1986 diesel Jeep Comanche TDI conversion

jhax

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Location
Golden, CO
TDI
96 Passat B4V, ALH engine out of a 2002 Jetta, some IE Rods and ASV Pistons. Nothing drivable yet though
Man, I feel for you, I'm so sorry to hear about the truck.
 

mogly

Veteran Member
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Sarnia, ON, Canada
TDI
MKIV TDI + B5.5V AVF/01E
John, sorry to hear about this situation. I must ask did you have a "declared value/agreed value" or an appraisal done on the truck? I'm currently helping a client with her 1 owner 1978 never winter driven all original Westfalia that was recently wrecked. Insurance companies are artists are fighting, unfortunately.
 

john.jackson9213

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Location
Miramar, Ca. (Think Top Gun)
TDI
1996 B4V
John, sorry to hear about this situation. I must ask did you have a "declared value/agreed value" or an appraisal done on the truck? I'm currently helping a client with her 1 owner 1978 never winter driven all original Westfalia that was recently wrecked. Insurance companies are artists are fighting, unfortunately.

Only had minimum required insurance on the truck. Just Liability/Damages to others. Not so bad...see next post.
 

john.jackson9213

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Location
Miramar, Ca. (Think Top Gun)
TDI
1996 B4V
Got the TDI Comanche back on Friday night. Wildernest camper is gone, Tailgate was painted black, plates were changed, registration documents are gone. But it is home now.

Thieves are dumb. And this one was really stupid DUMB. He drove the stolen truck back to the same apartment complex he stole the truck from to visit a girl.

My son walked out of his apartment to smoke in the back alley. He sees the Comanche double parked in the alley, calls the San Diego Police to tell them he found the stolen truck. The tell him stolen cars are a low priority, so it could take up to 6 hours for a police response. He checks the VIN with the cops, yes it is the stolen truck and cops will eventually get there. So son gets a couple of his neighbors to wait with him and see who comes back for the truck. Eventually a fellow come out from one of the apartment and approaches the truck. Son confronts the fellow, telling him the truck is stolen and he is not leaving with the truck. Fellow threatens to kick sons @$$ and take truck. My son stood his ground with a kitchen knife in his hand. Son told fellow he had a choice to make. 1. Stick around and wait for cops. 2. Try to kick sons @$$. 3. Walk away right now. The fellow decided to leave on foot without the truck.

Cops never showed up, Son reported car recovered on Saturday morning. I got new plates, etc Monday morning. Ignition switch will have to be repaired/replaced. But right now the truck is safe in front of my house.

Have to say I am totally surprised to see the truck again, much less with not too much damage/loss. And most of all just how stupid this thief was.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Got the TDI Comanche back on Friday night. Wildernest camper is gone, Tailgate was painted black, plates were changed, registration documents are gone. But it is home now.

Thieves are dumb. And this one was really stupid DUMB. He drove the stolen truck back to the same apartment complex he stole the truck from to visit a girl.

My son walked out of his apartment to smoke in the back alley. He sees the Comanche double parked in the alley, calls the San Diego Police to tell them he found the stolen truck. The tell him stolen cars are a low priority, so it could take up to 6 hours for a police response. He checks the VIN with the cops, yes it is the stolen truck and cops will eventually get there. So son gets a couple of his neighbors to wait with him and see who comes back for the truck. Eventually a fellow come out from one of the apartment and approaches the truck. Son confronts the fellow, telling him the truck is stolen and he is not leaving with the truck. Fellow threatens to kick sons @$$ and take truck. My son stood his ground with a kitchen knife in his hand. Son told fellow he had a choice to make. 1. Stick around and wait for cops. 2. Try to kick sons @$$. 3. Walk away right now. The fellow decided to leave on foot without the truck.

Cops never showed up, Son reported car recovered on Saturday morning. I got new plates, etc Monday morning. Ignition switch will have to be repaired/replaced. But right now the truck is safe in front of my house.

Have to say I am totally surprised to see the truck again, much less with not too much damage/loss. And most of all just how stupid this thief was.

Wow, that's great!! Glad nobody got hurt. Would've been nice if the thief got justice, but the main thing is the truck is back at home. Might be worth installing a hidden kill switch.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Another case of fact being stranger than fiction! Glad to hear the good news, you must feel pretty good right now.
That dumb though, could return. Probably knows cops don't hold these things high on the priority list. Be aware and best wishes and booby traps to you.
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
Amazing John. Just amazing.

Did your son ask him if he supplemented it with any power service ?
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
So glad to hear this John, I'm amazed the guy was such an idiot as to go back to where he stole it like that. I guess in this day and age it doesn't surprise me.

What's really outrageous is the thief's opposition and anger at your son. Clearly he didn't know when to quit if he threatened to kick some a$$, here he is caught red handed and still persisted on down this road...again outrageous. I almost think I would have zip tied his hands and attached him to a porch railing somewhere and waited for the authorities to come and haul him away.

I would be installing the defeat device on this truck just in case.

Again so glad that it's home!

Steve
 

vtpsd

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2013
Location
Vermont
TDI
03 jsw TDI, audi 90 AHU swap
Very glad you got the truck back, that really is amazing. Good job on your son for standing his ground. Unfortunately, we cant always wait on cops in these situations, and a man must be willing to stand his own ground if he doesn't want to be taken advantage of. Too bad we can't rely on cops to do this, but its not high on their list. Good job for your son and his friends. Amazing the truck is still in decent condition.

It does stink that the thief didn't get brought to jail, but that wouldn't likely make any difference to someone like that anyhow. Someone who steals a car is already in a bad place, and likely a little jail trip isn't going to fix that.
 

mogly

Veteran Member
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Sarnia, ON, Canada
TDI
MKIV TDI + B5.5V AVF/01E
Interesting story.

Thankfully the thief was not carrying a firearm. Nothing like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Did you son or his companions consider filming the perpetrator?
 

TDIDaveNH

Left Lane Coal Roller at Large
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Location
North Conway, NH
TDI
1997 Passat TDI x2 1984 Buick Century 4.3 diesel
Wow, good ending John. That could have ended real bad. reminds me of the time just after AndyBees got home from Lexington Fest a few years back.

Yea looks like you've got some work ahead of you in terms of holding onto that truck, Too bad the douche got away and is still at large. At least you know ahead of time that you're on your own down there when it really hits the fan.
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
Glad to hear you got it back (and that your son's little confrontation turned out OK). Did your son or one of the neighbors get a pic of this guy, that could be given to the cops?
 

Dominic_TDIMJ_17

New member
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Location
Murrieta, Ca
TDI
Converted 1986 Jeep Comanche
Grandpas TDI Comanche

Hi everyone, My name is Dominic and i am the grandson mentioned in post #100.
Recently we lost Grandpa and i now have possession of the Comanche. It was very refreshing to find this forum and this specific thread. There was a lot of unknown information regarding the TDI swap and what all went into it, but now it understand a bit more.

The truck still runs great and i drove it over 100 miles home.

I know this is probably the wrong spot for this reply, but everyone here was watching this, so think of it as a little update on the build, as i plan to continue on what Grandpa started.
 
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turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Hey Dominic, welcome to the forum! Your grandfather was a very interesting guy, and valued contributor here. Sorry for your loss. My first truck was a '87 4wd 2.5L Comanche, and it served me well. Had a couple Cherokees too. Glad your grandads MJ is in good hands!
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
Welcome, Dominic,

Glad to see your grandpa's truck in your capable hands. I look forward to your keeping John's torch burning brightly here at TDIClub. He and I shared a passion for his Passat TDI wagon that he had and a sedan I owned until 2005 when I moved temporarily to Germany for engineering grad school. I had the pleasure to room with him at a TDIFest in Maine some years ago. He drove that Passat to Maine and I brought my Audi A4 TDI wagon that I imported from Germany in 2013. Got to know your grandma Anita even though I never actually met her and learned that she's from Montreal (IIRC?) and I lived 2 hours from there at the time and not much further from our TDIFest site in Maine.
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
HI Dominic,

Sorry to hear about your Grampa's passing.

His wagon is something special as well if you still have it. One of a very few with a 6spd conversion. Hope you enjoy and carry on the legacy with the Comanche.
 

Dominic_TDIMJ_17

New member
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Location
Murrieta, Ca
TDI
Converted 1986 Jeep Comanche
Windex, yes his wagon was awesome, I recall as a younger child going on 2 or 3 road trips in it. I am certain he has not had it for sometime, I will poke around and see if it is around still.

TDIMeister, Thank you for the warm welcome. I am very excited to learn in depth about this TDI as i am far more familiar with the Cummins diesel, the theory is similar, but still...

Turbobrick240, yes i have been looking to purchase an MJ for a long time, i have always enjoyed them. I currently own a 99 XJ and a 99 WJ. the XJ is the only 4WD. the MJ is going to be around for a long time, and will fit in with the rest of my little Jeep family. :)
 

TDIMeister

Phd of TDIClub Enthusiast, Moderator at Large
Joined
May 1, 1999
Location
Canada
TDI
TDI
Stick around, there's quite a knowledge base of Cummins info here too (but maybe less than dedicated Cummins sites) since many TDIers also own(ed) Cummins-powered trucks at one point or another.

Nevertheless, TDIs and Cummins' mostly work alike and the Diesel fundamentals are the same. I'd say with confidence that the technical knowledge here is unmatched anywhere with less coal-rolling, fanboyism and gimmicky BS noise-to-signal ratio - we have a high proportion of Diesel mechanics and engineers among our active members.
 
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GTiTDi

TDIClub Enthusiast, Macht Schnell! Vendor , w/Busi
Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Location
3 Spruce st Wareham, gateway to Cape Cod Massachus
TDI
'91 GTI CJAA swap,'02 Jetta wagon ALH swap, '03 GTI 1.8T rally car, '03 Sprinter 3500
Sorry for your loss, Dominic.
I met your grandpa at TDIFest, he was an enthusiastic member and a regular contributor. I am glad his Commanche is in good hands. Stay in touch with Matt Whitbread, the builder of said truck.
Hi everyone, My name is Dominic and i am the grandson mentioned in post #100.
Recently we lost Grandpa and i now have possession of the Comanche. It was very refreshing to find this forum and this specific thread. There was a lot of unknown information regarding the TDI swap and what all went into it, but now it understand a bit more.

The truck still runs great and i drove it over 100 miles home.

I know this is probably the wrong spot for this reply, but everyone here was watching this, so think of it as a little update on the build, as i plan to continue on what Grandpa started.
 
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