The Hurtin' Albertan... for real.

[Lime]

Alright, here's a build thread. Baby's an '88 2WD. 

 

It runs well. It's my main vehicle at the moment since the ex took the other car (which I still pay for... grumble grumble...). I'll have to wait until I have a second vehicle before I do much, but I need to spend the mean time learning how and planning. My short term goals are to deal with the rust and work on the interior. Also, it needs a new bumper, the driver side window doesn't roll down, and it's missing a dome light. Long term, I want to convert it to 4WD and get some nice big tires on there. I like hunting, fishing, and camping, and I need a decent off-roader. My sense of adventure tends to get me into sticky situations that I get out of OK 90% of the time, but you know, there's that 10% and sometimes I forget to bring a shovel. Or I break the shovel. 

 

First things to know:

 

1) I know nothing about auto repair. Absolutely nothing. I don't even know where to start. Prior to owning this truck, I didn't even know what a Comanche was. However, I love this truck more than a person ought to love a machine and I thrive in steep learning curves. In my opinion, the only reason I don't know how to work on cars is because no one ever taught me and I never tried, not because I lack the aptitude. This project will take a long time, because I'm starting from zero. If I say something stupid, please be patient and explain it to me like I'm 5. If you have any tips on how to start learning, please share! I'm a sponge. 

 

2) I don't know why I call my truck Baby, it just keeps slipping out, so I guess that's its name. The first time I called it that, someone I was giving a ride to called it a clunker. I said, "Baby's not a clunker!" as I stroked the dash. No, I am not a fan of Dirty Dancing, although you're still not allowed to put Baby in a corner. I should have come up with something much cooler and more bad-@$$, but oh well.

 

 

The bumper is welded on for some reason, so I guess I need to take out the ole hack saw? 

 

Can you spot what's missing?

 

Previous owner patched some rust spots, but it doesn't look that good and there's more rust coming through.

 

Ceiling sags. It came with the lady bug push-pins to keep it in. One must watch for fallen pins when sitting down (ouch)

 

[Comanche County]

I'd start reading through the DIY and Project forums, dig way back in the project forum also, lots of good "old" info there.

 

Also, I think you should rename the thread or your truck the "Hurtin' Albertan",,,,after Corb Lund and his band.  :yes:

[gogmorgo]

I also started relatively new to this game a couple years back when I bought my MJ. And in February of this year, I had my transmission out.

My advice for working on your Jeep is to find a good writeup of what it is you want to do, figure out what tools you'll need to do it. Then go slow. Google is your friend. The Comanche (and more importantly the Cherokee... I've found better write-ups looking for XJ stuff, simply because there are twenty times as many of them out there, although most of the parts are identical) has been around for quite some time, and you're not going to run into an issue no one else has ever had. There are also a bunch of members on here with more experience and knowledge than most people would find comfortable to have themselves, so don't be afraid of asking if you're not sure about something.

Something else you'll find incredibly useful is a good salvage yard. There are lots of them out there, but usually you can tell right away which ones are the good ones. My experience is that the smaller mom&pop yards will treat you better, better prices and so on, but they'll have less selection than the larger franchised yards. Either way, though, with a bit of work you should be able to find the parts you need at fractions of the price of buying new. Lots of parts are also only available from wreckers any more.

And yes, mine's not a lemon, either. It can be a little discouraging at times with some of the stuff that's gone wrong, especially since mine is only just shy of that 500,000 km mark, but I get a bit of a rush every time I fix something. And my MJ always seems to have creative ways of breaking itself. An example conversation I've actually had:

Me: My new flexplate is in!

Friend who has worked professionally as a mechanic: Why did you need a new one?

Me: The old one broke. Two seperate pieces. It's still driving, though.

Friend: WTF how did you do that?

Me: Dunno. Think it had something to do with when my engine tried to fall out, cause the motor mounts were shot and it wasn't bolted to the tranny. Must have been flexing too much.

Friend: Why weren't they bolted together?

Me: Dunno. Two of the bolts sheared and one of the others was missing. I guess there was one bolt in there, but only by a couple threads.

Friend: WTF were you doing? @#$%ing tug-a-war with a @#$%ing freight train?

Me: Dunno. It was like that when I bought it. I guess me being hard on it was a little much.

Friend: Why did you buy that POS anyway?

Me: Because Awesome.

Friend: I could find you something more reliable...

Me: Hey! It's never left me absolutely stranded... anything that's happened, it's always been able to drive itself into a shop. Eventually. It pulled you out once, too, with the two-piece flexplate and all.

Friend: Whatever. (walks away)

Me: And it's only tried to kill me three times and it hasn't managed it yet!

 

Yeah, mine set itself on fire after I overloaded the headlight switch, electrocuted me (shouldn't have stuck my hand there), and left me improperly dressed out in -35 windchill when it blew a rad hose off three times in as many miles due to negligence and/or poor memory on my part. But it's my baby and I love it. I'm going to roll that odometer back to 000,000.0 and no can stop me. At the rate I'm going, I may almost have replaced every single part, but God knows I'll have loved every minute of it, and looked back and laughed at myself for every time I haven't loved it. Seriously, who else has had their engine fall out? It was expensively frustrating at the time, but hilarious in hindsight. And the friend from the above conversation regularly drives a pumpkin orange Pinto that he paid $500 for, running and plateable. I've definitely got the better ride... and so do you.  . :MJ 1: .

 

Good luck with the build!

 

And, to adress some of your issues... The window mechanism will be identical to a four-door cherokee's setup. You shouldn't have issues finding the parts you need at a junk yard.

Your headliner is likely still salvageable. You should be able to find headliner adhesive in an aerosol can to glue it back on if you pull the panel off. If not, there's a vendor on here, SMS headliners, that will make you a new one.

I'd use an angle grinder on the welded on bumper... which shouldn't really have been done anyway. The frame is just several layers of sheet metal, unlike a conventional frame which is solid steel... so the things that get welded on may only be attached to the outer layer. But if you no has an angle grinder, then a hacksaw will be better than nothing. If you don't have something to replace it with, though, I'd leave it on for now...

[Lime]

 

I'd start reading through the DIY and Project forums, dig way back in the project forum also, lots of good "old" info there.

 

Also, I think you should rename the thread or your truck the "Hurtin' Albertan",,,,after Corb Lund and his band.   :yes:

Maybe it can get a new name upon completion. Although, everything around here is a "Hurtin' Albertan" (seeing as how I live in Alberta), so I'd have to come up with something more original than that. ;) Thread title, I can do. 

 

And, to adress some of your issues... The window mechanism will be identical to a four-door cherokee's setup. You shouldn't have issues finding the parts you need at a junk yard.

Your headliner is likely still salvageable. You should be able to find headliner adhesive in an aerosol can to glue it back on if you pull the panel off. If not, there's a vendor on here, SMS headliners, that will make you a new one.

I'd use an angle grinder on the welded on bumper... which shouldn't really have been done anyway. The frame is just several layers of sheet metal, unlike a conventional frame which is solid steel... so the things that get welded on may only be attached to the outer layer. But if you no has an angle grinder, then a hacksaw will be better than nothing. If you don't have something to replace it with, though, I'd leave it on for now...

Thanks for the tips! I'm keeping my eye out for the Cherokee donor. I don't have an angle grinder. I don't have very many tools at all. I need to build my collection. 

[JENSSEN]

Where in Alberta are you??

[Lime]

Where in Alberta are you??

Lethbridge for now. Might be leaving for Red Deer any day now, though.

[JENSSEN]

I am in Calgary and have parts and a bit of experience with jeeps ;)

[Lime]

Well, my Comanche was stolen out of my driveway tonight. Not happy.

[88whitemanche]

Well, my Comanche was stolen out of my driveway tonight. Not happy.

Dude! That sucks!

I hope you get everything back!

[outlaw star]

Well that sucks.

[8valvehero]

Oh no! Really hurtin now! :(

[Spectormj]

Find em and whip them with a 102" CB antenna then shoot their kneecaps and leave them for a wolverine

[Lime]

Well it's been found. Someone drove it into a mailbox and the front end is all messed up. I don't have it back yet, because the police weren't done processing it before I had to go to work. I can't pick it up until tomorrow, but I drove by the police impound lot and saw it from a distance. The hood is basically bent in half. Other than that I can't really see. It's 3 am and I'm currently snooping around the impound lot (just got off work). Better just go home and try not to think about it.

 

The topper is also gone, but I don't know if the police removed it or it was stolen. They said the driver side window was smashed, too.

 

Yeah, I think she earned the name Hurtin' Albertan.

[neohic]

:(

[Lime]

[88whitemanche]

At least it's repairable damage....

Unfortunately you lost a good topper. But you got your baby back.

[Lime]

Well, she still runs. The battery was pushed over by the crunched hood and the fan hits in the hit (and something else... I can't actually open the hood yet). I'm just wondering what's next and where to start. I need a donor now, right?

[Lime]

Whoops, posted twice. 

[Minuit]

:( it seems like the fine upstanding human being that did this worked it over pretty good. I'm not going to judge if it's repairable or not, but what I will say is that some people here have fixed up trucks with much more damage. You are correct though, you'll need a pretty clean donor and/or fab skills to get the parts you'll need.

[8valvehero]

Aside from the unibody damage it's nothing worse than the body issues that many of us have here on CC.

I'm confident we'll see a fine recovery!

[Lime]

What's the best way to go about fixing this? Should I make a post in the tech section? 

 

I found a potential donor: link

[neohic]

Anything is fixable whether it be done by a professional or by yourself. If it were me, and I despise body work, I'd give it a shot and see what I could make out of it. It's already totaled, right? If it doesn't work out to your liking then I'd find a donor and start swapping. On the other hand, it's still looks to be a pretty rust free truck with good bones. Someone would buy it in its current state and fix it themselves or turn into a trail rig.

 

It's a sad deal no matter how you look at it. I know I'd be lost it I were in your shoes. Keep your chin up, sir.

[Lime]

I feel like this situation is going to make it all the more satisfying to look back and see where I came from when it's all fixed up. One thing at a time. 

[neohic]

... One thing at a time. 

 

That's good advise even for those with self inflicted projects piling up. Just like eating a whale, man.  :thumbsup:

[Dirteatr717]

It looks worse then it really is, sheet metal bends easily and takes a little elbow grease and finesse to move it back into place... Ask me how I know! My roof was crushed against the passenger seat headrest.. The hood is replaceable and your headliner is a 20 minute job! Even if there is beer involved it might take 30 haha :thumbsup: start small and you'll get used to tinkering with stuff, good luck!