There's a new kid in town

[Amc1320]

Think of the song by the eagles, appropriate

First I want to thank Rick, eaglefreek for his help with this. He found it and scouted it. Rick is a great person and has become a great freind through all this crazy eagle stuff

My son and his freind headed out this morning and picked up eagle number 4 , it's an 81 Kammaback  I had never even seen a Kammaback in person till I went to Colorado and rode with Dave vangremlin in his and saw the ones at the ranch. To find one at all is pretty special

The PO said that reverse didn't work, but it works fine, it's am sr4 and they were trying to find reverse like a t4 ? I'm not sure, but it's left and up after you push and it works great.

Super nasty dirty, scrubbed on it all day and now it looks  great , the interior is good except the headliner is trash and it's had a. Million cigarettes smoked in it.....

Has a metal valve cover that is leaking like crazy, cleaned all the crud off the engine to see that so have to do that right away.

258, 4 speed. Power steering and power brakes. No AC but it has cruise control? Seems odd?

Motorcraft carb on it, runs really well, starts right up. The PO couldn't get the 4wd to work but the vacuum hose to the can was off, plugged it in and the miss went away and the 4wd works fine.

Here is before and after cleaning, it got dark before I could get interior shots











The paint came right back , it was covered in mold. My son is a detailer at the local car dealership so he had so e heavy duty chemicals to remove that, then rubbing compound and lots of polish and it shines like a new one.

No rust underneath, rosters are perfect. Does have some surface rust by the back hatch that will need some attention

I scrubbed the inside a lot but it still smells lie, an ashtray....

[eaglefreek]

Dang, if I knew it would have looked that good under that mold, I would have went ahead and bought it myself.  Looks great. Glad the "problems" were easy fixes.

[recomer]

You forgot about me posting the link on the FB site when I found it on Craigslist for Rick to check out   No worries though, just happy that a Eagle person found it and are bringing it back to its former glory. That final pic is a LONG way from how it looked on CL. Congrats on the purchase.

RIch

[eaglefreek]

 Not the it matters Rich, Rob and his son knew about it before us. Eli had been stalking Craigslist for another Eagle and was in contact with the seller before me. I was just able to get there quicker to look at it.  But thanks for posting those links. It's helping to connect new Eagle owners with cars. Do you use a website to get feeds?

[Amc1320]

Thanks Rich for posting all those links, I read every one of them!

I don't know how you find all that stuff but its very very helpful and Im sure a lot of us find it useful!

Rob

[vangremlin]

Great score!  It cleaned up really nice, and I'm glad all the problems were easily solved.

For some reason that car looks very familiar....

[recomer]

Not the it matters Rich, Rob and his son knew about it before us. Eli had been stalking Craigslist for another Eagle and was in contact with the seller before me. I was just able to get there quicker to look at it.  But thanks for posting those links. It's helping to connect new Eagle owners with cars. Do you use a website to get feeds?

I was just joking there   Easiest way is using Search Tempest (www.searchtempest.com), I just put in AMC Eagle and select any distance from my zip code. It searches Craigslist, Ebay and Amazon all at once.

[recomer]

Thanks Rich for posting all those links, I read every one of them!

I don't know how you find all that stuff but its very very helpful and Im sure a lot of us find it useful!

Rob

I'm always searching for stuff for mine, so figured I might as well share. I know others are always looking for parts (and cars) too. www.searchtempest.com Searches craigslist, ebay and amazon across the country and you can check the boxes for Canada and mexico too.

[captspillane]

For some reason that car looks very familiar....

That's hilarious. Your Kammback is legendary on this forum, Vangremlin, so you don't even need to explain why its funny.

With the SR4 trans the shift handle is very weak. Two ways to prevent it from breaking is to start by replacing the nylon bushing between the forks. I've used electrical tape to build up a flexible alternative. That works well but only lasts about a year before its worn out and needs to be rewrapped. It is kind of annoying at first because it requires more effort to shift into reverse with a good bushing in comparison to a worn out bushing.

Next you need to make sure you shift the way you're supposed to. It's like the really old diesel volkswagens. You're required to push the handle down to let it into reverse. That is supposed to be positive, determined action to prevent accidental shifts. There is a spring built into the base that is supposed to be depressed with your hand. It is supposed to feel like there is just a wall with no reverse present until you push the handle down. What kills the shift handle is when the nylon bushing is worn out so there is enough slop for the corner of the notch to catch the ramp. It feels better at first because you can just push over and down into it with ease.  It's deceptive, however, because it is causing damage and causing fatigue. If you just go over and push it in against the notch you're using the fork to take the pressure of the spring. It only does that for a little while before it gives up the fight and breaks off.

Don't drive to far without a half inch socket and wobbly extensions. I've had to unbolt my handle more than once on the side of the road and drive home with a big screwdriver to shift. Be prepared.

[Amc1320]

Thanks Capt

I had the same tranny in our Spirit that Ive had for 20 years or so, always been gentle with it as its known for issues

I also have a couple extra shifters (and extra gizmos) in storage in case needed, hmmm maybe that's why I haven't needed them? Possible Murphys law of parts needed?

I actually was reading your write up on the electrical tape thing just the other day, its on my list of things to do

thanks

[Amc1320]

Great score!  It cleaned up really nice, and I'm glad all the problems were easily solved.

For some reason that car looks very familiar....

LOL, that's the first thing I thought too!

We are working on a good name for it, Pepe is taken of course

[eaglefreek]

Great score!  It cleaned up really nice, and I'm glad all the problems were easily solved.

For some reason that car looks very familiar....

LOL, that's the first thing I thought too!

We are working on a good name for it, Pepe is taken of course

How about Smokey?

[vangremlin]

Thanks Rich for posting all those links, I read every one of them!

I don't know how you find all that stuff but its very very helpful and Im sure a lot of us find it useful!

Rob

I'm always searching for stuff for mine, so figured I might as well share. I know others are always looking for parts (and cars) too. www.searchtempest.com Searches craigslist, ebay and amazon across the country and you can check the boxes for Canada and mexico too.

Yes, thanks for posting all those links.  I'm not sure whether you should get a finders fee, or maybe a share of the bill to fix up the cars once somebody buys them 

[recomer]

Yes, thanks for posting all those links.  I'm not sure whether you should get a finders fee, or maybe a share of the bill to fix up the cars once somebody buys them 

If anyone feels they HAVE to send me a finders fee, send it to the Den to keep this place alive

[Amc1320]

Smokey has been a top contender so far for a name

The lady who had it was a serious smoker there was literally a pile of ashes at each shift point as the ash would drop off in each gear..

I was surprised the carpet turned out so nice and wasn't full of burn holes

[vangremlin]

Smokey is a great name. Then you can name your next Eagle Bandit 

[Amc1320]

I think Smokey is the name that's gonna stick, that's what all my family is calling it....

The engine was covered in a TON of goo, my son who works at a detail place had some high powered de greaser and it cleaned up nice, I replaced the valve cover gasket that was leaking like crazy, also a new power steering belt (that was squealing) and a new piece of fuel line that was bad

The interior cleaned up very nicely and looks awesome, but you cant smell it in the picture.... the PO smoked a LOT in it and left ashes all over the car. May take some time and a LOT more cleaning to get that better....

[vangremlin]

The interior cleaned up very nicely and looks awesome, but you cant smell it in the picture.... the PO smoked a LOT in it and left ashes all over the car. May take some time and a LOT more cleaning to get that better....

The interior looks great.  That lingering smell gives you the opportunity to hang one (or three) of those air freshener trees from the rear view mirror!

[eaglefreek]

The interior cleaned up very nicely and looks awesome, but you cant smell it in the picture.... the PO smoked a LOT in it and left ashes all over the car. May take some time and a LOT more cleaning to get that better....

The interior looks great.  That lingering smell gives you the opportunity to hang one (or three) of those air freshener trees from the rear view mirror!

It might take 30 of them.

[vangremlin]

It might take 30 of them.

A whole forest!

[Jurjen]

I see that Pepe's long lost brother has been found. Since your son is a car detailer, he will probably know what to do to get the cigarette smell out.

[Eagle Groupie]

I see that Pepe's long lost brother has been found. Since your son is a car detailer, he will probably know what to do to get the cigarette smell out.

I'm interested in knowing any tricks for that.

[eagleman]

You might try putting a couple bars of Irish Spring Soap in the car. I always keep a bar under both front seats. Have done that in all my vehicles for years.

[Amc1320]

Good idea Eagleman, I will get some Irish spring tomorrow!

My son gave me some organic orange stuff they ues for smells in cars, it's a foaming cleaner and it's very powerful, it helped a little. About made me pass out while cleaning with it.

I've been leaving the windows down a lot, this car is an exceptional case I'm think

Could be worse, I'll get it somehow

Got tags for it today and drove it around, the six and stick is so much more peppy than my wagon, of couse it's a bit lighter but I think the stick makes the biggest difference.

[captspillane]

Stickshift wagons are the same way. Honestly the weight difference isn't a big deal except for body roll. If you put a rear sway bar on a wagon it feels exactly like a series 50 short Eagle.

My automatic 1980 Wagon is almost the same way too, so really it is all about gearing more than the stickshift difference. Changing gear ratio is night and day at feeling peppy.

(Every 1980 Eagle is an automatic with 3.07 gears. They didn't offer the same options as later years then. Later years are almost all 2.35 gears, which feel like total slugs)

Stickshift is much more forgiving for Carter carbs, too. The same Carter on a stickshift will feel much more stable than if its on an automatic, mostly because the engine isn't on constant load. You won't need to worry about triple-footing.

[eaglefreek]

Since you're in the radio biz, how about Smokey Ramblerson or how about Weezy?

[Jurjen]

I see that Pepe's long lost brother has been found. Since your son is a car detailer, he will probably know what to do to get the cigarette smell out.

I'm interested in knowing any tricks for that.

Well these are the most common tricks:
Use warm water with a Multi-purpose cleaner on the hard surfaces and leather.
Use shampoo vacuum cleaner on the carpets.
The headliner is a problem, I have no tricks for that (except for put a new headliner in).
When everything is clean, rent an onzone air cleaner for a day or two.

I also used fresh ground coffee on the carpets. Leave it for a week, vacuum it out and repeat that for a month or so. At least you car smells like coffee during the proces.
Leave the windows open as often as you can. The cigarette smell will get out, but it may take a few months.

[carnuck]

Mink oil on rags stuffed near any spots the mice may be getting in through chases mice off because they are a predator.

[vangremlin]

The headliner is a problem, I have no tricks for that (except for put a new headliner in).

You might try spraying the headliner with Fabreeze.

[Amc1320]

THe headliner is all falling apart anyway so I will be replacing it soon, I think that will help a lot

[Prafeston]

Great find guys! I'm jealous. Would love to be a Kammback owner one of these days!