Project work truck manche

[netrachamp1853]

So I was able to sneak a couple of hours of work on this think last sunday after I couldnt take working on the house anymore haha.

Little poser shot


Cut all the rust out of the side of the bed and the outter wheel wells


Made some quickie patches


Also fitted the 97+ header panel I got off dizzys jeep on it to get it a fresh look. I need to make a new utility bumper for the front since I told the one I had litterally right off of it to Diz haha.

[netrachamp1853]

After cutting the wheel wells and rear fenders I think Im gonna high clearance the bottom of the bed, there isnt really much down there but just the outer skin of the bed which would last .02s

[JeepJuggalo]

i high clearanced mine...cut it along the body line , making taillight fillers and wrap around sliders , i personally like the look of the cut bed alot

[netrachamp1853]

yea ive seen alot of pics online and I think its gonna be the best thing to do.

[netrachamp1853]

I came home from school today to do some work on the house and worked on the house for about 30 mins and went straight to the comanche haha..I went to the junkyard and scored a grey dashboard and door panels...I dont plan on doing the 98 swap for a while but i just cant take the tan interior anymore. So I ripped out the old one.
10.31am


10.55am


Game the column a coat of black to match the rest of the gray and black


Also had time to rivet on my bed patches

[netrachamp1853]

fuck pics didnt work, I'll fix it tomorrow...

[netrachamp1853]

Fixed, now i just gotta find a gray steering wheel.

[netrachamp1853]

Heres a pic of the current interior minus a gray steering wheel.

[netrachamp1853]

So Ive had an hour here and there to do some work during the week on the manche, the biggest thing I wanted to correct was the rear spring perches. When I ordered them from Ballistic I didnt realize there was an inch of lift built right into them which caused me to remove the main load leaf from the packs which wasnt working so well If I put anything more then a couple tires and a tool box in back. So out it came!



I ordered mopar factory replacement perches from summit, I tacked a peice of tube onto the top of them and mounted them in my tubing notcher with a 3 inch hole saw and bored the arches out even more so that they would sit lower on the axle. I had to trim one end of each to fit them into the notcher, luckily it didnt matter because is was on the down curve of the perch anyways.



Then I through 2 more leafs into each pack and set up the axle again, set the pinion angle etc..tacked the perches in place and took the axle back out and burned them in.





Laid on a coat of paint



Now we are back on all fours, front and rear bumpers are in the works and hopfully it will all be one color soon.

[wannabejeep]

those look to be some fine ass welds sir.

[Trailer Ray]

looking goood. i wish i had a manche, i had to pass up a sweet deal on a nice jon boat for bass fishing because i couldnt fit it in or on my piece of shit xj.

[netrachamp1853]

those look to be some fine ass welds sir.

Why thank you, you are truly a scholar and a gentlemen haha

[netrachamp1853]

looking goood. i wish i had a manche, i had to pass up a sweet deal on a nice jon boat for bass fishing because i couldnt fit it in or on my piece of shit xj.

haha yea thats why I picked this up, its more user friendly when hauling stuff around and the 4wd lets me do alot more yard work type stuff then my 2wd ford ranger couldnt. Plus now I can sell the ranger since I dont use it much anymore.

[clean4drxj]

Once you get a nice coat of paint on this.. it will look sweet!

[Pedro]

What are you thinking for paint on this? Are you just gonna rattle can it or actually paint it? The project is comin along nicely