One of the nice things about owning a Jeep Comanche is how much parts commonality it shares with the fairly ubiquitous XJ Cherokee. On the other hand, there are still a few parts that MJ owners love to hoard as you typically can’t just walk into your local pick-and-pull and find them; stuff like fuel pump sending units and MJ-specific interior trim are always scarce, and you’d think taillights were worth their weight in gold based on some eBay listings! These are all things that make having a parts truck (or say, two) nice to have around. These three Comanches are available as a package deal only for $3000 near Wayland, MO and can be found here on Craigslist. Many thanks to Pat L. for the tip.
The truck shown above is the lone Comanche here with a title; it’s an ’89 base model long bed, 2wd with the 4.0L engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. Sadly, this is the only photo of it in the listing but at a glance, it looks like a fine starting point for a nice build. Seller states that this truck and the red ’89 Eliminator both run and drive well, but unfortunately the Eliminator lacks a title. No matter, as it also looks to be in decent shape and will be perfect to cherry-pick parts from as needed.
Which brings us to the grey ’86 MJ; doesn’t run, and no title, but it has a 4×4 drivetrain with 4:10 gearing. The process of swapping that into the titled ’89 should be fairly straightforward… So between all three trucks, it looks like you’d have yourself a nice ’89 long bed with the best engine these got plus 4wd with decent gearing for a wheeler. That is, assuming you have a nice big yard to store them in and neighbors that are cool with the beginnings of a scrapyard taking shape next door!
I had a 1990 Comanche six cylinder, two wheel drive .It was a good truck . The only two thing were the cooling system was a closed one ,no radiator cap and if air got into the system it was hell to fix. The shop had to lift up the front then lift up the back for a day to fix. And the timing sensor went out once then two years later to the day it went out again.
Wow that is a freaking steal of a price. MJ values have been on the rise for a while now…wish I could drag them all away but they’re a bit too far. Someone should seriously jump on these
I bought one new in 1989 and a used
90 a few years later, had both till 2005, both ran great, over 250k and 190k miles , no problems, just regular maintenance. By far the Best trucks I’ve ever owned. (On my 19th truck now) Chrysler was foolish to stop building them…
I agree being a Jeep tech from the 1990’s and 2000’s. They should have kept making them and added an extra cab version. I have 3 Cherokees in my family and the are solid vehicles!