LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Well the search is finally over. After 3 months of looking, and 2 months of trying to get this specific comanche purchased, i finally brought it home. We've been looking for an MJ to build up specically to wheel on a budget. I think we picked up the right canidate! It's a 1988 Comanche Pioneer 4wd. Came with 31" tires already on it (will be replaced with at least 35's in the near future). I was looking for something specifcly with good lower rockers. This one dosn't have "mint" rockers, but they are not bad at all.. Imediate plans for it is to get it painted. Throw some lift parts I have around on it, and do a SO on the rear. Throw a winch bumper on it, and do some rack rails. Remove the doors, and do a few interior mods to make wheeling it a bit more comfortable. It will be a dedicated trail only rig. Plans later down the road are full widths, exo cage, and maybe tube the back with a 4 link setup. Yes the PO spray painted HJ on it, no clue what it even means... :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwin Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Very cool. Sounds like we're doing semi-similar builds with the exception of my axle swap. What trans is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 gah man, it doesnt say "h j" its a picture... the J is trying to Jump Hurdles. don't you know anything?!?! :brows: looks like youve got some serious cancer starting man. but the rockers are good you say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeeperjohnfromPA Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 In the southern part of the US they would call those rockers SHOT, not Good. However, in the northern part of the country, I think they call them GOOD simply because there is something still remaining! The Driverside Rocker looks about as bad as mine! but not as bad as my passengerside rocker! Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 I was able to work on it a bit today. Got the rear bumper removed. I also started some of the body work on the front 1/2 of it. Also was able to shoot the 1st coat of the new color. I think I'm going to like it... Here are today's pics; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I like the paint, but how long would it have taken to remove the trim pieces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 I like the paint, but how long would it have taken to remove the trim pieces? They will be removed and painted a semi-flat black. Why bother with removal, taping, etc when you can just remove later down the road and paint them the new color anyways? Plus doing what I did with the flares makes a good mark for a trim line... 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I like the paint, but how long would it have taken to remove the trim pieces? They will be removed and painted a semi-flat black. Why bother with removal, taping, etc when you can just remove later down the road and paint them the new color anyways? Plus doing what I did with the flares makes a good mark for a trim line... 8) *shrug* then ya don't have all them extra layers of paint plus chipping when u remove paint. oh well, u and yours, me and mine. p.s. a black marker makes a good marker too. trace the flares :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 What brand paint are you using? I like that green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 leave the HJ on the doors!!! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjontzen Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 looks good in green i like it!.......but.......should'a done white ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 What brand paint are you using? I like that green. Rustoleum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 leave the HJ on the doors!!! lol Doors are coming off and will probably never be put back on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 looks good in green i like it!.......but.......should'a done white ;) I know Bob... I thought about it, so it would match the rest of them. But white is a hard color to rattle can and make look good. Rebecca gave me a budget on this project to see if I can keep it under it. So I decided $30 worth of paint in can form is better than spending the $150-200 for "real" paint for me to spray it at the shop correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 leave the HJ on the doors!!! lol Doors are coming off and will probably never be put back on... Good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Looks like John Deere Green to me :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted June 29, 2007 Author Share Posted June 29, 2007 I was able to work on it a bit more today. First thing done today was to remove both front doors. Plan is for them to perminatly be off. I may fab up some tube doors and/or half doors in the future. But for now I'll be going doorless. I worked a bit on the rockers today. They need some work, but for being an Indiana MJ they are fairly solid compared to the others I've seen. I took some measurements and will be doing some custom sliders. I'll probably cut some of the rockers out to fit them, so I'm not horiably worried about the condition of them. I also removed the rear flares today. I cleaned up the bad spots on the bed and primered them. The rust holes will be covered with TJ rear flares, so I'm not worried about the looks of that area at the moment. It's going to be a trail rig anyways, so who cares! I got the drivers side pretty much painted today as well with the base coat. I trimmed the rear fender well, and did the cut and fold method. Turned out pretty well for that area being rusted at the top portion of the well. I will also be cutting the back quarters of the bed off (see green tape line). Didn't get to that today as I've lent my saw out to someone. Ordered some parts last night to complete the lift. So once those show up it will be lifted 5". Labaron hood vents should be here today so I may get those installed over the weekend as well. Here are the few select pics from today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 A few updates; I was able to get the other side fully painted yesterday. I also cut the lower quarters out of the bed. I used some door trim molding to cover the cut. I know it dosn't got all the way to the fender well, but the TJ flares will cover that. Today I painted the tail gate. Rebecca painted the grill peices for me in flat black. Didn't have time to get those installed today as they were still wet when we quit. I started to cut the holes in the hood for the LaBarron vents. One side is cut, will do the other side later this week. Still a few trim peices to paint in black, but almost done with that stuff. Hopefully the rest of the lift parts will show up this week. I may try to get it lifted this coming weekend if time allows. Here are the pics from today; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 We got the majority of the trim painted black and back on today. The front grill is all done and looks awesome! I also got the 2nd hole cut for the hood vents. The paint on the vents themselves are drying as I type this and will be installed in a few days. Got an tracking info on the rear lift parts last night, won't be here until sometime next week. Oh well, I'll probably get the rear axle pulled this weekend and maybe even try to get the front lifted. Sorry no pics today, left camera at home. It's coming though and looks a TON different with all the red officially gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Paint came out well. SOA on the rear's all that's going on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jared Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 looks like a great trailrig. i like it alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 Paint came out well. SOA on the rear's all that's going on? Yeah thats the plan. I have a few different sets of aftermarket shackles from the XJ's that I may play around with to get it right where I want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 Had a death in the family so I haven't been able to work on it as much as I'd like to this past week. Oh well I guess, family comes before playing. Got the grill back on. Got the hood vents on as well. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do about front flares. So I painted the pass. side one black to see if I liked it. We'll see after the lift how much room I have for the tires I plan on putting on and than decide what to do after that. Front bumper is also another debatable item. I'm trying to keep cost down, but really want a new front bumper. So I haven't waisted my time painting it yet until I decide what to do. Here are a few updated pics of the progress: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 you may regret the hood vents inthe future... hoodvents=water on the TPS=odd stuff. my brothers XJ has hood vents similar to those, and after a while the tps got jacked. LOVING the progress on the truck though man... she's lookin good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEAD_NOT_FOLLOW Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 you may regret the hood vents inthe future... hoodvents=water on the TPS=odd stuff. my brothers XJ has hood vents similar to those, and after a while the tps got jacked. LOVING the progress on the truck though man... she's lookin good! Run them on 2 other of my XJ's and havn't had a problem to date yet... Thanks. I have all weekend off, so I hopefully should be getting quite a bit done over the weekend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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