Project Morris: The 89 to 99 Comanche Long Bed

[JZLAJeep]

Wow, lots of work!! I will say we are spoiled in Idaho - no inspection (other than VIN inspection on out-of-state titles) and emissions testing was eliminated last year.

 

Questions: What was the "great deal" on the latest XJ that you couldn't refuse? What about it made you decide to part it?

[RuBacon]

December disappeared way too fast! I've been chipping away at the to-do list, but severely slacking on the updates...

 

It's been great being able to drive the Comanche any time I want to and use it to do all the truck things. 

 

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that an engine and ECU from '99 could pass emissions standards from '89, but it was a huge relief to see those numbers all come in green!

 

I'm definitely jealous of the lack of emissions, not having safety around here has made it nearly impossible to find a used car that doesn't need a ton of work though. It's become readily apparent that most people can't be trusted to keep up on basic vehicle maintenance...

 

XJ prices have been all over the place around here lately, with very similar vehicles ranging from $2500-$6500 with no readily apparent difference in miles, condition, or modifications. The days of the $1000 or less XJ feel like a distant memory. Years ago, I even remember being tempted by the occasional $600 running and driving XJ that would be posted for sale. The second parts Jeep we purchased was negotiated down to a miracle price right around $1000 and then we promptly sold the wheels and tires, new shocks, and a few other little things and recouped $700 of our original purchase cost. As we dug into it, we found out mice had gotten into EVERYTHING and left rodent poop and destruction on a scale I've never seen before. I've taken the newer battery, passenger door, fenders, and header panel for the Comanche, we'll sell some more parts to those in need and pull the complete drivetrain, but the interior and wiring feels like a complete loss at this point.

 

We found some bucket seats in decent condition in a junkyard Jeep Patriot and decided they worth worth a $100 experiment. The mounting brackets required some serious modifications, but I was able to cut them down and rework them enough to get the seats into the Comanche. They're decently comfortable and I really like having headrests that are tall enough for my height. 

 

 

 

 

I got a great deal on some Cooper Rugged Trek tires in a 265/70r17 size and got them mounted on some super cheap Gladiator Mojave Wheels.

 

 

I was now in need of some larger front fender openings, but I didn't like the price of the flares that looked good and I didn't like the look of the flares that were priced well...so I grabbed my original Comanche flares from the parts pile and warmed up the 3D printer. I modeled and printed some new retainer clips for the flares, trimmed out some sheet metal, and raised the flares a few inches giving me plenty of room for the new tires. Now I just need to go back and trim the front edge of the flares and fine-tune a few details.

 

 

 

After all the Thanksgiving shopping-spree upgrades arrived, it was time to start working through the axle upgrades. I decided to start in the rear and stripped all the old brackets from the 8.25 axle before removing the internals. I was looking forward to re-gearing an axle with threaded adjusters for the carrier preload and backlash settings. Everything went smoother than expected and it's going to be a bummer to have to go back to shims for the front axle carrier adjustments. 

 

 

 

I also decided to keep my spring-under setup...but I found a beefy, high-clearance, u-bolt plate and perch kit from RuffStuff. I'll have to get some more photos of everything installed, but I'm really happy with how it all turned out!

 

 

The front axle is next on the list, and just seeing the old calipers next to the new ones has me excited to get it all finished and have a chance to take it for a test drive! 

 

 

[Gojira94]

You've managed to get more done in 4 months than I have in 2 1/2 years... awesome work!