Gjeep Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Used a portion of a scraped MJ room to check fitment (mainly interior clearance) for the 3rd brake/ cargo light combo… and it works. Ford Ranger sockets were the go-to because they are rubber (quiet) and the right size. Now to trim the real roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 Got to cuttin’ – always a bit stressful to put areas that are somewhat visible under the knife. Measure, measure, measure, cut. Great fit and looks right. Had been searching for just the right era appropriate look for years. Drilling mounting holes next… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Looks good! I have a feeling this idea may make it's way to my truck..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 Long live Tomken Machine. Not sure if they’re still in business, but they were the go-to for my lifted XJ/ MJ’s sway bar end needs. Beefy and same design as stock but fatter bushings. I decided to go with the factory heavy duty XJ 28mm factory front sway bar with Energy greasable bar bushings. And with temperature up in Oregon, on went the matte black ‘Jeep’ tailgate letterset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Can’t wait to see this on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 Carpet in place and ready to be trimmed first thing in the morning. Those who have installed carpets know the insane amount of extra material that surrounds the core. It’s nut. I’ll call this ‘in place’ but it still needs to move a good 4” forward once cut down. Tomorrow… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRT_Chris Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 23 minutes ago, Gjeep said: Carpet in place and ready to be trimmed first thing in the morning. Those who have installed carpets know the insane amount of extra material that surrounds the core. It’s nut. I’ll call this ‘in place’ but it still needs to move a good 4” forward once cut down. Tomorrow… I just did this. I used my old carpet as a template. There are more pics on my thread "one owner 92" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Thanks NRT_Chris for the tip. ACC did a good job this carpet stamp – the usual front of footwell issues weren’t present. Two thumbs up. The driver side rocker stamp is never proper and takes a heat gun to shape around that side reinforcement plate; And the rear cab wall is spot on passenger side but then goes wonky off by 2” driver side. Again, heat gun to the rescue. Finally, matting will be stuffed in the trans tunnel areas so when the center console is installed it will fit without gaps. But for now, the carpet is coming out as next up is the windshield replacement with the newer style gasket surround. The black Mesa fabric bucket seat bottom upholstery is headed in for repair. I’ve already removed the piece that wraps over and around the frame that the upper seat latch clips into. The little piece of vinyl takes a beating and typically looks like hell even when the rest of the seat looks brand new. It’s the bolt covered rubber ‘bumpers’ Jeep installed to adjust/ prevent seat back wobble. The rubber tip of the bumper breaks off and then exposed bolt tears into the vinyl. Holes in the replacement panel will be cut AFTER the seat is together and flap clipped into place, so no misses on the cut location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRT_Chris Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Carpet looks great 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Always a pleasure checking in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Fine tooth combing the little things to move forward on assembly… Put together the shoulder belt assembly, attaching it to the modified MJ bracket with grade 8 hardware and sleeved the bottom attaching point (at rocker) to keep it looking factory. Also sleeved the buckle for form and function – the C4 Corvette has an identical length seat belt buckle setup, and what I like about it is it keeps the center console from getting damaged/ carved into as so many of them (especially AMC era) get. It angles the buckle inward and away from the console plastic. Took some time to find just the right set up for this. Lots more details to accomplish for this build before I start getting the interior back together. Next up is the overhead console. Also, been on an insane journey that I now give up on... I wanted to simply replace the Dana 35 hard brake lines. Ordered from Inline Tube just that – first time I got I don’t know what; second time I was hopeful as the line at least has the shape of a pumpkin but turned out to be near 8” too long with incorrect bends. I lost a good month and a half trying to get something that seemed like it would be a simple buy delivered. I give up and will bend my own lines like I did last MJ build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Got it done – Rear axle brake lines bent, flared and in place. Off the list. And cut the overhead console for the hands-free mic. Time to clean up and refinish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 I’m a huge fan of test fitting before final assembly. Nothing worse than having things looking good and last minute find out modifications need to be made. The overhead console install is one of those projects where it’s essential. This console I made taller than in my other MJ, so the XJ modified (front) mounting bracket needed to be bent a little differently and the rear mount platform needed to be taller. Good contour fit of the reshaped shell and the headliner insert cuts were spot-on. My highly technical tool, the Q-Tip, served to mark the location of the rear most screw (found inside the sunglass bin) with a dab of black paint; and it also confirmed the height the bracket needed to be at to seat the console properly keeping it flush to the headliner. All good there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 ‘8-Ball’ was this MJ’s nickname (former column shift knob), but with decal set waiting to be laid – the truck is now ordained ‘Little Chief’. It'll be running different rims and tires with the graphics as well. This should be a good first time trial run in graphic laying experience before I do the same on my ’92. I hacked up some aftermarket front flare liners to use as rear liners. The originals unfortunately crumbled when removed. The difference between the aftermarket liners and the NOS rears I have (for the other Comanche) is like comparing paper to cardboard – but they’ll work. Three of the holes line up and the rest can be punched. I have the cut aftermarket liners clipped to the factory ones below for reference. This is a good option until I find a minty factory set. (PS -- If you have a set, ping me.) Front air dam was notched for tow hooks, and soon to be painted SEM trim black like the fender flares. 1987 Pioneer trim black power window/ door lock panels have been cleaned and conditioned with speaker grilles and map pockets to be reinstalled shortly. A new windshield is going in at the beginning of next week and then I can move forward on getting Little Chief running, burped, bled, AC charged and interior installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsalagi Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 On 4/3/2025 at 7:46 PM, Gjeep said: I hacked up some aftermarket front flare liners to use as rear liners. The originals unfortunately crumbled when removed. The difference between the aftermarket liners and the NOS rears I have (for the other Comanche) is like comparing paper to cardboard – but they’ll work. Three of the holes line up and the rest can be punched. I have the cut aftermarket liners clipped to the factory ones below for reference. This is a good option until I find a minty factory set. (PS -- If you have a set, ping me.) Cool! I was planning on doing the same thing to mine as the rear inner wheel well fender parts were missing. The aftermarket wheel liners feel like they are vacuum formed where as the originals were a different kind of rubber. I plastic welded the cracks in my front oem wheel liners with wire mesh and a soldering iron. If you have any more photos let me know! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 Found a great mom & pop mobile glass company in Southern Oregon who installed a new windshield with the molding versus the metal framing. Looks cleaner than the 6 piece original setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now