89 Comanche Budget Build

[Comache550]

I've owned this Comanche for almost 30 years now. It has 330k miles and still running strong. after years of use and sitting in the sun, it seen better days. It got to a point where my wife would not ride in it anymore and was bugging me to sell it on a routine basis. I then decided to improve the looks by installing a few bolt ons with a simple paint job. It came out better than expected. The wife will actually ride in the jeep again. Next will be the motor.  I will give details of some of the work done soon.  Hope you enjoy the pics. 

[buxmj]

Nice rig and welcome to Comanche Club. You have done an awesome job getting to where your wife is proud of it again, great accomplishment! Looking forward to more updates and feel free to browse around, it is a great place.  

 

Buck.

[Fryedaddy]

 Nice looking MJ!

[JMO413]

Very good looking truck! What did you use for paint? 

[Jeeps]

37 minutes ago, JMO413 said:

Very good looking truck! What did you use for paint? 

+1, would like to know the details and cost of a simple paint job. What was that process like? 

 

The transformation turned out amazing!

[Comache550]

Thanks for all the positive feedback.  The paint is John Deer Blitz Black made for tractors. I forget the exact cost but it is inexpensive. This paint is very popular in the Rat Rod community and is known to be very durable. There's a lot of info about it on the web. 

[MJCARENA]

Awsome looking truck, looks great,  but your grill is upside down.

[Drahcir495]

Almost 30 years ! Wow! Great looking truck. 

[Comache550]

Thanks, Good eye on noticing the grille. I went to flip it back but found I actually like it better the way it is as it angles into the header so decided to leave it. 

Most of the upgrades are common ones I found out about on various forums. Just did the WJ upper and lower control arm replacement. Now  can go full lock to lock on the steering without the tires rubbing on the lower control  arms. Planning on posting more details with pics soon.

[Pete M]

it is amazing what a coat of paint will do for looks  

 

be sure to poke around the forums for the thread on engine mileage.  yours is definitely up there   are you the original owner?

[Comache550]

I'm the 2nd owner of this truck. Bought it off the original owner back in 1990. It was basically like new as it was less than a year old.  The truck was  a complete original base model  4x4 with  factory steel wheels and bench seat. It does have the 4.0. Unbelievable on how reliable its been. The head has never been off at 332K. Just put in a used AX15 transmission with the external clutch slave cylinder about 5K ago. Got lucky and found one from a wrecked 93 wrangler. Also got lucky and the guy just gave me the 4.0 motor too.. Supposedly running good with 190K.

  Currently looking into options . Rebuild the stock motor or Wrangler motor. Buy complete rebuilt long block or install used wrangler motor as is and hopefully get another 100K. Even though its still running fine now,  just don't trust it anymore, especially  wheeling way out in the middle of nowhere.

[Pete M]

but what part don't you trust?   how well a motor was cared for is far more important than the mileage number.   

[Comache550]

Hi Pete, My main concern is something failing in the motor such as the timing chain or the oil pump. Something weird happened a while back. I was way up in the mountains on a 4x4 trail and it lost oil pressure. Motor got noisy. Checked oil level and it was a quart low. To avoid an expensive off road recovery I  carefully drove it out since it did have some oil pressure. after about 30 min of driving  the oil pressure returned to normal. It's been about 6 months now with street driving and the problem hasn't returned. Have you seen this issue before? Thought of just changing the oil pump but figured it may be time to do the complete motor. 

 

[Comache550]

Just installed a front leveling kit (1-3/4"), adjustable track bar and ZJ Tie rod upgrade. That along with the WJ upper and lower control arms made a big improvement  on drive-ability. 

Alignment is all in specs. Had to extend the brake lines. The leveling kit is definitely noticeable. A prior mod was the 96 XJ brake booster upgrade which really improved braking with the over sized tires.

[Comache550]

The original bench seat was completely worn so replaced with 2 door XJ seats. Also added the XJ center console. 

Still need to find a black one as the color is not correct. Overall the interior is in pretty good shape outside of a couple of cracks in the dash.

Also virtually no rust anywhere as this is a California truck. 

[Comache550]

It has the Dana 35 rear-end with limited slip and in front the Dana 30 with locker.

The Dana 35 was OK with the previous 31" tires but apparently it is too weak for the  33's.

The gearing  is at 4:10 which seems fine.  Planning on doing the ford Explorer 8.8 upgrade in the near future. 

[fiatslug87]

Where in CA are you?

[Comache550]

Los Angeles Area

 

[tugboat95]

Good looking rig. Where did you get the rollbar? I want to rock that 80s look.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[Comache550]

The roll bar is the first thing I bought for the truck back in 1990. Sorry don't remember where. Just remember picking it up around Los Angels. There's a good chance this particular one is not available anymore.

[fiatslug87]

Post your VIN in the Registry: https://comancheclub.com/forum/32-1989/

 

[Comache550]

No activity for a while.  Just had a chance to test some of the mods out in the Mojave desert. Hoping to start the engine rebuild project soon.

[Pete M]

day late, dollar short, but I once had a rear main blow and drain 5 quarts out before I noticed it making a funny sound.  still ran.  and after an oil change and a new rear main seal, it still runs  

 

the truck looks fantastic!   

[Comache550]

Thanks Pete, Its actually been running well since. It is leaking some from the main seal but not significant. One problem it had was hard starting when hot. Ended up being the injectors I replaced a while back had metallic bodies which caused heat soak. Replacing them with the plastic body type solved the problem. Been real pleased how the jeep is coming out so far. :)

 

[early comanche owner]

Like the work to yours. Good looking truck, working on mine now