Heath Posted December 3 Share Posted December 3 Project ‘Uncle Lou’… Hey guys. The goal of the project is for it to be a daily driver for my son (safe, reliable, etc.), and used for weekend camping and hunting adventures, in memory of our ‘Uncle Lou’. I’m located in Fayette County, GA (south of Atlanta). This had been someone else's project that I acquired. Once I got it, I had a shade-tree mechanic do a few things recently – brakes, battery, spark plug wires, gas tank and sending unit. He seemed to think the 4wd and transmission were quite good. My current thinking is to address rust issues, replace required components – keeping with the classic Comanche look. The long story… Several years ago, my dad bought an old farm house with some hunting land in central Georgia – a family getaway for family and friends. One of his best friends, Lou from North Carolina, came often. One day Uncle Lou showed up with this old truck. This thing was/is crusty and roached out, but we all fell in love with it and it quickly became the go-to truck for anything and everything, from running to town for a bite to eat to ripping through red clay mud bogs, to crawling over dead-fall pines to retrieve a down deer, it took on anything we through at it… Good times, great memories. That all started to slow down as Uncle Lou began having health issues. During that time, Uncle Lou couldn’t come out as often and he gave this truck to my dad. My dad eventually sold the property, and we didn’t have much use for the truck, so it sat… Uncle Lou’s health continued to decline and he passed away February of this year. This project is in honor of Uncle Lou. I believe Uncle Lou got this truck from a neighbor in Fuquay-Varina, NC, where the neighbor had modified it into what it is now. It’d be awesome if it was one of y’all! Anyway, I’m no mechanic, I don’t really know what we have… From a vin lookup, it was originally 2wd. So, I know it’s been converted from 2wd to 4wd – I’m assuming a swap from a Cherokee XJ. The engine appears to be the original 4cyl, not sure about transmission and axles. Appears to be some swapping in the interior too. All major mechanical stuff works, exterior lights work, and is road-worthy. Not sure about HVAC, the fan works, nothing cold but I can get some heat. So, the work begins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 3 Share Posted December 3 If its been converted from 2 to 4wd, it should have either an AX5 5 speed or the AX4 4 speed manual with a 231 transfer case unless they went old and found a 207. On the off chance they found a 4cyl AW4 to throw in(stupid rare). Axles should be D30 front and D35 rear unless it has the metric ton package then it could have a D44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted December 3 Author Share Posted December 3 LED tail lights... In case anyone else runs in to this... I added LED tail lights. All worked as expected except the blinkers - they didn't blink at first. I had to add an LED compatible relay. See pictures attached. I got the relay from NAPA, and it also required a ground, as you'll see in the pics - I created a longer jumper from the relay to a grounded bolt. All good now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted December 3 Author Share Posted December 3 6 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said: If its been converted from 2 to 4wd, it should have either an AX5 5 speed or the AX4 4 speed manual with a 231 transfer case unless they went old and found a 207. On the off chance they found a 4cyl AW4 to throw in(stupid rare). Axles should be D30 front and D35 rear unless it has the metric ton package then it could have a D44 thanks for the reply, its a 4speed transmission. i'll try to find more identification... it drives quite 'low' as far as gearing goes, which is great given its for my 16 year old son to drive around town, as it won't hardly go over 45 mph! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 3 Share Posted December 3 4 speed would make it an AX4 manual. Thats just based on your photos above with the 3 pedals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted December 3 Author Share Posted December 3 Had a very leaky valve cover, burning off dangerous amounts of oil! It has the plastic 2.5L cover, and the previous project owner had used some sort of liquid gasket sealant. I replaced it with NAPA VALVE CVR GASKET SET, Part #: FPG VS50245R, no more leaking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted December 3 Share Posted December 3 Looks like you've got a 21 slot grille. That is very rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted December 3 Author Share Posted December 3 Replaced old brass radiator. First did a radiator flush with old radiator in place, to try to get as much of the impurities out of the system prior to installing the new radiator. Then replaced with a new aluminum radiator and thermostat with new gasket - all good so far... Radiator - LILAND GLOBAL Part# 871AA, Thermostat - CALORSTAT Part# TH137870 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted December 3 Share Posted December 3 7 minutes ago, Heath said: plastic 2.5L cover, Looks like the terrible crown cover. IF it ever fails, ive got a couple hard OEM plastic covers. Or aluminum is a route to go too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted December 3 Author Share Posted December 3 3 minutes ago, 89 MJ said: Looks like you've got a 21 slot grille. That is very rare. LOL! I recently got a new aftermarket, as y'all know they are cheap and readily available - pic coming up with the front end update status. But, good to know, as I still have the 21 slot, and will refurbish it and have it ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted December 3 Author Share Posted December 3 Front end with new/updated aftermarket parts... header panel, grill, headlight bezels, side markers, and freshened up bumper and end caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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