1992 Comanche Hunter Green 4WD Short Box

[91Pioneer]

Well I really wasn't in the market for another Comanche but when I saw this hunter green '92 short box 4x4 with a stick I just had to have it. I know these are pretty rare.

 

The good and bad is this. It has a new clutch, external slave, clutch master, 31" tires, and smaller stuff like O2 sensor, thermostat, plug wires, muffler, etc. So yeah mechanically the truck is pretty solid. It has 99 WJ seats in it which are actually fairly comfy.

 

The bad is that the rust is pretty bad overall. The spots above the wheel wells are completely gone and the rockers and cab corners are shot. The floor pans aren't looking good but they are fixable. The PO sprayed black paint over some of the rust spots which really didn't help anything. Other minor things are hood cable handle is broken off, headliner is shot and I think it needs a RMS.

 

Not totally sure on the master plan. I'm thinking right now that I'll make my 91 the parts truck to get the 92 restored simply because it's a green 92 so they are fairly rare. It was built in October 91 so it's not one of the last built. Ultimately I'd like to restore it totally nearly back to factory looks & specs but time will tell if I can do that.

 

What do you think about it and what do you suggest do?

 

 

[gogmorgo]

Don't think I saw that one for sale. Where was it? Looks to be in better shape than mine, body rust-wise for sure. I've got the body-colour header-panel, headlight bezels, etc out of my parts XJ still sitting in my basement. I was debating putting them on my MJ after a quick re-spray but if they'll serve you better... Don't have a close-up of them, not sure if the colour quite matches, either.

[91Pioneer]

 I'm thinking about swapping header panels from my red 91 just because it isn't cracked. I will stick with stock black grille and headlight trim.

[gogmorgo]

K. Wasn't sure if they were black or not cause they're so faded. Looks like that truck's been sitting in the sun its entire life.

[91Pioneer]

I believe my truck has a Crown aftermarket grille on it. There is a bit of damage from 2009 that shows on a history search. The headlight trim are natural aged color.

 

I forgot to mention in my first post that two leafs are broken on the RR leaf pack. I am trying to source a used pack for now, I found a couple on car-part.com within the province, $50 and $80. So I'll try that route first. I know I could just buy new springs and lift it a few inches but I don't want to spend any more money than I have to until I get further along with my plan (that is in progress LOL).

[Minuit]

Looks like a nice project. Too bad about the paint fade and the rust. It seems like a non-rusty Canadian MJ is a unicorn indeed. Any MJ, especially a green '92 is worthy of a restoration. Is that the outline of a swoosh I see on the bed?

 

WJ seats are very nice indeed. Did they keep the power adjustments when they swapped the seats in?

[91Pioneer]

@Minuit, yep there is an outline of the old swoosh decal. They are manual seats, not power, so maybe not from a 99 Grand??

 

@gogmorgo, on second thought I might be interested in that header panel. I'll see what I can find closer to home.

 

And... since this will probably be my build thread anyway, yesterday I dropped $6 on rearview mirror adhesive and stuck the mirror back on the windshield. Tonight I painted over the rust under the headliner with two coats of Rust Check primer. I'm not going to bother top-coating it since it's not exposed, I just felt I should at least make a slight effort to slow down the rust. Next up buy some sound deadener, order headliner fabric and some other parts.

 

[Minuit]

I don't know if the WJ ever had manual seats. Maybe on base models? Got a pic?

[91Pioneer]

Here are the seats. PO said they were out of a 99 WJ but they were in there when he bought the truck in '09 so maybe they aren't.

 

 

Oh and I discovered some funky wiring below the PCM. Need wiring diagram/colors now ;)

 

[Minuit]

I think I've seen those seats in ZJs before but I can't seem to find a picture that looks just like them. They do look very nice though.  :thumbsup:

 

I have the '91 electrical manual but wouldn't be able to get to it to make scans until this weekend. I'm sure someone on here has the '92 version, which would probably be more correct anyway.

[gogmorgo]

I'll apologize in advance for the quality of the lighting in my basement. Paint code PG5, hunter green metallic. The panel isn't mint, couple chips along the edges, paint scratches, etc. I also can't guarantee they're original. The upper rad support has black primer and a sticker with a mfg date of iirc 2001 which tells me the tiny end was put back together at some point, but back when factory parts should still have been available.

As to not being local, I've found myself in Regina four times so far this year. Don't know for a fact I'll be there again before August, but I wasn't expecting to be there last weekend as of Thursday at 10am and I was there by Thursday night, so you never know.

I'm also still sitting on an extra pair of tail lights I pulled with you in mind a long while ago which could still find their way to you if you want them (and/or if I can find them... They may have been stashed at my parents'?)

[91Pioneer]

Thanks for the pics but I'll probably pass at this point due to the chips and possible holes in it for the snaps to secure to. I had forgotten all about the tail lights. I found a NOS driver side one on eBay which is in my possession. I'm waiting for a truck nice enough install it on LOL!

 

I found some wiring diagrams @ http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/Wd so I think I'm good there. I don't really mind wiring stuff as long as it's not diagnosing major issues like no-start.

[gogmorgo]

No worries. Just means I won't need to track down another panel. Figured I should ask before spraying it black when someone wanted one in that colour.

I've always figured the snaps belong to a factory winter front, if such a thing ever existed. My MJ had them too, as does a co-worker who bought his '96 XJ brand new... He still has and uses the cover.

I've also got the green doors and hood off the XJ still in the yard, although they're in about the same shape as the header. Few scratches and dings, with rust starting along the edges. You likely won't want but figured I should offer anyhow. The doors have power windows. Mostly just making sure nothing on it goes to waste. I've been instructed by my landlords to have the XJ removed from the property, so now's the time to speak up if you do want something harder to find. I got it pretty well complete and still have most of it.

[91Pioneer]

It sounds like the doors are in the same shape as what I have now. I don't need a hood, I just need my hood re-painted LOL  I may or may not need a RF fender but I won't know 'til I take the flare off. There is a little bit of rust by the flare so if I take the flare off and it's scary then I might need a new one ha ha.

 

I can't believe I'm on Comanche #3. I swear this will be my last one  :doh:  . :MJ 1: .   :driving:

[gogmorgo]

That's what they all say.

The frobt passenger side fender has a pretty good crunch in it, sorry to say. It's the only significant body damage on the vehicle.

Don't know if it's super obvious in that photo but it's the only one I've got. You can see where the paint came off the flare in the top rear corner of the wheel well, at least.

[91Pioneer]

I think I've seen those seats in ZJs before but I can't seem to find a picture that looks just like them. They do look very nice though.  :thumbsup:

 

 

I did some searching and discovered the seats are out of a ZJ. PO had said 99 which would mean WJ but ZJ is older (did not know that before now, I know MJ but not all up on the other codes).

[91Pioneer]

Update. RockAuto order arrived, got some work to do as soon as I can make enough room in my garage.

 

I bought a header panel that isn't cracked but in my rush I bought the wrong one (for 86-90) oops, I'm out $30 now.

 

And, that's more good:

 

[13 Legion]

Nice job on the headliner! You do it yourself... Spray adhesive and some fabric? Did you put sound deadener up there as well? If so what material did you use?Just asking because that's one of my projects. Is most of the work on this build just cosmetic?

[91Pioneer]

Nice job on the headliner! You do it yourself... Spray adhesive and some fabric? Did you put sound deadener up there as well? If so what material did you use?Just asking because that's one of my projects. Is most of the work on this build just cosmetic?

 

I did DIY. I bought the headliner material from a local upholstery shop and the spray adhesive (it must be high temp). This is the adhesive http://amzn.to/1WcS63J

 

For dynamat, I used a cheap alternative. I forgot to take a pic I guess but the stuff I put on there is http://amzn.to/1YFdvBu- real easy to apply and seems to help.

 

Here is a pic of the headliner backboard that I started with. I applied some fiberlgass to the back two and one front corners on the top side to help hold the shape and fix the broken corners.

 

[91Pioneer]

Is most of the work on this build just cosmetic?

I don't have a big plan or "build", mainly I'm just trying to restore the truck. It won't turn into some huge crazy offroad build ;)

[scguy]

Headliner looks great!

[91Pioneer]

Well I'm sad to report that my beloved hunter green 92 MJ got hailed on and so insurance took one look at it and declared it a total loss. But, to make it worse, they said it needed both body integrity and safety inspections before it could be driven or insured. Given the rust on the rockers/cab corners, cracked windshield, non-functioning park brake, etc it was just beyond my capabilities.

 

BUT, the good news is I didn't let them take it and crush it. I sold it privately to a dude who will drive it on his farm, let his teenage kids use it. And perhaps get it fixed and licensed down the road. So I saved it from the crusher!!!!  :thumbsup:

 

I'm down to one MJ again.

[gogmorgo]

That's too bad. At least it's getting use and not going to the crusher immediately. No hanging onto it while you slowly work on it?

 

You wouldn't be interested in replacing it with a Lada, would you?  :peek:

[91Pioneer]

That's too bad. At least it's getting use and not going to the crusher immediately. No hanging onto it while you slowly work on it?

 

You wouldn't be interested in replacing it with a Lada, would you?  

 

Well even if it heads to the crusher one day, I can sleep at night knowing I did what I could to save it. The only problem with hanging onto it while I fix it up is I don't have space for it, and I estimated I'd need to drop $2K into it to fix it up (it would have needed floor boards too and I don't know what all else). I bought 2 other vehicles this year too and am storing cars at friends places, my vehicle situation is out of control at the moment. In the end I got what I paid for the truck earlier this year, so I'm only out about $300 in work that I had done to it. Not including insurance and gas obviously. If it had less rust and it wasn't hailed on I would have hung onto it for a lot longer.  :cry:

 

When I saw this Lada on Kijiji I thought of you, it's maybe even cooler than yours. Personally I like Ladas but that's because I've never owned one ha ha...

 

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/regina/1992-lada-niva-pickup-truck/1209379384

[gogmorgo]

Yeah, I can understand not keeping it around. I'm at that point with the Niva where I can understand how people can fall out of love with their project. I haven't driven it since May except for a super-sketchy no-brakes run around the block (my block involves four-lane highway, four stops signs, at the time heavy traffic... it was sketchy for sure). It's just been one thing after the other on it, fix one thing, find out something else that needs done before it goes back together, wait several weeks for parts to ship, a couple weeks before I get around to putting them in, find or break something else... I was just putting it back together after changing the oil pan last weekend (it's an engine-out job) and then I decided I should look at the clutch before putting it back together so now I'm waiting on a new clutch. And to make matters worse I'd rolled the Niva into the garage next door cause no one was living there to do the work (with the landlord's blessing of course) and there's someone moving in next week and it's going to be a few weeks before the clutch shows up. Fortunately the couple moving in are curling buddies so it's not a huge deal to them, as long as things go back together nicely, but if not I might need to find a new curling team this winter...

So I've got about $2000 in parts into the Niva this summer, so that's the friends and family price, sone assembly required. I'm not quite at the point of actually putting up ads yet though. But I just might if something else goes horribly wrong before the engine goes back in.