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Comanche Fun-Runner (LS, Coilovers, Beams...)


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So, round three of MJ for me begins. Street comanche, LS comanche, and now starting with a stocker to build it my way this time. I sold my fully built XJ for a great profit and am able to start a build I have wanted to do for a long time. This is NOT a prerunner, I have built and driven real $500k+ prerunners that actually prerun baja and whatnot. Thats not what this truck is meant for. This truck is going to have that look of a prerunner although. But that is because the wide fiberglass fenders are a supporting mod for the rest of the build. The true theme of this build is going to be a LCOG build. Having a street comanche I really fell in love with the way it handled like it was on rails because I had a nice healthy tire patch, lightweight truck, and low center of gravity. With my XJs I really enjoyed how well 35s felt off road, but still had a nice patch while on road. So this truck will be low, roughly a 2'' lift, with a nice wide stance. A good adjustable sway bar, adjustable ride hieght, and adjustable shocks. I really want to have the ability to dial it in to whatever type of driving I am doing. Id like a truck that I can daily drive, or blast down a dirt road, do some mild crawling, or take a nice canyon road at some speed, all with the adjustment and tuning of a few things. This truck is being built to not be perfect at anything, but decent at many things. 

 

With that said, I picked up a steal of a deal on the truck. It is an ORIGINAL owner 89.5 SWB Sportruck. Options are as follows: AX-15, NP231, HP-D30 vacuum disconnect, Trac-loc D44, bench seat, mini console, tilt steering, and some other odds and ends. It was originally sold in Whittier, CA, and I know this because I have the original window sticker and original registration along with it. I picked it up about 5 miles from where the dealership it was sold at used to be, still in Whittier, CA. It came along with all service records, all original manuals. The exterior is truly impecable, paint is dulling, and one small dent on driver door, otherwise astonishing for its age. There is not a spec of rust inside or out, floor boards, rockers, and even the battery tray. The interior is imaculate, one stain on the driver floor, seat has been reupholstered, and one panel is missing behind the seat. Again, not a big deal. 

 

I picked up the truck and got it on the freeway and quickly blew two tires that had been dry rotted beyond use. I saw this ahead of time but thought I'd try to make it home to San Diego where I had new tires, proved why I invest in AAA though. Got some cheapy tires and made my way to Hanneman Fiberglass where Hal, and Harold helped me to some 6'' Front fenders, and 6"' bulge bedsides. Got to have them fresh out of the molds. Cruised down interstate 15 at 85MPH for about an hour and 45 mins, didnt break a sweat or have any issues whatsoever even on the small grades. Will hold 90 in 5th gear like a champ. I quickly realised the brakes were shot so I stopped and picked some up to throw on in the morning. 

 

As everything opens at 8AM tomorrow I will be ordering a few parts. I will be purchasing a currie antirock sway bar, JKS acos spring spacer with bump stop, 15x10 Aluminum wholeshot rims, 35'' General Grabber ATX tires, and possibly a 97+ header panel kit. 

 

Some things I still need to research are regearing, and I want with this jeep I want to learn some painting and autobody skills. This jeep will not get beaten, and I sort of want it to be a pretty truck, that new ford avalanche gray just has been on my mind since the first time I saw it. So any info on those would be very helpful. Join me for this build, I have been anticipating this one for years, and funds finally came through!!

 

If anyone is intrested in the shell, the rims and tires, or possibly trading plus cash for a bed I won't feel bad about hacking up let me know. I am located in San Diego. 

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Day one with this truck went well, drove it around a ton. Picked up rims, ordered tires, went with 33 grabbers instead. Ordered the currie sway bar, ordered all metalcoak adjustable control arms, and some coil spacers until I decide if I want the acos with rubber bump stops or the full hydraulic setup. I got the wrong rear flares so calling hanneman tomorrow to get the correct rear bedsides. Met with a painter and finalized a paint scheme. Will match the race car I will be chasing in the baja races for. Once again, this is not a prerunner, its a daily thatll sometimes off road, go fast, or chase for the 500-1000 mile off road races. Its a do-it-all truck. 

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Got the basic jks acos spacers without the hydraulic bump stop. Polished my wheels. And getting ready to do a slave cylinder and clutch. Don't wanna pull the trans myself, but also don't wanna pay to have it done 83429f045715ff44c99e45308acceca3.jpg689b927ec51b0231cc3b78e9d263ab56.jpg

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Day three, ordered some fender mounting hardware. Removed the shell, getting the truck ready for next week when all the parts are here. Once everything is installed I'll be doing a clutch job, and the truck should be good to go for quite awhile. I've attached a photo of the look I'm going for, but not orange lol923b326983d67b2f7e6edb1f9e666f44.jpg8f1acefa1d521a68f7741e451fc8e47a.jpgce46662515d50b544cf13adc653780b9.jpg

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8 minutes ago, Comanche SS said:

Good find, I was curious as well. I think I'm just doing louvers or getting one of those new xj hoods that have the jku 10th anniversary louvers/scoops

 

Got a link for these?

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The  only reference I can find for that hood is Offroaders in LEBANON.
Well, I don't know what to tell you. If you pm me your name and contact info I'll shoot the info to him so he can work something out with you, he's in Texas I believe.

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I'll start this by saying, I gave a good effort to keep this bed in good shape and let someone who needed it have it, literally for free. Not ONE person contacted me. I gave it until I couldn't wait anymore, and it's my truck anyway, this truck was for sale for awhile so anyone coulda bought it before me and restore it to original. Nobody did so I am making it my way because it's my truck. If you hate it, move along, it's not for everyone's taste it's for mine.


I mounted the front and rear fiberglass today, fitment was pretty good all around. All in all took about 8 hours, and I coulda done it faster but u wanted to cut the steel besides off in a clean enough way so someone can use them as good patch panels.

Mounted my 33*12.5*15 tires and rims as well. I love how wide it sits, it looks great in person.

The front is sitting a little low still because I ran out of daylight to do my suspension work. So this weekend I'll be installing the jks acos, currie antirock, metalcloak arms, brake lines, and currie track bar.

I didn't get time to buff, sand, or paint the besides today so there are still a couple rough edges that need to be gone over. Inner fender mounts need to be added.

With these tires and track width plus a low center of gravity this truck handles nothing short of amazing. No under steer, no over steer. Light truck with big rubber patch is a whole lot of fun! 1a64b344d85ec15e7bf2c3e22601fe72.jpg7cef5dfb9d7dc941af0dcfffad5ebfd8.jpg5bfd84b756ef8d6fd77c64bc17b91720.jpg0f004a60d8841b8eda596be6286a9027.jpg64e3e5fc4a8cbd538608b22d86b4a29a.jpg42a7de7d730a80395ffc7f6d5e2f3928.jpg48581cab7650a31f02099be6706a329c.jpgd6483618d37f22c431afda3b41f7129a.jpg780ab1260b891581df708adafbcfbda0.jpg

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Got the front end suspension done, all that's left is installing the ene track bar once I rebuild the joints. And installing the rear shocks. Paint, bucket seats, and harnesses are the next small upgrades while in the meantime I search for a donor engine to swap in. May do a v8, unsure yet. But front end handles amazing, floats over big bumps and potholes. Hopefully taking it out on some trails this weekend! c29e3dc011d24c3172a25ca7c4df2f81.jpgca953738b56fcb635b53e549d660d313.jpga8199b4a8d301258f76ddbc8370312ae.jpg8da1bf830ecb8bbd139d6c53e8e029ab.jpgc3f5a39a078565149fbb65b35ebc1e0c.jpg

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  • Comanche SS changed the title to Comanche Fun-Runner (LS, Coilovers, Beams...)

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