rideordie Posted July 6, 2019 Author Share Posted July 6, 2019 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 you may have maxed out the ideas until we see the project start to come together. I'm sure you'll get all sorts of thoughts and solutions as dilemmas arise. although I've been thinking about it, and I think you should either simply remove the rear window or cut the entire back wall away. I just can't see any benefit to a half-way approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 I’d cut the whole back wall out but also beef it up with a tube structure. Pretty much just a roll bar type deal but integrate it into the new sheet metal opening. Like this... just pushed back into the new pass through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 What makes uni-body work? The totality of the structure. I cringe when I see guys just hacking parts out. What I'm curious about is just how rigid the camper is? Cut out the back and attach that camper to the cab........all the wind pressure and weight will be transferred to the cab......or the remnant of the cab. And that camper will move independent of the cab/uni-frame. Remember, that which does not flex will break. All that mass will move, has to move, that camper is 3-4 times the mass of the cab......or more. Better think this one through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 14 hours ago, Pete M said: you may have maxed out the ideas until we see the project start to come together. I'm sure you'll get all sorts of thoughts and solutions as dilemmas arise. although I've been thinking about it, and I think you should either simply remove the rear window or cut the entire back wall away. I just can't see any benefit to a half-way approach. Yeah you're right, just want to make sure I cover all bases up front before putting in a lot of effort and $$. And I'd only be keeping some of the back panel just to give me more material to build support off of, so my cuts would basically just allow access to the cab in between the seats. A mini-hallway if you will haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 3 hours ago, neohic said: I’d cut the whole back wall out but also beef it up with a tube structure. Pretty much just a roll bar type deal but integrate it into the new sheet metal opening. Like this... just pushed back into the new pass through. Yeah this is basically what I was thinking, thanks for the photo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Jeep Driver said: What makes uni-body work? The totality of the structure. I cringe when I see guys just hacking parts out. What I'm curious about is just how rigid the camper is? Cut out the back and attach that camper to the cab........all the wind pressure and weight will be transferred to the cab......or the remnant of the cab. And that camper will move independent of the cab/uni-frame. Remember, that which does not flex will break. All that mass will move, has to move, that camper is 3-4 times the mass of the cab......or more. Better think this one through. The camper is made of fiberglass and is quite rigid, but yes, the meeting point is where I'm struggling with my vision a bit. First with the camper clearing the cab accordingly without some crazy gap inbetween the top of the cab and the bottom section of the 'over cab' area on the camper. And I've considered leaving a slight gap inbetween the camper and the cab so that it has some room to flex a bit. On the hilux it originally was on, it was just bolted directly to the cab and had four bolts holding it to the frame and it was super rigid given the circumstances, even with the truck rusted to hell and made of surprisingly thin steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 Thanks for the replies guys, the more info I have the better :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 1 hour ago, rideordie said: Yeah you're right, just want to make sure I cover all bases up front before putting in a lot of effort and $$. And I'd only be keeping some of the back panel just to give me more material to build support off of, so my cuts would basically just allow access to the cab in between the seats. A mini-hallway if you will haha I still have doubts that you'll ever try to squeeze an adult sized frame through the gap between the seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 Okay guys need your advice... I have two Comanches lined up and trying to figure out which direction to take. #1 1990 Comanche Short bed 4x4 136k miles Back story: interesting because I looked at this truck when owned by the original owner, was an older guy that just drove it around town. The guy who bought it got into a fender bender and is now selling. Currently not running but I am aware it was fully functional and ran well from when I looked at it in the past. Pros: low miles, stock platform for my build, no rust, cheap Cons: Needs repairs as follows (due to accident)- radiator bracket, radiator, coolant reservoir, belts quarter panel replaced. No ac, body has some damage around the windshield/back window of cab that almost looks like somebody cut off the top of another Comanche and put it on this one due to what looks like from the tailgate damage a tree falling on it? (May cause structural integrity to cab but not too worried about it) a few other minor things. Agreed price: $1750 #2 1988 Comanche Short Bed 4x4 w/ XJ swapped engine/interior (says from a 91 but I believe it is newer than that by the looks of the gauge cluster/power windows/etc.) Much nicer than the other Comanche cosmetically running a driving great and the swap was a quality job. Bigger concerns being mileage unknown, 4x4 not engaging (but he said he didn’t try to figure it out since they never used it for off road use anyways) a/c not installed during swap. Pros: Runs and drives great, many upgrades to steering/suspension, nice paint interior, no rust, very frame/straight body, overall solid truck I can daily drive if wanted, owned by a Jeep guy who has built multiple TJ’s and maintained it well. Cons: Unknown mileage, no ac installed, 4x4 not engaging, a few minor things like power windows being weak, fuel gauge not working. Agreed price: $3,750 So my dilemma- for this build I will have to do an axle swap regardless and possibly upgrade the suspension either way. I’m also not doing the axle swap myself and will be paying somebody to do it right. So the big question - do I save some money and go with #1 or do I spend a bit more and potentially have less headaches with #2? Your advice is greatly appreciated, and thanks so much to everybody who has provided information to get me where I am currently :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Those are both shortbeds. I thought early on you determined that you need a longbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 1 hour ago, Eagle said: Those are both shortbeds. I thought early on you determined that you need a longbed. In a perfect world, yes a long bed has its benefits but I’ve been having such a hard time finding one in my area and just finding a Comanche in my price range that isn’t too far from where I live in general I’ve kind of given up on that idea and willing to extent the frame a bit which I reality could be better overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 I'd hold out for a long bed on the basis that the frame on them was meant to be longer. No real comment on which truck to buy otherwise, other than in general I have never regretted buying something that was nicer and have always regretted buying something that was a piece of junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 Bump for more opinions 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 1 hour ago, rideordie said: In a perfect world, yes a long bed has its benefits but I’ve been having such a hard time finding one in my area and just finding a Comanche in my price range that isn’t too far from where I live in general I’ve kind of given up on that idea and willing to extent the frame a bit which I reality could be better overall. I don't understand how a kludge could possibly be better than a chassis that was designed as a longbed by experienced automotive engineers. By the time you get through futzing around with doing everything you need to properly and safely extend a shortbed chassis, my guess is that between the cost of the shortbed and the cost of the modifications you'll be way over the price of just buying a longbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 broaden your searches. in my opinion traveling a bit is preferable to hours and hours spent on a less than ideal truck to try and accommodate my plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 By the time all was said and done, my second MJ buying trip had me at around 950 miles total. Just saying. My thoughts on which to choose also align with trying to find a longbed. I'm surprised you're struggling, as it seems most people prefer the shortbeds. I disagree with most people, but that's neither here nor there. As far as your suggested options, I don't necessarily like seeing someone hacking apart a clean truck if they don't need to, but also understand not wanting to deal with junk. And considering you're looking at chopping out a decent portion of the rear cab, if your options are between one where the cab may already be compromised vs one that's not, that could be a significant factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Yeah, I guess the hunt continues then. Pretty frustrating how this project has been at a stand still with the difficulty I’ve been having trying to find a Comanche that fits my requirements but I guess that’s how it goes. still very torn about the one I mentioned in my previous post (#1) as it seems like such a good candidate other than it being a short bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 2 hours ago, rideordie said: still very torn about the one I mentioned in my previous post (#1) as it seems like such a good candidate other than it being a short bed. That's like your prom date saying, "I found the perfect prom dress, except it's a size 6 and I'm a size 10." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Haha yeah good point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 Okay so, the struggle to find a solid LWB Comanche continues and I'm looking all over the damn country at this point lol but I had an interesting idea. A really clean 2wd LWB came up locally for a damn good price with low miles. Since I'm going to have to axle swap it anyways for this project, to turn it into a 4wd I essentially (and please, correct me if I'm wrong) just need the transmission, transfer case, and drive shafts? I know it'd be much easier to just get a 4x4 but between how crazy the prices have gotten lately (and they seem to be going higher) and just struggling to find a solid one in general I'm just trying to figure out a solution. Thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Sounds great! Also, there is one someone may be interested in selling. It is in “The Pub” section under “what’s it worth”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rideordie Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 Looking for a 4.0 auto otherwise I'd consider that one. Back to the 2wd, I was able to source a rebuilt trans, transfer case and drive shafts for $500. The transmission is out of a '95 cherokee and the Comanche is a '91. That trans should still bolt up correctly right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 I think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 the link in my sog has threads about the various transmission swaps. the usual hiccup is the pilot bushing but you just need to know which to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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