1988 5.9L Magnum V8 Comanche

Wanted to introduce myself and get my MJ project blog going. I currently own two 1988 MJs, but have had four pass through my hands during my lifetime. I've mainly used them as field vehicles on my parents 250-acre produce farm and they've been great - very few problems and parts are abundant and cheap. The truck I'd like to dedicate this thread to is a 1988 MJ SporTruck with a 4.0L Renix, 5-speed manual transmission, and a six foot bed. I parked the truck in my shop roughly two years ago when gas started finding its way in the crankcase. I wound up buying another MJ to replace its use on the farm, but I decided to keep the other as well and I'm glad I did. After two years of sitting, I finally got around to figuring out the gas in oil issue and I think I have resolved it so it's almost time to start thinking of how to modify this truck.

Before I even think about a lift or bigger tires, I need to make sure the engine is 100% sound, which I'm starting to believe that it is. It has 106k miles on it, so it has PLENTY of life left. As soon as I can run some more tests and verify the engine health, I will begin on phase 2 of the rehab process - rust-proofing the body and frame. I'm lucky enough that the bed is completely rust free and I intend to keep it that way. I bought half a gallon of an automotive undercoating paint for the bed and cabin and half a gallon of POR-15 for the frame rails and suspension components. Once the truck is rust-proofed, I'll be hitting the outside with a new coat of paint.

Phase three of the rehab process will include larger axles, a lift kit, and bigger tires. I intend to read as much information as I can on this subject as I know very little about the ins and outs of a lift kit. This truck will eventually become a daily driver so it'll be important that ride comfort and stability are maintained. I am also not sure of what height kit I want. I've seen many pictures of 6.5" lifts and they look great, but it seems they come at a steep price. I do have deep pockets, but I need to make a spending cap for myself as I don't want to make this endeavor a bottomless money pit.

I have to apologize for the only picture I have at the moment - I will get more when I go home tonight after work. I'm currently taking a wire wheel to the frame and underside of the bed to prep it for paint.

Love the restoration projects :thumbsup: .

Lift kits can be intricate and are worth spending the "right" money on, but not "stupid" money ;) . If you are thinking of going the 6.5" range, you can count on spending $1500 - $2000 for a quality kit.

Welcome to the Club and keep us posted... :cheers:

Here are some random pictures of what I'm starting with. I'm waiting on some painting supplies to come in, as well as some warmer weather since my shop isn't heated. I don't mind working out in the cold, but the paint won't cure properly in 20-40 degree temperatures. So until spring decides it wants to pay NJ a visit, I'll be mostly tearing down the truck some more and fixing all of the rust. I'm in the process of removing the carpet and judging by bottom of the seat frame, the floors may be shot.

While I wait for some warmer weather, I'll continue to strip paint off the panel and prep them for paint. I also just got a new rear main seal and oil pan gasket, so I can work on that too if I'd like.

This is about the only bodywork I'll need to do on the truck (I hope). There are some small dings and dents in this panel and the rocker is starting to rust out in one spot.

An unfortunate, but familiar, sight for a lot of MJ owners.

Last picture is after I hit it with the wire wheel - also hit a homemade brake line done by the PO. The floor isn't the worst I've seen on an MJ, but I'll definitely need to break out some sheet metal, tin snips, and my welder. Luckily the passenger side is in great shape with only a minimal amount of surface rust. I couldn't believe that even after 2 years of sitting, when I pulled the carpet out of the truck, the floor was STILL moist.

Glad to see you've decided to pick that project back up. God i miss my XJ. Let me know if you need some help and i'll swing by! Speaking of which i might be doing a Fasio's hardware run in the near future if your interested... looks like you might have to...

Also when you get the paint shop goin i have a bumper i have to paint... i'll pick up some of the supplies if you let me know...

Glad to see you've decided to pick that project back up. God i miss my XJ. Let me know if you need some help and i'll swing by! Speaking of which i might be doing a Fasio's hardware run in the near future if your interested... looks like you might have to...

 

Also when you get the paint shop goin i have a bumper i have to paint... i'll pick up some of the supplies if you let me know...

Has it been that long that you've forgotten how to spell the name of the greatest hardware store in NJ, FAZZIO'S? Yea, I wouldn't mind taking a run over there if I don't just pick up some sheet metal locally. Could always use help on this thing - not a lot of exciting stuff happening to it right now, mostly wire-wheelin', sanding, cleaning, and prepping for paint. As you know, my shop isn't heated so it can get cold down there fast, but my door is always open - mainly because I don't think it shuts.

And you don't HAVE to miss your XJ - you can practically pick up the same one you had for less than the cost of dinner for you and your girl in NYC.

Not much to update - Went on a skiing trip and Canada and was sick for a couple days, so I haven't really been doing too much to the truck. I also picked up a 6' x 10' utility trailer for free and have been bringing it back to life and it has been my top priority at the moment. I need to get it on the road so I can pick up my girlfriends motorcycle and bring it back to my shop to repair it.

Anyway, I hit the bottom of the truck bed with the wire wheel and am almost ready to spray some undercoating on it. I bought two bottles of Gravi Tex Plus to put on the bottom of the bed as well as the cab, but I need to do the floor repairs to the cab before I shoot it with undercoat. Also got new mirrors, fuel tank straps, and a catalytic converter for the truck. Progress is slow, but I don't have a whole lot of time to work on the truck with my 9-5 on the weekdays and visiting my girlfriend on the weekends.

Replaced the rear main seal and I have a timing chain set coming to me tomorrow. While the oil pan was off, I decided to give a fresh coat of paint. I used Rustoleum BBQ paint - supposed to be tough and good for high temps...guess we'll find out.

I replaced the timing chain and reinstalled the oil pan. Got it all back together this afternoon and....NO MORE OIL LEAK! (Knocks on wood). I've driven it around my fields and put several miles on the truck and so far, so good. I really hope the rear main seal repair goes well - I've seen so many people that said they have replaced the thing 3-4 times before it finally worked. I DO NOT want to drop the oil pan again. I probably also spent more time cleaning off years of oil/dirt/sludge/grass/dead birds off the engine.

Sorry that I haven't updated this in a while, but I stumbled upon another project at a price I couldn't pass up. A guy was selling an '01 Cherokee Sport 4x4 for $400 in my area so I went to look at it and quickly snatched it up. Has 157k miles and a spun bearing on the engine, but it still ran decent (other than the knock) and the trans shifted great through all gears. The body is in good condition with maybe 3-4 easily repairable dings and a dent by the gas filler lid. The interior is in real good shape other than the thick smell of cigarette smoke, but I've been airing it out for a couple weeks now. Got the engine and transmission pulled and am going to clean the engine bay up, reseal the transmission, and drop in a good, low mileage 4.0L engine from a salvage yard. The engine that came out of this XJ will be rebuilt in the near future and be transplanted into my project MJ! I can get some pictures up of the XJ when I get home if anyone is interested.

We're suckers for pics of new projects. :thumbsup:

the start of your restoration looks alot better than mine look @ "my jeep project"

We're suckers for pics of new projects. :thumbsup:

I'll see if I can get some up today or tomorrow. I have them on my shop computer, just need to upload them to photobucket, but that's sometimes easier said than done considering my shop is about 3/4 of a mile away from my wireless router in my house so the connection can often be, well, not so good, especially if it's raining.

the start of your restoration looks alot better than mine look @ "my jeep project"

I was just looking at that yesterday. I've got a lot of respect for you taking that MJ and making it into what it has already become. It takes a lot of motivation to restore a truck, especially ones in that condition!

We're suckers for pics of new projects. :thumbsup:

 

I'll see if I can get some up today or tomorrow. I have them on my shop computer, just need to upload them to photobucket, but that's sometimes easier said than done considering my shop is about 3/4 of a mile away from my wireless router in my house so the connection can often be, well, not so good, especially if it's raining.

 

the start of your restoration looks alot better than mine look @ "my jeep project"

 

I was just looking at that yesterday. I've got a lot of respect for you taking that MJ and making it into what it has already become. It takes a lot of motivation to restore a truck, especially ones in that condition!

thanks man we all should meet up someday

I said I'd get some pictures up and I'm going to follow through on that promise! While they're uploading, I'll go into what I've done over the past couple weeks - it hasn't been much due to a few holdups in getting the replacement engine and other various parts I need to install it. I bought a used engine from a salvage yard for $500, which I thought was a little steep, and upon further investigation of the truck it came out of, I paid WAYYYYY too much. Anyway, I'm hoping for the best at this point and I do have a 30 day warranty on the engine (which will run out by the time I get the engine running). It seems to have decent compression and I'd like to do a leakdown test on it, but I don't have the right adapter for the sparkplug holes.

Anyway, in 2000 and 2001, Jeep "updated" the cylinder heads on the 4.0L engine for emissions reasons (I believe), but that particular head came with a whole mess of problems. It seems there was a production run of these heads that was faulty and causes the head to crack between the exhaust ports on the No. 3 and 4 cylinders. I didn't see any cracks in the head that came out of my '01 XJ, but I didn't want to risk it and put in a '00 or '01 engine and have to replace the cylinder head a couple months down the road. Instead, I looked for older engines in the '96 to '99 range. The only major problem is that the exhaust manifolds are completely different. My '01 manifold has FOUR O2 sensors and is a two piece mani instead of the single piece that we're all familiar with on the MJ 4.0L's. Luckily, there was a guy on NAXJA making adapter plates to bolt the newer style exhaust manifold to the older style heads, so I picked one of those up (it's in one of the pics too).

Looks like the pics are done uploading, so I'll stop blabbering since no one wants to read words, they want to see pictures!

The '88 MJ SporTruck got a new donor. It's a 1998 four door XJ with a 4.0L and the AW4. Has the 8.25 in the rear and I assume a D30 in the front. It has a little over 71K miles on it, but is a theft recovery with a salvage title. I've looked at the process of getting it recertified with the state for registration purposes and it kind of looks like a royal PITA - so I think I'll be using it for parts instead. I plan to take the entire drivetrain, interior and all wiring harnesses. I also want to take the fuel pump since I replaced it to get the XJ running. The interior is that the agate/grey two-tone pattern, which I'm not really a big fan of, but I'll worry about switching it over to all agate later. Here are some pics of the truck:

I do have all of the interior pieces - the missing ones in the picture above aren't because of the theft, I just forgot to take pictures of it whole before I began ripping it apart.

I pulled the seats, center console, and front carpet on the '98XJ donor last night. Other than some surface rust, this thing looks to be in pretty good shape. It's a shame I have to cannibalize the thing! Anyone want to buy it from me before I really tear into it next week?

how much? :brows:

how much? :brows:

No! Stop it! This is my THIRD XJ (as you can see by my sig) that I had bought with the intention of gutting and using the parts for my MJ restoration. I'm too soft when it comes to cars and if I see they can be used for a good cause, I will fix them. This current XJ MUST be used as the donor!

So, with that said, I would probably sell it for $1500.

Hmmmm.......so, any kind of damage done during the theft? For that price and the low miles, it doesn't really matter if it has some damage, but just curious before I buy it. :brows:

Seriously, let me know what damage and/or issues it has. I assume you have the title.

Hmmmm.......so, any kind of damage done during the theft? For that price and the low miles, it doesn't really matter if it has some damage, but just curious before I buy it. :brows:

 

Seriously, let me know what damage and/or issues it has. I assume you have the title.

$1500 would be my for sale price IF I were to put it up for sale, but I would only do so if I happened to stumble upon a 97+ XJ with a smashed up rear end that I could steal all of the front end and interior parts from for my MJ restoration.

But, to answer your original questions - There is no longer any visible damage done from the theft. The thieves smashed in the rear hatch window and then cut one (possibly two) wires to get the thing running, but both of those wires have been spliced back together. Also, the rear hatch window, as well as the windshield, were replaced by the previous previous owner (PPO).

As for the title - herein lies the issue as to why I chose this to be a donor car. I have the title. It has a big, fat SALVAGE written across is diagonally. The title is also not in my name yet. The title is also not in the name of the fellow I bought the car from, but it IS signed by the person whose name it is in. I think what happened was the PO bought it from the PPO, but never got the truck to run so he never transferred the title over. It's almost like the PO never owned the car and it went right from the PPO to me. I haven't transferred it into my name because I never intended to put the thing on the road and just want to use it for it's glorious low mileage parts. I also don't really know how the title transfer will work with the salvage branded on it. In NJ, to get rid of the salvage brand on the title, I need to pay $200 to have a formal inspection done at certain motor vehicle facilities where they go through the car with a fine-tooth comb and verify it's ready to go back on the road (this is more for cars that were branded salvage due to an accident and someone repaired the body/frame damage). Unfortunately, there is a bunch of paperwork that needs to be provided at this formal inspection - including pictures of the vehicle BEFORE it was repaired, which I do not have. If I cannot provide said pictures, I need to get the original police report for the insurance claim - something I don't know how to do, nor want to.

So, were those title issues enough to scare you away?

LOL, not necessarily. If the title sequence has been signed over from PPO to PO to you and then to me ( :brows: ), it all comes down to what it takes for me to put it on the road in VA, right?

LOL, not necessarily. If the title sequence has been signed over from PPO to PO to you and then to me ( :brows: ), it all comes down to what it takes for me to put it on the road in VA, right?

I'm really not sure - that's something you'd have to look into. All I know is that I cannot get this car registered or insured in NJ until I do the scheduled, formal inspection and have all of the proper paperwork.

If you care to look, here is what needs to be done in NJ: http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/About/OS-4.pdf

This XJ is not yet for sale, by the way ;)

No problem. I'll check with VA DMV and see what's involved here in the event you may be willing to sell.

I picked up this trucks FOURTH 97+ donor. Lets recap the others before and see what happened and why.

1st donor: 2001 XJ Sport - My main DD at the time ('98 Chevy Blazer) needed significant repairs so I sourced an engine for this XJ, threw it in and have been daily driving it ever since.

2nd donor: 1999 XJ Classic - Front right collision. My girlfriend's mother lost her job and couldn't afford to loan out her vehicles to her daughters (one of which being my girlfriend). I made a quick decision to get the frame on this XJ pulled back out, replace body panels, and sell it to her my gf's Mom for exactly what I had into it ($1500) and my girlfriend got to keep her (well, her Mom's) '06 TJ.

3rd donor: 1998 XJ Sport: Theft recovery with a salvage certificate. This XJ is in very nice shape with minimal body damage (couple of dents on the bottom of the drivers door) and low mileage (74K). Don't have the heart to tear it up as a donor so I'm going to paint the floor and reinstall the interior and get it re certified with the state of NJ so I can register it. My cousin needs a car for the month of December while he's home from New Zeland. if I can get it done in time, he could drive that.

4tth donor: 1999 XJ Sport: Just picked it up today. Has 146k miles, 4.0L, AW4, NP242, D30/8.25. Has the right color interior that I'm looking for and the 242 is an added bonus. Car was hit hard on the right front. No useable front end body panels except for maybe the drivers fender flare. Front axle was hit hard and bent all four control arms. I pulled the front axle tonight and not surprisingly, the right side axle tube is bent. Since I need this truck to be running and driving until I'm ready for the swap, I'm going to throw the front axle from the '88MJ into it for the time being. No idea if the gear ratios are the same so I'm not even going to hook it up. Just need an axle in there that will turn the wheels. Here are some pics of the XJ and tonights progress.

Axle was pushed so far back, the PO had to install a spare tire from a boat trailer to get it to fit in the wheel well

Unfortunately both passenger doors took some damage. May be able to fix easily, though.

Worst of the four control arms

Bent

Axle hit the oil pan

Front driveshaft hit the body

Runs great - good oil pressure, doesn't overheat, and runs smooth with no noises

Factory CD/Tape player, but I can't seem to get it to turn on. It will only display the time if I hold the volume button down

PO gave me a new passenger airbag

NP242 :D