This a 1991 Comanche i picked up 3 years ago. Spent over a year looking for the right one, but it was worth the wait. Its hard to find MJ's that arent rusted out up here(NS, Canada), but this was as close as i was going to find. It had just came from Alberta the year before(they dont use salt on the roads there). it was completly stock, 4L HO, Ax15(5spd), dana 30 front, 35 rear, with 170k, this is what it looked like the day i brought it home:
didnt take long, and I started to do some cosmetic conversions as well as some rockrails that i can use as a jack point. the rails are made from 2x4 square tubing, 3/16th thick. welded along the top edge as well as to the pinch seam underneth for support.
The Bench seat was the first to go, springs were completly gone and I was pretty much sitting on the floor. Went doen to the local jeep shop and grabbed a set of Heated/Leather seats from a '95 Grand Cherokee they had out back. Also threw in a full console from a XJ.
Before: After:
I really like the look of the 2001 XJ front end, so i decided on doing it again. Picked the parts over a few months, and got everything shipped up from the states. For some reason it's really hard to find these XJ's in the junk yards up here. Seeing how i already did the swap once before, this time was very easy where I already knew what I had to do. Also grabbed a new style bumper and threw that on at the same time, as well as another homemade rollpan to smooth out the rearend.
Had a little trouble with it last summer, Hyrdo-locked the motor while i was messing around on our last camping trip in August '06. Broke the #1 rod, and drove the bottom half through the oil pan. So after a few months of looking, we replaced the motor from a '95 YJ with 150k on the clock. took about 6 weekends to get everything running properly. One good thing is that the oil pressure is amazingly better than the old motor.
Still deciding on a lift, ideally, with it being a daily driver, i dont want to go any bigger than 31" tires right now with stock gearing. not sure if the 5.5" lift would make these tires look too small or not. But on the other hand i dont think that ill be happy with a 3" lift. ill decide before the winter is out, and get the lift on before the next camping season, tho I plan to stay away from the lakes this time.
Page 2---> the lift
