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My 97 Comanche build

shelbyluvv

NAXJA Forum User
Location
29 Palms, CA
I bought a 89 MJ a few months back for the lofty sum of $400. The truck was a 2WD, AW4, 4.0 Eliminator. Here are some pics showing just how straight and rust free it is and how the interior looked.

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Now the fun begins!

TEAR IT DOWN!

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Well, so much for rust free. It is not bad but, it is rust none the less. The back slider leaked and allowed to floors to stay damp.

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Now the doors were pulled.

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Figured I should pull the engine and trans to get it ready for the new drivetrain.

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Which will be a 4.0, AW4. 242 out of this,

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Sweet!!! Yeah thats rust we all could handle...

Why the 242??

Good Luck

Nick
 
nice. ive wanted to do tha same build. you going with the 97+ front clip to? or the 2500 front clip?
 
I started slowly tearing into the 97 XJ a few weeks ago. I started by taking the overhead console out.

I modified the console by cutting 10 inches out of it. By cutting it down it will allow me to use it in the MJ.

It was a real PIA to get it all put back together. I used a lot of Gorilla glue, hot glue, JB Weld and plastic weld. But I think it turned out decent.

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Once the final interior color is chosen I will have it covered in the same material as the head liner.

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Now things have turned south for the XJ. I pulled everything out of it for the fitting of the dash in the MJ.

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I got the dash installed in the MJ first. It was not too bad, just time consuming. I had to redrill the lower "A" piller holes and make some new brackets to attach the dash to the windsheild frame.

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I also modified the center console out of the 97 to work with the MJ bech that I traded the buckets for. It is not done yet because I am still waiting to install to shifters and carpet.

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I pulled the dash out of the MJ and started the cutting and grinding. All the old brackets off. I used a $5.00 Harbour Frieght spot weld cutter for the whole process. It worked really good too.

Now that all the old stuff is out of the way it is time to bolt the new brackets in.

Here are a few shots frome under the dash showing the new brackets.

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The 2 bolts going through the cowl into the bracket.

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And all the new bolts coming throught the driver side fender area.

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Now the column is mounted and almost finished. I say almost because I still need to finish the hole the column goes through the firewall. You must move the hole up about an inch from the stock location.

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Because MJs use a foot brake for the parking brake it opens up a whole nother can of worms. I did some cutting and grinding and finally got it to fit where I wanted it.

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Now where to put the brake release handle? Cut and grind some more and there ya go. Right where it should be on the lower right side of the dash.

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Cool, the brake is done! Now what about the hood release? More cutting and grinding again. I used the stock MJ lower kick panel and modified it so that the XJs hood pull would work with it. If you look closely above the hood release handle you can see where the factory MJ hood release handle cut out was. You can also see the new bolt for the lower dash mount.

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Sweet!!! Yeah thats rust we all could handle...

Why the 242??

Good Luck

Nick


LOL, yeah the rust is just surface rust too!

I am using the 242 because the truck will be a driver and tow rig. It will only be used for minor trail rides.


nice. ive wanted to do tha same build. you going with the 97+ front clip to? or the 2500 front clip?

I am using the 97 front clip. I thought about the 2500 for a little bit though. I then came to the realization that if I should happen to wreck it, it would take forever to get it fixed the right way.
 
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wow! Very Impressive! Looks great.
 
wow! Very Impressive! Looks great.

Thank you.

I presume you are using the new 97 harness all over? What was wrong with the 97 so much that you were willing to scrap it for the MJ?


I am using everything I can from the XJ.

There was nothing wrong with it. It ran until yesterday when I pulled the steering cloumn out of it. I got the Jeep fairly cheap though. I hated doing it to such a nice Jeep but hey, it is only an XJ. They are a dime a dozen. Plus I wanted to see if I could pull off the 97+ conversion.

GREAT work Bo!!!! man that looks awesome. cant wait to see it done!

Your's is next!

That's a lot of work!!! Looks good.

It is, but the end result will be worth it. Just think. Once I get it built back up. I have to tear it all back down to get it painted! GOOD TIMES!
 
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subscribing. i have hopes of someday doing a 4 door 97+ XMJ. i will definetly be looking to this thread for some pointers.
 
There was nothing wrong with it. It ran until yesterday when I pulled the steering cloumn out of it. I got the Jeep fairly cheap though. I hated doing it to such a nice Jeep but hey, it is only an XJ. They are a dime a dozen. Plus I wanted to see if I could pull off the 97+ conversion.

I friggin' love it! Subscribing!
Billy
 
Wow Bo...looks great!

I just put a 97 header panel and fenders on my MJ today. And I previously did the 97 doors too. But I'm not brave enough to do the interior like you did.

It's a race to see who finishes their MJ project first. :D I got your new tailgate all boxed up and ready to ship. I'll get it out to you ASAP.
 
Very good work. I've always loved the MJ even a little more then the XJ. Just is not practical for me to own one. I own 2 XJ's and a F-250 4x4 plow truck. Good luck with your build and keep us up to date. I'm subscribed to this thread. The first for me.
 
Hey Shelby, I'm working on doing the same thing you are to an MJ and an older XJ right now and have a question for you in the column area. In your fourth picture down on post #6 , you can see the bracket spotwelded to the dash of the XJ that used to hold the column bracket up. I see you just ran bolts through the cowl to make it easier. Do you think that will be suitable? I actually sawzalled a bracket out of a 97 XJ so I have one of those to play around with but I'd almost rather just run bolts through if you're thinking that would work. The only thing is to me it looks like that spotwelded bracket acts as a spacer to keep the actual column bracket away from the firewall, I'm not 100% sure though. Get back to me with your thoughts when you get a minute, you're doing one hell of a nice job by the way, keep up the good work!
Thanks,
Collin
 
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