Mitsuka the '88 Laredo

[ThreeComanches]

Hi all, this will be the third build I've documented on here. However, this is one of the original 3 Comanches that my dad and I worked on together (hence my username). 

 

This Comanche is a 1988 Laredo. It's a 4.0 with a 2wd BA10 Trans and Dana 44 axle. 

 

The backstory on this Comanche is as follows:

 

It started life in Jasper, GA at the old Jasper Jeep Sales dealership. The original owner purchased it in November of 1987 and brought it back to Alabama and registered it not even 30 minutes from me. It was ran into a ditch sometime in 1994 which tore the front end up and twisted the frame slightly. The repair job that had been done was pretty sloppy. However, it would continue to be driven for many more miles. The original owner passed in 2013 and the registration wasn't ever renewed. 

 

I'm not quite sure what happened to it after that. I vaguely remember seeing a Comanche in the local junkyard that looked the exact same as this one sometime between 2015-2017. Part of me thinks it was this one. But, I have no way of confirming it right now. 

 

Sometime in February of 2018 when I started helping my dad work on his 1987 Comanche, I found this one on Craigslist about an hour away from me. I told dad about it and we went to look at it. It was pretty rough; the paint was peeling, it burned oil, one of the lifters were collapsed, and the odometer showed 198k miles. It also still had the tag from the previous owner. Despite all of that, we ended up getting it for $800 and picked it up a week later. I named it Mitsuka, the name of my favorite game character during that time. 

 

In the time we've had it, we resprayed the header panel, replaced shocks, had the replaced the engine, and did many other things to it. We finally got the papers for it and registered it in 2019. I would end up daily driving it for about 16k miles before the transmission let go in February of 2022. Since then, I parked it while searching for another BA10 that was worthwhile of installing.

 

In November last year, I found a deal I couldn't pass up. I found a complete 1987 Cherokee with a 4.0, AW4, and 231 Tcase for 300 bucks. I figured this made more sense than spending over a grand on an AX15 swap. And since I have an extra driveshaft for this configuration, I decided to take this route with Automatic and 4WD swapping it. Everything else will be left original. 

 

 

What I've done so far:

 

Removed the driveshaft, wiring, and fuel lines

Stripped the donor Cherokee

 

 

What needs doing:

Old driveline removed

Install new driveline

install new wiring harness for the automatic transmission

install vacuum lines for the transfer case

find and install front axle with the same gear ratio as rear

 

What I'd like to do in the future:

Complete respray with correct pinstripes and decals

 

 

When dad and I went to see it for the first time:

 

 

How it looked the last time It was on the road (Early 2022):

 

[89 MJ]

Not very often that you hear about a 2wd Laredo. Looks like a nice truck for the price. 

[ThreeComanches]

So today I finally went out to the shop to get some work done. Finally managed to get the driveline out and it looked worse than I thought. The shop that replaced the engine in 2019 did a horrid job. That probably explains why said shop closed a month after they did my swap LOL. 

 

Bellhousing bolts were missing, the transmission bellhousing was cracked, and the engine block had a crack. 

 

[89 MJ]

Wow! That’s exceptionally bad. 

[ThreeComanches]

1 hour ago, 89 MJ said:

Wow! That’s exceptionally bad. 

Tell me about it. It wasn't ever the same after the first engine swap. Dare I say it drove better before it was done.