Kally's 1990 Comanche Pioneer revival

[MJKally]

I picked up this 1990 Comanche Pioneer a few weeks ago. it's a 4x4, 4.0, 5 speed manual shortbed model that's apparently been sitting for 20 years. The guy I bought it off replaced the whole fuel system from tank to injectors, replaced the clutch and got it running before giving up, so now it's my problem. I didn't need a third project car, but here we go.  

 

 

It's pretty clean for a 36 year old car, very straight and minimal rust. It has one small hole in the floor and a couple of pinholes in the roof, but those can be fixed pretty easily, then the whole thing is rust-free. I plan to paint or undercoat it before too long to protect it, but for now I'm just focusing on getting it back on the road and able to pass inspection.

 

The biggest issue is the transmission needs replacing, and the clutch needs bleeding properly. 1st gear is essentially unusable, and it grinds going into the others. Rebuilding it would be nice, but even if I do it myself it'd be very expensive. I have a line on a replacement, but I’m just waiting to hear back about it. 

 

Besides that, the only other problems are mostly just age related. The engine obviously needs servicing and going through to make sure it's running right, but it does run, so it's a pretty low priority at the moment. It needs every suspension bushing replacing, new shocks, new U-joints, new oil in the diffs and transfer case etc. I plan to maybe rebuild the axles at some point down the line.

 

Eventually, the goal is to clean it up a bit and make this thing a daily driver. I'm not going for a full restoration or upgrade, just trying to bring it back from the dead. 

 

Here it is stinking up the driveway with my current daily/1st project car, my '90 S10 Blazer.