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1990 Comanche Build "little Big Truck"


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Lebaron vents in the hood. Steering is something homemade from a previous owner. 3/4" rod ends, solid steel. Everything is pretty much late 70's Bronco. Handles fine without a stabilizer. I've done probably 70-80mph (broken speedo) in a straight line down the highway and it tracked great. It drives like a monster truck though, big and slow with the turning radius of a school bus.

 

Went snowboarding today, I'll be back into the truck again tomorrow. Firewall, dash mounting tabs, and the fuel tank are on the to-do list.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Got the truck running the other day. Runs great, no check engine light, no airbag light. Laying paint all weekend. Giving the $50 Rustoleum paint job a try. If you're not familiar with it, it's just rolled on Rustoleum, lots of coats, with a heavy wetsand at the end to remove roller lines and orange peel.

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hey tractor supply sells clear coat and a gal thats ready mixed that you just spray. i test sprayed it over rustoleum sail blue because i had it laying around. the blue was cured for about 2 weeks before i put the clear on. 

Remember what its called? You spray it on with a regular paint gun?

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  • 1 month later...

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Because Friday the 13th...

 

Got hit by a blind old woman leaving an eye appointment. She blew over a raised crosswalk, through a yield, and tried to cut left across 3 lanes. I swerved as hard as I could from the far right to the far left, but she still stuck the nose of her 07' RAV4 under my passenger side door, we spun sideways, and drove the back tire over her hood. How we didn't flip, being sideways at 45mph and on 2 wheels is magic!

 

Currently doing battle with her insurance company. My buddy in the passenger seat got slammed pretty hard, and the steering is all out of whack now.

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Damn that sucks. Steering out of whack may be the rear axle shifted, probably sheared a leaf spring pin when you drove over her hood.

 

I want to do a 97+ conversion to a Comanche, how hard did you find it? I can do everything but the sheetmetal work to the firewall myself. Want to help? LOL

 

Good luck with the insurance company, just remember that their client hit you, so you are not obligated to take a settlement you aren't satisfied with. It just depends on how much patience you have in dealing with them.

 

Later,

Joe

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The swap was very time consuming! Took a solid 3 weeks in my shop. The firewall is actually an easy part. Cut it out of the donor, lay it over the MJ, and tack weld it into place. Cover the holes you don't need and trim out the ones you do. Then smear the seams with sealer. The fuel tank, emissions crap, and wiring harness for the cab and rear were more difficult.

 

I'm fairly good at handling insurance companies. Long story short, crashed an 01' Integra at 5mph, they offered $2,000 and they keep the car. We finished at $5,000, I kept the car, sold it for $2,800 and got the next 6 months of my insurance comped because they screwed the claim up so bad.

 

I'm in a 2015 Nissan Frontier for a rental. It's nice driving something new again, but my 2012 Tacoma was a waayyyyyy better truck.

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I used the MJ tank, cut a hole in the top, and dropped the XJ pump down into it. There's a little more to it than that, but I didn't use a Dakota or TJ tank.

 

The Integra... A pedestrian ignored the signs, traffic did a panic stop, and I wasn't quick enough. Stuck the nose down under the @$$ of a Grand Prix. Not even a scratch on his car, but it got my hood, headlights, bumper, fenders, and radiator support. Car ran and drove fine with no leaks, but Allstate opted to total it out.

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You turn your MJ tank into an XJ tank. Swap over the vent and the rollover valve. Trim the inside pan down a bit.

 

I haven't tested this tank off-road yet, no idea how it'll handle an incline. And I've been refilling at 150 miles.

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  • 1 month later...

Interesting work on the tank. Couple of questions if you don't mind:

 

1) What sealant did you use around the rollover valve and sender?

2) Did you weld the old sender hole shut or just throw the old MJ sender back in?

3) Did you make or buy the hold downs for the XJ sender?

 

Thanks!

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