- Joined
- Mar 20, 2005
- Location
- Hendersonville, NC
Well, I have wanted a Comanche ever since Jim Bruce was driving one on Truckin' USA when I was a kid. I used to drool over Big Woody's MJ and have been following ALL of the MJ builds on here over the last year. But, I could not quite pull the trigger on another toy. I have a 10 second Mustang and a Yamaha FZ1 already, so I thought my toy box was full enough. That is until the wife told me to race in ECORS this year. Who am I not to make my wife happy?
So a friend had just bought a cherry, 1 owner, gold longbed MJ. I told him if he ever wanted to make his money back to let me know. The next day he did. So I picked up a 90 MJ, 4.0, auto, 4wd, no dents, no rust, grand paw fishing truck clean for cheap. Then, I cut it up and made it one MJ harder to find an unmolested one.
Here's the pics...
Basically stripped the front suspension and axle, swapped in a used Tera Flex long arm kit (I made it a radius arm setup), some 6" Rusty's coils and a 99 XJ HP30 with 4.56's. Out back, a simple spring over, moved the shock mounts above the axle, swapped in an 8.25, Powertrax and 4.56's.
But I hated how it looked with the longbed and factory bumper. So, I took 12" out of the rear of the bed. It still has a long wheelbase, but a short (6'1") bed. It should be stable as all get out at speed in ECORS, although I will get hung up in the rocks. Oh well.
Next, it was time for paint and armor. My local MAACO was offering a $250 spray job. I wanted burnt orange, but for $250 I got broiled orange-I like it just fine.
I called up Chase over at ECGS and got a set of Trail Gear full length rock rails (see 33's on a 122" wheelbase). I also contacted RLC Welding out of Kentucky about their front winch bumper. All I can say is perfect fit, great lines and at a great price. I then ordered up a T-Max winch from myself, bolted it up and called it good for now.
If I were building a rock-solid trail rig, I would no doubt do things a bit different. But for a cheap, entry level, ECORS rig, it'll do just fine. I plan on racing this year, then making it a serious trail rig next year.
I have some great sponsors for ECORS this year. I cannot say enough great things about Brad at Barnes 4WD. Great guy, great parts at low prices. RLC Welding for their winch bumper, Chase at ECGS for all of my drivetrain parts needs, MudPro for some tabs and the wife for encouraging me to get back into the sport.
Thanks to:
www.barnes4wd.com
www.ujointoffroad.com
www.mudprometalworks.com
www.eastcoastgearsupply.com
www.wncdirtydogs.com
RLC Welding
So a friend had just bought a cherry, 1 owner, gold longbed MJ. I told him if he ever wanted to make his money back to let me know. The next day he did. So I picked up a 90 MJ, 4.0, auto, 4wd, no dents, no rust, grand paw fishing truck clean for cheap. Then, I cut it up and made it one MJ harder to find an unmolested one.
Here's the pics...
Basically stripped the front suspension and axle, swapped in a used Tera Flex long arm kit (I made it a radius arm setup), some 6" Rusty's coils and a 99 XJ HP30 with 4.56's. Out back, a simple spring over, moved the shock mounts above the axle, swapped in an 8.25, Powertrax and 4.56's.
But I hated how it looked with the longbed and factory bumper. So, I took 12" out of the rear of the bed. It still has a long wheelbase, but a short (6'1") bed. It should be stable as all get out at speed in ECORS, although I will get hung up in the rocks. Oh well.
Next, it was time for paint and armor. My local MAACO was offering a $250 spray job. I wanted burnt orange, but for $250 I got broiled orange-I like it just fine.
I called up Chase over at ECGS and got a set of Trail Gear full length rock rails (see 33's on a 122" wheelbase). I also contacted RLC Welding out of Kentucky about their front winch bumper. All I can say is perfect fit, great lines and at a great price. I then ordered up a T-Max winch from myself, bolted it up and called it good for now.
If I were building a rock-solid trail rig, I would no doubt do things a bit different. But for a cheap, entry level, ECORS rig, it'll do just fine. I plan on racing this year, then making it a serious trail rig next year.
I have some great sponsors for ECORS this year. I cannot say enough great things about Brad at Barnes 4WD. Great guy, great parts at low prices. RLC Welding for their winch bumper, Chase at ECGS for all of my drivetrain parts needs, MudPro for some tabs and the wife for encouraging me to get back into the sport.
Thanks to:
www.barnes4wd.com
www.ujointoffroad.com
www.mudprometalworks.com
www.eastcoastgearsupply.com
www.wncdirtydogs.com
RLC Welding
Hopefully the April race, and I may need to recruit more help to make that one. 
