1991 Jeep Comanche
Hola Green Screen! Some of this is backdated a bit but wanted to start a new off season thread.
I've been ready to get started with some work to my "new to me" lease ride. Had to finish up a project on my Sonoma 4x4 and took it back out to the lease and its driving great. So here we go with a probable upgrade!
I've wanted a Comanche since I was a kid cruising around our hunting lease with my brother in our uncle's 4x4 daily driver Comanche.
3 years ago I bought a cheap GMC Sonoma for our hunting ranch and that truck taught me how to weld, rust repair and to start understanding some mechanical work on vehicles. Rust stinks but man that 4.3L engine started everytime. Fast forward to about August 2017, frame rot got the best of her and the steering gear completely broke loose. Brought her home and began working on the fix. In the mean time I knew it was time to upgrade to a jeep truck.
Started a local search for a Comanche and found one on Craigslist in Houston and reached out by phone and email but never heard back from the dealer/owner (to their credit, this was weeks after hurricane Harvey and his business could have been lost, I don't know) So the search expanded and I found my '91 in West Virginia, dealt with the owner, agreed and had it transported back to Houston. Here's what she's working with...
1991 Sportruck 4.0L H.O.
4x4 Automatic
73,000 miles
Short bed
231 transfer case
2" coil spacers
Dana 30 & 35 with 3.55 gears
Bench seat
Vinyl floor mat
Some moderate surface rust
Some issues..
Outer window seals are rotted away, last hard rain had 1/4" of water in both floor boards
Brakes are fairly weak but definitely functional
Power Steering pump is whiney
Possible rust repair needed in floor pans, nervous about pulling the mat up
Shift indicator needle is gone.. I want to replace that for sure
Speedo isn't working
Driver side door sag just a bit
Pillar lights or door jamb switch not working
With that said, this MJ starts and runs awesome. 4x4 engages and works really well. It has so much more pep and acceleration and handling than my Sonoma. The engine is strong and the truck is light!
Future plans..
This will need to handle off road as it will be my primary hunting truck. However, it's in good shape so I'm going to make sure its road ready too. Here are a few plans...
Fix outer window seals.. water in cab is ungood!
Fix the Jeep emblem
Ford 8.8 axle swap, spring over
Regear Dana 30 to 4.10 with a TrueTrac
Add frame stiffeners
Upgraded HD steering
A suspension lift
285/75/16s
Upgraded front bumper
Load sensing valve delete, not hooked up anyway currently
95/96 Cherokee brake booster & MC swap
Possible switch to bucket seats
Possible switch to carpet
Radiant barrier / sound deadening mat of some type
Window tint
Got started with my first project, a complete flush of the power steering, helped some with the whining but didn't completely fix.
This Comanche is awesome already and I'm pumped to make it even more capable for what we need and lots of fun along the way. I hope you all like it and I hope I can reach out with questions and advice. I'm no expert and have spent just as much on tools as the project itself.
Here's "The H.O." it's been given as a trial nickname that might stick or it can earn another.
Pics to follow..
Hola Green Screen! Some of this is backdated a bit but wanted to start a new off season thread.
I've been ready to get started with some work to my "new to me" lease ride. Had to finish up a project on my Sonoma 4x4 and took it back out to the lease and its driving great. So here we go with a probable upgrade!
I've wanted a Comanche since I was a kid cruising around our hunting lease with my brother in our uncle's 4x4 daily driver Comanche.
3 years ago I bought a cheap GMC Sonoma for our hunting ranch and that truck taught me how to weld, rust repair and to start understanding some mechanical work on vehicles. Rust stinks but man that 4.3L engine started everytime. Fast forward to about August 2017, frame rot got the best of her and the steering gear completely broke loose. Brought her home and began working on the fix. In the mean time I knew it was time to upgrade to a jeep truck.
Started a local search for a Comanche and found one on Craigslist in Houston and reached out by phone and email but never heard back from the dealer/owner (to their credit, this was weeks after hurricane Harvey and his business could have been lost, I don't know) So the search expanded and I found my '91 in West Virginia, dealt with the owner, agreed and had it transported back to Houston. Here's what she's working with...
1991 Sportruck 4.0L H.O.
4x4 Automatic
73,000 miles
Short bed
231 transfer case
2" coil spacers
Dana 30 & 35 with 3.55 gears
Bench seat
Vinyl floor mat
Some moderate surface rust
Some issues..
Outer window seals are rotted away, last hard rain had 1/4" of water in both floor boards
Brakes are fairly weak but definitely functional
Power Steering pump is whiney
Possible rust repair needed in floor pans, nervous about pulling the mat up
Shift indicator needle is gone.. I want to replace that for sure
Speedo isn't working
Driver side door sag just a bit
Pillar lights or door jamb switch not working
With that said, this MJ starts and runs awesome. 4x4 engages and works really well. It has so much more pep and acceleration and handling than my Sonoma. The engine is strong and the truck is light!
Future plans..
This will need to handle off road as it will be my primary hunting truck. However, it's in good shape so I'm going to make sure its road ready too. Here are a few plans...
Fix outer window seals.. water in cab is ungood!
Fix the Jeep emblem
Ford 8.8 axle swap, spring over
Regear Dana 30 to 4.10 with a TrueTrac
Add frame stiffeners
Upgraded HD steering
A suspension lift
285/75/16s
Upgraded front bumper
Load sensing valve delete, not hooked up anyway currently
95/96 Cherokee brake booster & MC swap
Possible switch to bucket seats
Possible switch to carpet
Radiant barrier / sound deadening mat of some type
Window tint
Got started with my first project, a complete flush of the power steering, helped some with the whining but didn't completely fix.
This Comanche is awesome already and I'm pumped to make it even more capable for what we need and lots of fun along the way. I hope you all like it and I hope I can reach out with questions and advice. I'm no expert and have spent just as much on tools as the project itself.
Here's "The H.O." it's been given as a trial nickname that might stick or it can earn another.
Pics to follow..
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