AMC Eagle Den Forum
The Shop => Project Cars => Topic started by: GECKO77 on September 08, 2021, 08:46:25 PM
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Was wondering if this is worth it
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Oh wow. That will require a lot of work
If you look at this thread it will give you an idea of what you are up against. The pictures weren't showing up for me, maybe you'll have better luck, as I know I have seen the pictures before
http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=43853.msg362600#msg362600
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That looks pretty bad and its usually worse than it looks. How is your Spirit for rust? If there's no or little rust on it I think its a much better candidate for you to fix and convert to 4wd.
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Man, you got some serious Fred Flintstone :censored: going on there.
The question is not if it's worth it. The question is is it worth it to you? I'm sure my Eagle wasn't 'worth it,' the time and money invested could never be recouped by selling and I could've just bought a Subaru and called it a day (yawn). But if you take a liking to the car, and you enjoy its rarity and the looks you get, then it is always worth it. Case in point: the thread vangremlin posted. (great pics) There is extensive work being done to this rusty old Eagle, so I'm willing to bet he really likes the car. Also helps he has mad metal skillz and a full shop. He's an inspiration to us all.
Also if you want to learn about how to do sheetmetal, this would be an opportunity for that. If you'd be paying someone to do it, it'd be untold thousands. But there are probably other bad spots in the car as well; check all the areas that juhap had to do on his car in the aforementioned thread, especially in the front wheel wells. Ultimately, how bad the rest of the car is would decide it for me. Also check to see if you can even get new floorpans and rockers; some parts for Eagles are literally impossible to find.
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Thanks for the replies, and the link to the thread, the spirit is like 1500 (thats quite a bit when youre 16) and has almost zero rust, it has nice patina. I would be willing to invest the time, i think my lack of skills and specialty tools is what would be the bigger problem, also this eagle I have is an oddball, the nameplate says eagle GT wich is a model ive never heard of before.... ,So i was hoping to restore it, the drivetrain swap was a last resort option that i was investigating, my funds are also currently limited as i just spent around 1000 on powertools,sockets,wrenches, and more...
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Oddly enough my eagle has no rust at all past the front floorpan, most of the rust is in the rear and rather easy to access...., My rear leaf spring mounts are about to come throu the floor, and my a pillar is no longer attached to the floorpan....
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Also due to posting pictures here being a little buggy, ill post all pictures on my Instagram @canuck_cars
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You need to be pretty committed to fix that level of rust, but it is doable. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time on it. The rocker panels aren't too difficult, the tricky part is the back of the rockers where the front of the leaf springs mount to the sub-frame/body. Based on the pictures, that area is likely very rusty on your eagle, which will require a lot of creative and careful work fixing. I'm on year 2 of fixing the rust on my SX/4, and it wasn't even half as bad as yours looks (granted I don't have much time I can spend on it).
Personally, I think you are better off getting that Spirit and either driving it, or swapping over the SX/4 front end/drivetrain. Not sure what the terrain is like out where you live, but you'd be surprised what a RWD car is capable of once you learn how it drives in various weather. If you have a lot of hills to deal with, then yeah, you might want to go for the drivetrain swap for the AWD.
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:blob1:i am well aware of the capabilies of a 2 wd, where i live it is mostly flat, but i live out in the country , and here in winter i get -40 temperatures and alot of snow, and the slight lift/and 4wd would make a big difference there i would think
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Altho regardless of weather the 2wd would be more fun ;) sadly the spirit is an auto, so i f i get it i would do a transmission swap regardless, i already have an auto truck, and it gets very boring .....