1988 Comanche BMW M57 Swap, Rear Coils, Bobbed

[colthrax]

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

 

BMW 3.0liter M57n enigne with jeep AW4 transmission sequentially shifted with arduino and niftyshifter. 

Dana 30, trussed, non CAD, OTA track bar mount, WJ knuckles and brakes Chromoly U-Joints, 4.88 Gearing.
Dana 40 from ZJ, trussed, E-Locker, ZJ disc brakes, 4.88 Gearing.

Heim joint steering with hydroassist.

External rollcage

Bed shortend 40cm.

37 inch nankang FT-9 with DIY beedlocks.

Longarms from ironrock offroad in the front.

homemade longarms in the rear, with coilsprings.  

 

Orange because it matches my other car

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

 

 

 

Still stock gear ratio with 37 inch tires :p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[colthrax]

Today, the same day as posting this thread :) I orderd 4.88 gearing and beadlocks. 

[neohic]

Sweet! Welcome aboard! 

[89eliminator]

nice rig!

[colthrax]

 

 

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 🙂

[colthrax]

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 🤓

 

 

 

 

[Pete M]

nicely done  

 

 

 

 

[colthrax]

I hope this will be a stronger trackbar  OTA mount 

 

I

[Pete M]

the old one looks like spaghetti! 

[colthrax]

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.
 

 

[colthrax]

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 🙈

[colthrax]

Added weld on beadlocks to the rims

[colthrax]

Started work on the rollcage, and made it longarms/coils rear. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[colthrax]

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.

 

 

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

Very cool build. Looking forward to seeing the engine swap!

[Drahcir495]

I do like the bobbed look . Where did you get the front bumper? 

[colthrax]

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.

[Drahcir495]

I’m looking forward to see what you come up with. 

[colthrax]

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 

[pizzaman09]

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?

[colthrax]

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. 

[pizzaman09]

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?

[colthrax]

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.

[colthrax]

I have found out that I hate making cages, so the I will stop here and not cover the front.

 

[pizzaman09]

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.