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The Reason I'm Broke


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I’ve been into jeeps for the past 3 years now. I made the transition from modifying little ricer burners to Jeeps. Ive owned two Cherokees and now I am the proud owner of an MJ. I have always wanted a Comanche, but in Ohio they are extremely hard to come by. The rust and Ohio’s terrible drivers have resulted in any that do pop up for sale being in poor condition.  When I went to buy my last Cherokee I searched initially for a Comanche and eventually gave up. Over the winter my daily driver was a Mazda Miata (yes I know very homosexual). I grew tired of the ghey jokes, so I put it on craigslist. After several weeks of very little interest (what a surprise I was trying to get rid of a rwd 2 seater in winter) I got a call from a guy with a Comanche that was interested in trading. I agreed to meet expecting to see a rusted out pile, but was quickly shocked. I traded and am now a proud owner of a 87 SWB 4.0 4x4 5 Speed Comanche. My plans were to keep it factory and restore it. I didn’t get many pictures of it when I first got it, as I parked it and started daily driving my Cherokee. Here are a couple pictures shortly after I got it. 

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He did drive it in the winter. Just to clarify I have nothing against miatas. I loved the car, just owned it at the wrong time and couldn't stand the hate I got for owning one. There seem to be a lot of 87s, I'm very happy with mine. Wish I had a newer one with a HO though.

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Just to clarify I have nothing against miatas. I loved the car, just owned it at the wrong time and couldn't stand the hate I got for owning one.

 

Curious as to what hate you got for driving a Miata. Was it from the terrible Ohio drivers? Or from other ricers as you once were? I've been to Dayton many times, it's a great town and the folks love their Flyers.

 

Anyhow, welcome to the club - looks like you have a very clean MJ.  :cheers:

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 Hate was mainly from family, friends and coworkers, but that car is long gone so lets move on . :MJ 1: .  Dayton is a great town, several legal offroading spots within a reasonable distance and great people that are always willing to give a helping hand while wrenching. Thanks, it is pretty clean for its age! 

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Look's just like mine but with a shorter bed,, :thumbsup: Love my jeep. . :MJ 1: .

Nice! I have always liked the look of the short box better, but I can say there have been a few times where that extra foot of beds space would have come in handy. Maybe one day ill own a long bed too :yes:

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Little bit of an update...Was driving my 97 and started hearing a thud in the rear. Upon investigation, I discovered that the unibody rails got a lot worse over winter. I decided to take it off the road, because it is unsafe. Instead of repairing it, I'm going to part it out. Most of the parts will be transferred over to the Comanche  :thumbsup: Here are some pictures of the rails, these are just a couple of the spots and here's the new daily. 

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Started to take the cherokee a part, I'm setting aside all the parts I want to keep before parting it out. 

The plans for the Comanche as of now are

Swap over front axle, heim steering, 33s, 6 inch coils, drop brackets and control arms from the cherokee to the comanche. Find a ford 8.8 with 4.10s and lsd and do a soa in the rear. Repair the floor pans in the Comanche and either this winter or next summer swap in the HO and AX15 out of the Cherokee as they only have 120k on them. Will be a lot of work, but worth it in the end. A small update anyhow, was at the local LKQ and decided I was sick of the dummy gauges in the Comanche. I figured since it will be my only jeep and see quite a bit of woods time it would be smart to acquire some real gauges. I sourced a full cluster out of a 90 Cherokee and it also had a factory clock  :yes: Unfortunately the gauge cluster had a cracked lens and a grey surround, while my factory one was black. I swapped the surround and drilled a hole in the factory lens for the trip reset, I think it turned out pretty good. The clock plugged right into the factory wiring and worked. Not a bad upgrade, got everything for $30. Next I need to grab some new sensors, so my water temp and oil gauge work and then onto the lift!

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Making some progress...

As of now it drives. I'm unhappy with a couple of things. The front sits slightly lower and will sit even lower once my winch bumper goes on. I'm not really a fan of my tires, would like to upgrade to 35s. I still need to order brake lines and re route the lines in the rear, since I swapped in an 8.8. 

Plans for now are. ACOS spacers for the front, order stainless brake lines, order rear shocks and try to trade my 33s for some 35s. After that it will be drivable on the road. From that point I will drive it to my buddies house to regear the front. I already have a new carrier, ring and pinion and master install kit. Trying to decide if I want a lunchbox locker or wheel the 30 open till it brakes and upgrade...decisions decisions. Hoping to be driving and wheeling it with in the next couple of weeks.

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Thanks! Traded off my off brand 33s for a set of 35" KM2s. Near the same amount of tread and it was a straight trade, so i couldn't complain.Cut the front of the fenders to install my Smittybilt XRC winch bumper. Ordered and installed the JKS ACOS spacers. Got the rear shocks on and brakes functioning as well. Have a couple leaks I need to take care of. Rear Driveshaft is currently at the shop getting lengthened, then it will be on the road. 

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Sorry, that part was a little unclear. Prior to taking my cherokee off the road I planned on lifting the Comanche. I ordered the IRO 8.8 swap kit and sourced an 8.8 with 4.10s and lsd from a local yard. I just had this stuff sitting around. I swapped it in when I swapped the front over from the Cherokee.  So the rear end is simply SOA with a Ford 8.8. 

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My buddies GLI sneaking in the background.

The GLI is still there, something huge is blocking it. 

Driveshaft was a little short... Anyway, I'm really happy with the way its turned out. Final lift height is somewhere around 8" which is way too tall for me, but will do for now. Putting my winch bumper on this week and will hopefully have the driveshaft back soon as well. After that I need to order a front locker and put the gears in and ill be in the woods. The local Jeep Jam is in a week, I'm hoping to make it to that. Probably won't have the gears in the front done by then, but it will still be cool to cruise out there and see some Jeeps. 

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  • 2 months later...

Well its been a long while since Ive given an update. I got everything buttoned up, a new shaft made for the rear and she's been on the road. I'm very happy, its drives straight with zero vibrations. Ive taken it on a couple trips over the past couple of months and its done great. This winter, I will be long arming it and swapping in a different dana 30. I bought a dana 30 with 4:10s, Aussie locker, solid diff covered and trussed for 100 bucks. Its already set up for 3 link and i purchased 3 link arms as well. I just need to build a crossmember. So stay tuned for that, custom 3-link member for a BA-10. Floor pans will most likely be replaced at the same time.

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