iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) This story started on February 9th, 2015, I was in my junior year of high school And looking through craigslist I found a beautiful mildly clapped comanche for the perfect price of $450. 6 days later It was all mine...... now being a much simpler person back then I though it was the best deal that had ever been put on Craigslist, from the pictures you can see that it was a death trap that should have went to the scrapyard, but not on my watch, I was going to pull that hunk of metal from grips of the shredder and dump $#!& loads of money into it so I could drink beer and run it into trees. And that’s exactly what I’ve been doing ever since. Edited April 5, 2023 by iimafa Changing the name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 So the details. What did I buy? I got a 1992 2wd short bed 2.5/ax5 comanche that had a hp Dana 30 swapped into it with a set of control arms that were less that well made and not the same length, it had a nice set of rear leafs, 2 Not so decent 33s, rusty rockers, a Rusted drivers floor, a long bed half chopped to fit, no gas tank, an engine that Didn’t look terrible and I talked the guy into giving me a 200lbs ugly front bumper. so I got it home and my dad wasn’t the happiest person in the world, which looking back I can’t blame him, it definitely didn’t look the best. I talked the old man into letting me toss it in his garage and I was off! I found a guy with a Dana 30 for sale and managed to get a set of WJ knuckles with it for cheap then I was onto the rust! I cut out the rockers and drivers floor and slapped in some new China steel, Bed lined the floor and it was done, I then found a guy with a ax15 (was hoping to use that instead of a ax-4/5 but that didn’t pan out) welded the bed together and got that bolted on, toss a stock grand Cherokee has tank into the bed and finally started the ole girl and Boy did she run good. At that point it was July of 2015 and the old man was getting upset with it taking up his garage so it was time to move the old junker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Next I was onto the transfer case, I saw a fella on pirate that had a 231/231 so I thought “I can do that” so I went and found a 231c from and s10 and a basic 231j from a 4 cylinder Jeep and I was off! But didn’t finish it until a year later..... but it was a good start!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Next it was onto the axles! I scored a Chrysler 8.25 and a hp Dana 30 from my buddy for a good deal, so I tossed some junkyard disk brakes from a grand Cherokee and moved the spring perches and the rear end was set, for the front I started cleaning the axle, order ruff stuff specialties steering setup, and leaf springs perches, then tosses some angle on the front of the unibody to keep er stiff and give me something to mount some leaf springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Next I was onto the front! I started by making leaf spring frame mounts, then tossed in a cheap craigslist locker into the Dana 30 and finally got the brakes on it and man was it a tight fit, a little grinding on the calipers and called it good. Then I went and Made some plates for the front unibody for a little extra stiffness and slapped it together for a little test fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Next I was onto the rock sliders! My buddy hooked me up with some $#!& steel pipe from a handrail and before anyone could blink I had some sliders! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Then I was onto stopping the ole girl, Went and got some brake rotors and did a little surgery with a drill to make them fit then went grabbed a brake booster and proportioning valve from the yard and slapped it on. (the whole brake system is identical to a grand Cherokee WJ) got the steering all welded up and bolted on and tossed the tires on to see how they fit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 And we had a roller! Cut the front fenders, then Pulled the turd out for a little morning stretch and messed around with a bumper idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 From there i talked my girlfriends dad into letting me bring it over to his garage where I finally got to the 4wd, finished the doubler, Made some easy linkages, made a skid/support and a cross member and we were almost a 4x4! I traded the ax-15 from earlier for an ax-4 From an 88(?) That had an external slave, with a new clutch from oreillys and a few gallons of fluid it one step closer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Then found some skinny tires bfg mk2’s 33x10.5x15, some some oreillys special, they are rear shocks from a 03 f250 4x4 With 13” of travel! Only costing 30 bones a piece really can’t beat it. Finished up the interior and made some custom length drive shafts out of stock Cherokee shafts, trash steel tube and a piece of angle. Tossed in a cheap eBay fuel cell and an in-line fuel pump from an old f150 she was ready to move on her own. That brings us right to November of 2016 almost two years after I bought it, she’s almost ready for her first drive as a 4x4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Why did you decide to do front leaf springs? Was it a cheaper option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Yea at the time being in high school and broke that was the only really option I had, my buddy gave me a set of his old yota rear spring so a little time with a wire wheel and some new bushings they were perfect for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Just now, iimafa said: Yea at the time being in high school and broke that was the only really option I had, my buddy gave me a set of his old yota rear spring so a little time with a wire wheel and some new bushings they were perfect for me. Gotcha, I can relate to being a poor MJ owner in high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Before the shake down run I decided to make a bumper for the ole girl, so tossed that together the night before and then I was off! In December of 2016 I Did a little driving around and some flex testing and it went great! The day after I went out to haspin acres and it preformed great (didn’t get any pictures) Except for the steering being absolute trash, so I had to figure that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 I went and tossed a track bar on it and the steering was great, so I started wheeling it a bunch at local spots close to my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 In April of 2017 I had Wheeled it about six times with the long bed and it kept getting in the way and was getting a little beat up so it was time to chop it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Then the body damage started to happen, tossed a winch on the fine unit and still kept wheeling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 In September of 2017 I pulled it back in the shop and started on the cage, I also at some point before that converted the ac compressor to an air compressor which was incredibly useful when I had those 36” superswampers that held air for about 10 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 From there I just wheeled the $#!& out of the ole girl, and she treated me very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 Wheeling season was a long one, until me and my buddies rented a garage and it was time to take her apart again in December of 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 I started to tear it apart because I wanted to turbo the 2.5 so to start I needed to relocate the battery so..... I redid the bed to fit the battery..... that started with cutting the bed off, and chopping it apart, cutting some steel to fit the tailgate and hang the skins, then running some tube to hold it all together, then toss some wood down as a nice floor and then start making a box around the triple battery setup..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 So let me back track for a second, it all started when I grabbed a small turbo off of a Saab 9-3 from the junkyard and I figured why not toss this on the ole junker, so I mocked it up and designed a bracket and it was going to sit where the battery was currently, so I figured by not toss the batteries in the bed, and while I’m at it might as well have two, then I thought why not have three? So that’s what I went with, so I made a piece to hold it all, then made a panel to make everything look nice, tossed in some LEDS, switches, voltage meter, dc-ac converter, regulator, gauges and some wire It was done! All thanks to amazon prime and me not knowing how to hold onto money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 So with the battery moved I made the turbo mount out of steel, then went and mounted some light bars, stained the wood, made some doors and a removable hatch, made an areas for a fuel cell and Just like that the bed is almost done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I am digging this build. That is very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iimafa Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 6 minutes ago, 89 MJ said: I am digging this build. That is very cool! Thanks man, it’s taken some time, but it’s getting somewhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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