March 2024 MJ of the month! - The Heartbreaker

[89 MJ]

March 2024 - The Heartbreaker

Owned by @brucecooner

 

Year/Model - 

1988 - Pioneer

 

 

Drivetrain- 

4.0 hitched to a Peugot BA 10/5 and NP231.

I'm gathering info and sources for the stuff to swap to an AX15.
 

Cooling- 

A previous owner put a great big aluminum radiator in it, but otherwise stock.

 

Electrical/Ignition- 

Nothing special, but it looks like a previous owner upgraded a few wires here and there.

They might have read some of cruiser's writings, I've noticed someone added an extra ground strap from the block to the firewall.

 

Suspension/Steering- 

Front is standard Dana30, with a Dana44 in the back.

I did recently spend a bunch of money replacing just about every part of the steering system and it finally no longer leaks power steering fluid all over the driveway.

I like it like it is, but if I'm being honest few things turn my head like a lifted Comanche, and long term if I can swing it I hope to raise this guy a little bit.

 

Interior-  

Stock, remarkably well preserved though. The original radio still works, though I plan on upgrading that at some point.

I'm thinking of swapping out the old bench for some buckets, but that's pretty far down the list.

 

Brakes- 

Standard stoppers.  Discs front, drum rears.

Replacing a leaky booster led me to find that the hard lines were severely rusted inside, and a months long brake job ensured in which I replaced most of the hardware and most of the hard lines.

 

Lighting- 

Plain old halogens. 

I want to get a set of the Oracle aftermarket taillights though.  What's the point of owning a Jeep if you're not buying pointless expensive stuff for it?

 

Exterior- 

This one came in charcoal, which I've never seen on another Comanche, hence its original name of "Gray Dog".

I've since given it another moniker though (see below).

The clearcoat has been steadily flaking away since I bought it.

And the trim strips are slowly peeling off, though I plan to address that soon.

 

I love shiny Comanches, but I like trucks with patina too, so will probably leave it rough around the edges.

 

Wheel & Tires- 

A previous owner upgraded to the "fancy" period Jeep alloy wheels wrapped in about 28 inch road tires.

They look nice and she rides great, but I hope to get something more rugged looking under the corners at some point.

It did have the original steelies in the back when I bought it too.

 

Misc- 

I love the look of old XJ's, but I'm a truck guy.  My previous truck was a beloved '99 Ranger 2WD that served me well (may it rest in peace), and took me to some out of the way places.  But I wanted to travel some rougher roads and since I do need to haul stuff occasionally, an MJ was what I wanted.  I had to watch the local classifieds for a while before this one came up with the options I wanted (4.0 and 4x4).

It was in great shape considering its age when I bought it. It looked to have been pretty well maintained, and the test drive showed no major issues apart from weak brakes.  I got it thinking I'd be wheeling in no time but the Jeep had other ideas. 

The list of stuff to address expanded in a hurry, thus I nicknamed it "The Heartbreaker". 

It's emptied a few of my pockets and led to a few expletives, but it's doing okay now. 

It's not daily driven because I don't have to drive every day, but it gets me around town and it's fun to drive.

The last major obstacle to getting it out on some trails is that French transmission, but after that's swapped out I am heading straight for some mountains.

 

Best MJ story- 

The first Jeep wave I got was from a guy in a Honda Civic.

My best reaction however was when I was crossing a parking lot with a friend in the passenger seat.

A young man in a Tacoma leaned out of his window to gawk at the Heartbreaker, and gave an audible "wowwwww" as we passed.  My friend got a huge kick out of it, but I told him reactions are rare.  I like that they're kind of a stealthy classic that goes largely unnoticed.

 

CC is Awesome! Why? 

Because it's an awesome community for people needing answers and support keeping awesome old trucks on the road.  Goodness knows mine would still just be decorating my driveway without all the help I've gotten here!

 

 

Some pictures...

 

My fave picture of it so far, from a drive down to Rainbow Valley for some long distance views.

 

This one was taken during my months long brake job, when it was purely driveway decoration. I can tell because the rear wheel is chocked.  If you're going to own an old truck that never leaves the driveway, it should at least be one you enjoy looking at.

 

Getting back to the parking lot after a sunset hike,  got a shot silhouetted against the city lights.

 

[fiatslug87]

Congrats, nice looking MJ.

The exterior color is Dover Grey Metallic Clearcoat, the firewall tag should have a PS4 code (or possibly CC) at the lower left.

[Pete M]

I love a stock rig!     especially a gorgeous, well kept example!

 

 

also I'm trying a new thing and dropping this into Tech for a bit so more eyes see the MJs of the Month.

[NHMJXJ]

Love it!  She's my trucks sister with the exception of the front tow hooks.

[ghetdjc320]

Great looking rig. Congrats! 

[brucecooner]

Thanks 89MJ for choosing The Heartbreaker as MJOTM, and thanks everyone for the compliments.

 

 

[Salvagedcircuit]

Great looking truck Bruce!

Now if I could only get my front quarter panels looking that straight!

[Drahcir495]

Very nice ! Congratulations on the MJOTM

[pizzaman09]

Awesome MJ, I wish you the best in getting the AX-15 installed.  I love your story about the Tacoma driver. 

I had a similar situation at a gas station with someone that pulled in with a tidy 2 door Taco.  I complimented his truck, he absolutely loved the MJ.  After spending 30 minutes talking at the pumps, we realized we had met before while autocross racing other cars of ours.

[brucecooner]

Thanks again for all the compliments.

 

I've got the AX-15 on order now, hopefully it goes in later this spring and I can get on some trails this summer.