A Dd Mj Project

[87manche]

well, it's been a while.

 

I took a perfectly good and straight longbed pioneer with a crap ton of rare factory bits and wheeled it until it was a cut up bobbed mess. 

So now it's time to atone. I wanted to be back into a Jeep for daily driver duty. Sedan just isn't fitting my lifestyle. I also came to the realization that I hate working on all things FWD. 

 

So I started looking, then the universe smiled on me and this thing popped up on facespace. 

 

It had me at "rust free"

 

 

It's three states away, mid 4wd swap and I bought it sight unseen. 

Hey, what's life without some adventure?

 

A friend went and picked it up, the title is in the mail. I'm shipping a new open cooling system to him, tune up bits and new vital electronics for the trip home. It needs the driveshaft fixed and ffour new tires before it's highway ready. I'm taking a bus to pick this thing up because I'm dirt cheap, so there's no option other than work on it for a weekend and drive it 500 miles home. 

 

What could go wrong?

 

This body is totally worth it

 

sumbitch, a rust free underbody with factory undercoating!

 

It's got some dents, and the paint is faded bad. All the important bits are straight and clean though.

 

Right now the plan is to shove a pair of 3.55 geared axles under it. A rust free D30 is coming from the south. I've found a factory MJ 44 locally. I've got the bits to put discs on it in the rear.  I've got the bits to put a 242 in it for full time awesomeness in the winter. A set of turbine wheels that I need to get back from my brother, the elusive rocker B pillar lights. in short, i've got on hand or in the works a bunch of cool MJ stuff to put on it.

 

I'm going to try my hand at pulling the dents from the bed, paint it and drive it for the next ten years. 

 

[87manche]

stuff showed up where the truck is.

 

 

went to the picknpull the last two days, snatched up some good stuff from a 90 XJ limited there.

 

 

 

Ohio kilt it, shame, it seemed well loved.

 

 

seats were in great shape for 23 years old.  I love these seats.  So comfy.

 

 

all the power base stuff works, powered it up using a 4s lipo I had in the car. 

 

8 days until I meet my new truck for the first time. 

super stoked.

[88whitemanche]

Nice score on the seats dude...

I've only seen two sets of these seats In junkyard hunting....still looking for a set

Can't wait to see them installed

[Spectormj]

clean 

[87manche]

so, buddy in TN has been doing hings for me. 

 

I've not even seen this thing in person and have managed to spend about a thousand dollars already. 

 

driveshaft was dented and slightly bent, so he took care of that for me. Retubed with heavier material

 

It needed new tires before it could be driven on the highway

 

 

 

so here's how it sits now on some 30x9.5 Falkens.

I've got a junkyard powersteering bracket/pump, a brand new alternator, a bunch of other spare parts and tools packed in a box. 64 lbs worth.  I'm catching a greyhoud bus to knoxville tonight, wrenching on this thing tomorrow and driving it back Sunday. 

 

Scored this high top cap for it the other day too:

Planning on painting it with the rest of the truck. 

[87manche]

I suppose it's worth mentioning that the guy helping me with this one is the very same one that ended up with the cut up 87. 
He's wheeled it more in the last 4 months than it did in the last two years.

 

Real ugly these days, but real reliable and capable too. 

[big66440]

NICE SCORE !!!! :rock on:

[87manche]

caught a greyhound friday night, wrenched on this pile for 10 hours saturday after about 2 hours of sleep. Fueled by redbull and hate. Did a one wheel peel in the first 60 seconds of ever hearing it run. Drove it home 500 miles Sunday, got 23+ MPG @ 70 MPH. 

 

Drove it to work this morning just because. 

it was an adventure.

[87manche]

 

Went from first time ever hearing it run to one wheel peel in 60 seconds. 

[91Pioneer]

Tell your friend to turn his phone sideways next time and shoot video in the proper orientation.

[87manche]

Tell your friend to turn his phone sideways next time and shoot video in the proper orientation.

 

sorry that our intarweb video doesn't meet your expectations. it was after 10 hours of wrenching and pretty much an afterthought as I hopped in it for the first time and took it for a spin.

 

in other words, piss off. 

[87manche]

 been daily driving this thing to sort out what bugs it has.

 

all the front end bushings are shot. It's gonna get WJ arms.

swaybar bushings are super wasted. Will replace with soft rubber, it's a DD!

steering linkage seems OK, ubt I'll end up replacing it anyhow. Cause I don't want to touch anything in the front end for 5 years. Prpobably do v8 ZJ just because.

Trackbar TRE is wasted. Probably keep it stock, no lift, no reason for heavy duty

rear main seal started peeing oil, I'll get that during axle swap. Might swap the oil pump while I have the pan off just because. 

Valve cover gasket doesn't leak, but has so much red RTV on it that I have to pull it just to clean it up because it offends me when I pop the hood.

Shocks are laughable. Will also get during axle swap.

I've got to go pick up my D44 this weekend and see what's up there. Even if it needs completely rebuilt it's still worth the $75 I'm giving for it.

Trans and t case are tight. Motor runs good. 

 

Forgot what a machine a stock Comanche was. It's quick with plenty of power. Quicker than the 01XJ anyhow. That may not be a fair comparison since it's a fat pig with 500 lbs of armor bolted to it. It's gonna rock with 3.55's.
Gonna use it to cleanup the yard this weekend, so we'll see how it likes hundreds of pounds of maple in the bed.