1986 Comanche | Project Heavy Four

[87Warrior]

Welcome to the build thread, or write up if you will, of my 1986 Jeep Comanche Custom. When I drove half way through Iowa on December 3rd, 2011 to take a look at this “destined for scrap” truck, I never imagined I would be here, at Expedition Portal creating a post for it. The poor truck had been sitting, untouched since 2004 and was sporting a completely mismatched set of wheels with flat tires. There was a transmission and transfercase sitting in the bed, the faded blue interior had that putrid moldy fabric smell and it was clear the truck was doing it’s Jeeply duty by rusting away.

This is what I brought home:

You might be asking yourself why anybody would waste a day driving 14 hours to retrieve a rusty Jeep. Sometime I ask myself that same question. The truck was advertised as having a solid frame and good long bed cap, which to my surprise, it did. What I paid for the entire truck is usually the going rate for a hard to find long bed cap.

What exactly did this truck come with?

• 2.5L throttle body injection, 165K miles
• Dana 30 front axle, 3.55 gears with CAD
• Dana 35 rear axle, 3.55 gears
• AX5 transmission I believe this was sourced from a YJ due to the transfer case linkage setup
• NP207 transfer case

I wont bore you with the details and steps I took to get the truck roadworthy, but if you are so inclined feel free to skim my build on Comanche Club. Over the past couple of years I have been upgrading and replacing worn out parts and known weak points on the truck. This effort was done to establish reliability, improve driveability and increase off road capability.

The truck now sports the following
Engine:

Stock 2.5L with aluminum valve cover swap, EGR elimination, rerouted and rebuilt vacuum lines
New radiator, Mopar thermostat, radiator hoses, heater hoses, Oxygen sensor, IAT sensor and Crankshaft position sensor.​

Transmission:

YJ AX5 with resurfaced flywheel (the 2.5 does not have a curved surface like the 4.0), LUK clutch, 94 XJ external slave cylinder bellhousing, Mopar release bearing, with a NAPA master cylinder.​

Front Axle:

1993 Dana 30, 4.10 gears rebuilt with Spicer ball joints, NAPA wheel bearings, new rotors/calipers/pads, Chevy 1500 brake lines and new V8 ZJ tie rod and draglink.​

Rear Axle:

1998 Ford Explorer 8.8, 4.10 gears and limited slip with RuffStuff swap kit, NAPA rotor, loaded Centric caliper, Dorman brake lines, SpiderTrax wheel spacer and a Spicer companion flange.​

Suspension:

The front suspension utilizes the factory control arms with new Moog bushings, a set of used RE 3.5” TJ coil springs, Monroe YJ shocks, JKS swaybar disconnects and a used RE 1600 trackbar with Moog tie rod end at the frame.

The rear suspension maintains the factory leaf springs that have been rebuilt with an extra MJ main leaf, Bilstein 5125 shocks and Chevy drop shackles.​

Body:

The rockers were disappearing due to rust so they were replaced with ¼” 2x4 box. I installed a Fey rear bumper and a Valley 2” hitch.​

Tires:

Cooper Discoverer AT3, 265/75R15 on stock Jeep wheels​

Interior:

Since the interior of the truck was subpar, I removed the failing bench seat and carpet then replaced them with a set of seats and center console from a 1999 XJ.​

I am sure you are thinking ‘big deal’ at this point. Afterall, what does this have to do with expedition or adventure travel? That is why I am here at Expo. The truck maybe ugly, but it is rock solid, extremely comfortable and is a great base to start experimenting with overland gear. Let me explain. I am also building a 1992 Comanche from the ground up. It is a dream of mine to drive the ‘92 to and through Alaska, taking as much dirt as possible. This ‘86 will be used as a test mule for overland gear in an effort to fine tune it and find weaknesses before the big trip. Any and all projects devoted to surviving off the grid will need to be removeable and able to be installed on the ‘92 with minimal effort.

My intention is to equip the truck with basic overland gear, starting with the truck cap. It needs new struts, gaskets and seals. The cap will be topped off with LED lights: interior, porch, and yard. Powering the lights will be a single house battery charged via solar and possibly the $50 Isolator. I would like to develop light weight gear storage solutions in the bed of the truck and explore sleeping options under the cap.

 

[1stDeuce]

Glad you saved another one! And glad that I found one in Colorado with minimal rust!!
Please post updates on both projects!!

 

[locrwln]

Always had a soft spot for Comanche's. Looking forward to your updates.

Jack

 

[HAFICON]

I love these trucks, quite a few back home in Alabama with Zero rust but price tag is high. I guess it is better to bring one back from being bad off than just junk it. I will follow along see what you do with it.

 

[87Warrior]

Thank you for the kind words! :victory:

It is time for a small update. The first trip for this rusty wonder is set for late Spring, destination: Ozark National Forest. This post will highlight two improvements to the truck, a raised air intake (because the truck rides relatively low) and an improve departure angle.

First step: Raising the intake. In my opinion, there are really only two options at raising the intake on theses trucks, a cowl intake or a snorkel. I tried the cowl intake option in my TJ and while it works, the intake noise can be bothersome. That leads me with a snorkel option. Since I am building this truck on the cheap, I opted to give the China made Amazon snorkel a try.
http://amzn.com/B00B90NGBK

Measure, measure, measure. Then drill! My measurements were vastly different than the template provided with the snorkel kit. Test fit the snorkel body, crossing your fingers that you measured correctly. Not pictured is the a-pillar bracket riveted to the windshield frame. I used my own stainless rivets not the provided rivets.

I opted to use a 4.0 HO airbox in the truck since the filters are easily found at the parts stores (unlike the 86 air filters which are a different shape) and it eliminates the vacuum doors in the airbox. I fastened the snorkel adapter to the front of the airbox with button head bolts with lock washers and sealer. Here you can see the HO airbox plumbed in to the 2.5 TBI unit. I am not crazy about the twist in the intake tube, but I haven't noticed any change in the 2.5's performance.

Installed and ready for action.

Next step. Increase departure angle by replacing the Fey bumper and Valley hitch with a DIY bumper I bought in 2012. The bumper comes to you in a small, unassuming, box. Once unpackaged you have to figure out how to bend metal to specific angles in an under-equipped garage. This was extremely challenging since this was my first true fabrication project.

Bumper starting to take shape.

I did purchase a real Curt receiver hitch to replace the piece of box tube that was sold to me in the bumper kit that was intended to be used as a receiver.

Finished:

Believe it or not, this heavy duty bumper weighs less than the Fey bumper + Hitch combo I pulled from the truck. Weight savings, an unforeseen upgrade!

 

[overlandxj333]

hey hows it going crazy to find you on here i saw your build to get it road worthy i was reading it online found it off of google lol im about to buy a 1986 jeep Comanche 5 speed 4x4 long bed unfortunately with the 2.8 v6 im very excited to follow this build

 

[87Warrior]

I took this truck to Colorado over the weekend of the 4th. It ran great and even rode smoother than my TJ on the trails. It did struggle starting above 11,000' but never failed to do so.

Here I am on Mt. Antero at 13,200'. I did not climb to the very top as a thunderstorm was rolling in.

Another noteworthy location was reaching the top of American Flag Mountain at 12,700'. Fitting for the 4th of July weekend. We did clear a 24" diameter 60' pine from the road on the Cement Creek side of the Reno Divide road when headed down. Don't worry Gunison Forest Service, the Kansans did your job!

I need to get a NP231 transfercase. This dang 207 whines like a cat with its tail in a blender while in 4lo.

 

[87Warrior]

This years Colorado trip was unlike any other. The group of Kansans that usually embark on the adventure to Colorado was reduced by two experienced guys and replaced with two who had never wheeled the Rockies. This was also the first time I left my Rubicon at home and choose to drive my rusty, crusty 86 4 cyl Comanche.

The plan for this year's trip was to camp in and around Taylor Park, north of Gunnison. A week prior to departure, news of the possible closure of my favorite road, Black Bear Pass, surfaced. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to possibly drive the road one more time, I quickly called the Ouray KOA to make a short reservation.

We stopped in Salida to visit my younger sister who lives there. It is always nice to see family. We left Salida in the morning and took the highway to Gunnison then Lake City. From Lake City we started up Engineer Pass and took advantage of some shade to enjoy lunch and air down.

On the way up we met a hiker who was staying at that spectacular cabin along the pass. She certainly had more energy than myself! The view is spectacular.

Of course we had to stop at the top.

We then choose to go straight to Ouray as the day was starting to come to a close.

Here is a glamor shot of my truck at the Poughkeepsie Gulch intersection. I did not attempt the wall on this short trip. At about this time, we discovered the black TJ pulled the frame side UCA brack off of the rear end. The welding shop in Ouray got it fixed in less than an hour right at closing time. That was a nice surprise.

While doing the morning Jeep inspections, we noticed the black TJ had also lost a driver side axle ujoint cap. Luckily a group of Jeepers from NJ were camped next to us and had a ujoint and a ball joint press. Pulled the shaft, replaced the ujoint and headed towards Black Bear. I will now carry ujoints and a press on my trips.

Climbing up Black Bear is a lot of fun.

Check it out, that rusty truck made it to the top of the pass.

Preparing to go down the steps. The view from this part of the road is simply amazing.

The switch backs did not seem as steep as they did last year. The dozer must have spent some time flattening them out. Even then, a spotter never hurts.

Lunch was enjoyed at the Telluride park in a light rain shower. I sure am glad the rain held off until we got off the pass. The route home took us over Imogene Pass. The pass was quite busy with traffic flowing in both directions. Luckily everyone on the road was respectful and patient. Here is another glamor shot at the pass.

I think we were about a week too late to see the wildflowers at their peak. Even then, the views coming down Imogene were mighty impressive.

Day 3 was supposed to be all highway to Taylor Park, then find a spot to set up camp. After breaking camp at the KOA we headed north out of Ouray towards Montrose. A few miles outside of Ridgeway we got stopped for construction...for 30 minutes. Not wanting to wait any longer, I pull out the old road map I have for the state of Colorado. I spot a gray line indicating a road called Owl Creek Pass that bypasses Montrose and dumps you out just west of the Blue Mesa Reservoir, about a 1/2 mile behind us. The road is a well maintained county road that takes you west and north to Silver Jack lake. We found a secluded spot for lunch just above Silver Jack at Rowdy Lake.

That evening we found a quiet spot along Tincup Pass to set up camp. It was much cooler sleeping at 11k feet than it was in Ouray. The location was perfect.

Since we had already started up Tincup Pass, the next day we went over the pass to St. Elmo. The amount of traffic in that little town was shocking. I'd never seen the street so crowded.

Once at St. Elmo, we decided to call it a day and head back to Salida. One trailer needed new tires as the tires began to separate on the trip out. That evening we stayed in Salida. In the morning we took a road called Aspen Ridge to, Turret, then up Sheilds McGee loop and 7 mile creek. The scenery was quite different than where we had been, but still beautiful.

Here is a body of water within an abandoned quarry.

The roads were very quiet on the way to Buena Vista. The perfect way to end a week of wheeling.

I only saw two other MJs on the trip and that was in Colorado Springs on the way to Salida. I am surprised you don't see them on the trails. The truck did great and always got better fuel economy than the TJs. I sure did miss the 4.0 torque and 4:1 low range the Rubicon offers. I found myself going over rocks too fast by simply trying to keep the 2.5 running up the trail.