AMC Eagle Den Forum
The Shop => Project Cars => Topic started by: Djotx92 on November 20, 2016, 08:36:46 PM
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Well its been about 2 weeks since I picked up this '86 Eagle for $500. I have been contemplating on bringing it back to life, or selling it. I think I have settled on slowly bringing it back to life. Nothing makes me happier than taking something that doesn't work and making it work again. It is a lot more work than I anticipated but I am in no rush and will work on it little by little. I've looked the car over and I definitely have some big obstacles to overcome but I hope that I can get there. My main goal is to get the car running like normal before I decide to do any upgrades or changes.
First,
The car has been sitting for over 10 years. Some rats decided to make a home inside the engine bay. It looks like they didn't get too many wires chewed up, but I haven't cleaned up the engine completely yet. I'm afraid to hook up a battery just yet because I don't want something to short and start a fire. It looks like most of it is by where the battery(and starter solenoid? I think) is located.
Second,
The motor is going to be fun. For the most part it looks like all the vacuum lines and hoses are still intact but there are some missing and broken. That will be fun trying to sort through those since the car doesn't run and hasn't in a while.
Third,
Everything else will slowly come I think. Brake system, fuel system, ignition, suspension and steering components, etc. The frame looks to be rust free but everything underneath the car seems to have a lot of surface rust.
As of now the only thing I have done is get some used front tires to be able to roll the car. It had 2 flats when I go the car and it was extremely hard to move the thing. Now that I have that, I think its engine time. Let me know if you have any opinions or tips!
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Without hooking up a battery it will be harder to find electrical problems. Or what not. I would say hook it up and make sure it can pop off easy if needed.
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These engines are pretty tough and usually can be brought back to life after sitting - my Kammback had been sitting for about 16 years and I got it running without much trouble at all. Good luck, I agree with mudkicker, you're going to have to connect the battery and be ready to pull the wire off in a hurry if you see sparks fly! Of course, fix any obviously chewed wires first!