The seller of todays Nice Price or No Dice Comanche says it was converted to 4WD from its original 4X2 base. Lets see if this midi-pickups price is low enough to get you to convert in its favor.
Im going to go out on a limb here and say that there was something about yesterdays 1979 Ferrari 400 GT that just didnt sit right with me. I dont know if it was the angle of its dangle, with the rear appearing to sit much squatter than the front, or perhaps the somewhat tired shape of its interior and engine bay. I guess what got my mental monkeys wrenched was that the Ferraris ad had been up on Craigslist for more than three weeks with seemingly no nibbles at its $59,500 asking.
Whatever was going on, quite of few of you must have felt the same way and as a result dunned the car with an overwhelming 70 percent No Dice loss.
Now, unless youve got buckets of cash just lying around, a Ferrari isnt a car that youd go modifying just willy-nilly. On the other hand, an old Jeep pickup truck could potentially be a ripe candidate for reimaginations, updates and upgrades.
Apparently, thats exactly the story behind this white on blue on Pokemon 1987 Jeep Comanche 4X4. (Note, the ad has been pulled, but we can still have our fun as we kept a copy.)
We should first note that the Comanche is an odd duck among midsize pickup trucks. When this truck was new, the general rule of thumb was that pickup trucks came first and were then followed by SUVs built on the pickup chassis. The Comanche did this in reverse, following the XJ Cherokee to market and using much of that trucks body and driveline.
Thats not the only oddball thing about the Comanche either. Because it was based on the XJ Cherokee, the Comanche had to start with a unibody chassis instead of a full ladder frame. Unlike many car-based pickups that wedded cab and bed, the Comanche had a separate bed that rode on an extended box-section frame fully attached to the unibody cab in front. That allowed for multiple bed lengths or the removal of the bed entirely.
This 87 Comanche sports the shorter six-foot bed and factory SPORT TRUCK side stripes down each flank. That, and the 4-liter in-line six are about the only things from the Jeep factory left on this truck.
According to the ad, the truck started life as a 4X2. Its even noted as such on the included owners manual. The seller says, however, that the only thing left from that 4X2 driveline is the engine.
The rest has been given the heave-ho to make way for a bunch of Cherokee 4X4 parts. These include an NV3550 five-speed manual, New Process 242 transfer case and a Dana 30 front axle. Along with the added traction, the truck has gained a steering system upgrade, a modest lift and a Warn winch mounted in the bullbar at the front.
All of this work is claimed to have been undertaken a full 30,000 miles ago. The truck now has a claimed 170,000 miles under its slightly higher belt and is said to be presently employed as a daily driver.
There are other mods here as well. The bed is accented by a diamond plate lockbox, and the back bumper has been replaced with a heavier-duty steel unit. The wheels are the stock steelies, but those wear fat Cooper AT3s.
Perhaps most startling of all the mods is the interior. That features a bench seat, a carpet-free floor, and oddly enough, a Pokémon headliner. Yep, catch them all folks. Aside from the wildly distracting headliner, it all seems a tidy, if objectively austere, place to get your driving done.
It should be noted that the engine in this truck is the Renix 4-liter. That was the short-lived edition of AMCs straight-six with a fuel injection designed by Renix Electronique S.A., a joint venture of Renault and automotive parts supplier Bendix. As fitted, the Jeep 4-liter made 173 horsepower and 220 lb-ft of torque. Its also an odd duck since it doesnt use the standard OBD protocol for ECU access.
This one looks to functioning properly and has been converted to an open cooling system with all new parts. Along with that comes a bunch of spares including Dirtbound rock sliders to keep your rockers from getting rock and rolled. The trucks title is clean, and the asking price is $6,000.
Whats your take on this 4-wheel-drive converted Comanche and that $6,000 price? Does that seem like a fair deal for this sort of Franken-truck? Or, does that price make this an off-roadable Jeep thats not going anywhere?
You decide!
Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to picoFarad for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.read more
At $6,000, Could This 4WD-Converted 1987 Jeep Comanche Be A Truck You Might Pick Up?
