Almost a month ago I purchaced an 86 wagon for 100.00....actualy 97.00 if I recall correctly. I finally had a little extra time today and made te 45 min. drive to Lake George to pick it up. Id bought it without actually seeing it. It does run...needs an alternator though. The guy quit driving it after both front and D/S rear door handles busted and made his 80 sedan his primary car. It is going to need a good cleaning out as its full of junk. Interior is pretty rough. Its a well traveled car i found maps lots of maps in the glove box from all over the country. Its even got a mid 70's "Radar Range" in the trunk. I found some old tools a couple of pocket knives and fishing stuff....Oh yeah and a half pack of NOW cigarettes...havent seen them since the late 80"s
Under side is 99.9% rust free but muddy and dusty. It has lived on dirt roads for the past 20 years since it moved from denver.
(http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2444.jpg) (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2443.jpg)
Flawless paint, no dents and good glass....ok I was kidding about the paint ;D Were at over 9000 feet elevation up here and those UV rays are murder on a paint job!!(http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2451.jpg) (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2450.jpg) (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2445.jpg)(http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2442.jpg)(http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2447.jpg)[http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2448.jpg[/IMG](http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2448.jpg)(http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2446.jpg)
Supposedly that old microwave works great....the guy I got the car from just closed his tackle shop and his house is full to the ceiling with fishing goods....He wanted to keep the old Radar Range but had no room so he threw it in to further sweeten the pot......under a hunderd bucks for an 86 wagon and a like new retro microwave....Life is good ;D
I'd keep those NOW Cigs from the 80's. That is a great 'show' piece...great name for the car too!
Hey, great score there Shanebo. Eggs to you!
being born in the 80's I have never heard of or seen a pack of NOW cigarettes :o
Although a clean well kept interior would have been nice to have....Im kinda enjoying all these cool little goodies that were left in the car....the ironic thing is there was a roll of black trash bags left on passanger floor....Hope to have this car on the road in a few weeks and use it as a daily driver till project Ginger is complete....then it will get its turn for some TLC.
Heres an interesting tidbit on the car...the old guy I got it from purchaced it as a parts car about 12 years ago from his neighbor for 100.00. He said he could never bring himself to tear it apart cuz it ran so darn good. Hes been diving it up until rescently when all but one of the door handles broke....he now is redirecting his attention to his 80"sedan.
except for the paint that is a good looking eagle you got there shanebo.
Since the dealer nameplate says "Jeep Eagle" I would assume this car was sold as a used unit there, sometime after the Chrysler takeover and formation of the Eagle division.
The hood has been replaced. A 1986 should have the power bulge hood.
Helluva score for $97.00. I spent more than that at the yard yesterday and only got a wheelbarrow full of parts.
I was thinking that about the hood this morning too El Matador. The hood must have been replaced long ago though as its equally as cooked as the roof. Im not sure what way I want to go with this car. One part of me wants to repaint in stock colors and redo the carpet, seats, and headliner. The other part wants to paint it olive drab with flat black trim and a white star on the doors....maybe reupholstering the seats in greeen canvas or somthing.
By the way Emich was an AMC Jeep Renault dealership up until the buy out..then it becameEmich Jeep Eagle. So like you said it must have been sold there after 88. The guy I got it from said it was purchaced new in denver.
nice find,those seats seem different almost like a spirit ,high back I like em.Love those factory rims too,I have none.
Tomorrow when I get back from getting a part from Vangremlin Im gonna hook up the alternator and see what shees got!...Im keeping my fingers crossed shell fire right up. I can then change the fluids and run some diesel or Mavel through the oil for a few hours and then change oil again but with synthetic oil and good filter.
Heck of a deal. Yup, those seats are from a small bodied AMC 2 door car.
Unfortunatly they are just the stock eagle seats..head rest fully extended....wearing a pretty ugly pair of seat covers. Didnt get the alternator in but car does start when a battery is hooked up...goes in gear....atleast I know it does that.
Well, I spent all morning with an ohm meter trying to track down the cause of bluebirds starting issue. It apears there is power in the hot wire that leads into the coil. This means either the coil is bad or possibly somthing in the distributor or ignition control module. There is no spark what so ever coming out of the distributor. I do have the coil, distributor, and icm out of Ginger (my 83) that I know is good. I really dont want to get myself in the habbit of robbing gingers parts for bluebird...Even though I will be putting new stuff in ginger I cant help but feel a bit guilty....After all Ginger is the project car..bluebird fits into more of the hopefully daily driver catagory.
I went thru something similar. Start with the coil first.
Ill swap the coil tomorrow morning if I have time....Im keeping my fingers crossed!
Considering the paint and interior I say leave both as is and put a straight axle and 4 inches of lift under it :D Then, no worries about scratches or small dings :D
Im almost kinda starting to dig the "rat" look. Its like at sturgis...there are $100,000+ bikes there but its the rat bikes that grab the most attention....That paint job bluebirds wearing will fetch more looks than a candy apple one ill bet...LOL......Hmmm do I hear Eagle of the month 8)
Everytime I see the title, it reminds me of the nursery rhyme "Bluebird, Bluebird through my window"
;D
I always see a bluebird when I look out my kitchen window now ;D
All I see are Frickin' crows!
Blue bird is that georgeous 2 tone blue and rust color..LOL
Quote from: shanebo on June 01, 2011, 01:26:47 AM
Blue bird is that georgeous 2 tone blue and rust color..LOL
Ohhh, Man! I wasn't cluing in there. I thought you meant the actual bird... Man, sometimes I'm really dense. Plus, my joke bombed...
couldnt figure out the spark think...swapped in a coil and still i doesnt work....Im not real sure where to go from here...I guess the distributor will be next on the list. I have juice goin to the coil but none coming out to the distributor cap,,,,what do you guys think? coil or distributor
I frustrated with the spark issue and gave up on it today and removed 4 bags of trash. the seats are real dirty and the floor is equally....however Iused some 409 on the seat stains and with a little elbo grease they started getting brighter...I bet they will come back ok once I shampoo......all the stains appear to be spilt soda and coffee so a good shampooing should get it lookig ok. (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2465.jpg) (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2466.jpg) (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2467.jpg)
also found this!!(http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/2468.jpg)
i know you probably already checked it but is the wire going from the coil to the distributor connected and making good contact and is it in good shape. the resone i ask is i accidentally did that one day when i was working on eagle eyes and had removed the wire to do some work on the starter and then later tried to start her and couldn't figure out why she wouldn't start. i know it's an obvious thing to check but sometimes it's the most obvious things we overlook.
I had no spark going to my plugs either. I started replacing from the other end though, I ended up replacing:
Coil, dist cap and I cleaned the button, wires, new plugs, and HEI. It works now, but I practically replaced the whole ignition system. I cleaned the wires going to the coil, and I followed them along the branch of the harness to make sure it was ok.
On mine, the coil was bad, but it had burnt out to 'look' like it had the proper Ohms. So it fooled us.
Replacing the whole ignition system lets you do an upgrade/dress up too,If one can afford or do 1 thing per week but glad you found the faulty part. :occasion14:
I pulled all the plugs nad they look real clean and not very old. I checked today and the coil is only like 25 dollars....The distributor is around 80 i think....Giner has a nearly new distributor that I will try swapping in this week....I tried puttng gingers coil in and still nothing at the plugs. I guess that only leaves the distributor...I supose I could have a bum ground....Its frustrating cuz I know the thing ran...I just dont know what the heck happened. I
have the alternator to put in but I really want to get it running before I go through the grief of putting the alternator back in.....This spark thing is really bugging me!!
Some places can test your ignition module, you might want to have that looked at.....
That would probably be a good Idea to do that before I go crazy buying parts...I can get one of those for 28 bucks from auto zone if it is bad....atleast I found a good door handle under the back seat...now I can atlest get into the front without going through the back.
HI Have you made any progress with Blue bird ..You have a good body to start with a little pant
and some T L C and you will have a sharp car ... I hope you find the bug soon .........Don
Hi Don,
I think bluebird is going to be passed on to Tougeagle. I really need to spend what little free time I got on Ginger. Ive been in this situation in the past and I wound up with 2 partially completed cars that I never got done. Ginger is really my one true love and I really got alot tied up in her. I thought long and hard the other day, and Its just not fair for Bluebird to be put on the backbuner, She needs a good home where she will be fixed up and driven regularly.... Tougeagle will certainly give her that.!! Its the least I can do for Toug as he is going to help me install my EFI and wire in the computer...as well as fine tune everything.....Ill keep ya all posted on Bluebirds trip to Greely. I do still need to get her running....Im going to install a new distributor and if thats not it an ICM...I really want it to be running when Toug comes to get it.
HI Shane I know how you fell two pots on a one burner stove doeant work that good .....I had to stop trying to fix all and consentrate on one ...I would like to see you have 2 eagles but I know your right maybe
later youal find a sx or kam that you fall in love with..........Don
If you don't mind, after work I'd love to come by and check it out on thursday.... that also kinda depends on when I get off of work, and what time you go to bed, cus I wouldn't get there until late... maybe I'll pay for another night at the hotel and come up friday morning or somethign... decisions decisions.... If nothing else, just keep me posted on whether or not you're able to get her running this week. I'm working twelve hour shifts every day until friday, but I'll have to leave on thursday night unless I pay for another room... Just keep me posted XD I'll have a friend come down with me and follow me with caroline back to greeley.
I switched the coil and it fired right up! it stays running as long as i pump the gas...will not idle...just dies when I let off the gas. The guy I got it from said there was a vaccum hose that comes off from time to time and it causes the car to stall out. Any one have an Idea which one it might be....I see a bunch of hoses disconnected and split etc. Which ones are the more "vital" vaccum lines....any help would be awesome.
Don: I'm really not sad to see it go cuz I know its going to be in very good hands...I would never sell an Eagle to anyone who isn't a nest member! Ginger is the most extensive Eagle project I have ever been involved in and I need to stay focused. If another Eagle comes along before Ginger is done theres still a good chance ill snatch it up. Bluebird would be a great rust free project car...but Ive already got my project wagon...but after ginger I would really like an sx4 or kamback....plus I will have a lot more know how and confidence after this restoration.
also if you have the auto the you prolly need the vaccum line that runs the modulator on the lefthand side of the transmission...
Quote from: brentsydlik on June 07, 2011, 03:14:21 PM
also if you have the auto the you prolly need the vaccum line that runs the modulator on the lefthand side of the transmission...
No vac on an eagle trans
oh ok... :dontknow:
I believe the AMC trannys used kickdown cables,so no vacuum needed there
good to know... ill go rip the rest of them out now! just kidding. its like 95 degrees out. i aint doin didly!!!
Quote from: philotomy on June 07, 2011, 06:26:29 PM
I believe the AMC trannys used kickdown cables,so no vacuum needed there
Technically a kick rod
quite correct,I forget mine isn't stock
I ran it for about 5 minutes and it did finally idle...but rough!...once that engine got hot all that caked on oil started to burn off...Looked like one of those oil rig fires..LOL....luv that plastic valve cover!...Im gonna pull the plugs nad see if they may be fowled.
Quote from: shanebo on June 08, 2011, 12:07:47 AM
I ran it for about 5 minutes and it did finally idle...but rough!...once that engine got hot all that caked on oil started to burn off...Looked like one of those oil rig fires..LOL....luv that plastic valve cover!...Im gonna pull the plugs nad see if they may be fowled.
If I'm there on friday (which I may be, it's a half day, end at noon) I'll have a can of seafoam with me, I'll put it down into teh carb bowl vent, the idle tubes may be gummed up. I'll bring some purple power with me too, lol
Ill be out of town friday but Ill leave the keys and title and all that stuff in the car. I didnt get a chance to change the oil yet but it looks pretty clean. I havent got to look at the rear diff. or trans.either. Your more than welcome to come up and work on her or take her if your able. The alternator, bracket, bolts, and spare handle are on the floor in the back seat....Ill grab the belts tomorrow and have them there too. My grandfather lives right next door so if ya need any tools or anything we got alot of stuff in the garage ...Ill PM directions to my place.
Me and Tougeagle spent the better part of a day and most of the night working on bluebird...even swapped out the rear axles...had a blast though. found out we needed new wheel cylinders for Caroline and one for bluebird....Hit a bit of an obsticle with the bleeder valves....But Eaglers always overcome!!....We are going to do a head gasket job on bluebird in the next few weeks.....she blows some vapory white smoke but other than that runs pretty darn descent.
HI Shane sounds like you have the same problem that I have... intake gasket... glad to hear every thing
else is coming right along.. did you get Carolin's wheel cylinders fixed..hope so .....thanks.......Don
HI How Is Blue Bird coming along .. I see I maid a mistake about head gasket mine was intake not head .
A little more detailed than intake gasket ....Hay Toug my outher eagles got in the high 26-27 or so .
But I am only 634 feet above sea level you are a little bit higher that will make a difference ....
Later ...............Don
We havent really had a chance to do much with it. Both myself and Tougeagle have been pretty busy. I gotta give him a hollar this week. He must be pretty busy cuz i have not seen any new posts from him on here in a while.
HI Shan toug said he was going to be busy for a while ......Good luck to hem and you ....
To day is have a good DAY ...day.............Don
Hey guys, definitely a bt busy but broke more than anything right now. I need to make some posts, colorado auto parts has three new eagles in the yard in denver one is an 80 with pristine interior.....
I need to get a transfer case for caroline preferably a 119 but would take a 129. Thats what is binding up and im gonna smoke this rear end if i dont return the rear driveline to stock...but, im so broke that i have to hope that where ever my work sends me, i can afford to get there with the quarter tank i have. I badly want bluebird down here... I think ill replace the transfer case in caroline once ive got some money again and tow bluebird back with er.
My power steering is having problems again, this time the fitting at the back of the pump, pressure side, is steadily leaking fluid out. Thats the straw that broke the camels back, im going to remove the pumptoday and when i eventually brig bluebird down ill take her box to the rebuilder here and have him find me a manual saginaw from a truck or something, cus im at my wits end on trying to make it work and i refuse to wste any more money on band aiding the situation.
Also havent been posting much because i havent had the cah to pay the internet bill for the past month and a half so ive been posting from my phone....and, i quit smoking two days ago....
my parents have been smoking for 30+ years and have tried to quit many times. i wish you the best of luck and hope that you can overcome it... if nothing else you would be better able to afford the parts you need for restoring old birds!
Quote from: brentsydlik on July 02, 2011, 09:12:54 PM
if nothing else you would be better able to afford the parts you need for restoring old birds!
You'd be amazed what you can save by quitting. My room mate quit and bought a brand new car for the same amount he spent on smoking per month.
For anyone who wants to quit smoking without willpower!!
http://allencarr.com/category/smoking/
And now back to your regularly scheduled thread! ;D
Quote from: tougeagle on July 02, 2011, 02:40:20 PM
one is an 80 with pristine interior.....
What color?? If Limited in light tan, I could use some parts for the TD Eagle.
Quote from: rollguy on July 02, 2011, 11:47:53 PM
Quote from: tougeagle on July 02, 2011, 02:40:20 PM
one is an 80 with pristine interior.....
What color?? If Limited in light tan, I could use some parts for the TD Eagle.
Rollguy, here is my post about that same 1980 wagon. Its not a limited, but I think it did have a light interior. Not leather though.
http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=35905.0
You still workin on the TD Rollguy?
Quote from: shanebo on July 03, 2011, 10:50:54 PM
You still workin on the TD Rollguy?
Yes, and no. The yes, whenever I find parts (and time) to restore it, and no because Terry at Rambler Ranch will hopefully pick it up soon, and I will not need to do any more work on it.
And now back to our regularly scheduled topic.
Shane, see my ad in the amc vehicles for sale section, it concerns Caroline and Bluebird....
HI What happened to BLUE BIRD ......Shane do you have any idea ? ?
Don
I gave it to tougeagle...Im looking for a nicer Eagle that needs less work...I am going to practice my painting skill on her soon just to see if I still got it.
Hi Shane did you try your painting skills on blue bird and if so how did it turn out ....DO you still have it
..........Don
I still got her....Tougeagle got out of the eagle scene after he had to sell caroline....Once the weather warms up I plan on doing some practice painting...Ill probably put her up on freebees just cuz I dont have the time to work on her and Id really like to see it go to a good home....plus I got my eye on a real nice sx4 sport.
Gronk came and got Bluebird today. She was loaded up pretty good with an engine, transmission, and bunches of other misc. parts for ginger....if the springs werent sagging before they are now LOL We did have a few issues getting her up on the trailer but Ill let Gronk tell you about that. (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/124311.jpg)
Lesson learned the hard way.
When borrowing a truck/trailer, don't assume the hitch/ball already mounted on the truck is the correct size. Even if it is a standard 2" ball. Even if you have had the trailer towing behind the truck for over a week. Even if you have already towed 2 cars with it hooked up EXACTLT that way. Once you try to load a Bluebird loaded with an extra 500+ lbs of "stuff", the trailer will release itself from the ball and put a nice gash in your "borrowed" trucks tailgate.
I'm returning the truck today with $500 cash to cover the deductible. :-\
Shanebo, picture of damage please...
I can relate to the loaded car squat look. When they dropped caroline here off the carrier, it was loaded to the roof with parts, includeing the rear and front passeneger seat full.The guy griped because it leaked fluid onto the top of a nice BMW - hey, he was the one who put it on the top ; ) .
without further ado I present the photos of the damage... (http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc377/shanebo79/124312.jpg)
Did you tell your wife what happened Gronk? I didnt realize my wife saw the whole thing happen and when I got back inside she said, and I quote..."See, nothing good will ever come of those ugly old cars....Someone could have been hurt or killed."
yeah a similar experience with me and a trailer happened. I had it loaded with 2 costly vintage Indians and decided to take it off the ball thinking it would just set down.Too much wieght rearward of the axle - I hung on trying to keep it from tipping up.Luckily I wasn't hurt, nor were the bikes.
"sigh" Yup, I told her.
my mom and dad lost a ford ranger tailgate that way. the were moving from Oklahoma to here in Colorado they were using their 98 ranger to tow a fully loaded trailer that had a 83 Chevy S10 packed to the gills when the latch on the trailer tongue broke and caused it to come off the ball and slam into the back of the ranger destroying the tailgate, and they were doing 65mph on the highway when it happened. surprisingly the only damage was to the tailgate and trailer latch as it could have been much worse.
Everything is good. No one was hurt and Bluebird made it to her new home safely. insurance deductible is $500. Done and done...
DOH! glad no one was hurt