Maggie - 89 Comanche (6.25" Lift on page 3)

[LocoJeeper]

At the begining of May I dropped my 89 Comanche, project named Maggie, off at AtoZ Fabrication in Cressona. Zach is a long-time sponsor of a Blue Mountain Jeep Alliance and I got to know him pretty well over the years since he moved from NJ to PA.

 

Over a couple months of emails and throwing ideas around, the plan was to loan him the entire vehicle for 6-8 weeks so that he could build a front bumper, a rear bumper and rocker protection.

 

Whether these items go into "production" category or not is yet to be deteremined. At least the front bumper probably will as it is interchangeable with the Cherokee's and there are a number of people wanting him to build front bumpers for their XJ's.

 

I got an email from him a few days ago saying that the rocker protection was finished (really want to see some pics... but i'll save my excitement for the finished product). He also said the rear bumper is laid out and ready to weld together.

 

Anywho... anxiously waiting.

 

:D

[LocoJeeper]

I really like the “no questions asked, if it breaks we replace it” lifetime warranty of BDS Suspensions. However, they don’t make a Comanche lift kit that will clear 33’s. Realizing that most of the MJ lifts on the market are XJ fronts with SOA in the rear, it shouldn’t be that hard to assemble a “kit” myself.

 

Here are the parts from BDS Suspension:

 

* 034452: XJ 4.5″ Front Coil Springs

* 124422: Adjustable LCA’s with flex end

* 124424: Adjustable UCA’s with flex end

* 124413: Adjustable track bar

 

I’m seriously consider Bilstein for shocks. As far as the remaining items (spring perches, extended brake lines, etc) I’ll be adding things to this “kit” as I go along to arrive a complete parts list.

[LocoJeeper]

Well, when I bought the MJ back in March my plan was to build it up quick (and thorough, I am way too OCD to let something go by without doing it right) and have it ready for display at the PA Jeeps Show in July.

 

Well, it’s July… and if my chronological math works the fabricator has had Maggie in his possession longer then it was in mine.

 

He’s been busy building all new JK stuff… so its understandable.

 

An email yesterday revealed that I should be able to pick it up this coming friday (a mere 24 hours before the Jeep show.. no way am I pulling a thrash fest to get it together). So i’m excited at the possibility of getting my Comanche back and I very likely will enter it in the show anyways.

 

It’ll look a tad goofy, as it will have custom bumpers front and rear and rocker protection… but no other customizations… still rolling on its street treads and sporting a 10% swapped over XJ interior. But its got fancy bumpers!! Hehe.

 

Anywho… pictures to follow once I get my mits on it.

[feerocknok]

So you didn't get ahold of the BDS stuff?

[LocoJeeper]

Still formulating my plan of attack.

 

Brian, the parts manager at Outten County Jeep was able to quote me a really really fair price for getting the BDS part #'s that I had accumulated so far for my Comanche Lift Kit.

 

I am going to order them soon... once I get a few things done from my "waiting to be installed" pile.

 

So you didn't get ahold of the BDS stuff?

[LocoJeeper]

Hey gang,

 

Well, on friday I got to take the trip up to Cressona and pick up my 1989 Jeep Comanche project code-named "Maggie" from Zach at A to Z Fabrication.

 

The MJ had been up at his shop for about 12 weeks getting custom bumpers front and rear as well as a pair of rocker guards.

 

So without further adieu I present:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The front bumper was already bolted on. Appears very stout. He ran the supports right in line with the d-ring mounts and the whole way back past the power steering bolts and underneath the front bar for the sway bar mounts on either side. I was hoping to have the front receiver hitch be flush. But no doubt it is strong. Its a tweak that will happen later on down the road... along with a 45 degree modification for the bottom of the square tube. To give it a little more of "roll" to the front bumper and a slightly better approach angle.

 

As far as the rocker guards... I couldn't be more pleased. He welded square tube to the pseudo-frame rail and the bolted a section of angle iron to the pinch seam, and finishing it off with square tube and then a round tube "step" at an up-angle.

 

The rear bumper is a similar design as the front... but re-used the existing mounts for the rear. It was in the bed when I picked up the MJ. I got about half way down the road until I realized that the license plate was still mounted to the old bumper... which fortunately was in the bed as well.

 

I can't figure out where to put the plate though... I was hoping to have a "frenched" spot for the plate to go. But Zach wasn't able to come up with anything... so I'll have to sit on it and see what I can come up with.

[LocoJeeper]

For some reason the county that I live in only has one u-pull-it (up until a few weeks ago, there weren't any... one junkyard opened its doors to public wrenches). So anytime I find myself up in Berks county and try and hit a u-pull-it, in hopes of crossing things off my wish list.

 

About 30 minutes from A to Z Fabrication is EZ Pull & Save Auto Parts. So when I went up to get the MJ last friday, I swung over on my way back to see what I could come up with.

 

My wish list was simple... I was in search of a 97+ front clip to swap over to the 'manche and a 93-98 ZJ rear axle with disc brakes to swap the brake hardware over to the MJ Dana 44 I have laying in my garage.

 

After walking the entire truck lot (about 2 hours) I only saw 1 97+ XJ, which must've rolled, tumbled and then sat on itself! 'cause there wasn't a straight anything on it.

 

And I only found one rear axle that was even close to complete, however the entire weight of the vehicle was setting on it... and I forgot to eat my wheaties that morning.

 

So, the search continues.

[LocoJeeper]

So arriving home at 2:30pm on Friday, June 20th, with the PA Jeeps Show opening up for registration 16.5 hours away... I still had to paint the front and rear bumpers.

 

In the planning stage of the fabrication, I mentioned to Zach that I loved the idea of powder coating, but probably with something whose purpose is to get scratched up before the body of my 'manche does... an "on the shelf" paint source would probably be the best idea.

 

So I ran to Home Depot and picked up a box filled with Rustoleum's Clean Metal Primer, Rusty Metal Primer, and Black Hammered Finish.

 

Zach had used the previous rear bumper mounts and welded them to the new square stock. That's what the Rusty Metal Primer was for. The rest of the primer delivered two coats to the front and rear bumpers. Then everything received a two quick coats of Black Hammered Finish. I like that paint because it holds up pretty well... and is "textured" so dust, scratches, dents and paint inconsistencies don't show up as easily.

 

If I had followed the instructions as far as drying time and not rushed the process along, I'm sure it would have turned out better. Oh well... looks good from 3 feet away. Good enough for me.

 

 

 

 

[beaterjeep]

Looks good man. Just one questoin though. Does the place you had the rock rails made at have any plans of mass producing them? If so, I know a lot of people on here would like some.

[jackel18]

i like the rear bumper and the rock rails but the front bumper looks odd, like maybe it should be a rear bumper?

 

any way truck looks good.

[LocoJeeper]

The rocker guards aren't a real far cry from his production CJ/YJ/TJ ones. He's still a custom fabricator... even though a bunch of his stuff now gets sold through Quadratec.

 

I would imagine if I can get 4 or 5 requests put together, that he'd be more then willing to make a bunch.

 

Looks good man. Just one questoin though. Does the place you had the rock rails made at have any plans of mass producing them? If so, I know a lot of people on here would like some.

[LocoJeeper]

He wanted to style the front bumper after the rear.... if that was indeed his goal he did an excellent job. Again its very strong, but I was hoping for something much closer to Rock Lizard Fab's front bumper.

 

I am going to modify it by flush welding the receiver hitch (there is enough room behind the bumper, so I don't have the "civil war bayonet" receiver hitch) and then make a 45 degree cut on the bottom of the square tube. All in all give it a more "rolling" effect... rather then the straight up and down of the square tube.

 

i like the rear bumper and the rock rails but the front bumper looks odd, like maybe it should be a rear bumper?

 

any way truck looks good.

[LocoJeeper]

When I was looking over the 1989 Jeep Comanche trying to figure whether I wanted to jump a few steps outside of my budget to pry the Jeep out of the old-mans hands, I was amazed at how little rust there was on this particular MJ. My previous ventures into the XJ world (two 1989’s and a 1996) I knew that in the north-east, it is hard to come by a unibody XJ/MJ (or any Jeep for that matter) that didn’t have its share of floor board rust. My initial inspection only revealed one spot, just about the drivers side rear fender flare, of rust. I crawled underneath looking for the “poke my screwdriver through” type rust that I have come to expect, and found nothing. So an extra $100 outside of my budget didn’t seem like a huge jump for not having to weld in all new floor pans.

 

So I bought the thing, drove it home and within a few hours began my initial “I don’t need/want this on my Jeep” tear down. The cap came off, and surface rust was discovered below the rear sliding window. Not a big deal, a wire brush and an afternoon and that will be taken care of.

 

A few days later, I began tearing out the blue interior with a bench seat in favor of a donor 2-door XJ interior. That’s when I discovered the surface rust on the floor boards. Again, not what I was used to seeing, but rust non the less. It was only a few days until I was scheduled to take the MJ to A to Z Fabrication for custom bumpers and rocker guards. So I hit the rust with a wire brush, and sprayed some Rustoleum over it and called it done.

 

Three months later my Maggie was returned to me… and the rust had cancer-ed its way through the previous coating.

 

 

 

So, a new plan needed to be established. Because I had carpet ready to go in I really didn’t feel like pulling it out every 3 months to keep my floor boards from disappearing. I heard good and bad reviews of the Por15 line of rust-preventative products and keeping in mind that the MJ build up is just a the pre-amble to my YJ build… I wanted to give their products a whirl. And what better spot then the floor boards.

 

I purchased the following:

 

* POR-15 Six Pack (6 x 4oz cans)

* Marine Clean - Quart

* Metal Ready - Quart

 

The first step was to remove all flaking rust. A quick run with the wire brush followed by a blast of air from the compressor, clean up things quite nicely. Next was to remove any grease and impurities from the area with the Por15’s Marine Clean. I diluted the product into a spray bottle, sprayed the area, then after pulling the drain plugs hosed it out and let the floor boards dry. The final step before painting, was to use Por15’s Metal Ready. This product etches the surface so that the Por15 can bite into the rusty metal a lot better. Again, I had to let the application dry. Finally, I was able to apply the Por15 black to the floor boards. Using a regular bristle paint brush, I used one 4oz can per side. Again… let the stuff dry.

 

 

Looks pretty good ‘eh?! My initial impression is that Por15 puts a real impressive finish over existing surface rust. It leaves an almost ceramic, glossy finish that is in no way reflective of the rust that was/is underneath. My only prayer is that it holds up to the test of time. At least better then the 3-months that Rustoleum gave me.

 

A quick note: Por15 is UV sensetive and should pretty much only be used in a primer type application. They recommend top-coating Por15 with their BlackCoat or Chassis Coat. I would not doubt the quality of those products, however, since my goal was to simply stop the rust and provide a good surface for my carpet to cover to up… I went back to Rustoleum and covered it in 2 coats of Black Hammer Tone Finish.

[LocoJeeper]

I got my "build sheet" by emailing Chrsyler at customerassist@chrysler.com. It took about a week... but here it is:

 

Thank you for contacting the Chrysler Customer Assistance Center

regarding the build sheet of your 1989 Jeep Comanche Pioneer.

 

According to our records, your vehicle was equipped from the factory

with the following:

 

Heavy Duty Electrical Group

Skid Plate Group

Spring Special White Appearance Grp

Monotone Paint

Power Front Disc/Rear Drum Brakes

10x2.5 Rear Drum Brakes

Straight Back Bench Seat

Carpets - Floor and Cargo Area

Passenger Assist Handles

All 4-Speed Automatic Transmissions

4-Speed Automatic AW4 Transmission

Lock-Up Torque Converter

Command-Trac Part Time 4WD System

Elec,Shift-on-the-Fly,P/Time T/Case

Dana M30/181MM Front Axle

3.55 Axle Ratio

Dana M35/194MM Rear Axle

All Engines

Tinted Glass Windows

Tinted Windshield Glass

Front Door Tinted Glass

Fixed Door Vent Glass

Rear Sliding Window

Rear View Day/Night Mirror

Left Remote Mirror

Right Remote Control Mirror

Manual Remote Mirrors

Air Conditioning

Instrument Panel

Analog Instrument Cluster

85 MPH Primary Speedometer

Var Intermittent Windshield Wipers

Cigar Lighter

Inst Panel Mounted Hood Release

Key in Ign/Seat Belt Warning Buzzer

Glove Box Lamp

Halogen Headlamps

Black Front Bumper

Black Front Bumper

Front License Plate Bracket

Body Color Headlamp Bezels

Black Windshield Moldings

Upper Door Frame Moldings

Belt Moldings

Body Color Drip Trough Molding

Federal Emissions

EVAP Control System

Catalytic Converter

18.5 Gallon Fuel Tank

Intense Blue Pearl Coat

Intense Blue Pearl Coat

All Radio Equipped Vehicles

AM/FM Cassette Radio

4 Speakers

Power Rack and Pinion Steering

2-Spoke Soft Feel Steering Wheel

Standard Duty Shock Absorbers

Rear Shock Absorbers

Tilt Steering Column

All Tires

Full Size Spare Tire

Tire Carrier Winch

P215/75R15 OWL All Terrain Tires

15X7.0 Styled Steel Wheels

Pickup Box

Fuel Tank Skid Plate Shield

Transfer Case Skid Plate Shield

Front Suspension Skid Plate

-35F Protection Anti-Freeze

Build To U S Market Specifications

5 Additional Gallons of Gas

Rear Spring Group I

GVW/Payload Rating

Left Front Group XV

Right Front Spring Group XIV

U.S. Dealer Retail

Zone 33-Philadelphia

Largo Tracking

Metro Cars of Detroit

 

Everything seems in order... just wondering where the "5 Additional Gallons of Gas" went ;)

[LocoJeeper]

Hey gang. I finally got around to putting the lift on my 1989 Jeep Comanche project code-named “Maggie”.

 

The final build consisted of:

 

* Spring over axle conversion in the rear using AtoZ Fabrication’s perch kit.

* Rubicon Express XJ 4.5″ Coils (RE1310)

* Rubicon Express 1.75″ Coil Spring Spacers (RE1334)

* Rubicon Express Extreme Duty XJ Track Bar (RE1660)

* Rubicon Express Heavy Duty Track Bar Bracket (RE1665)

* Rubicon Express Super-Flex Adjustable Lower Control Arms (RE3715)

* Rubicon Express Super-Flex Adjustable Upper Control Arms (RE3780)

* Rubicon Express Generation II Quick Disconnects (RE1141)

* JKS Bar Pin Eliminators (9603)

* JKS Shock Conversions (9602)

* Monroe Sensa-Trac Shocks (37101)

* Tru Torque Front Brake Lines - 95 GMC 1500 (H38621 & H38621)

* Tru Torque Rear Brake Line - 95 Dodge Dakota (H38636)

* Super Swamper TrXus MTR’s (33×12.5R15)

* Crager Soft 8’s (15×10 5 on 4.5)

 

That’s it… I think. Minus a few nuts and bolts that I had I pulled from my supply along the way.

 

Without further delay, here are the pictures.

 

Right before the lift:

 

 

Right in the middle of lifting (anyone for Jeep drag racing):

 

 

Lift done, with stock tires:

 

 

Done, with 33’s:

 

[beaterjeep]

Right in the middle of lifting (anyone for Jeep drag racing):

 

I don't know why, but for some reason I just love this pic. If only the rear tires were drag slicks, and you had a nice powerplant under the hood with a blower sticking out, it'd be perfect.

 

Anyways, looks great all finished (for now, as we all know a Jeep is never completed).

[LocoJeeper]

Right in the middle of lifting (anyone for Jeep drag racing):

 

I don't know why, but for some reason I just love this pic. If only the rear tires were drag slicks, and you had a nice powerplant under the hood with a blower sticking out, it'd be perfect.

 

Anyways, looks great all finished (for now, as we all know a Jeep is never completed).

 

(Speaking entirely from an automotive venue that I know absolutely nothing about...) you could probably make a real decent drag car/truck out of an MJ. Mess with the rear bed and frame enough to drop the back end back down after putting bigger slicks on it... stuff a 350 into it. Stiffen the bananas out of the front unibody.

 

Hmmmm.....

 

- Ben

[purplexj]

There was someone on craigslist for a few years trying to dell an MJ w/350 chev. It had a big scoop and looked like slicks. The pic was small and very blurry and he wanted about 7 grand if I remember. Looked pretty cool from what I could see.

[xjcrazy09]

 

I like this picture too! looks like you get great gas mileage since your always going down hill :D

[jackel18]

Looks real nice :thumbsup: