p0lel0ck Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 Hi Guys! and Thank you for the add! I just finished registering my 89 Comanche, so lets trow out some of the things happening right now... I purchased the truck in February of this year (2021) for $900.00, and have been toying ever since. When I bought it I drove it 45 miles home on a MASSIVELY slipping clutch with my dad following me so he could push me if needed LOL, but the Lil bugger made it home. The first order of business was replacing the clutch and TO bearing, when we dropped the 5 speed transmission, there was a mouse nest as big as the inside of the bell housing would fit. It had managed to extend and get in between the forks of the clutch plate, and kept them from letting the clutch seat tightly against the fly wheel , thus causing the SLIP. we also ended up having the flywheel resurfaced, because a new one would have set me back a couple weeks to get in, and I needed wheels ASAP. ( Iwas driving it as we were doing all the following...We replaced the Throw out bearing, and reservoir, and noticed the brake lines were crimped off to the rear while under it putting on a new exhaust. We then did a COMPLETE brake overhaul as it was running on what seemed like just 1 front and they were barely grabbing. So on went new lines, proportioning valve, and master cylinder, wheel seals, pads, and calipers, after this was new tires, and while searching for them, I stumbled upon a set of 5 Wrangler aluminum 5 hole wheels for a very good price, so we put those on with a set of new 215/65/15 tires. I have to say..."This is one of the best riding trucks I think I have ever been in!" we then turned our attention to the lighting as it sucked bad!!! I ordered a set of LED headlights, tail light lenses were cracked and busted, so (Here is where it gets kind interesting) While trying to find a cheap set of those, (a cheap set do not exist) I started looking at other options, and found that 1st Generation DODGE DAKOTA Tail lights are Extremely close to the Jeep ones, and Actually fit with a very minuet modifications (add a small piece of metal between the tail gate and the light.) remove 1 light socket from the Jeep harness and flipping them upside down (reverse light on top) . No one ever notices until I point it out. Anyway BOTH Dakota tail Light housings Cost a total of $25 on AMAZON! while I had them out I upgraded the light sockets to the flat bottom style brighter 3157 LED light bulb from the old round 1157 for a better connection. My Daughter and her fiance were scrapping a newer Dakota that had a Roll bar in the bed. I bought that also, and installed it in My "Manche. I purchased roll bar lights from AMAZON, and installed them, haven't hooked them up yet, because I'm waiting till after paint. I then installed new Parking light lenses on the front, and put in LED lighting ( for off road use) in them since my new LED headlights had turn signals built into them and I used those instead of the stock ones. So now the "Parking" lights are Color Changing LED That also have a Yellow or white on setting) So next was repairing the rocker panels which were pretty rusty, and doing some body work for smaller rust spots above the wheel wells, and some small dings on the bed top rails. I then sanded the entire truck down to metal, and primed it in grey. I then focused on the inside, it needed a bit of TLC also. I started with the radio. I pulled the factory AM unit out, and set it on the shelf, and installed a AM FM MP3 Bluetooth Stereo, and New Door Speakers. I then cut 4 slots for my roll bar light switches, in the proper spots for factory switches, and installed those, I found a old number 13 pool ball (Orange Striped) laying next to me in a parking lot, and thought boy if thats not a omen...So I drilled a hole, and made a shift knob out of that, and installed it. I then put a seat cover on the factory bench seat, because it was pretty crappy looking, and put a new headliner in it. I drove it around for a couple months like this, I was originally going to go back to red with the color, but after some thought decided to go AC ORANGE, with black Striping/Lettering. I am currently in the paint stage, and have had the worst luck with nasty weather the last few weeks, It has my painting on hold. I did manage to get the tailgate sprayed, and I think Its going to look amazing when it is done. I will update this blog as I go. I have attached a few pictures to kinda show some of the work. anyway...Thanks for reading this long winded thing, and following its journey from old Jeep to Orange BAJA Manche! I call her Pocahontas because its been a slow trek to where we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lel0ck Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 9\27\21... Painted today! Yay! Been waiting for this day. Things went pretty smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lel0ck Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 Thanks! The dry time suspense is killing me! LOL I wanna put her back together and drive it! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMO413 Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lel0ck Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 I hit a snag! I purchased fender flares off a Cherokee from my local salvage yard. There arent any Comanches in a 100 mile radius of me. and they DO NOT fit! The front ones fit great and look really nice. I'm guessing the Cherokee has a smaller wheel opening than the Comanche on back, because they are WAY too small! So now I'm on a quest for rear fender flares. I have an old set of front ones. going to try to modify them to work on the rear. They look like they would be perfect when I held them up, but they need some body line trimming to make them fit properly. WE SHALL SEE! My originals were broken, and battered beyond repair, so I'm hoping (and Praying) these front will work as rear! Like I said they look like with just a few alterations with a dremmel, and they will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lel0ck Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 Update on fender flares! You can make front ones fit the rear! YAY!!! and without too much modifying. just lop the little flappy thingy off that bolts to the front valance, and notch out for the side bulge with a dremmel! Then a couple bot hole relocations, and BAM! They fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lel0ck Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepin4on4 Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 Nice work. The truck looks great! Enjoy it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lel0ck Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 love it! can you do a step-by-step writeup on the XJ flare install for the DIY forum? I'm sure others will be interested in seeing how easy it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Any updates on the truck @p0lel0ck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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