PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 I picked up a parts MJ a few months ago and am transferring some of the parts to my ’88 MJ Eliminator. This the parts car and it’s the same as what I currently have on the road … I’m installing the sport bar and thought I’d ask this first. It has what I think are a pair of non-original 3/8” holes on the top of the bar. There are 3/8” holes in the same location but on the underside. I’m pretty sure the bottom holes are where the wiring for the lights should thread through. I can’t see why there would be holes on the top. Can someone confirm this or tell me what the top holes would be for? I figured I’d better ask before I start welding to fill them in! Regarding the lights, the pair that came with the parts car appear to be a bit smaller than what I think the originals were. There are no brand markings on them (Marchal, Bosch, etc.) but they have plastic “Jeep” covers. They work and they’re in good restorable condition except for the retaining ring that holds the light in to the housing. Normally I’d just replace the lights but I kind of like the covers. Does any one know if they are original or if not what Jeep they might have come off of? I’ve looked at some original sales literature and I haven’t seen any roll bar lights that have covers. BTW – as far as I can tell the lights were never hooked up on the parts car as there is no wiring harness, switch, relays, etc. Lastly, I have what the seller of the parts car said is a factory tonneau cover. It’s in great shape and it came with all of the hardware and instructions. There’s nothing on the instructions indicates it is a factory part though. I’d install it as is but I don’t like that the sides and rear attach to the bed with Velcro. My MJ is black, which would help, but a strip of Velcro on the body would really stand out when the tonneau was off. If I do use it I might come up with another way of fastening it. Any comments would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kryptronic Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 I have two factory rollbars. The 3/8" holes you mention that go through the bar at the top are factory holes. I assume they're there to run wires through. My brother in law has a factory tonneau with rollbar on his 90. It snaps on, no velcro. He ordered the truck new in 90 like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Definitely not a factory cover - they didn't even get the spelling of Commanche right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 The factory lights were KC HiLiTES, but a large, rectangular model that they no longer make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 38 minutes ago, HOrnbrod said: Definitely not a factory cover - they didn't even get the spelling of Commanche right. Thinking that it might be an early overlooked printing error, I Googled both spellings with the part number and nothing came up. The instruction sheet has 8/86 on the back page which I take to mean Aug., 1986 so it's "old". I couldn't find anything similar in sales brochures and I thought it would be add that AMC would use Velcro. As I said, I might modify it some way IF I decide to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 2 minutes ago, PCO6 said: Thinking that it might be an early overlooked printing error, I Googled both spellings with the part number and nothing came up. The instruction sheet has 8/86 on the back page which I take to mean Aug., 1986 so it's "old". I couldn't find anything similar in sales brochures and I thought it would be add that AMC would use Velcro. As I said, I might modify it some way IF I decide to use it. Checked the p/n too - no such animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 38 minutes ago, Eagle said: The factory lights were KC HiLiTES, but a large, rectangular model that they no longer make. It's odd that jeep would have Marchal driving lights and KC lights up top. I have Bosch driving lights on my XJ & MJ, in fact that's all I've seen around here for quite a while. I have about 5 extra sets. I don't know if Marchal are still available. As mentioned, I like the covers and I'm guessing they came off of some Jeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 1 minute ago, HOrnbrod said: Checked the p/n too - no such animal. Not surprising. The seller said he got it at the dealership many years ago … but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 There is a tonneau cover also in the link I posted 83504475 is the fog lamp cover part# , I can investigate more when I get home... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 1 hour ago, kryptronic said: I have two factory rollbars. The 3/8" holes you mention that go through the bar at the top are factory holes. I assume they're there to run wires through. My brother in law has a factory tonneau with rollbar on his 90. It snaps on, no velcro. He ordered the truck new in 90 like that. That's interesting re the top holes. I'm glad I didn't start welding! In the link below, Gjeep provided AMC installation instructions and it appears the wires go in through the bottom. I might just leave things as is and fill the top holes with rubber plugs. Otherwise I could see a fair bit of water getting in. As for the tonneau, I thought snaps would be a good way to go. Velcro makes no sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 2 minutes ago, PCO6 said: As for the tonneau, I thought snaps would be a good way to go. Velcro makes no sense to me. Roger that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 10 minutes ago, Strokermjcomanche said: There is a tonneau cover also in the link I posted Thanks. There is a pic in the '86 Accessories brochure that is the same as what you provided. It looks A LOT better than what I imagine the one I have would look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 18 minutes ago, Strokermjcomanche said: 83504475 is the fog lamp cover part# , I can investigate more when I get home... Thanks, I'd appreciate that. The sports bar lights I have are "no name" brand. I'm assuming the lamps were replaced at some time but the "Jeep" covers were kept. They fit the lamp housings perfectly. They appear to be a bit smaller than what I can eyeball in sales brochures. They are 6" wide by 3.125" high. All of the bumper mounted driving lights I have (Bosch - not original Marchals) are 7" wide by 3.125" high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 1 hour ago, PCO6 said: It's odd that jeep would have Marchal driving lights and KC lights up top. Not so odd. Marchal is a French brand, and in the 1980s Jeep was partially owned by Renault. But driving lights are a narrow, pencil beam for seeing far down the road in front of you. Fog lights are a wide beam with a very sharp vertical cutoff. Off-road lights are essentially flood lights, which is why many states don't allow them on the roads unless covered. I doubt there's a market for real off-road lights in Europe, so it's not surprising that Jeep (or Jeep dealers) would turn to American vendors for an accessory that few vehicles were ordered with. I've often thought that the best option for roll-bar mounted off-road lights today might be a set of plow lights. http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10002&categoryId=13092&productId=51231&errorViewName=ProductDisplayErrorView&urlLangId=-1&langId=-1&top_category=15554&parent_category_rn=13089&storeId=10001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Good info here regarding the Marchal / Jeep relationship. I have the Marchal 850 yellow fogs and would kill for regulation Jeep covers for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCO6 Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 While flipping through a some sales literature I found a pic in the '86 Accessories brochure that shows Marchal lights on a sport bar. Most have clear lenses or are too hard to make out but these are clearly Marchals. The caption reads … "DRIVING LIGHTS - Lights will illuminate objects up to 5,000 ft. ahead. Available for front bumper mounting and mounting on the sport bar." The pic also shows the wiring coming out of the back of the light, going over the bar to the back side and then into the bar on the bottom side. I'm still not sure what the holes on top of the bar are for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 On 10/7/2018 at 7:17 PM, PCO6 said: It's odd that jeep would have Marchal driving lights and KC lights up top. I have Bosch driving lights on my XJ & MJ, in fact that's all I've seen around here for quite a while. I have about 5 extra sets. I don't know if Marchal are still available. As mentioned, I like the covers and I'm guessing they came off of some Jeep. Do you still have a cover left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now