Jeep Comanche Pioneer '89 Build

[Eriko5000]

I purchased this MJ back in October, 2021 and should have started this build thread then, to keep up with the progress.  I'm late, but am going to try and post what I've done on it, recounting repairs/upgrades in order.

I don't have much experience repairing cars, and wanted to pick up a project that I could learn on, and would have a lot of character.. Enter the Jeep Comanche.  This truck belonged to a man who passed away, his family stored it in a barn since 2012, sold it in May of last year, to a father/son who got it running to resell.  That's where I bought it.  

184,000 miles on it, the truck was pretty much stock, but in ROUGH shape.  Most of the running lights didn't work (Front blinkers didn't work, no working license plate lights, headlights were old and dim), it was pouring gas out of the fuel sending unit plate (That was a fun surprise after I paid the guy and drove away with it), missing pieces of the body side molding, loose steering column, a pretty significant oil leak, auxiliary lights not wired well (Or working for that matter).. A lot of fixes needed.

BUT, for not having been registered and on the road since 2012, I bought her, and drove her 35 miles home in the rain, in the dark, with no issue (Except the gas leaking thing.. that was a "I'm in over my head" moment for sure) 

Here's what shape it was in, when I first purchased the truck.

 

[Eriko5000]

The first big repair I did: Tightening up the steering column.  Not a fun project, and super tedious, but the column was really loose, and it felt so much better once I got it tightened up like it needed to be.  I hope that's a repair I never have to do again (Thank you, thread locker)

[Pete M]

she looks great!  just needs a bit of tlc.  

[Eriko5000]

Next up was an attempt to restore the tail lights. 

A good thorough washing

Spraying them with Rust-Oleum crystal clear enamel

And finished product

Before / After

Honestly, the lenses didn't hold up as well as I would have liked.  This job was done months ago, and the lenses are somewhat faded again, but they still look a bit better than they did originally.

[Eriko5000]

When I bought the truck, it was missing a single piece of the body side molding (And some other pieces were loose/coming off)

I was prepared to pay a somewhat high price for the piece, since nobody makes them and they're hard to find.  

I found 88MJSally right here on CC, and he sold and mailed me the piece I needed for a great price!

Threw it on with some 3M body molding tape, and I've had no issues with it!

The 3M tape also helped me secure the other pieces of molding that were loose.

[Eriko5000]

20 minutes ago, Pete M said:

she looks great!  just needs a bit of tlc.  

Thanks Pete!!  Hopefully I can get her living up to the quality she demands!  It's been a great learning curve, researching and taking on the repairs!

[Eriko5000]

When I bought the Comanche, half of my running lights didn't work.  Both front blinkers were out, one tail light / rear blinker was out on each side, the license plate lights had been replaced with aftermarket ones which had burned out, one headlight was old and dim. 

This front blinker socket is a visual representation of the lighting situation when I bought the truck..

After replacing some blown bulbs, replacing the license plate light fixtures, dim headlight, and splicing in new front blinker sockets.. I finally got all of the essential running lights working.

[Eriko5000]

A few aesthetic things.. Pulled off the steering wheel cover that was on the truck

Turns out, the original steering wheel is a beauty..

A front vanity plate that fits the age of the vehicle..

[Eriko5000]

Next, the door panels.  The stock ones had some bad water damage

I found someone selling the tweed door panels out of an early 90s XJ

Picked them up and put them in my MJ.  I had to cut holes for the window cranks, and right now, the cranks hit those Jensen speaker covers (You've gotta pull the crank out a bit to clear it), but the new panels look super sharp.

 

[Eriko5000]

I upgraded my mirrors to a set that wasn't nearly as faded, and painted my windshield wiper control arms and windshield trim

 

[RuBacon]

Already looking so much better than when you brought it home and bonus points for a color I haven't seen much of! Your refreshed black trim pieces provide a great contrast. Can't wait to see where it ends up after you have a chance to check a few more things off your to-do list!

[Eriko5000]

On 3/16/2022 at 11:36 AM, RuBacon said:

Already looking so much better than when you brought it home and bonus points for a color I haven't seen much of! Your refreshed black trim pieces provide a great contrast. Can't wait to see where it ends up after you have a chance to check a few more things off your to-do list!

I appreciate the response and encouragement!  I've got quite a to-do list, and looking through your build threat, seeing how much you've done rewiring the electronics makes me worried that that's a project I'll have to add to the list.. That looks overwhelming!  But I'm super excited to follow your build as well!!

[Eriko5000]

Next up, cleaning the throttle body.  Never done this so it was all a learning curve.

It was filth inside.  Like, has possibly never been cleaned in the truck's 32 years of existence dirty?

Took a toothbrush, paper towels, and a screwdriver to clean it out (Screwdriver was to carefully chip off chunks of the carbon build up)

 

Once I got it all back together, started the truck- It was idling at 2,500 RPM's.  I thought maybe the IAC went bad during the cleaning process- Or possibly a vacuum leak that started somewhere in the process?  Or was the valve not closing enough?  I tried to adjust the stop plate screw but it was locked tight, and wouldn't budge.  

Then, after looking through old Comanche Club forums and asking for help on a Jeep Comanche facebook page, I noticed the stop plate looked bent in, potentially holding the butterfly valve open too much

So I took a pair of pliers and tried to carefully bend it straight.  After a bit of effort, I got the butterfly to close a bit more, and now the truck is idling at about 1,200 RPM's.

[MiNi Beast]

Still a bit high yet. 

[Eriko5000]

8 hours ago, MiNi Beast said:

Still a bit high yet. 

It is still a bit high!  There's a bit more room that I could bend that stop plate straight, which will hopefully bring my idle down to the 700-900 range.  Prior to cleaning the throttle body, it idled near 2,000, and after cleaning it went up to 2,500 so I'm pretty satisfied with the current win!  I think that stop arm had it bent open, but the carbon build up sealed the opening a bit.

[Pete M]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:45 PM, Eriko5000 said:

A few aesthetic things.. Pulled off the steering wheel cover that was on the truck

 

Turns out, the original steering wheel is a beauty..

 

 

 

 

wow, that certainly is unexpected!    usually they are torn to shreds by the time someone resorts to a cover.

[Eriko5000]

My most recent project- Replacing the valve cover gasket

Upon getting the valve cover off, the top of the engine and inside the cover looked TERRIBLE.  So much gunk built up..

Tried to research how bad that is for the engine, and basically came to the conclusion the only thing to do is clean the cover while it's off, put it back together and use Seafoam in the oil to break down the build up, before doing an oil change.

So, the cleaning process for the cover..

It still doesn't look great, but it's way better than where we started!

Had some issues getting all of the bolts to line up with the new FelPro gasket on, and because it's a thicker gasket, some some of the bolts don't feel like they're threaded very deep, but we got it back and she's on the road!  Still leaking some oil, but I'm hoping maybe that's left over oil finishing dripping off the outside of the engine.