is coming along. i can t say that I'm proud of some of the mods intake included but it worked for the time being.... i wish i had more time with her... did you keep the hydro boost? that was i think the best mod i did to her... please note this was my first off road rig. i did so much web searching for free and cheap mod its just crazy.... i used the plate as a cover for the ugly hole under it... cool idea bad execution...lol. i agree that muffler was a bad choice. it was on my list to change but due to orders to ak it never got taken care of... also i did not understand how mech incline my brother in law was... i chose to sell her as she already spent over 10 years sitting in my grandmother in law's barn that i just could not have it happen again... hope to see more pics of the build.

 

Mark, the hydroboost is still on the MJ but it will likely be replaced with the 99's larger braking system though I have not really made a final decision.  The MJ is going to be a fine vehicle by the time I get through with it and I think all you guys will be happy with how it ends up.

[Timeless]

Got a bit done since my last update...

 

Pulled the D35 and CAD D30 and got the truck in the air:

 

Celebrated 'Murica

 

Burned in some front unibody reinforcement:

 

Mocked up the Clayton 3 Link crossmember:

 

Burned on the front bridge/3 Link mount

 

Cleaned up and painted the 8.25

 

And cleaned up the D30

 

Welded up the lower links. 2" OD 1/4' Wall DOM, johnny joints at both ends, app. 36.5" long

 

Mocked up the upper

 

Mocked up the 8.25 on the Barnes perches and realized that I did a really good job trimming my fenders and making clearance for the 35's.

 

And put it on its own weight temporarilly

 

The front is mocked up on 4.5" RE coils and 2" spacers.  I didn't want to buy springs until I saw how high the rear would end up.  Once the rear was SOA'd, I bought some 6.5" springs for the front.  Problem is, these are the new 6.5" coils next to some older 3" lift coils.  Crap.  Unless the new springs are much stiffer, I might have been sent the wrong springs.

[collkid]

Man. Couple years down the line but this thing can be perfect by next year. How many miles at this point?

[Timeless]

I'm hoping to have it "done" by spring.  Once I get the suspension dialed (did most last night) the existing drivelien will come out and I'll start swapping in the 99 parts.  I'm also hoping to have it professionally painted before winter...which is going to really hurt my wallet, but the truck needs it.

 

Mileage on axles is about 10k, mileage on original comanche engine/trans is around 95k, mileage on red berry's donor engine/trans/case is just shy of 94k.

[knever3]

Great work!

[Timeless]

The new springs worked out just fine.  They are almost perfect for the rear lift.

 

The upper is horizontal at ride height, a good thing.

 

The lowers are fairly tucked up with the Clayton crossmember

 

I decided to do away with the heims on the upper and use ballistic joints instead.  Hopefully I'll get a few less vibes into the cabin.

 

Mmmmm

 

The shocks are no where near long enough, 12" Bilsteins are here and will be installed shortly.  All new brake parts and lines were installed.

 

Burned in the leaf perches.  Installed all new brakes on the rear too.

 

Back on all (4) tires

 

 

 

I used KJ parking brakes cables...they make no sense and are wayyyy too long.  I'm going to have to tuck them up in the frame somehow or use other cables.

 

The truck needs the rear shock mounts burned on and shocks installed, parking brake sorted out, front shocks replaced with bilsteins and the power steering bled.

 

The steering system will not bleed.  I have spent about 10 hours trying to get it bled, and air continues to bubble out of the reservoir.  All hose connections are tight and there are no holes in any hoses.  Bleeding the steering has been the biggest pain of this project so far.

[Timeless]

And I picked up a JCR rear bumper during their black Friday sale yesterday.  This is one spoiled truck.  Bumper will be fully TIG welded and hopefully painted to match the body (final color, not current technicolor yawn) when it is all done.