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  • March 28, 2024, 06:36:19 AM

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Author Topic: AMC Sundancer 1982  (Read 1975 times)

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Offline juhap

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AMC Sundancer 1982
« on: February 21, 2023, 10:04:39 AM »
Summer 2022, a hot June day got new car home on a trailer.



Nice...



.. very nice..



..indeed...



But six years in a garage had left some signs...

T-top had turned grey.



Some vinyl paint and a little bit of glue fixed it.



It needed some touch ups... and battery cables.



Looks fresh.



Front seat had frozen motors... out the old ones...



.. in with the new ones... I had Concord seats, so it was easy fix.





A couple of "glory holes"? Oh no...



"Look mom, no holes!"



Rag top had some nasty screws. Needed better, so I bought some right ones.



Starter relay did belong to a John Deere tractor.



Got these fixed.



Cab cover fits nice...



Door window didn´t work well. No wonder if it had to work with this kind of rubber. And this was matter in both of doors.



Glass do not sit well, but I can live with that....so far...



This metal clip was missing, but I had one. So this was also easy fix.



Window motor is kind of finnish design... worked few weeks before jammed...



Doors needed some other work too...



Handles too...



Then it was time to made it street legal... tried to drive it to road test location, but old tires were bad, so it was impossible to drive.
Had to turn back and found a pair of tires and made a new try...



It passed that test.  :hello2:

I had a new set of whitewall tires waiting in a local tire shop for my Matador Coupe. So soon after road test I had new set of tires under this one.



It has had these stupid European Union lisence plates since its registration 2006...





So I changed those to standard plates. And placed those original Florida plates under them as decoration.



Found a pair of sun visors from my treasure...



Bushings were dead and caused heavy vibes...



Some maintenance done...
Bushings, gas line, and such...


New bushings...





Air hose.



Eagle donated a heater valve...



I wondered why gearbox made noice sometimes... someone had made a transmission mount of his own design... did not work.





So a new one fixed that problem.



After very busy summer it was time to go to winter hibernation....



But I have to do some seat reparation. Front seats are in bad shape as well as rear one...





This is original co-driver seat... but driver seat had fixed years ago... in US I believe... and they had painted old and new leather to get it all same color...



To fix these, I bought a cow hide...

« Last Edit: February 24, 2023, 04:50:59 PM by juhap »
American 440 Hardtop, American 220 2d (x2), American 330 4 d, American 330 Cross Country(x2), American F/EX Gasser, AMC Eagle STW (x4), AMC Matador Coupe Oleg Cassini(2x), Hornet 2d (x3), Willys Jeepster 1950, Jeep Cherokee 2d, Rogue 1966-SCRambler Replica
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465938  eagle
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465930   american
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2263025   american HT

Offline vangremlin

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2023, 11:25:22 AM »
Well that is just plain awesome.  Glad there were lots of little things for you to fix because it sure doesn't look like you'll have to do a lot of body work!  Enjoy it once summer rolls around again!
1981 Kammback 258 - "Pepe"
1980 Coupe 258 - "Ginger
1972 Gremlin X 304
1978 Gremlin 4 cyl 121 - sold
1964 TBird 390 - sold

Offline juhap

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2023, 03:11:56 PM »
Next summer I´m going to use this much more than I did. But it needs some TLC and elbow grease before and during the summer.
I did order new brake calibers fron Rockauto and bought other brake parts. New bushings and such are needed... And some welding is needed too...

Battery tray and rest of that area are gone and repaired badly...
I have hoarded a lot of used parts (junk says my wife...), so I found this. It is a inner fender of an  :amc: Hornet...



After some cleaning I found that i needs some new sheet metal.



I fixed it, now its almost like new.




Both front fenders have many dings and dents and some other paint damages... Engine bay needs cleaning and painting, there has been a battery explosion and acid has burnt though paint...  :censored:

And the worst thing is that death wobble like some Jeeps do. It occures ocasionally, but is very disturbing...  :censored:
« Last Edit: February 24, 2023, 04:52:16 PM by juhap »
American 440 Hardtop, American 220 2d (x2), American 330 4 d, American 330 Cross Country(x2), American F/EX Gasser, AMC Eagle STW (x4), AMC Matador Coupe Oleg Cassini(2x), Hornet 2d (x3), Willys Jeepster 1950, Jeep Cherokee 2d, Rogue 1966-SCRambler Replica
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465938  eagle
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465930   american
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2263025   american HT

Offline Artmodels

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2023, 09:06:28 AM »
For death wobble, we had to replace our idler arm bushings, all front suspension bushings, and a new steering damper.  No more death wobble.

Offline juhap

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2023, 02:48:51 PM »
That is just what I thougt, I have to do... replace it all... I´m going to install that steering damper, there isn´t one...
American 440 Hardtop, American 220 2d (x2), American 330 4 d, American 330 Cross Country(x2), American F/EX Gasser, AMC Eagle STW (x4), AMC Matador Coupe Oleg Cassini(2x), Hornet 2d (x3), Willys Jeepster 1950, Jeep Cherokee 2d, Rogue 1966-SCRambler Replica
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465938  eagle
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465930   american
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2263025   american HT

Offline AMC of Houston

  • The only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history.
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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2023, 07:50:26 PM »
The Concords didn't have a steering damper from the factory.   Guess it couldn't hurt to add one from the aftermarket.    Trying to use the Eagle version would take a LOT of mods.
George G.
'81 Eagle Sundancer
'85 Eagle Waggie
1960 1902 Rambler Replica
'64 American
'70 AMX (Big Bad Blue), '70 AMX (White)
'77 Gremlin
'78 Pacer Coupe, '78 Pacer Wagon
'79 Pacer Wagon
'73 Jensen Interceptor
'86 Audi 5000 Turbo
'98 Aston Martin DB7
'09 Nissan Titan
'10 Nissan Maxima

Offline juhap

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2023, 03:38:07 PM »
Internet helps you... I found a replacement power window cable from a wrecked Olds power seat .

American 440 Hardtop, American 220 2d (x2), American 330 4 d, American 330 Cross Country(x2), American F/EX Gasser, AMC Eagle STW (x4), AMC Matador Coupe Oleg Cassini(2x), Hornet 2d (x3), Willys Jeepster 1950, Jeep Cherokee 2d, Rogue 1966-SCRambler Replica
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465938  eagle
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465930   american
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2263025   american HT

Offline juhap

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2023, 05:18:20 PM »
This had a DIY battery tray... not very well done...



So, it had to be replaced. I did not have any solid one, so it was time to repair one. Or two actually...



After welding and grinding.





Inner fender was not very well repaired.



It needed a piece of sheet metal.



After bending and hammering...



A little bit welding and grinding...



Inner fender had a lot of rust spots and mis coloring because there has been a battery explosion...



Some cleaning and filler...



Then primer.



And some paint.



Now, that is better. And there is a brand new NOS battery holder.



Right front corner needed some attention.



Some bondo... after hammering, of course.



And paint, too.



Better now.



Then there was this...  >:D



Pushing it out, it is OK now.



Grinding and rust removed with phosphoric acid it was ready to paint.



Primer.



And paint...



There were some issues concerning right power window.
Motor was not original, but it was OK. Power cable was not... It was done by someone using original metal inner part and garden hose and vaseline and cable ties and screws and...



It was an easy fix using GM power seat cable. no DIY parts needed.



Works fine...

Heater worked well too, but  upper radiator hose, heater hoses and valves were a sad story...



Here are "new" parts assembled... Radiator hose is from Eagle. I bought a new one, but it was shorter than expected, so it did not fit with multi-groove belt. Heater valve is from my Eagle parts car... not the same, but close...



Vacuum hose was destroyed, so I took this from Eagle too...

https://jaatiedostosi.com/juhapih/sundancer/IMG_0668_(1).jpg

There were nothing left to attach that vacuum hose.



Luckily I had all the parts.



I fixed this panel, too.



Had a better one from an other Eagle.



Much nicer...



This had a stereo system with subwoofer and such... and original radio was deleted, wires cut and nothing worked.



All wires found their places, electric antenna works, but radio has just AM, not FM as it should...
No so nice...

There are some jobs to do, but now it is time to drive and enjoy...
American 440 Hardtop, American 220 2d (x2), American 330 4 d, American 330 Cross Country(x2), American F/EX Gasser, AMC Eagle STW (x4), AMC Matador Coupe Oleg Cassini(2x), Hornet 2d (x3), Willys Jeepster 1950, Jeep Cherokee 2d, Rogue 1966-SCRambler Replica
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465938  eagle
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2465930   american
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2263025   american HT

Offline vangremlin

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Re: AMC Sundancer 1982
« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2023, 07:10:52 PM »
I see you are working your magic on another AMC.  Well done!
1981 Kammback 258 - "Pepe"
1980 Coupe 258 - "Ginger
1972 Gremlin X 304
1978 Gremlin 4 cyl 121 - sold
1964 TBird 390 - sold

 

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