End Goal Jeep Comanche

[CoastChief]

I just found Is pretty close to exactly what I want to end up doing over time to mine. What Comanches do you guys really like. 
 

these are mine, just very simple, very 80s

[Pete M]

not sure if I could live with just a single MJ.    But if I did, I'd want one that was mostly stock.   

[Smokeyyank]

I go back and forth with what to do. Some days just leaving it as is and keep it on the road. Others lift it with 35s and swapping in a LS or TDI. I think all I've really figured out is I don't want to chop it up. It's just a little too clean and they are so rare to start hacking away.

 

Not sure who rig this is but I dig it. 

[PCO6]

8 hours ago, Pete M said:

not sure if I could live with just a single MJ.    But if I did, I'd want one that was mostly stock.   

 

I agree with this.   If I had the space I'd have more Jeeps so maybe it's a good thing that I don't.   I had 2 MJ's for about 6 months.   Both stock '88 Eliminators, black with gray interiors.   One was on the road in great shape and running with no problems.   The other was a project.   It didn't run and had some rust but it was nothing I couldn't deal with.   The body had never been hit and was a straight as a die.   I let the project MJ go and have often had second thoughts.   A stock MJ and one to modify is a nice combination.

 

My "problem" at the time was that I had 5 Jeeps and 5 trailers.   I'm now down to a more manageable 9 lumps on the property   ... 4 daily drivers and 3 trailers with 2 projects.   

 

It's hard to resist modifying Jeeps that will only be original, or close to it, once.   

 

 

[Pete M]

6 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

I go back and forth with what to do. Some days just leaving it as is and keep it on the road. Others lift it with 35s and swapping in a LS or TDI. I think all I've really figured out is I don't want to chop it up. It's just a little to clean and they are so rare to start hacking away.

 

Not sure who rig this is but I dig it. 

 

just go buy another that's not as nice and mod the crap outta it.  

[CoastChief]

6 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

I go back and forth with what to do. Some days just leaving it as is and keep it on the road. Others lift it with 35s and swapping in a LS or TDI. I think all I've really figured out is I don't want to chop it up. It's just a little to clean and they are so rare to start hacking away.

 

Not sure who rig this is but I dig it. 

Damn, that sunroof is awesome.

[CoastChief]

5 hours ago, PCO6 said:

 

I agree with this.   If I had the space I'd have more Jeeps so maybe it's a good thing that I don't.   I had 2 MJ's for about 6 months.   Both stock '88 Eliminators, black with gray interiors.   One was on the road in great shape and running with no problems.   The other was a project.   It didn't run and had some rust but it was nothing I couldn't deal with.   The body had never been and was a straight as a die.   I let the project MJ go and have often had second thoughts.   A stock MJ and one to modify is a nice combination.

 

My "problem" at the time was that I had 5 Jeeps and 5 trailers.   I'm now down to a more manageable 9 lumps on the property   ... 4 daily drivers and 3 trailers with 2 projects.   

 

It's hard to resist modifying Jeeps that will only be original, or close to it, once.   

 

 

That’s a great way of looking at things.

[Eagle]

Stock. As the saying goes, "They don't make 'em like that any more."

 

I don't understand people who seek out pristine examples of rare vehicles and then modify them in ways that can't be undone. I'm all for trail rigs, but start with a basket case for that -- don't destroy one of the few remaining solid examples of a stock vehicle.

 

A similar thing applied during my AMC racing days. My brother and I, and a couple of good friends, all drove and raced AMC pony cars. My brother and friends #1 and #2 both drove and autocrossed AMXs. I had a Javelin and an AMX for daily driver duty, but I decided early on that I wasn't going to risk a daily driver in competition so I bought a base model Javelin (used) and built that up for competition.

 

Then we moved on from autocross to time trials at places like Lime Rock Speedway and Thompson Motor Speedway. And, again, my brother and friends #1 and #2 put their AMXs (even more rare than Comanches, BTW) at risk while I had my "who cares, it's only a Javelin" to race. From time trials, my brother and I and friend #2 progressed to the New England hillclimb circuit. My brother continued to run his pristine AMX, and I continued to run my Javelin. Friend #2 bought a race-prepped Javelin rolling chassis from a defunct pro racing team for his hillclimb ride. Sure enough, in I think the third year of our hillclimb activities my brother overcooked it going into a turn and rolled his AMX down the side of Okemo mountain in Vermont. He came out uninjured, but the car was a complete loss. By the time this happened (mid- or late 1970s) 2-seat AMXs had already been discontinued (1970 was the last year) and nice ones like my brother's were already worth twice what they had cost new, and were increasing in value monthly. Why anyone would risk trashing something like that I could never understand. The experience would have been the same (and the consequences far less painful) if he had started with a $500 Javelin like I did, and made that into his race car.

 

Side note: the following year, friend #2 rolled his Javelin down the same mountain (don't remember if it was on the same turn). It didn't bother him nearly as much as my brother. He hauled into a shop, cut the roof off and welded on a new one, and spent a winter rebuilding it. It wasn't going to win any concours prizes for condition, but he could still race it.

 

If we go off-road, we have to understand that bad things may happen. In the early days on NAXJA-NAC, several of us were at paragon for a work weekend and to scout trails prior to our annual NACFest. We were on a "Moderate" rated trail that had an off-camber turn around a tree. One of the guys took a bad line in an XJ with a 6" lift, and rolled it as he came off the tree. Those things happen. It's part of the game. I just don't understand risking that end to a pristine vehicle of which there are very few left in the world.

 

End of sermon.

 

[Minuit]

I hate the way a large lift, huge tires, and oversized wheels look on an MJ, but those things are reversible. You could put the truck back to stock in a weekend if you keep the original parts. Until the very moment you take a cutting tool to the fenders. At that point, any pretense of originality is gone.

 

I have a couple of rules with my 91 (which has never been sold and has been in the family since brand new, so there may be a small amount of sentimental attachment here), but the Prime Directive for me is that everything I do must be able to be reverted to absolute bone stock with just nuts and bolts. To that end, I still have my original bench seat, my original non-tilt, column shift steering column, even the original wheels... you get the point - I kept all of my original parts when I did things that would increase my enjoyment of my truck. If there's something I want to do that can't be done without a permanent alteration, I don't do it.

 

People's minds change. I really like my bucket seats and center console, but what if one day I don't anymore? If I suddenly took leave of my senses and decided I'd rather have the bench seat back in my truck, where am I gonna find a pristine, rip-free '91-'92 grey bench seat that they may have made 10,000 of ever? In my attic, that's where. When I convert it to 4WD, I'll be keeping those original parts too. What's a 2WD AW4 that shifts literally like brand new worth? A hundred bucks because they never blow up? I don't need the money that bad. The ability to put my truck back to how it was with the exact transmission it left the factory with is worth much more than $100 to me, even if I never feel a need to do it.

 

If there's something you don't like about your truck, by all means, change it, but I would encourage you to do the same as I do. Don't make any truly permanent alterations, because in stock form you have a truck that really will be worth something some day. People say that all the time, but it really is true for yours. From what we've been able to tell, that thing has hardly been touched since day one. Don't feel obligated to keep your truck completely original to please a bunch of keyboard warriors most of whom you'll never meet, but do keep in mind that it's only original once.

 

I bought my '89 because of the above rule. When I bought it it had a knock, got death wobble, and I drove it home at 50 with no dashboard installed. By any reasonable account it should've gone to the junkyard rather than my driveway. It has precisely no original removable body panels left. None of the original interior is remaining. Soon it won't have its original engine either (and in a great contrast to what I wrote above, the original engine is going to be unceremoniously dumped at the scrapper's when I'm done with it). One day it's going to be something worth owning, but I won't have to build it as if I'm walking on eggshells.There is no originality or "sanctity of togetherness" with it, because that was destroyed by multiple previous owners a long time ago.

 

I don't mean to make you feel like you're in a lecture hall, but I just wanted to put some words out there hoping to help you make a decision that's right for you. Long wall of text, but I hope it helps. I just bought a really nice mechanical keyboard so I may be even wordier than normal

[Smokeyyank]

5 hours ago, Pete M said:

 

just go buy another that's not as nice and mod the crap outta it.  

I've thought about it. But then I start looking at cost and figure might as well build a buggy if I wanted a trail rig. 

[CoastChief]

3 hours ago, Minuit said:

I hate the way a large lift, huge tires, and oversized wheels look on an MJ, but those things are reversible. You could put the truck back to stock in a weekend if you keep the original parts. Until the very moment you take a cutting tool to the fenders. At that point, any pretense of originality is gone.

 

I have a couple of rules with my 91 (which has never been sold and has been in the family since brand new, so there may be a small amount of sentimental attachment here), but the Prime Directive for me is that everything I do must be able to be reverted to absolute bone stock with just nuts and bolts. To that end, I still have my original bench seat, my original non-tilt, column shift steering column, even the original wheels... you get the point - I kept all of my original parts when I did things that would increase my enjoyment of my truck. If there's something I want to do that can't be done without a permanent alteration, I don't do it.

 

People's minds change. I really like my bucket seats and center console, but what if one day I don't anymore? If I suddenly took leave of my senses and decided I'd rather have the bench seat back in my truck, where am I gonna find a pristine, rip-free '91-'92 grey bench seat that they may have made 10,000 of ever? In my attic, that's where. When I convert it to 4WD, I'll be keeping those original parts too. What's a 2WD AW4 that shifts literally like brand new worth? A hundred bucks because they never blow up? I don't need the money that bad. The ability to put my truck back to how it was with the exact transmission it left the factory with is worth much more than $100 to me, even if I never feel a need to do it.

 

If there's something you don't like about your truck, by all means, change it, but I would encourage you to do the same as I do. Don't make any truly permanent alterations, because in stock form you have a truck that really will be worth something some day. People say that all the time, but it really is true for yours. From what we've been able to tell, that thing has hardly been touched since day one. Don't feel obligated to keep your truck completely original to please a bunch of keyboard warriors most of whom you'll never meet, but do keep in mind that it's only original once.

 

I bought my '89 because of the above rule. When I bought it it had a knock, got death wobble, and I drove it home at 50 with no dashboard installed. By any reasonable account it should've gone to the junkyard rather than my driveway. It has precisely no original removable body panels left. None of the original interior is remaining. Soon it won't have its original engine either (and in a great contrast to what I wrote above, the original engine is going to be unceremoniously dumped at the scrapper's when I'm done with it). One day it's going to be something worth owning, but I won't have to build it as if I'm walking on eggshells.There is no originality or "sanctity of togetherness" with it, because that was destroyed by multiple previous owners a long time ago.

 

I don't mean to make you feel like you're in a lecture hall, but I just wanted to put some words out there hoping to help you make a decision that's right for you. Long wall of text, but I hope it helps. I just bought a really nice mechanical keyboard so I may be even wordier than normal

 

4 hours ago, Eagle said:

Stock. As the saying goes, "They don't make 'em like that any more."

 

I don't understand people who seek out pristine examples of rare vehicles and then modify them in ways that can't be undone. I'm all for trail rigs, but start with a basket case for that -- don't destroy one of the few remaining solid examples of a stock vehicle.

 

A similar thing applied during my AMC racing days. My brother and I, and a couple of good friends, all drove and raced AMC pony cars. My brother and friends #1 and #2 both drove and autocrossed AMXs. I had a Javelin and an AMX for daily driver duty, but I decided early on that I wasn't going to risk a daily driver in competition so I bought a base model Javelin (used) and built that up for competition.

 

Then we moved on from autocross to time trials at places like Lime Rock Speedway and Thompson Motor Speedway. And, again, my brother and friends #1 and #2 put their AMXs (even more rare than Comanches, BTW) at risk while I had my "who cares, it's only a Javelin" to race. From time trials, my brother and I and friend #2 progressed to the New England hillclimb circuit. My brother continued to run his pristine AMX, and I continued to run my Javelin. Frind #2 bought a race-prepped Javelin rolling chassis from a defunct pro racing team for his hillclimb ride. Sure enough, in I think the third year of our hillclimb activities my brother overcooked it going into a turn and rolled his AMX down the side of Okemo mountain in Vermont. He came out uninjured, but the car was a complete loss. By the time this happened (mid- or late 1970s) 2-seart AMXs had already been discontinued (1970 was the last year) and nice ones like my brother's were already worth twice what they had cost new, and were increasing in value monthly. Why anyone would risk trashing something like that I could never understand. The experience would have been the same (and the consequences far less painful) if he had started with a $500 Javelin like I did, and made that into his race car.

 

Side note: the following year, friend #2 rolled his Javelin down the same mountain (don't remember if it was on the same turn). It didn't bother him nearly as much as my brother. He hauled into a shop, cut the roof off and welded on a new one, and spent a winter rebuilding it. It wasn't going to win any concours prizes for condition, but he could still race it.

 

If we go off-road, we have to understand that bad things may happen. In the early days on NAXJA-NAC, several of us were at paragon for a work weekend and to scout trails prior to our annual NACFest. We were on a "Moderate" rated trail that had an off-camber turn around a tree. One of the guys took a bad line in an XJ with a 6" lift, and rolled it as he came off the tree. Those things happen. It's part of the game. I just don't understand risking that end to a pristine vehicle of which there are very few left in the world.

 

End of sermon.

 

Thank you guys for the well thought out responses. I think keeping everything as OEM really is a great idea. I really enjoy getting everything to be as original and reliable as possible. When reading about upgrades, I realize they are somewhat rabbit hole, if you do one thing, usually something else is compensating. At the end of the day it ends up being a different car all together. I love to camp and take long drives, but I'm not doing anything crazy. Iv worked in art restoration, and it gives me immense pleasure to get things back to the way they were. I look forward to doing little changes to make it more reliable ( c101 future delete ) ( headlight harness) etc. I just want to keep it as mentioned above, 1988 Improved. I worry about all the people on the freeway texting half the time cause my jeep is so straight. The money I got to buy my jeep was because a semi truck merged into me, I was in the hospital for 3 days. Had PT for 6 months before driving again. This car it holds immense sentimental value to me already. Some guy at a stop light in offered me 8k for it already, couldn't think of parting with my Jeep. 

 

 

 

 

[strictlyxjs]

My favorite is the xls used for promotion in 86

 

[CoastChief]

22 hours ago, Limeyjeeper said:

The 746 is perfect. If the vendor doesnt contact you I will take them off your hands.

 

9 minutes ago, strictlyxjs said:

My favorite is the xls used for promotion in 86

 

As 80s as it gets with the tri color decals. 

[eaglescout526]

6 minutes ago, CoastChief said:

 

As 80s as it gets with the tri color decals. 

Why I put my Pioneer decals back on after paint. Not many trucks these days have style decals on them. 

[PCO6]

On the subject of keeping original Jeeps original, there's a current ad on Kijiji for what appears to be an untouched fully loaded '88 Cherokee Laredo 2 dr. that caught my eye.  It's a 225,000 mi. XJ with rotten sills and who knows what else underneath but it appears to be absolutely original.   The pictures look good and the guy is only asking $800 CDN.  It's only about 60 km from where I am and I'm tempted.  I have an original  '89 (white one above) that's virtually the same model I'd like to have a second one to build up.  Despite its low cost I'd think twice about modifying it because it's so original.  

 

I had to laugh though at what the vendor planned to do with it.  I'm not sure why he put all of this in his ad but I found it pretty funny.   Hopefully it will go to someone with a different "vision".   

 

Had visions of customizing it by grafting a jeep tj grille and hood to it and making fenders out of trailer fenders and raising the wheel Wells to not need a lift and welding in the rear side windows to look like a more modern willys delivery jeep of the 50's but with a fuel inject 4.0 six and automatic transmission and power options but due to health reasons I'm not going to be able to unfortunately comes with sandblasted 15" steel wheel and tj hood and grille also $800

 

 

[Pete M]

1 hour ago, PCO6 said:

 

Had visions of customizing it by grafting a jeep tj grille and hood to it and making fenders out of trailer fenders and raising the wheel Wells to not need a lift and welding in the rear side windows to look like a more modern willys delivery jeep of the 50's but with a fuel inject 4.0 six and automatic transmission and power options but due to health reasons I'm not going to be able to unfortunately comes with sandblasted 15" steel wheel and tj hood and grille also $800

 

 

 

 

what the... ? 

[eaglescout526]

 

To illustrate how ridiculous the vision.  

[PCO6]

^^^    LOL  I've seen this done with a JK front end too.  It was well executed ... but still looked a bit umm .. "odd".    

 

EDIT:   Oops ... I think that ^^^ is a JK front.

[Drahcir495]

On 2/15/2020 at 9:18 AM, Smokeyyank said:

I go back and forth with what to do. Some days just leaving it as is and keep it on the road. Others lift it with 35s and swapping in a LS or TDI. I think all I've really figured out is I don't want to chop it up. It's just a little too clean and they are so rare to start hacking away.

 

Not sure who rig this is but I dig it. 

Not 100% sure, but isn’t that the JP magazine MJ? Looks like a lot of the same things on it. Theirs did catch fire, but just the engine bay was damaged.

[Smokeyyank]

3 hours ago, Drahcir495 said:

Not 100% sure, but isn’t that the JP magazine MJ? Looks like a lot of the same things on it. Theirs did catch fire, but just the engine bay was damaged.

Not too sure. You can't see from my crappy pic but there is a CC sticker on the back right, so was thinking it was someone on here. I think I know which one you where talking about wasnt it a long bed that was bobbed? Or am I making that up.

[Drahcir495]

Now I see it!

[Eagle]

On 2/16/2020 at 9:56 AM, eaglescout526 said:

 

 

Okay, I'm a bad person. No, make that I'm an evil person. Whatever. That there is funny!

[CoastChief]

On 2/17/2020 at 6:39 PM, Eagle said:

 

Okay, I'm a bad person. No, make that I'm an evil person. Whatever. That there is funny!

I cannot un-see this.