Nothing special 88 Pioneer

[onebigmj]

I’ve been looking for the right Comanche for a long time now (aren’t we all). Wanted a rust free 91-92 swb 4wd...so naturally I bought a 2wd 88. I paid way too much for it but it was original, no hacked wiring, no fuse box issues, no door sag or cracks etc and without pulling the carpet appeared to be rust free with the expection of the surface rust from the sun baked southern paint. 4.0 ba10 d35 with 3.07s. 3/4 gauges, a/c and a tilt wheel.  

 

Had to tow it home the night I picked it up. Didnt have a copilot and had to borrow the sellers tow dolly. 

[onebigmj]

Few more pics after I got it home. Seemed to drive well enough. Threw a new track bar on it, did an oil change, valve cover gasket, tune up, basic stuff. Went around and did most of the cruiser tips and cleaned connectors and grounds etc. all were in very nice shape. Didn’t take as many pictures as I should have...

[onebigmj]

I meant to post this in projects. Someone please move it 😭😭😭

[onebigmj]

Decided to drop the rear 1in and paint up some Moab’s for it. Might look for a set of zj rear coils to drop the front a bit and throw some Cherokee shackles on it.

[Articul8]

I saw you had a rubicon in the background would want to sell the transfer case out of it would you?

Also love the wheels that color it goes well with your factory patina

[onebigmj]

Thanks, I was trying to make it work with the patina on the truck. I tried 3 shades of paint before I was happy. I’m doing a frame off on the rubicon so I’m going to hang onto the tcase for the moment haha. 

[Articul8]

haha doesnt hurt to ask..

[Pete M]

love the look!    

 

just be careful with the XJ shackles if the truck is up on a lift.  if a shackle is too short, there is the possibility of it inverting and going the wrong direction.  

[boxyjeep]

That thing is super clean for it's age (and being in PA)!  Where was it originally from?  Looks cleaner than my SoCal '88 (with similar patina).

[onebigmj]

5 hours ago, Pete M said:

love the look!    

 

just be careful with the XJ shackles if the truck is up on a lift.  if a shackle is too short, there is the possibility of it inverting and going the wrong direction.  

Never thought of that. Thanks for the tip. 

[onebigmj]

2 hours ago, Chargum85 said:

That thing is super clean for it's age (and being in PA)!  Where was it originally from?  Looks cleaner than my SoCal '88 (with similar patina).

It came from South Carolina. It’s the cleanest most original one I ever owned. I ended up with a few tiny holes in the drivers floor when I pulled the carpets and sanded it. It’s in storage for winter, plan to fix and seal it when it comes out. I actually like the patina, I think I’m gonna clear it and rock the look. 

[onebigmj]

Found a set of genuine mj bucket seats at the JY. They looked like junk and I should have passed them up but they were the right color and I couldn’t let them pass into oblivion. Took a whole can of wasp spray before I could go within 20ft of the truck...

After the right round of cleaning. Took them to work and gave them a good going over with the steam extractor and they came out ptettt good other than a small rip in the drivers seat. I’ll get a picture of them mounted in the truck with the factory console. 

 

[onebigmj]

Still alive and working on this junk. Dropped the front a bit and tossed some cherokee shackles and did a quick alignment. It’s a hack job but it works and everything clears fine. Might switch to a 2in block in the rear to level it out. 

[onebigmj]

Didn’t take enough pictures but I hacked up the rear bumper and brackets to give it a more tucked in street truck look while still keeping the original dilapidated theme going. Just kept measuring and cutting and grinding till I was satisfied then put a coat of paint over the bare metal. The bumper was dinged and bent to heck so I figured I had nothing to lose. Still have to adjust it a bit but overall I think it came out good. 

[Pete M]

I like it   I assume your gate still opens?   (I mention because I sorta took that into account after I built and installed my 88's bumper. )

[onebigmj]

Haha yeah I made sure everything cleared and fit before it mounted it. 

[onebigmj]

Cleaned the truck up real good and gave it a quick buff. I think the shine combined with the patina gives it a cool look.  

[onebigmj]

Also dropped the rear another inch and added some amber lights. Did a meanlemons throttle body and battery cables but I didn’t get good pictures of that. 

[rylee144]

That's a sweet looking truck. I like the gold wheels with the gold Pioneer

 

[JMO413]

Looks good! Love the patina!

[onebigmj]

390mi round trip, enough gas to get to the moon, a large coffee and a gas station corn dog later I’m the owner of a rotted out 92 Comanche. 

[RustyRodder]

Whats the plan for that one?

[onebigmj]

23 minutes ago, RustyRodder said:

Whats the plan for that one?

Don’t really have one to be honest. It’s rotted beyond repair underneath. But it has a Dana 44 rear, a hitch, and lots of other good stuff. And it’s got a sweet running 4.0 and only 74k miles on it. Might try to find another clean shell and swap the guts over. Might throw the 44 in mine and part the rest out. No idea yet haha. 

[Jeep Driver]

Very nice.

 

[Pete M]

I'd wager that if you remove all the usable stuff, that shell is still worth a bit more than scrap to someone.