Posted January 3, 2020
I know in this section people expect to hear outlandish build stories, but this is not one of them. I have built many vehicles over the years from old CJs to turbo cars to Rover Defenders, and I whole heartedly wanted to build a Comanche (My wife loves Jeeps, and I could never win her over to my Rovers). I must confess, this rig was bought. I had many plans on how I would build an MJ, crazy suspension, custom bed, opened fenders, upgrade whatever could be upgraded, but most importantly it would be a rig I could drive comfortably and dependably.
One day whilst perusing the Marketplace on some un-named evil social platform I ran across this beautiful creature! It was almost everything I had planned to do to a Comanche - it even had the matte gray paint I had envisioned! Best of all, the price was CHEAP and it was only 2-1/2 hours away. I contacted the seller and told him I couldn't make it until the weekend and that I wanted it. I was told it was already spoken for, but he would let me know if the deal fell through. I was devastated! I knew it was too good to be true. Much to my surprise, he contacted me Friday and said the buyer was laid off from his job and he couldn't swing the money. It was mine for the taking!
The next morning my wife and I loaded up in her matte gray Veloster (see the trend here) and headed west. The weather was cold and terrible, but we made it there without a hitch. When I arrived it looked as good as it did in pictures. However, when I went to start it, it had a miss. They guys said, "I should have told you before you came, but I ran it out of gas yesterday and now it has a miss". I'm thinking 'oh great, this thing has problems'! So, we took it for a drive, and it wouldn't go over 35mph. I was sick.
After some investigation, we found it had a cheesy aftermarket cleanable bronze fuel filter. It was easily removed and found to be caked almost solid. A quick clean and all was good. It made the trip at 70+ without issue, but did require a filter cleaning once it made it home. Since then, the filter has been replaced with a standard pleated filter and all is well.
Just a little back story, the guy who originally built this Jeep was a welder. I don't know him, but I do know that he lost his job and had to sell the MJ to the seller I bought it from. The seller, like me, saw it and had to have it. He said he had no need for it, but just wanted it as soon as he saw it. He kept it for six months, never went off-road, and only climbed a dirt pile in his back yard once. His wife decided she wanted a hot tub and told him he was going to have to sell his truck. His loss, my gain!
I am not sure what all I have planned for it at this point. I have added A-pillar lights to it as well as the tow clevises. I temporarily fixed the console lid. I also have an onboard air compressor, snorkel, 10k winch, and new window trim to be added. When I add the winch, I will run 0/00 battery cables front to rear from a BMW and add Anderson quick connects
; it is set up to have a removable winch for front and rear and it has a dock on the driver's side of the bed. The interior is a little rough. I have installed a new auto-dimming compbutt/thermometer mirror, and plan on redoing the headliner, adding an overhead console from a Silverado (already purchased - just map lights and sunglbuttes holder), and a double din Alpine head unit with backup camera. I know some of this may seem a little cheesy to you guys, but as I said, I want a comfortable usable rig I can depend on; I'm not getting any younger.
Hope everyone likes it.
