New '88 MJ

[High2by]

Well, I love my XJ's and I'll always have them, but I must say, I really, really, really like this little truck. It's an '88 2WD SWB with a 4.0 and a BA-10/5 speed. It has a 35 in the rear but I don't know the gearing yet.

Here are a couple of pictures of it in it's current state.

I don't have many plans yet. I want to get the motor swapped and the body/interior redone and from there, I'm not sure. I want to try and keep it 2wd and use it for my DD so that my current DD can be more of a trail rig. A couple things I do want to do is swap out the BA-10 for an AX-15 and put an 8.8 with 3.73's in the rear. It needs several items replaced on it, but I'm gonna go through it all and fix what needs fixing. It will be slick when I get it done but it will be awhile before the new paint goes on.

My son Dalton was taking the pics so excuse the ones that make no sense. http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk71/high2by/1988 Comanche/



Let me know your thoughts on it.

 

[KPTHEMP]

one word... AWESOME !

when it come time to swap engines, just remember the method we did, its the easiest way

oh and dont be a "sellout", lol

 

[kastein]

awesome!

welcome to the MJ DDers club :cheers: though it looks like it might be difficult to drive at the moment.

I like it because if I really really break the XJ I can go pick up spare parts so easily with it... and it makes junkyard runs very simple. No more worrying about getting grease on the carpet, and it'll fit a whole drivetrain and a folded up / disassembled hoist plus a bed-toolbox with plenty of space left for tools and random junk.

 

[PacificEd]

Almost all the ants are dead. They look like dirt on the floor pan.

 

[shortxjdoug]

glad you got it..... maybe we'll have ours done at the same time im pretty jealous of the shortbed but mine will be bobbed to the max...

 

[High2by]

one word... AWESOME !

when it come time to swap engines, just remember the method we did, its the easiest way

oh and dont be a "sellout", lol

No sell out. I've still got 4 XJ's in various states.

awesome!

welcome to the MJ DDers club :cheers: though it looks like it might be difficult to drive at the moment.

I like it because if I really really break the XJ I can go pick up spare parts so easily with it... and it makes junkyard runs very simple. No more worrying about getting grease on the carpet, and it'll fit a whole drivetrain and a folded up / disassembled hoist plus a bed-toolbox with plenty of space left for tools and random junk.

Yep. I've needed a truck ever since I had to let mine go and now, I'm back! It's amazing at all the things I did with the truck that I didn't realize till it was gone.

glad you got it..... maybe we'll have ours done at the same time im pretty jealous of the shortbed but mine will be bobbed to the max...

You gonna make yours a 4x? I think mine will stay 2wd for awhile.

 

[kastein]

Mine's halfway to 4x4... it's got a d30 doing beam duty right now. I felt it shift funny the other day and I already did a fluid change and adjusted the TVC, so I think the other half is coming soon...

 

[shortxjdoug]

You gonna make yours a 4x? I think mine will stay 2wd for awhile.

already have a d30 front full of 4.56 gears in storage and a 4x4 aw4 sittin around, i think i might tear apart the 242 case i have and fix the shift fork and use it....mine needs a motor pretty bad, but the stroker is gonna start coming together for the wag in a week or so, when that project is buttoned up the wag motor is getting a new mainseal and dropped in the mj to get it rollin around...



...... im already planning my cage out for it tho, ill never be cured of this stuff

 

[DrRandy]

Looks Good Mark....you got your work cut out for you! I like it!

 

[gambit4000s]

I'm glad it went to someone that wanted it, the next step was gutting it for parts and scraping the shell.

I've got a little something extra for you when I see you again. (Harlan, I guess)

IIRC Rear is a 3.07

 

[Ghost]

I'm glad it went to someone that wanted it, the next step was gutting it for parts and scraping the shell.

I've got a little something extra for you when I see you again. (Harlan, I guess)

IIRC Rear is a 3.07

Yep it should be.

 

[bigalpha]

Nice. It'll be nice having a truck again I'm sure. I believe it's mandatory to own a truck if you own a house - else you'll never get anything done.

 

[YJ-GENRAL]

looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one. money, time, and weather permitting when do you plan on having this thing where you want it??

 

[thechief86]

i'm pretty jealous! i had a really nice mj for about a year, and for want of good gas mileage i traded it for a subaru. still kicking myself for that one. the guy i traded with hit a pole with it, so if i got it back, i'd hafta replace the whole front cap....

 

[High2by]

looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one. money, time, and weather permitting when do you plan on having this thing where you want it??

Hopefully by the end of summer. I'm gonna go Thursday after work and put a new front fender on it and maybe finish gutting the interior plastic. I also need to do some work to the motor going back in it for now. Just cleaning mainly and new motor mounts. I've got to find an AX-15 though.

3.07 huh? Not impressed with that at all. It may be good for mileage but I think I need a little more, or less depending on how you look at it. :laugh:

Adam, a surprise for me??? You shouldn't have, really....but OK!!!


Anybody know if you can put bucket seats in an MJ?

 

[kastein]

My MJ came with bucket seats, so yes.

Just a matter of finding the brackets... I can get you MOPAR numbers for them if you want, but they are very likely to be unavailable from the dealer and rare in the junkyards.

 

[YJ-GENRAL]

ive heard of it being done. just need to fab some seat rails for them...

 

[The Hard Struggler]

I dig it! Every man needs a truck.

3.07s... Yuck! Let me know if you want me to snatch a 4.10 Limited slip 8.8 from Pull-a-part.


4.10s, some good street tires, yea baby!

 

[High2by]

My MJ came with bucket seats, so yes.

Just a matter of finding the brackets... I can get you MOPAR numbers for them if you want, but they are very likely to be unavailable from the dealer and rare in the junkyards.

Do you have any pics of the seats? I think I want them but I'm curious about the center console. The numbers might be worth a try?? Thanks!

 

[kastein]

It's got the same full-length center console as an XJ - in fact you can rip one out of an XJ, I believe. Might need a different rear mounting tripod bracket thing.

I'll dig around in my parts catalogs and see what I can come up with.

EDIT: no pics, but I'll try to remember to take some at lunch today or maybe this evening.

EDIT2: The seats appear to be the same as 2-door Cherokee seats from the same vintage (the ones with the lever at the top of the side that lets you tip them forward.) The brackets are... well here's a big list of part numbers.

Bracket itself - 5500 4297 (left), 5500 4296 (right)
Plastic trim covers - 5AD5 1JY6 ('90, left), 5AD5 0JY6 ('90, right), 5500 6483 ('87-89, left), 5500 6482 ('87-89, right)
The rest of the pieces appear to be nuts and bolts. I can get numbers for those too but don't feel like typing them up unless you need them.

If you want it to be numbers-matching perfect restoration level (doubtful) I would go with the 87-89 plastics, otherwise I'd go with the 90 plastics... unless only one or the other is available in which case obviously get whatever is available.