1983 AMC Eagle Wagon

Hey guys, this is my 1983 AMC Eagle wagon. Got 'er in December 2015, WAY under priced at $500, and a hand-shake contract. Just needed battery cables and an alternator belt and she fired up.



Here she is the day we bought 'er. This guy had 30 cars when we bought this thing...





It has a 4.2L 6 cylinder (straight six), automatic 3 speed tranny, 4 wheel drive, power locks, air suspension, electric seat, A/C. It was pretty much the full package in the 80s. This thing has enough power to spin the wheels. Let me tell you a little about the Eagle and AMC. So, when most people think about AMC, they think about things like Pintos, Pacers, Vegas, and lasting a mere 8 years. This is just about the opposite of what AMC is. AMC was around in the 50s and maybe even the 40s. The Gremlin and Pacer weren't the only things they could put together... Naahh... They built real muscle cars and offroaders like the Rebel Machine and the Javelin, and even the legendary Jeep CJ and Cherokee. They were the real deal. The 70s and 80s gas crisis is what killed them, that's why the Gremlin and Pacer are a part of this world, it was a desperate attempt to stay alive... And they could've fought to stay, but Chrysler bought them out for the Jeep and that was their demise. The Eagle lived from '79 to '88, known for being the first 4WD station wagon to be mass produced. It's really the underdog, very underrated. This thing is a capable vehicle. AMC's false reputation was passed on to the Eagle and everything else made by them at that time. It's a shame is what it is. Anyway, on to this particular one. As she sits now...



This was a car show back in March 2018. Anyway, if I don't forget anything, this is the order we fixed things: First the belt, then oil change, tires, windshield wipers, brakes because there were almost none on it, carb, AND THEN, the tranny gave out, lost all gears except 2nd. Turned what normally was a 45 min drive into a 2 and a half hour limp home. $1000 later, a particular part of the tranny had to rebuilt because the were none around in the whole country. And then if I remember correctly, the alternator mounts broke and broke 3 belts, got that fixed, and I know I'm missing some things, but just recently the compressor was replaced, and now the computer I'm typing on is about to die so that pretty much sums it up. Oh yea, the exhaust and shocks were just replaced too. Right now we're having trouble with the right front wheel. It gets knocked outta wack and wobbles like crazy. Anyway I thought I'd throw my Eagle out there.

Cool old machine for sure! I’ve got a buddy that absolutely loves station wagons. Dailies a 1980 zephyr wagon, wears jeans with a plaid button up with a denim jacket, and smokes a pack a week...and he just turned 18 last week lmao. He would be ALL OVER this thing. He loves i6’s, hates fuel injection, and loves the color brown haha

You do know what AMC stands for right? - Ain't My Car!!!

In all seriousness, real cool ride you got there! When I think of AMC the Pacer always comes to mind, I can't help it, haha. But like you say they made some great muscle cars too! Like the Javelin, AMX and the Rambler! Don't know too much about the old V-8's they made, but I know there was a 390.

Should be a cool project!

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

wears jeans with a plaid button up with a denim jacket, and smokes a pack a week...and he just turned 18 last week lmao.

Haha! Sounds like he loves more than just wagons, sounds like he's stuck in the 80s!

I love me an AMC!! Got 2 of them Just sitting in my yard. I got me 2 1984 Jeep Grand Wagoners. Yup 2 of them! Drove the gray one for about 20 years. The gold one will take it's place whenever I get it running, but I might decide to just strip it down and rebuild it. The bombed out gray one that I been driving for almost 20 years has- a AMC 360 V8 with custom ignition, ported race heads, aluminum Edelbrock 4 barrel intake with the matching race camshaft, duel exhaust with Cherry Bombs and my mufflers, water/methanol injection, race prepped 4 barrel 750 carb. 300+ hp. Blew the trans in it and decided the body was not worth saving and decided to pull everything off to put on the gold one. The gold one is all stock with 60,000 on the odometer, and the 175hp 360 ci engine. LOL. I got parts just stored to keep atleast one going for another 50 years. 4 engines (360 ci) 2 trans (automatics 727), one 4 speed manual, axles (front and back) drive shafts, electrical, body panels.



Best bet if you want to keep yours going would be to find yourself a parts car and strip it down for storage, bag and tag everything. Even keep the bolts. I got 2 buckets full of bolts for my jeeps. It pays off, believe me.

The strait 6 AMC used was the Chevy I6, trans would be Chevy also? Those are bullet proof motors, in stock form the bottom end can hold 1000 hp, just keep it under the red line. Would love to see pics of the driveline. I wouldn't mind havin one to put one of my V8's and the running gear in. Be nice to drive a car for a change, LOL.

Yeah that grey one looks like it quit a long time ago. But the gold one'll be a nice project. 300+ hp, kinda small for a Jeep right LOL!

I would if I had room for one, but right now the shops do most of our work. Probably because I don't wanna mess something up that was working perfectly fine before. When I get enough money I'll be looking at some old vehicles sitting in peoples yards so I can do the work myself this time. Something rusty and cheap that I won't feel bad about breaking things and beating it up. Right now I'm looking at a Ford Fairlane 289 with rusty quarter panels and all that.

I just heard a Chevy start up the other day and it sounded exactly like ours, and the last owner said something about a putting a Chevy engine in it, but all the labels are AMC and all the Eagle pics online have that motor. Kinda confused me. Whatever, now I understand. As for the trans, I have no idea. You wouldn't believe how many people we talk to at red lights and in parking lots about this car!

Murraymountain wrote:

Right now I'm looking at a Ford Fairlane 289.

Hey hey!! What year is she? The '66 Fairlane just happens to be my favorite car y'know, hahaha.

The jeep cj would come with a factory Chevy I6 and GM 2 speed Powerglide, 350 turbo, or 400 turbo. Those 3 GM transmissions would have the I6 bolt pattern and is the same bolt pattern for a Chevy V8 small block. To get the V8 in would only need to make engine mounts for the most part. Same thing would go for your Eagle too, if it has a Chevy I6.

I blew the trans in the gray jeep about 3 years ago. I drove it looking like that with few problems. Cop stopped me one time for a ticket and asked me why the hell was I driving it, LOL. 300hp is probably right with the low compression motor. Had loads of torque down low though.

AllisKidD21 wrote:

Murraymountain wrote:

Right now I'm looking at a Ford Fairlane 289.

Hey hey!! What year is she? The '66 Fairlane just happens to be my favorite car y'know, hahaha.

Probably a '66 or '67. I didn't pay much attention to it when I first saw it, but when I went back to look at the pic, it looked pretty good considering the rust on all his other cars.

I thought, that'd be a good car to restore, but when I went back and started to look at it, it was no different than any of his other cars. So, if the seats and diff aren't gonna fall out while driving it, and the price is right, I'm thinking about building it as a rusty '60s hot rod. You know, something to beat up on!  

prancstaman wrote:

The jeep cj would come with a factory Chevy I6 and GM 2 speed Powerglide, 350 turbo, or 400 turbo. Those 3 GM transmissions would have the I6 bolt pattern and is the same bolt pattern for a Chevy V8 small block. To get the V8 in would only need to make engine mounts for the most part. Same thing would go for your Eagle too, if it has a Chevy I6.

I blew the trans in the gray jeep about 3 years ago. I drove it looking like that with few problems. Cop stopped me one time for a ticket and asked me why the hell was I driving it, LOL. 300hp is probably right with the low compression motor. Had loads of torque down low though.

I like the little straight six, no V8 for this one. I want to completely restore this one back to how it rolled off the assembly line! Whatever it has is pretty much the same as a CJ7, so it probably has the same tranny a CJ7 will have.

Oh yeah, that's definitely either a '66 or '67. If I saw the tail lights I could tell for sure, but either way, I love those cars!!

She'd be a real beauty all shined up...

My dad use to drag race a 67 Fairlane GTA.  If I could find the right one, I would love to restore it for my dad.



But I digress and continue to put the topic off coarse.

Took the Eagle to this areas biggest car show yesterday...




Then went on a cruise around town, through the retirement home, through main street, a U-turn, and back through main...



And later, they did the burnouts. We didn't participate, but on the way out, that old, beat up, stock station wagon did a one tire fire with more smoke than a late 2000's souped up Mustang GT. I'm telling ya, this thing ain't any ol' soccer mom car...

prancstaman wrote:

I wouldn't mind havin one to put one of my V8's and the running gear in. Be nice to drive a car for a change, LOL.

If your ever down in the Tri-state area of NC lemme know. There's an old Eagle Wagon up in Waynesville NC just rotting away in a horder's drive way.


You also wanted to see some driveline pics...



The tranny is kinda secluded and I couldn't get any shots of it, so I took some interior photos..,

Well, that front wheel is really wobbling... It's makes a very "noticeable" squeaking noise when driving at any speed. The video doesn't do it justice, but my brother can move the wheel back and forth so, it's time for a new something....

Watch...

And it's starting to smoke a good bit when it's cold. Rings? Head gaskets?

Well well WELL. Been a freaking long time since I mentioned this ole girl... Anyway, she's still kicking. I have a lot of what has happened to it in the time past in the little update video, so I won't go into that. I'll just take this little bit to say that the death wobble was fixed when we tightened 1 bolt about a 16th of an inch lol. It hasn't done it since.... Blows my mind. Anyway, finally gave this thing another wash a few weeks ago when I washed the F-250...







Unfortunately, the passenger side floor pan has bit the dust. It wasn't rusted when we got the car. It's just sat out in the rain for too long now. When it rains the water collects inside the car in the passenger floor pan really bad which has caused this.




Proves how bad this thing really needs seals. Anyway, since I'm still not ready to start restoring it, I'm hoping to have a brand new fully enclosed carport to put this thing and about $60K worth of ministry equipment into for storage. The Eagle really needs to be parked inside, so that's my main goal right now. Getting a carport to park this thing. It also really needs either motor and trans mounts or driveshaft yokes. I'll take a video of what it's doing for anyone who's interested.

But anyway, there's the latest on the Eagle. I know there's a lot of new members who probably haven't seen this thing so let me know what ya think of my ol' girl!

man an eagle looks like a pretty nice old car! I want one my dad says no lol,  he had one and the horror story he says about the vacuum-operated everything sounds scary.  but I think a sbc swap would be pretty cool!

id love to have an eagle one day or build a ford crown victoria wagon to be 4wd with a 6/71 blower out the hood LOL

Heck yeah! Long live Detroit diesels.

This thing is so clean and original good find @Murraymountain

That thing is sweet! I remember seeing one years ago with a mild lift and big tires on it, it looked pretty wild! Lol

MN mudder wrote:

man an eagle looks like a pretty nice old car! I want one my dad says no lol,  he had one and the horror story he says about the vacuum-operated everything sounds scary.  but I think a sbc swap would be pretty cool!

They really are nice cars! I haven't had a terrible amount of problems with the vacuum stuff, but there is a few things not working due to that. Pretty sure the 4wd is broken due to a vacuum leak.

Joe_the_mower_man_1320 wrote:

This thing is so clean and original good find  @Murraymountain  

Thank ya! I'm gonna try keep it all original when it gets restored.

Brianator wrote:

That thing is sweet! I remember seeing one years ago with a mild lift and big tires on it, it looked pretty wild! Lol

Thanks! They certainly are wild! They were the predecessor to the legendary Jeep Cherokee so that should make a statement about them lol.

Well, my plans to get the ol' girl back road worthy again most definitely did not happen. Instead, it continues to sit in the rain, the insurance was cancelled, the tag was transferred to another vehicle, it was moved a couple times in the first half of 2022, then it was parked in late July and has not been started since. It's been sitting in this spot pretty much untouched since July.



So it's officially taken off of the road and parked... or has been.

So, I've been daily driving the Hummer... but being a car guy, the need to modify and wrench on my daily here and the urge is strong. Irresistible even... and whatever money I put in the Hummer, I'm not gonna get back when it goes to my brother. So, I need a different daily. I have 4 vehicles, plus the 2 my family drives, so that's 6 vehicles on our property... more than parents care to look at lol. So I need to sell the two that are going for sale, but if I get a new daily, and still keep two vehicles rotating on sales, and keep the Eagle and F250, I'll have 5. And I really don't need a Ranger or something to daily lol. So, I feel like my best option to save space and not let a car sit and rot, is to daily the Eagle. So that's what I plan to do. With the Explorer wrapping up and the Nissan awaiting a buyer, I have room to pull the Eagle into the shop and get it back to a road worthy state and then be able to start working on it at school. So that's what I'm gonna start doing on my spare time. Getting this ol' girl ready for the road again!

Being a car guy, I HAVE to modify something. I can't hold myself back. But I want to restore this car eventually, so the rule I have made with myself, is that whatever modifications I make to the car must be reversible and not mess up anything reusable in the restoration.

I haven't got the car in the shop yet, so I don't have an in-depth inspection yet of what all I need to do, but here's what I have at the moment.

So, list of things to fix to be able to daily:
-Get running again
-Fix broken windshield wiper motors and new wipers
-Change all weather strips and window seals
-Fix seatbelts
-Replace U-joints
-Get new plate and insurance
-Fix exhaust leaks

Things to do from there:
-Weld passenger floor pan
-Put in new insulation on all four floors and new mats
-Replace shock absorbers
-Tune up
-Fix reverse lights
-Fix high beams
-Fix flood lights
-Replace windshield
-Replace hatch hinges and shocks
-Verify heat works, possibly update and recharge A/C
-Valve cover gasket
-Fix leaky power steering
-Fix broken door handle and window not rolling down on driver back door
-Reinstall and replace trim pieces
-Fix overdrive
-A good detail job
-Fix side mirrors
-Fix gauges

Planned modifications:
-Disable air ride suspension and install 2-3 inch lift kit and 1-2 inch bigger tires, possibly 1/2-1" inch wheel spacers
-12v accessory ports and USB ports, FM/Bluetooth transmitter, dash under glow lights
-Try to remove the black spray paint from the light bezels
-Under glow (if possible without altering any stock components)
-Updated sound system, preferably separate from stock sound system
-Hitch receiver
-Possibly tint windows

Anyway, big list for sure, but I'm in no hurry to get it all done... Just in a hurry to get it on the road and reliable.

That is quite the list! Ought to be worth it in the end though that's a neat ride!

Yup! Sure will be!

Well I threw a battery in it and gave it some dinosaur juice and it fired up. It would stall if I let my foot off the pedal, so I kept the RPMs up for a bit and then against my will, had to neutral drop it several times to get it in gear with out stalling. It was raining out and I was not about to sit there for 10 minutes keeping RPMs up enough for it to warm up so it would idle. Anyway, after fighting it for a few minutes I was able to get it in the shop under it's own power.



As you can see, I did a burnout on my way in. I wasn't trying to but the wet pavement and the high RPMs mixed just right lol.



I let it dry off for a bit, then I spent some time diagnosing some headlight issues and taking it all apart. All the trim up there needs repainted anyway. I found out the fog lights only work when all the lights are on and that they were missing the bulbs, the high beam lights are good but the harness is not getting power, it needs both low beams replaced, the blinkers need some cleaning and the assemblies need some repairs, and everything needs cleaned. Same for the back lights. I took those out and need to do a little more diagnosing on the reverse lights. From there I took the interior panels out because they are all powdery and flaking and need to be redone. Also gives me a chance to take care of the seatbelts and all the leaks and put in new sound deadening and insulation and get to wires better. Win win win win situation if you ask me lol. From there I took the roof rack off because I've determined that that is where the leaks that have permanently stained the roof liner came from and that needs to be dealt with.




Since then I have not touched it... kinda waiting on my parts car to see what parts I can skip at the parts store. Also gotta clear a couple other projects up first. Need to get the Explorer and Nissan out of here and get the Troy Bilt finished.

Dude, I love Eagles! Good seeing you putting one back on the road. Dont see a lot of them so when i see one, it is always cool!