Grand Comanche

Has anyone ever seen or done a conversion on a grand cherokee to make it into a pickup? I think this would be one of the coolest jeeps around. You could call it the grand comanche. any pics or info would be great.

A friend in my club cut the back of his Grand similar to what you typically see done to XJ's. He never really finished it to make it look good, but it has the same effect as on the XJ. The tailgate of the Grand was'nt usable for the rr. window because of the taper in width to the rr. of the body. He used the top half of the tailgate from a 2nd generation Chrysler minivan for the rr. window, fit very good w/ out a lot of cutting.

Being that I've already done the Cheromanche;
see
http://community.webshots.com/album/184729955LFrRDE

I was actually talking to a mechanic at work today(I work in the parts dept of a chrysler dodge jeep dealership) that has a 96 Grand if he hads ever seen one as well. He hadn't. The next one of my creations was going to be a 97 dodge grand caravn into a pick up but since I've been a jeep man for @15, I now right much more about them. The only thing is cost. A decent grand cherokee will cost @4500 compared to a grand caravan @1800. I need to do these things at rock bottom.

Bill

yes, it has been done before

by the guys at adam keller motors. they are located in harrow ontario right near windor or about 1 hour from detroit!

I believe it was done to a 2001 grand.

I'll see If I can find a pic some where.

Here is one that I saw on a trail run in Colorado....I think the guy is from Texas though:

That's my next project.

This is my current: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42962

And no, it's not really bananna shaped.

fatwreck said:

Here is one that I saw on a trail run in Colorado....I think the guy is from Texas though:

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That looks nice! Do you know how/where I can get in touch with him? I have a friend who is interested in doing something very similar.

fatwreck said:

Here is one that I saw on a trail run in Colorado....I think the guy is from Texas though:

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This vehicle has been posted here before IIRC, wasnt it determined to be an AEV vehicle?

John B said:

This vehicle has been posted here before IIRC, wasnt it determined to be an AEV vehicle?

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I don't think so. I just went through their site and found all sorts of cool rigs going pretty far back, but there was nothing similar to that one there.

thats awesome they should put that into production

jeeppowermj said:

thats awesome they should put that into production

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I would buy one, if you could get one with a stick.

01-XJ said:

I would buy one, if you could get one with a stick.

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I second that

It's definitely not an AEV vehicle. It was just some guy that built it.

Here's a thread I started on JU when I found it...plenty of info in there:

http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=429674

I followed some links and here is a link of the Kirkwood Grand Cherokee. http://www.wjjeeps.com/custom/kirkwood.htm It looks a little more street friendly but it still looks cool. Thanks for all the info guys.(and girls if there is any on here)

I believe the North American Grand Cherokee Association has a couple of em I remember reading an article on a NAGCA sponsored event in moab an there were some pictured. You might try searching there site www.nagca.com

Theres a 96 yellow one in the February 05 Fore Wheeler pg.68

TORX

You might want check over at NAGC. A few of ther members have done that to there Grands. I doubt that they are that clean looking though.

partsbill, not to be negative or anything, but your jeep has a few issues. The fence post cage being one of them. At least sch. 80 pipe is needed on a cage but tubing should be used on a chopped rig. Also, how durable is the wood you used to finish the bed area? It would look a lot cleaner if you would use some sheetmetall in place of the wood. I can understand the wood on the glass tailgate but the rest would be better in metal. It looks good now but in several years you may have some problems.

CW said:

partsbill, not to be negative or anything, but your jeep has a few issues. The fence post cage being one of them. At least sch. 80 pipe is needed on a cage but tubing should be used on a chopped rig. Also, how durable is the wood you used to finish the bed area? It would look a lot cleaner if you would use some sheetmetall in place of the wood. I can understand the wood on the glass tailgate but the rest would be better in metal. It looks good now but in several years you may have some problems.

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Thanks for the comment. You are absolutely correct on both matters. For the fence post, its what I had. Lets back up first. My son, whose Cherokee was paid for had been submerged in a canal( he claimed he didn't see it) driven so hard ( hows 45000 miles in 1 year with out going out of town) and dented all over by(his friends leaning on it). When he decide he didn't want to drive a free vehicle any longer and wanted to buy a rice burner(95 Accord), I took it to the dealership where I worked to try to trade it in and was told they would give me $500 for it. After trying to sell it for 6 months with only an offer of $1000, I decided to keep it. So what did I have to start with: a worn out piece of s@#t Cherokee. I had in the past built several human powered boats, 4 man paddleboats and propboats for a local race and still had a supply of fence post laying around the shop. Ever seen a factory unmodified Chrokee after it had rolled over in a wreck? Crushed like a tin can. Roof caved in to the side panels. I figured I could do no worse with fence fost for support. Besides, I do NO offroading with it except for an occasional fishing trip to Ocracoke and beach driving. As far as the fiberglass and wood, I guess that goes back to the days when I worked at Hatteras Yachts and a local boat yard. After 3 years at Hatteras and 18 months at a local 1st class boat yard, I've laid a fair amount of 'glass. At the boat yard, I rebuilt an Egg Harbor 46 flybridge, using wood and 'glass, which I saw 7 years later and seemed to be holding up well. As far as the Cherokee, itf for sale now. All the information is enclosed to the potential buyers, and even though I may have passed up on a good deal, let $3000 wavied in my face go by in hopes for more. But as I said before, thanks again for looking at it and for the comments.

Bill

Chopped Grands in Colorado are becoming old news. A local guy started a site called Mallcrawlin.com and has spread nation wide. They wanted to do something a little more hard core than Jeepsunlimited and a little friendlier than Pirate4x4. Just check out the readers rigs section under the forums and you will find plenty of chopped Grand Cherokees