1JTHX6310JT120367

[Jfcouper]

1988 Jeep Comanche

2.5L I4 4x4 Short bed

 

Location: Ypsilanti, MI

Current owner: Me! :)
 

Status: My project truck. Hoping to get it back on the road.

Its in really rough shape and the frame is in urgent need of repair. Rear wheels are locked up. Engine doesn't start.

Its all new to me and I'll probably need a lot of help figuring things out!

Glad to have my name in the registry! 

[Jfcouper]

It seems to have spent most of its life in Muskegon Michigan. Its been sitting for at least 1 year. There's a couple old registrations with names and dates from 1997 in the glove box. Maybe I can reach out and see if they have some old photos?

[Pete M]

On 5/9/2022 at 11:36 PM, Jfcouper said:

 Maybe I can reach out and see if they have some old photos?

 

doesn't hurt.  I found a phone number in the Liberty I was stripping at the junkyard and thus found out what happened to the engine to put it in there.

[eaglescout526]

*X3
-SA	Charcoal
8ED	Miscellaneous Intl Dealers
AGC
APA	MONOTONE PAINT PACKAGE
CBA	BENCH SEAT - STRAIGHT BK
CGX	Head Restraints-Outboard Seating, RR
CKA	CARPETS - CLASS I SHORT PILE 8 - 12 OZ
DCK	4SPD MANUAL TRANS - AISIN AX-4
EPD	ENGINE - 2.5L I4 TBI GAS
LAP	FUEL ECONOMY SHIFT INDICATOR LIGHT
LMA	HALOGEN HEADLAMPS
MDA	FRT LICENSE PLATE ATTACH REQUIRED
NAA	ESA W/CATALYST (EXC CALIF SYSTEM)
PQ9
QQ9
RAC	RADIO - AM/MTR
TBG	SPARE TIRE - COMPACT
WMC	BASE WHEEL DRESS - UP (INCLS TRIM RING)

 

 

Build date 1/19/88

Body code JL61

Sold by OMSC - RTE DE LA GLANE107, FRIBOURG SWITZERLAND

[Pete M]

can't say I was expecting a sold-in-Switzerland code. 

[eaglescout526]

It is a nice surprise to see MJs make it home with their owners though.

[fiatslug87]

Another military sale.

[Jfcouper]

That is crazy! I never would have Guessed. Glad to have it back here :)

[jdog]

Makes you wonder how many are ordered thru the military but stayed state aside

[ExpatMJGuy]

I have experience in this being in the Military for 15 years and being the child of a carrier soldier.

 

None "stayed" stateside.  They were all sold overseas by the Army Air Force Exchange Service or AAFES for private use by military members.  To my knowledge they weren't used by the military itself.  And most Government vehicles are stateside purchased in bulk usually from the lowest bidder at a dealership somewhere in the states before being sent wherever in the govt agency that purchased then.

 

I'm not surprised that they end up coming home with their owners considering all the details.  AAFES "NEW" car sales when stationed overseas are considered tax free purchases and usually have low interest loans considering they know that you will get paid reliably every month till you get out of the military.  Either way these are still new vehicle loans that are 60 months on average.  When the military transfers you overseas you get 1 vehicle shipped for free as part of your relocation benefits each way.  Any additional vehicles shipped are paid for at the owners expense and takes about a month to ship.  

 

My father was stationed in Germany 95 to 97.  My dad did a 2 for 1 trade in and we shipped a 95 Mercury Mystique to Germany and bought a 68 Beetle since they were more common there as a second vehicle for my mom.  I was thinking the Beetle was coming home, but he sold it and bought a 96 XJ in Wiesbaden Germany when we found out we were consistently running out of space on road trips we were taking overseas and wanted a smaller SUV.  We came home a year early due a cancer diagnosis for my father and still owed on it, but he had the govt ship it home since it was larger and heavier, and paid 3k out of pocket to ship the Mercury home.  Probably what we saved in taxes.  Later in 2000 it wound up becoming my car, until a car crossed into my lane going down the highway and totaled it a few years later. May she RIP.

 

But then again it's not uncommon for soldiers to sell used secondary cars locally before they go back to the states.