AMC Eagle - Page 20 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

MIPS · #1 04-05-2021, 11:59 PM

That's a straight fitting that was installed to replace the 90 degree elbow fitting that came with the kit. I don't have it on hand right now but they are quite a bit larger.

I grabbed some of the cheap strap-type clamps on the way home from work but I also got a pair of the ear-type clamps from a 35 year old Superboot kit I don't trust to install because it's so old (the boot, not the clamp).

MIPS · #2 04-07-2021, 10:19 PM

There we go. They cleaned up the grease slinging and put the clamps on for free and I built new threaded plugs that screw into the ports on the new joints. Plenty of clearance now.

Electronic M · #3 04-12-2021, 11:38 PM

RCR reviews on youtube posted a history of AMC today in which they humorously described the Eagle as "basically a passenger car wearing an Indiana Jones hat". Kind of a fitting description for something more capable than any sedan of its time, but less capable than a truck built for off road.

MIPS · #4 11-09-2021, 07:55 PM

Roman's write-up was great. AMC had pretty much bankrupted themselves on the design, marketing and sale of the Pacer and when that failed they had to push SOMETHING, so why not rehash the last decade's worth of model bodies, but with trim changes and AWD. For as much as people say its awesome and the beginning of whatever the hell they want to call it, this was a line of cars built on "how cheap can we make this with whatever parts we've already made?"

Anyways, the headliner and sun visors have FINALLY been rebuilt. They've been out of the car since late 2019 and didn't make it into a shop due to logistical challenges. Eventually I decided it would be easier to put the headliner back in and just take it back out again as I pulled into the upholstery shop.

So aside from a deep clean and detail and adjusting a few things that rattle and clatter the interior is back together again.

ESigma25 · #5 11-09-2021, 09:16 PM

"how cheap can we make this with whatever parts we've already made?" but also "what parts will the Big 3 sell us cheaply?", thus leading to stuff like GM AC compressors and Ford ignition boxes under the hoods of AMCs.

dishdude · #6 11-09-2021, 10:58 PM

Headliner turned out nice.

MIPS · #7 11-11-2021, 12:40 AM

I still cannot put my head around how many parts AMC phoned in. I'm STILL finding things that cross reference to The Big Three....and then some!
When I refurbished the intake manifold I discovered the electric manifold heater is a VW/Audi part. I checked my spare manifold and it is too.
When I did the alternator, sure it's a Corvette part.
Remember when I rebuilt the rollover valve?

Delorean.

MIPS · #8 05-21-2022, 12:18 PM

The engine came out at the end of March and was sent in for a rebuild. At this point I really shouldn't be considering something costing $5000 but dammit, I'm going to stay committed to this car.
Several things were noticed.

1- While it was in for a block rebuild, it was found that even though I had the head sent separately to be rebuilt in 2020, that machine shop did a "refresh", not a "rebuild". Other than the stem seal umbrellas and redressing the valves in their seats no other work was done and it was found that the valves and their stem seals were all badly worn, so we opted to rebuild the head again and put all new parts in it.

2- Bearing surfaces looked okay. They were original to the engine but there was no signs of serious problems

3 - Pistons had light scuffing, so a rebuild was indeed time

4 - Camshaft had bad wear on the fuel pump eccentric. When I measured the lobes for abnormal wear I found the lobes at the front of the engine were visibly smaller than the lobes at the rear of the engine. They were not wiped out, so I'm not sure what happened there.

I asked for all the used parts back so I could examine them myself and to catch any issues (also I wanted to save the water pump because it only has 40000km on it). As it turns out they almost threw out my pump-to-manifold coolant hose and while I found my old block heater in the box I don't see mention of a new one on the invoice, so I'll verify with them again on Tuesday because it's WAY easier to install the block heater that lives under the manifolds with the engine out of the car.

MIPS · #9 05-25-2022, 04:26 PM

Also, what the hell is going with the price of Eagles?
When I bought in a wagon was $2000 and needed a ton of work. The community was nearly dead and Eagles were a footnote in automotive history that were even less known than the Pacer. Then as COVID Mania took over, at the same time their popularity flared up. I was seeing new articles, honorable mentions, youtube videos and their value started to creep up. $4000, $8000, $10000...
Last year a late, late '88 model that was in excellent condition and low mileage with all the options went for about $25000, which at the time was a record and kind of understandable because it was in great condition and the last of the last. Then this week an '84 in excellent condition, low miles and considerably fewer factory options than mine smashed the previous record and sold for $41000.

I..Wha....That's silly money. That's Corvette, Firebird and Mercedes money. I can't really explain or understand why their value is now spiking.

Electronic M · #10 05-25-2022, 06:29 PM

Maybe with the world going to hell an inline 6 that can go off road makes people feel better than a fuel hungry V8 that will scrape it's bottom off on too steep of an entrance to the grocery store parking lot.

Electronic M · #11 07-20-2022, 01:30 PM

I ended up pulling the drive train on my 47 Oldsmobile to replace the transmission myself because all my guages work and I didn't want some time-is-money mechanic to cut my oil guage capillary tube or speedo cable because they "didn't have time to soak it with penetrating oil overnight". I didn't make anything worse except the exhaust leaks...The exhaust pipe and muffler are older than me and were swiss cheese before I started so I pretty much didn't mess up anything that wasn't pre-ruined.

mr_rye89 · #12 07-20-2022, 03:27 PM

I deleted all the smog equipment on my w250 (LA 318 w/ Holley TBI) long ago, the AIR pump was seized anyway and no smog testing in my county. I'm thinking about ditching the Holley TBI and going to a 4bbl carb/HEI dizzy/hotter cam to try to get mo' powah......

MIPS · #13 07-21-2022, 12:27 AM

I'm seriously tempted to install it. There's no point as I'm lacking a catalytic converter but it's not like it will cause problems with it being there.....and its not like it would be hard to remove it again. I just need to find a source for the check valves that isn't $30usd each. @_@

MIPS · #14 07-22-2022, 04:08 PM

Well that experiment went out the window fast.
I guess one of the check valves I didn't receive with this pile of parts had failed and the exhaust blew out one of the control valves. Messing with Pulse Air was going to be a minimal cost thing but even used those valves are pricy, so I'll put all that away and go back to working on the center console.

MIPS · #15 07-26-2022, 05:09 PM

So I will admit that I've had none of my headlight alignment screws working the entire time I've owned the car. It was lousy driving at night, but it wasn't unusable.
Well this last weekend I finally dismantled the entire frond of the car to remove the headlamp buckets and replace all 8 adjusters. One of the buckets is weirdly tweaked even after I reassembled everything but with a quick alignment the beam seemed to be okay.

The other thing is that I discovered that while I have the optional two-tone horn the high-note horn has been dead the entire time as well. With the buckets out I could reach in and remove it and found it had been full of water in the past. Cleaned out the rust, burnished the contacts and blam, I got a two-tone horn!