Wrenches Gone MILD! RIP.

Figured I'd go with a MILD theme for this project. Plan is to start with an 86 Comanche X, 2.5, 5 spd, 2wd, and make it a dependable DD first. Once that is done, work on it bit by bit while keeping it on the road. No major wrenching or cash will go into this one. At least that is the plan. :brows:

So here we go again. :D

She's pretty solid with just some minor surface rust and a ding or two. Underneath is solid but the floorpans will be rusty because of the windows leaking. Motor will need some attention but I'm not sure right now if it's major or minor.

First day after bringing it home and cleaning it up a bit.

Since the grille and bumpers are chrome, I had a few odds and ends to throw on it.

Drip rails

and mirrors

Will hopefully find a nice set of 2dr XJ buckets at the JY to replace the current ones.

I haven't come up with the final plan for this one, but will do what I can until I figure it out.

Did a few things over the holiday weekend. Took the doors apart and put new check stops in them along with new speakers, all the window rubber from an 95 XJ along with the solid vent windows.

Also pulled the valve cover to fix the oil leak and ended up cleaning all the sludge out, then running engine flush thru it before changing the gasket and putting fresh oil in it.

After it was all back together I ran it for a little while then took a quick trip around the block. It started tapping in the lower end and as I shut it off it overheated. :headpop:

Will change out the rad with the new one I picked up before I continue and decide if I want to just go ahead and rebuild the motor or let it nickle and dime me.

If you were closer I would offer you a good motor cheap.

If you were closer I would offer you a good motor cheap.

She sounded good until the flush. I should have left the crud, it was keeping it tight. :D

I've got another one just like it in the garage with fewer miles but a slight tap in the lower end. If I decide to rebuild, I'll pull the heads on both of them and choose the best looking one.

Well I've been working a little to get this one up to snuff so I can get it inspected.

Since the engine flush and the trouble it was having afterwards, I dropped the oil pan and removed all the slugde from it. In the process of doing that, I broke the exhaust pipe at the flange before the cat. :headpop:

Took the down pipe from the 88's 2.5 set up and the cat. Had to change the tranny mount to make it work, then cut the pipe down going to the rest of the system to make it all fit right.

Pulled the radiator, changed the water pump and thermastat. Also threw in a new belt.

Was going to replace the rad with a new one I picked up, but it wouldn't fit without some modification. Tried to put the old one from the 88, but it wouldn't fit due to the slight difference in the front of the 86. Sooo, back in with the old one after flushing it out. I've got a small pinhole leak on the top I have to fix.

Put new upper and lower hoses on also new plugs.

She is running real good now. Installed a full gauge cluster but swapped the original speedo so I would have the right mileage. Fixed the brake release cable and a few other odds and ends. Installed the under the dash lighting and tried to fix those darn b pillar lights.

You'd figure with all the ones I have, I would have a pair that worked.

Will hopefully pass inspection tomorrow so I can start driving it around and save some $$ on Gas.

:cheers:

Well it got rejected. :cry:

I have to replace the front brake lines due to cracks in the rubber (dry rot) and replace the rear drums. Also one of the headlights is not properly aimed. :roll:

But the one that gets me the most is I have to fix the couple of holes in the floor board. I ask why and he said to keep exhaust out of the cab. :headpop: I asked him what is the difference between them and having the window down. Well whatever. I've got 15 days to get them fixed and they will re-inspect it for a buck.

I think this one is going on craigslist as soon as I get a passing inspection. I don't have time for another major project.

the radiators will fit...they're the same rad...

can you pm me a price on it? I'm interested...very interested.

Well I got it to pass inspection and will let the kid drive it till it dies. I'll then probably just throw the other 4cyl in it and drive it some more. It did stop shifting into 5th which I'll look into when I get a chance. Not a big deal right now as it will be driven about 8 miles a day on city streets.

Almost bought it's evil twin with a jasper 4.0 for $500. Wife would have killed me. So I let it pass.

I found a few things this weekend in the JY for the Mild build that I couldn't pass up. Going black.

No rips or tears just dirty. Would have worked on cleaning it up but between the Wild build and then the unexpected track bar going south on this one. Son pulled into the circle and all I heard was pop pop as he circle round. Knew something was bad.

Pulled the dust cap off and that's what fell out, Dust. Had to use a pickle fork to hold pressure on it because the nut and stud just would spin together. Pulled out the 2K TJ's old track bar and low and behold, their the same size. :clapping:

Will work on the interior as time allows. I'm in the market for a set of black b-pillars, the behind the seat stuff, and a short console. :D

:cheers:

hey, any chance that one with the 4.0 Jasper is still available? how many miles on that Jasper? i'm only a few hours away......

More like Wrenches Gone Haunted :eek: !!! I've checked out this thread more than a few times :D , but today at work I saw it in a whole new light. You guys ever see that creepy dead kid behind the curtain in the movie “Three Men and a Baby?” This was that kind of experience. I get home, and it is not there :nuts:. Any one else see an apparition in this picture?

Other than that, keep posting! - Rich

hey, any chance that one with the 4.0 Jasper is still available? how many miles on that Jasper? i'm only a few hours away......

It's gone. I had been working with the guy to find out a few things on it. I went out of town for the day and he dropped the price down to $500 and sold it. If you look at the pic's though, he claimed it was an 86 with a 4.0 jasper. Yeah it's doable but the truck had the pioneer stripping which was not an option in 86. There were a few more things that I saw that made me believe it wasn't what it appeared to be so I'm kinda glad I didn't go get it. He deleted all the other post with the exception on the originals.

More like Wrenches Gone Haunted !!! I've checked out this thread more than a few times , but today at work I saw it in a whole new light. You guys ever see that creepy dead kid behind the curtain in the movie “Three Men and a Baby?” This was that kind of experience. I get home, and it is not there . Any one else see an apparition in this picture?

That's the first time I've noticed it. Well it's not a ghost, however it is another Heavenly Being, my wife. She was standing beside me when I took the pic and I caught the reflection in the glass.

:cheers:

I cleaned up all the black interior pieces today and put some of them in. Didn't like the way the dash pad looked so I'm holding off on it until I decide on what to do with it. Anyway here's some pic's.

The seats and door panels cleaned up better than expected. I'm thinking that I'll put what I have in and vinyl die the rest. Once the other project is done, I'll pull the carpet and die it black.

:cheers:

dude, leave it like it is! the color pallette in that thing is a mind bender! :cheers:

Man I saw that Xj in pnp (if thats where you got it) and said damn I really would like to have gotten the door panels and stuff for my black comanche. I guess you beet me to it.

nice find. I like seeing that your side dome lights work, hanging but work.

Man I saw that Xj in pnp (if thats where you got it) and said damn I really would like to have gotten the door panels and stuff for my black comanche. I guess you beet me to it.

Yep, that be the one. Took me like an hour to finally decide to get it, then about two more to get it all pulled. Passenger side was fun because the door would not open. I'm out there every weekend, so if I find another, I'll shoot you a line. And by the way, it's half off everything this weekend, 18-20 July.

:cheers:

nice find. I like seeing that your side dome lights work, hanging but work.

I really hate those things. Will yank it out when I get an overhead console for it.

Got the dash swapped today. PITA but its done.

Maroon one out.

Black one in.

I have to do a little bit more to the details of the dash, but it's done for now. Will get the rest of the black pieces sooner or later. I used the a-pillar pieces out of the XJ as well. Just have to trim about four inchs off of them and they're just like MJ's. I painted the column and somewhere I have a black horn button. Just have to find it.

Pieces that are cut of the a-pillars.

:cheers:

Very nice MJ. Lovin the black buckets as well! :brows:

Oh and whats wrong with the carpet?? Looks severly faded!!

Very nice MJ. Lovin the black buckets as well! :brows:

 

Oh and whats wrong with the carpet?? Looks severly faded!!

Thanks and what do you mean "wrong with the carpet". That's a sun custom tye dye. :D

Put a radio in. The factory am/fm worked but had no lights soooo, I pick up this Wally World special in the JY for $20. Not to bad looking and it has a lot of functionality.

Also got the female end seatbelts change to black ones and the sunvisors as well.

Did the 97+ header conversion. Here's the write up from the tech thread.

Old stuff off.

For the 97+ header to fit the 86 MJ with the 2.5l, a few minor mods are needed. At first I thought about just using the BFH to adjust the radiator support/firewall, but after one smack, I changed my mind and figured it would be easier to mod the header. Just have to cut out just a little bit on the inner top of the headlight bucket and a small part of the inner lip of the headlight bucket.

I started off small and just kept fitting and cutting till it was right. Another place that needs adjustment is right next to the airbox inlet. I drilled a hole to allow the headlight adjustment screw to fit.

On top of the fenders where the hood rubber stops go also needs to be drill out because their location changed just a little.

Then it just takes some time to fit and adjust till you have everything lined up good and tighten it all down. This took a long time as I found out during this mod that the truck had been wrecked before and nothing was straight. Then throw the new bumper on, which was the easiest thing during this mod, and presto, you have a 97+ front on your 86 MJ.

To handle the wiring, I figured I'd just use the newer harness on the header, and using a spare connector, make a short adaptor harness to join the two.

Once you figure out what is what on both headers, this is pretty straight forward.

Was a hole just in the right place to keep this out of the way of the rad overflow bottle.

Best thing about doing the wiring this way, is the ease of unplugging the harness if needed, you don't need to hack up your engine harness, and best of all, you get the alternating turn signal and side marker mod for free.

Will still need to mod the top header support to fit the radiator support. Basically it will need a notch cutout for the spring and spacers to fill the inch difference in the height.

Also need to get a side mount prop rod for the hood as the 86 had a front one.

I happy with it but wish I had known about the previous damage to the MJ. I probably would have not done it had I known. Anyway, I'll get the rest done and get it all cleaned up and post up the pic's'

And yes, I know I'm missing the "e" in Jeep. :nanner:

:cheers:

in my best borat voice

"very nice"

Well, I finally did something to at least one of the MJ's. Not much but every little thing counts, right?

Found a couple of more pieces for the black interior. Now I'm down to the MJ specific ones.

Put the nicer, vinyl visors in. Will need a headliner soon. :D

Changed out the mini console.

And changed out the door handle bezels.

Tomorrow, it gets a bath and some interior cleaning. :thumbsup:

i like what you're doing, it looks great! :thumbsup:

on the carpet, you should try the carpet dye they sell at autoparts stores. you could probably go black. it's worth a try instead of replacing the carpet. better yet, you can tell us how it works for you. i'm sure others have thought about using it.

the headliner is an easy job, i've done a ton of them on different rigs. do yourself a favor and put some automotive carpet pad or thick foam under the headliner mold. it's much quieter and better for heating and cooling. it only costs a few bucks and makes a huge difference. just an fyi. ;)

nice find. I like seeing that your side dome lights work, hanging but work.