The poor thing has been long forgotten for 11 years in a small shed out in the middle of nowhere... The owner was about to sell it for scrap when he heard that my family collects AMC's (He works at the same place as my mom does). So he tracked down my mom and told her that he has this AMC Eagle sitting in a shed at his moms farm. He said that it would need a carburetor for sure (but that was when he parked it 11 years ago).
Now, the car needs a lot more than a carb... It has been sitting in SAND and has sunk into the ground. (Getting it out was not fun). But my Dad and I met him at a gas station this morning and he led us out to his mom's house, and sure enough there was this little 'ol Eagle sitting in a shed buried around wood, a boat, and a trailer. The frame doesn't look that bad, I couldn't see any rust holes. But I won't know for sure until I raise the car and get a better look at it. I did see one rust hole on the driver's side back door jamb.
We put a battery in it, checked the oil, and put a little gas down the carb. She cranked over, and almost started. She caught (a little), but with that old gas in there it doesn't surprise me it wouldn't start and keep running.
Another Eagle saved... and it doesn't seem in that bad of shape. A lot of TLC and we'll see what happens. This will be the 5th AMC that I have saved... and I hope all will go well for another to be back on the road.
Here are some pictures
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5388.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5386.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5387.jpg)
Pulled it out with my Mom's Liberty after the guy's 2WD Ford Ranger failed epically.
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5390.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5391.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5393.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5395.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5389.jpg)
Congratulatons with that nice find (and story). Good you saver another one ;D
Anjo
Holland
beauty in the mud, hopefully you were there to save her. congrats
Looks like a 1984 model.
You're going to have a bigger fleet than me pretty soon. :o
Some people have all the luck! Well good for you.Very happy for you and another Eagle saved.Keep us posted.
Quote from: El Matador on April 30, 2011, 04:21:44 PM
Looks like a 1984 model.
You're going to have a bigger fleet than me pretty soon. :o
Lol, I know.
Unfortunately, I might have to lessen my fleet. As I'm sure all of you know, it's hard to keep up with 6 cars as it is only one, especially for an 18 year old such as myself. I also have a $1200 loan that I have to be paying on for my '96 Cherokee, and all of the repairs that were made to my '83 Woody I still owe to my dad. At least my employer has been giving me more hours recently, and might be getting a raise soon. But, I might be selling one as much as I HATE to say that... :-\
Quote from: eagleman on April 30, 2011, 04:23:42 PM
Some people have all the luck! Well good for you.Very happy for you and another Eagle saved.Keep us posted.
I sure will keep everyone posted. This should be a lot of fun, and can't wait to get started.
Quote from: carver on April 30, 2011, 03:59:52 PM
Beautiful save ;D
Thank you :)
Quote from: A-A EAGLE on April 30, 2011, 03:41:41 PM
Congratulatons with that nice find (and story). Good you saver another one ;D
;)
Looks great. I just hope the mice didn't get at it too bad.
Quote from: Whuntmore on April 30, 2011, 05:13:47 PM
Looks great. I just hope the mice didn't get at it too bad.
They did unfortunately. I found multiple nests inside the car... I'll have my work cut out for me.
Crap! Damm those chewing machines...
Hopefully you have (or get) another Eagle with bad rot on the underside, but good interior.
Quote from: Whuntmore on April 30, 2011, 07:12:55 PM
Crap! Damm those chewing machines...
Hopefully you have (or get) another Eagle with bad rot on the underside, but good interior.
Where I usually get my parts for my AMC's, had a fire a fews years ago and burned up lots of good AMC cars and a perfectly good '87 white and red Eagle that was rotted out...but had a good red interior.
Otherwise I know of one other Eagle that survived the fire that has a red interior, but I don't know what I all need yet, and/or if it's any good still.
Nice save. YOur documentation ansd story sound like they were taken right from an American Pickers episode.
Good luck with it. I wish (and then again kind of don't) that I had 6 AMCs.
HI Robert that's a nice find its just like my 82 but I have a black interior....I looked at mine today and
it is as dusty as yours .....I like that color ...
good luck with getting her ruining.....later..........Don
:amc: :eaglebig: :amc:
Now thats an egg worthy save if ive ever seen one ;) Its too bad it was left to sit so long for such a simple problem...but on the flip side it probably would have died of rust or old age and been scrapped years ago if it hadn't....Now its got a new lease on life.. ;D
By the way, a bit off topic but... I found scattering moth balls around periodically under the car as well as leaving them in the engine bay seems to keep those stupid mice away from it.
Quote from: shanebo on May 01, 2011, 01:02:49 AM
Now thats an egg worthy save if ive ever seen one ;) Its too bad it was left to sit so long for such a simple problem...but on the flip side it probably would have died of rust or old age and been scrapped years ago if it hadn't....Now its got a new lease on life.. ;D
By the way, a bit off topic but... I found scattering moth balls around periodically under the car as well as leaving them in the engine bay seems to keep those stupid mice away from it.
Thanks :)
And yes when I leave my cars sit, I put dryer sheets all around the car inside and out. I've had decent luck with that technique.
EGG for the save Robert!
Goin out today to put plates on it and see if we can get a tow truck out there and haul it home for us.
I'll post later, leavin now
The Eagle has landed, in the front yard! My dad had it towed home, and as soon as it came we immediately started going over the car.
The thing is utterly disgusting inside and out. There is mouse nests everywhere and even one in the headliner... :P :P :P And doesn't smell the prettiest either.
It will take some work, blood, sweat, and tears (hopefully just work) and we'll see what we can make of it.
Only managed to clean out the excess garbage in the car and called it a night tonight.
Here are some pictures of the arrival at my house
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5396-1.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5398.jpg)
Interior needs a cleaning like no OTHER
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5399.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5402.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5400.jpg)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5401.jpg)
Progress has started! (Me taking out the nasty floormat with pure garbage in it)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5403.jpg)
Don't touch me I'm stero! (no...not really)
(http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac224/amc78concord/102_5405.jpg)
It's a crappy job Robert, but as we all know, it will be worth it. I just hope alot can be salvaged in the interior.
Keep us up to date when you can. I'll be watching.
Quote from: Whuntmore on May 04, 2011, 10:56:20 PM
Keep us up to date when you can. I'll be watching.
Sure will!
Lots of trash for sure but it doesnt look to be past the point of rescue. It definatly has alot of potential!! Cant wait to see your progress with this car! Best of luck!!
Well, doesn't seem that bad... Sometimes I ride in my friend's cars and they look exactly like that (beer cans, garbage and the like) ;)
I think you have a really good Eagle there, Robert, congrats !
Keep at it Robert. Somewhere under all that stuff is an AMC Eagle smiling that it will once again be on the road.
I think you got a nice one. I always liked the red interiors.
One has to love a challenge!But I see a ton of promise there. Keep at it and I believe you will be well rewarded.Couldn't be happier for ya! Keep us posted cause I think were all excited.
Update 5/7/2011:
Spent 3 1/2 hours yesterday vacuuming out the car and removing all of the mice feces and pure dirt and crud. Even after all of the scrubbing with the vacuum, I'm still not done. Still have to get in between all of the seats and might even have to remove the back seats to make sure theres nothing under there. And still have to clean out the hidden compartment. Then after it's all vacuumed I'll start steam cleaning it with our Steam Clean Vacuum.
Took some cleaner and scrubbed all of the door panels, door jambs, vinyl parts of the seats, and dash as they were full of a film substance and dirt.
Last Thursday, 5/5, I Painted up some rims and put on decent tires at my school with all new valve stems. And this morning I put them on the car so it has tires now that at least hold air.
Got a look at the brakes (except the drums, were rusted on) and they don't look very good. Yet the brake pedal has pressure, so they are working to a degree. But will definitely need attention soon. Also noticed some rust in the rear quarter panels and right front shock tower, but nothing really serious, just a few little spots and very small holes starting to come in.
So I believe the next step is getting the thing running, so most likely within the next week or two the carb is going to be rebuilt and we will see then after that if she fires.
HI Robert grate save . when I was here last I forgot to egg you nice save keep up the good work ...
Don
Update 5/9/2011.
Got the carb pulled off today, and going to have it rebuilt. We'll see if we can get her running with just a carb rebuild, and then we'll go from there.
IT RUNS!!!!
Put on the rebuilt carb and replaced the fuel pump, and she fired right up! As soon as it started running, a whole load of crap and fiber material shot out the tail pipe! I'm talking like A WHOLE LOT... We had to fill up a half garbage bag of this stuff... :censored: mice!
It overheated in about 20 minutes, but it's alright. Just gotta put some 50/50 in her and that'll be fixed up in no time. Also put some tranny fluid in her as it was bone dry! The car shifts into park and reverse with no clunks and seems to work just fine!
The car runs surprisingly well... I wasn't expecting that. I'm very surprised for a car that sat for 11 years.
Next is the getting the brakes working, as there are no brakes! lol
Its crazy....that thing sat for 11 years for a carb problem you fixed in a day....hey their loss is your gain. Of course if it hadnt been parked for all those years there is a good chance it would have been run into the ground and crushed along time ago.
Quote from: shanebo on June 07, 2011, 01:31:18 AM
Its crazy....that thing sat for 11 years for a carb problem you fixed in a day....hey their loss is your gain. Of course if it hadnt been parked for all those years there is a good chance it would have been run into the ground and crushed along time ago.
I guess some people just don't have the resources that I do. I'm thankful to have my dad, my many knowledgeable friends, and you guys here at the nest. Without these things, I would probably be in the same boat as the previous owner...
Your Eagle saving is somewhat like my Mercedes Benz saving. I find cheap ones that are bound for the scrap yard, and get them going again. It is usually something simple (to me) wrong that the former owners don't want to deal with.
I find that saving these old cars is a lot of fun....Rich
HI Robert Long time no hear ..whats going on with your last save would like to see how your doing
with that good looking Eagle later........Don
Quote from: teneagle on July 07, 2011, 08:19:21 AM
HI Robert Long time no hear ..whats going on with your last save would like to see how your doing
with that good looking Eagle later........Don
Not too much as of late, been working on other cars to get ready for Iola the last couple weeks. Otherwise I've gotten the power steering pump replaced as it was leaking all over the place and my Dad was getting mad seeing power steering fluid all over his drive way and grass. :P Then after that I started working on the brakes and after messing with them for a little while, I didn't have anymore brakes at all...lol So I see now that I'll be needing a new master cylinder, calipers, pads, maybe rotors, drums, shoes, drum inners, and wheel cylinders. So motivation isn't really high at the moment lol
Ditto....
I hear ya Robert....Theres somthing about brake jobs that just doesn't get the motivational fluids moving...I need to overhaul the entire brake system on the 83 wagon and I ive been "thinking about it" for a few months now.....sigh :-\
HI Every Body ...Robert I know how it is ....Ive been busy helping Friends with lawn mowers and cars ....
having fun every body should have more than one Eagle ....HA-HA......I want to start on my 82 ..it
has been seating for 10 years inside on stands waiting for me to get off my :censored:and fix it
maybe this year I hope so .........Don
that 82 is sharp don... get r done. if anyone says that it dont have black vinyl seats then i can vouch for you.
HI Brent Thank you ....I would love to see her on the road this year .....we should have an Eagle party
HA-HA.... my wife would love that ............Don
My wife gets a little irate when Eagles are the topic of discussion. Im trying to get her to come with me to the junk yard tomorrow...To help carry tools....he he he >:D. (she doesnt know that part though....she just thinks were going to look and leave.)....Hey, I went to Hobby Lobby with her last week to go yarn shopping....Now its her turn to be involved in a real hobby ;D
are you going to the one in the springs or the one here in pueblo?
HI Shane I would buy a ticket to see this ....If I lived close I would be there .....good luck with that....Don
Hey, thought I'd give a little update on my Eagle here.
I haven't touched it much besides moving it around in the driveway to cut the grass where it always sits. Now with winter coming up, it has a permanent spot on the lawn until spring.
I'm a full-time college student, and when I'm not at school, I'm working to be able to keep going to school. Eventually, I will be able to work on this car. It may take some time, but some day, it will be back on the road. I refuse to sell it, because I want the joy of saving this car myself.
So just keep an eye out for updates in the future on this car, some day it will be a "Free Bird."
Good for you, Robert.
Looks like you have a Sanctuary there.
Hay Robart what you been up to. have you had any snow this year or is it work work work ....../Don
It's been all school and work, yea. Plus when I do have some time off to work on my cars, it's too cold out! So I'm just going to have to wait until it gets warmer out to work on my projects. :-\
Glad to hear all is going good. College is real time consumer for sure.