neohic Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Happy 2016, Comanche Club! It's a brand new year for featuring some more of our favorite old trucks! What's always nice about January is that it feels like a fresh start, you know? What better way to embrace that feeling with one sweet Comanche that's still mostly original... it's just had a fresh start on a few things. This new year, let's have a look at... YEAR/MODEL ●1989 Jeep Comanche Eliminator, 128,685 original miles ENGINE/PERFORMANCE ● 4.0 Renix, all sensors replaced with OEM sensors, rebuilt the head and cleaned the intake manifold and throttle body, upgraded grounds from cruiser tips, upgraded injectors to Bosch 746 injectors, all new stock exhaust from manifold back, replaced oil pan and rear main seal DRIVETRAIN ● Originally was a 2wd automatic with an AW4, I converted it to a 4wd manual with an AX15 and NP231. The AX15 came from a 1994 XJ with around 100k miles, the NP231 also from an XJ, the front Dana 30 axle was out of a late model 90's XJ, matched ratio to 3.55, no disconnect system, the rear axle is the original Dana 35 3.55. The original rear drive shaft was shortened to work with the AX15 and the front drive shaft came from a factory 91 XJ COOLING ● The cooling system was upgraded to an open system using an upgraded coolant bottle from Mac's Radiator and adding an overflow bottle from a 2.5 engine over by the air filter, the water pump, radiator, and all coolant hoses were replaced with factory replacements, this caused me to have to relocate the fuel ballast resistor to the front radiator mount ELECTRICAL/IGNITION ● Replaced distributor and ECU with stock reman units, upgraded the grounds in the engine bay based on cruiser tips, refreshed all electrical connections, replaced all relays, wired up 4wd dash light SUSPENSION/STEERING ● Replaced gear box with stock replacement, replaced all shocks, tie rod ends, ball joints and hubs. INTERIOR ● Upgraded the B Pillar lights with replacements from Euramtec, found replacement factory radio because originally did not work. When I pulled up the carpet, I was nervous, but the factory floors looked perfect! BRAKES ● Upgraded to 96 XJ booster and master cylinder, removed rear weight sensing valve, replaced proportioning valve with one from an XJ, replaced rotors, calipers, drums, and wheel cylinders with stock replacements LIGHTING ● All stock lights with factory fog lights EXTERIOR ● I added back the original Eliminator stickers and added 4x4 stickers that would have been there if it had come 4x4, they were from an XJ but should be correct badges. The vehicle had been in a wreck at some point before I bought it, saw it on a CarFax. It was passenger front, repairs were done well, all looks factory, a partial paint job was done which is when the Eliminator stickers were most likely removed. It had also hit something on drivers side rear bumper, I plan to try and hammer that out and fix it without having to replace it. Overall the paint is good except it's the worst on the tailgate, pretty faded, otherwise good condition. WHEELS/TIRES ● 235/75/R15 Starfire SF 340. These tires were new on the vehicle when I bought it, they are pretty cheap, I plan to replace them once I get everything else finished and fixed up. I'm looking at either some Cooper Discovery AT3's or Firestone Destination AT's MISCELLANEOUS ● Replaced idler pulley Boostwerks 231 shift linkage Replaced broken spare tire carrier with a good condition stock unit from eBay, that took awhile to find Replaced broken battery tray with stock replacement Replaced power steering hoses Also, don't clean your engine with Purple Power not diluted enough, that is why my engine bay looks really clean, but all the aluminum is oxidized :( Remember That One Time?... Tell Us Your Best MJ Story ● I would say my favorite was reading about how all MJ's have rust when you pull up the carpet, so I was nervous, and as the carpets were pulled up, underneath was a perfect set of floors that looked probably just like they did in 1989, so that was pretty exciting. Also, working on my MJ was also the first time I ever got shocked by a spark plug wire on a running car, which was also pretty fun. I worked on my CJ, multiple XJ's, and 2 SJ's and never had that happen. CC is Awesome!... Why Do You Think So? ● This MJ was the first car I worked on that was fuel injected, computer controlled, sensors, etc... I knew nothing about it, always worked on older carbureted engines, so I was intimidated until I found CC with all the experts and answers to my questions Let me be the first to say congratulations, David! What I really love about this truck is that it's upgraded from stock, but it's not overdone. You made it how you wanted it with factory parts to keep it looking just like the factory would've done it. Not to mention that it's a red Eliminator... but I just might be a little bit bias. very well done, sir! Let's enjoy another year of MJOTM and another year to start fresh! -Ben Click here to view the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekaz1 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Very nice! Those floors are beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Excellent! A great low mileage MJ to begin with that you made even better by keeping and improving it's originality. A very refreshing build to see. :cheers: Also, don't clean your engine with Purple Power not diluted enough, that is why my engine bay looks really clean, but all the aluminum is oxidized :( Man, that's too bad what the Purple Power did. That stuff must be really caustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Excellent! A great low mileage MJ to begin with that you made even better by keeping and improving it's originality. A very refreshing build to see. :cheers:X2 I love this truck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteco Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 great truck to start the year off right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottJeep Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Very nice. Very clean. Very Worthy. Great "enhancements" without doing too much to the truck. I don't have that type of restraint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Great looking truck! Did you have to move the washer fluid bottle slightly when you added the '96 brake booster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmcgowan Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Yep, had to drill some new holes for washer bottle and used some self taping screws, you don't have to move it much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acerocknroll Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Awesome Eliminator! Can't believe how perfect your floors are!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Looks like you did more or less what I'm going for - stock-ish but gently upgraded. Love it. I like that you added all the details to make it all look factory :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepsOLot Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Where did you get the bottom Eliminator stripes? I have an '88 Eliminator I'm restoring, and I can only find the 90's Eliminator stripes. Beautiful truck!!! Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmcgowan Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Where did you get the bottom Eliminator stripes? I have an '88 Eliminator I'm restoring, and I can only find the 90's Eliminator stripes. Beautiful truck!!! Jerry I actually didn't redo the stripes, those were there when I got the truck. I just added back the Eliminator. The kit I ordered did come with stripes though. I got them off eBay. They are not perfect, but pretty close. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-92-MJ-JEEP-COMANCHE-PICKUP-ELIMINATOR-CHEROKEE-XJ-SIDE-STRIPE-DECAL-KIT-/161765018701?hash=item25a9f24c4d:g:YEEAAOxyeR9TGfvg&vxp=mtr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Do you still have the lower stripes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89eliminator Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 although i am biased towards red 89 eliminators.... this one is very clean! love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkmcgowan Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Do you still have the lower stripes? let me see if I can find them and check how bad mine are... not sure if I plan to tackle redoing mine again one day.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spigman Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 nice truck !!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emedley459 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainman Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Clean truck. Jeez talk about a survivor. Congrats on starting 2016 off right as MJOTM for jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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