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AZ: 1988 Comanche Pioneer 4x4 Build


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I want to give a huge shoutout to Corbeau Seats! @Andy in Pa provided me with some information about how he was able to get Corbeau to build custom seat brackets for his Comanche to increase the level of headroom in the cab by lowering the brackets by about 1-3/8" . I reached out to Corbeau to ask if they still had the plans to replicate the brackets they made for Andy back in 2019. Not only did they still have the plans, they offered to take my recently ordered brackets in exchange, and pay for the return shipping! I had not previously dealt with Corbeau before this, but after seeing the quality of their seats, and the level of customer service they provided, I will be a Corbeau customer for a long time coming. 

 

Really looking forward to receiving the new brackets in the next couple weeks and actually being able to sit in the truck without my head hitting the roof! Damn being tall...

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That is an awesome customer service story, thanks for sharing. I have the factory buckets and am 6'1" and I am comfortable in the mj but realize that there isn't much space left. I think I read somewhere here that an mj owner took the headliner out to get more headroom. What you did is give some extra tall people an option which is great. 

 

Buck. 

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Alright guys, the exterior of the Comanche is nearly complete. I’ll be taking it in on Monday for a Line-X bed liner, then I can put on the JCR Roof rack! 
 

My big question now is the lift…

currently it has a Rustys 6.5 long arm lift, but it rides like absolute garbage, I mean like a skateboard loaded up with cinderblocks. Almost undriveable on paved roads, let alone offroad! 
 

I own a Jeep Wrangler rental company in Arizona, and we use Teraflex kits on all of our fleet Jeeps, they are stiff but still very comfortable on and offroad.

 

I know the suspension design is quite different in these trucks vs the wranglers, but is there any kit that makes driving these things less awful? I’ve had cherokees in the past that drove down washboard dirt roads at 60mph and felt like butter, this would rattle your head off at 10mph. 
 

Outside of building a 4 link kit and putting adj. valve shocks and springs, are there any lift kits that can help soften the ride? 

 

I’m not opposed to ripping the rustys kit off and tossing it in the garbage at this point. Budget is not a problem, I just want something high quality and smooth. Preferably between the 3”-6” range. Also not opposed to being closer to a 3” lift so I can use a stock front driveshaft as the stock driveshaft is too short to fit back on the truck with the Rustys kit it came with. 

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12 hours ago, Pete M said:

out of curiosity, what pressure are the tires set at?

 

tech Qs from the OP should probably go in the Tech forum so more eyeballs will see it. :L:  

Good call, I'm usually more of a lurker than a poster on the forums so I'll make a post in the tech section.

Tires are set at 32psi, BFG all terrains from the PO. they are pretty sun baked and crispy so that could be part of it, sidewall flex may not be what it used to.

I'm wondering if maybe the shocks are adjustable and maybe set to max stiffness so replacing or readjusting the shocks could be a good place to start.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Some progress has been made! Thanks to @Oizarod115 I was able to get a Dana 44 put in the back, used Rustys shock mounts to put everything back in the factory locations, and General Spring leafs. Upon taking the old Cherokee D35 out of the back, I realized the leafs that were on there must’ve been from a Cherokee as well because they were not even close to the same size as the general spring ones, significantly longer shape…

 

To top it all off I grabbed some Bilsteins to slap on the back, now I’m just waiting on the rest of the brake parts to come in to put it all back together!

 

I’ll post more pictures soon!
77FB5ADF-5513-460E-A21F-9B148A37AF65.jpeg.aefdd63acba64782354d699c87b69638.jpeg

 

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Both shocks mounted, and a little makeshift arm for the rear brake load sensing valve. Coming along nicely! 
new seatbelts, tail lights, front suspension and drum brakes in the mail, then I think it’s due for some proper photos to show it off a bit!

9CACBD73-4DBE-42B7-BA87-AB9F2C5D017F.jpeg.7e5c4c50fb1219845a4c732d32e9197b.jpeg

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