colthrax Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 I found this comanche that's been sitting in a barn for 20 years before it was left there it was used as a work truck and have some scars from that. I sold my XJ and decided to build this one instead as I already have way to many projects going on. Spoiler I'm already a couple of months into the project but I will try to document the rest of the project as there is still infinite number of things left to do. (PORTALS :D) It's not a "show truck" so I will not be holding that standard, I use this only for offroad events :) Lifted around 8-10 inches 37 inch tires IRO longarms front Flipped axle and longer schackles rear. 3.55 Gear Ratio (4.88 on the way now :p) Bed shortend around 40 cm Some kind of heim joint steering. Aux transmission cooler Electrical fan from 96 xj (As mine has no AC it did not come with one)? Orange because it matches my other project car :p Spoiler Not going to change the axles untill I find c303 portals for a decent price. This is how it looks right now: 2021-09-19: This is when I first saw the car. No rust or anything on the frame or under the bed. 2021-09-21: Finally bringing it home. 2021-10-01 - 2021-11-01: Trying to get it running and fixing the breaks. The original brake cylinder was crap, so I replaced it with a 96 xj booster/cylinder. Also removing the bed to prepare for the shortening of it, It has a really long overhang! driving it home to start the chopping part :) Installing the long arms so it matches the flipped rear axle for the drive back to my garage :) 2021-12-01 - 2022-01-01: Back at my garage, test fitting the tires. 2022-01-01 - 2022-02-01: Painting the part I will not be reaching. 2022-02-01 - 2022-03-01: Decided I want the tank in the bed instead of under it. Going back yet again to my garage now :) 2022-02-01 - 2022-03-01: Time for the borring stuff Using a roller brush and a paint called Double Coat, you can make this paint look sprayed if you make the ground work good. Something I hate to do. I'm leaving alot of tiny dents and crap in the body that I might fix in the future? First coat of the orange paint. Second Mounting the front bumper and test fitting the facelifted front Still needs one more coat of paint, I am not using the matching fenders, might some day? :) Mounting the fenders. Back to the other garage :) Mounting the non CAD dana 30 axle. Turned out that this tie rod is too weak. Trying to decide what angle I want for the sliders. 2022-04-01 - 2022-05-01: Going to the first offroad event with this car. 2022-06-01 - 2022-07-01: Starting to prepare the final parts before Sweden Offroad Tour 2022 1-17'th july 2022-07-01 - 2022-07-017 Sweden Offroad Tour: Sleeping in the car half of the event was fun, it's not big inside filtered-8A8B27A3-2332-4FB3-8B7B-40FF994A58A4.mp4 Still stock gear ratio with 37 inch tires :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted August 4, 2022 Author Share Posted August 4, 2022 Today, the same day as posting this thread :) I orderd 4.88 gearing and beadlocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 Sweet! Welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89eliminator Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 nice rig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted August 5, 2022 Author Share Posted August 5, 2022 On 8/4/2022 at 4:25 PM, neohic said: Sweet! Welcome aboard! On 8/4/2022 at 7:36 PM, 89eliminator said: nice rig! Thanks 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted August 5, 2022 Author Share Posted August 5, 2022 My china trackbar drop bracket cracked in the welds so I made a support bar for it so I can drive drive this weekend 🙈( I also welded the cracks) There is also some minor wheel bearing play 🤓 IMG_1397.MOV IMG_1393.MOV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 nicely done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 I hope this will be a stronger trackbar OTA mount I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 the old one looks like spaghetti! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 On 9/23/2022 at 1:05 AM, Pete M said: the old one looks like spaghetti! Haha yeah, it bent every time I turned the wheels trying to make it out of that trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 Added C gussets, 10mm plates to the LCA mount and simple straps to see if it works better not letting it flex out too much. No more work will be put into the Dana 30 now 🙈 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 Added weld on beadlocks to the rims Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Started work on the rollcage, and made it longarms/coils rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 I've been toying with the idea of dropping a BMW M57 diesel into my Comanche for a while. But after crunching some numbers, I decided it's smarter to use what I've got. So, I'm pulling the turbo M52B28 out of my BMW 2002 and putting it in the Comanche instead. The 2002 will get a replacement M52B28, but without the turbo this time. It seems like a good way to save some cash and still get the fun of working on a project. Was really pumped about the diesel, but the M52B28 is already mine, and it's built and ready to go. Plus, it's going to be pretty cool to see how it performs in the Comanche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H3ADBANG4L1F3 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Very cool build. Looking forward to seeing the engine swap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drahcir495 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I do like the bobbed look . Where did you get the front bumper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 5 hours ago, Drahcir495 said: I do like the bobbed look . Where did you get the front bumper? A guy in Poland sold the bumper to me, will be drawing my own now that I have found an awesome laser cutting shop that cuts everything for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drahcir495 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I’m looking forward to see what you come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 Trying to tac the rest of the cage in place to see if it will look alright, the original roll bar will be removed once I am done with the cage. The swedish forrests are very very tight for a comanche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaman09 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 I'm super excited to hear you put the M52B28 into the Comanche. I've many times considered an S52 or S54 swap for mine. I'm guessing you used the adapter plate they sell for the M57 to AX15? What sort of power are you making with the turbo 2.8L? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 3 hours ago, pizzaman09 said: I'm super excited to hear you put the M52B28 into the Comanche. I've many times considered an S52 or S54 swap for mine. I'm guessing you used the adapter plate they sell for the M57 to AX15? What sort of power are you making with the turbo 2.8L? S52 or S54 would be amazing, but I would be too scared to go into deep water with that such an engine. I have not started the swap yet, need to find a stock engine to put in the bmw, if I do not do that while pulling the engine out of it, I will be to lazy to put one in it again. I was going to use the m57 to AW4 adapter kit. But have not looked into if the bolt pattern is the same. Otherwise I make my own adapter. 410 on the wheels in the bmw, only at 0.7bar because the car is already undrivable . Guessing the comanche drivetrain makes that number lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaman09 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 5 hours ago, colthrax said: S52 or S54 would be amazing, but I would be too scared to go into deep water with that such an engine. I have not started the swap yet, need to find a stock engine to put in the bmw, if I do not do that while pulling the engine out of it, I will be to lazy to put one in it again. I was going to use the m57 to AW4 adapter kit. But have not looked into if the bolt pattern is the same. Otherwise I make my own adapter. 410 on the wheels in the bmw, only at 0.7bar because the car is already undrivable . Guessing the comanche drivetrain makes that number lower. I guess in Europe the S52 is a very different engine than here in the US. We got a stripped down version that is just an M52B28 that has been enlarged to 3.2L and a slightly more aggressive camshaft, made 240hp. I have one in my e36 M3, its quite reliable. The Euro one was quite exotic with individual throttle bodies and dual VANOS for the cams. I tend to agree on the S54, they are known to be a bit more fragile, I just like the idea of an 8000 rpm redline in a Comanche. I do believe the M57 has the same bolt pattern as the M50/M52/M54 blocks, based on research I did on this topic a year ago. What engine are you considering putting into the 2002? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 On 2/26/2024 at 1:05 PM, pizzaman09 said: I guess in Europe the S52 is a very different engine than here in the US. We got a stripped down version that is just an M52B28 that has been enlarged to 3.2L and a slightly more aggressive camshaft, made 240hp. I have one in my e36 M3, its quite reliable. The Euro one was quite exotic with individual throttle bodies and dual VANOS for the cams. I tend to agree on the S54, they are known to be a bit more fragile, I just like the idea of an 8000 rpm redline in a Comanche. I do believe the M57 has the same bolt pattern as the M50/M52/M54 blocks, based on research I did on this topic a year ago. What engine are you considering putting into the 2002? Not only are they more fragile but the price is like $8-9k in Sweden, versus the $500 for the m52b28. I will be putting a stock m52 in the 2002 if I can not find a m54b30. Interesting, if it is the same pattern it would save me some time. Awesome on the e36! they are amazing cars. My father owned a blue e36 m3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colthrax Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 I have found out that I hate making cages, so the I will stop here and not cover the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzaman09 Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 17 hours ago, colthrax said: Not only are they more fragile but the price is like $8-9k in Sweden, versus the $500 for the m52b28. I will be putting a stock m52 in the 2002 if I can not find a m54b30. Interesting, if it is the same pattern it would save me some time. Awesome on the e36! they are amazing cars. My father owned a blue e36 m3. I wish old BMW engines where that cheap here, the only decent engine that is widely available and cheap in the US is the short block Chevy and similar Chevy LS. I suspect a stock M52 would be really good in a 2002. I'll be following your build, I'm intrigued to see how it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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