2001 Comanche R/T

[kastein]

I have had it in my mind to do something like this for quite a while now. Lord knows I've postwhored enough about it...

3 donor vehicles:

1988 SWB Comanche Eliminator, 2wd d35, dark blue interior, bucket seats, slider window, tow mirrors, 4.0L AW4 (may trade for a friend's LWB Comanche, not sure yet)
Picked it up for $500 and drove it home, needs a gas tank and some rust repair on the floor.

199? (think it's a 99) XJ, was RCman's, then Begster's after it got rolled. Not sure if I'm using this one as a donor or buying another at this point, but all I need is the header panel, fenders, front doors, and interior... this has some of that intact. Still working on a deal on this, if it falls through I'll either junkyard the parts I need or buy a cheap junker off CL.

1994 LWB Dodge Ram 2500, d60/60 (might be 60/50, but don't think so), 5.9L V8, NV4500 (I even got lucky and it's got an all iron case!) 5-speed transmission, and an NV241 transfer case. Came with a full functioning plow, frame is horribly rotted.
Picked it up for $900 and drove it home (gingerly.) The plow and all parts I don't actually need for the swap will either be sold off or scrapped to recoup some of that money.

I'll likely be collecting more parts for about another month or so. The Dodge will remain intact and driving until then since it's winter here and I live on a private road, so I might as well plow with it till I'm ready for the parts anyways. I still need to line up the deal on the late-model XJ donor or start finding parts for it (either way I need a header panel still, and some airbags), and I also may need a 98 dodge ram 5.9 M/T ECU or to have the 98 dodge ram 5.2 A/T ECU I bought a while ago reprogrammed to be a 5.9 M/T ECU, from what various parts catalogs tell me this is possible but I'll need to research more. This may not even be necessary, need to pick up a 94 dodge FSM and a 98 dodge FSM and do some electrical research before having the ECU(s) worked on.

End product: 5.9L 5-speed 4x4 3/4-ton MJ, 99-up interior and HVAC controls, bucket seats, tinted slider window, remote heated mirrors, power windows, power locks. Goal: all gauges functioning perfectly with no check engine light and full functioning OBD II.

 

[Lowrange2]

and that would be awesome. Hop to it. I got faith in ya.

I don't really understand where you're going with having to reprogram the ECU tho. Since all the running gear is coming from the dodge wouldn't it all be plug and play except for the Jeep gauges?

 

[kastein]

Give it a few years, maybe I'll finish it.

I MAY have to reprogram the ECU for a variety of reasons:
* the 94 ECU may not transmit all required data via the CCD bus. From what I remember of reading Bloose's thread on a similar swap, only the 98s did that, and the 99s switched to PCI bus.
* the 94 ECU is for a manual, which is what I want.
* the 98 ECU is for a 5.2. The parts catalogs say the same hardware can run a 5.9 if it's programmed correctly though.
* the 98 ECU is for an auto. I suspect I'll get a significant number of DTCs relating to transmission disappearance if I put it into an M/T vehicle. Again, I can probably build something to make it think it has a transmission, or have it reprogrammed to be an M/T ECU at the same time as having it reprogrammed to be a 5.9 ECU instead of a 5.2 ECU.

If the 94 ECU handles the CCD bus in a way that works for me, I am all set.
If the 98 ECU can be reprogrammed to be a 5.9 MT ECU, I am all set.

Any other outcome and I will need to do some custom electronics to make the 98 ECU think it has a transmission attached, or simply buy a 98 M/T 5.9 ECU on ebay or something.

Also, I must note that I am apparently retarded, and Colin (MoparManiac) has set me straight on something yet again. The NV4500s are all cast iron cases, the one I got in this donor truck is nothing special. It is the 3500s that are aluminum (and the 3550s, but those came in Jeeps, 3500s came in Dodges.)

 

[cheapcherokee93]

any off road mods planned (besides the 3/4 ton running gear)? lift? tires? lockers? gonna keep the axles full width? i know the drivetrain swap alone is gonna take a lot of work so you might not even have thought that far yet :laugh3:

 

[xjtrailrider]

I might do the 97+ front swap on the MJ when I rebuild it this time since the fenders are scrap metal at this point. But for me, I'll just stay stock under the hood and in the interior.

 

[kastein]

any off road mods planned (besides the 3/4 ton running gear)? lift? tires? lockers? gonna keep the axles full width? i know the drivetrain swap alone is gonna take a lot of work so you might not even have thought that far yet :laugh3:

Nope.

This one is staying on road only. I know, I know...

I want it to last as long as possible and road salt and rocks don't really do nice things to sheetmetal.

My other one is getting beaten, repaired, beaten, and repaired again.

 

[kastein]

94 and 98 Dodge FSMs are on their way. Sometime next week I should be able to start figuring out what I'm doing electronics wise.

In the meantime I am quickly discovering that is a way higher quality technical resource than DodgeForum

 

[Lowrange2]

I've realized the same thing on MANY other forums.

 

[bluejeepkid]

By reading the title, I had an idea that you'd be building a slammed comanche with a charger or challenger R/T drivetrain. Something mean for the streets, butttt this should be cool as well.

 

[kastein]

This will be more like a dakota R/T that happens to be 4wd and have a real transmission.

Don't know what I will run for suspension height, probably the bare minimum to keep the axle out of the oil pan. That may require putting a 44 in the front instead of the 60.

Engine is staying stock till I get it running well.

 

[shelbyluvv]

I have 6.5" on my MJ with a 5.2 in it. I measured a buddies XJ with the same lift but he has a 4.0L and I had 1.5" more oil pan clearance.

The easiest way to get the dash and computers talking is to do a 97+ conversion. I decided to stay OBD-I on my truck and it was a royal PIA to build the wiring harness. The OBD-II is damn near plug and play.

Look up Project Black Betty on CC to see my night mare of wiring.

 

[kastein]

Yeah, I'm planning the 97+ interior conversion already.

As an EE with a serious case of wiring OCD, I look forward to building a full custom harness for this project. My goal is to make it look just like it would have if it left the factory this way.

 

[scoobyxj]

Have you considered using a more modern V8? Like a Hemi crate engine. The Magnum engines had decent power for their day, but motor technology had come a very long way in the last ten years.

 

[kastein]

Have you considered using a more modern V8? Like a Hemi crate engine. The Magnum engines had decent power for their day, but motor technology had come a very long way in the last ten years.

Cool idea, but requires a great deal of money that I frankly don't have. A multi thousand dollar new crate motor is not in the budget.

Right now, I have $500 in the truck, $900 in the drivetrain donor, and no more than $500 (probably less) in the 97+ parts donor. That's $1900... I also picked up my parents old van to repair and resell (they were going to scrap it) which will cover the costs of some of this, and will be selling the plow and other things off the drivetrain donor to partially cover its cost.

 

[MoparManiac]

If you ever feel down on power, you could always throw aluminum heads on it or go the 408 stroker route.

Then just build your MS to handle it all.

 

[kastein]

I think a 360 in a truck I thought was pretty decent even with a 242 in it will keep me happy for a while

The thought has crossed my mind though.

 

[XJLI]

i'll x2 the 44 front. you gonna try and make this thing a tow rig? if not, drop down to 1/2 ton outers to save some weight.

 

[kastein]

I don't see a reason to buy a 44 when I already have the 60 that's under it (plus a ford 60 of the same bolt pattern) and don't really need to worry about ground clearance. This isn't going to be a wheeling rig, that's what I have the white MJ for.

 

[H8PVMT]

I might be doing a 360 t18 in mine, wanna race to see who finishes first? And can you weld frame stiffeners on for me

 

[chedisme]

If you can get the pass side air bag out of mine and put it back together nice. and can do it between wheeling at nac fest you can have mine for free. Idk what the deal is with the driver side one is, but the same deal applys.