I recently picked up this car from a local seller found on someone's list. Its an all blue '83 SX/4 4.2/T5 car, clear TX title, a whopping 214,000 miles on the clock. PO says the guy he bought it from daily drive it for 20 years, then had the engine and trans rebuilt, then drove it some more. It was originally purchased from an AMC dealer in Seguin, TX, and lived in TX all its roadworthy life.
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BlueSX4011.jpg)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BlueSX4014.jpg)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BlueSX4013.jpg)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BlueSX4012.jpg)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BlueSX4016.jpg)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BlueSX4015.jpg)
It was cheap, a non-runner, with very minimal rust, none in the subframe.
It had the fuel tank removed for a fuel sender the PO never could find(no surprise), tested the sender, it seems to work, so there's other issues with the gauge or wiring. The clutch slave was only mounted with one bolt, which was loose, so the bolt bent when the pedal was pushed. I'm in the process of correcting that. Also, the bellhousing was only held to the engine with two hand-loose bolts. The starter was held in with one loose bolt, so it would grind instead of engage the flywheel. The oil is clean as if it was freshly changed.
I plan on doing some minor cleanup to make it a runner, then selling it for what I hope will be a minor profit to fund the purchase of a plasma torch. Anyone interested in it should PM me. It will not really be up for sale until it is a running, driving car.
I know, I know, get the first project car("Golden Eagle") finished! I will.
Wow, great find! And it's even got all the endcaps ;D
Cool looking SX/4! Sounds like you'll have it back on the road after doing some relatively minor fixes!
Great car. Looks like it had good care until the previous owner got hold of it. I wish it was closer.
from the little screen i am currently dealing with (cell phone) those look like chrome sport mirrors
I forgot to mention it is a sport package, might go for selling the mirrors if I can trade out for a black set - I'm replacing the broken door handle with a black Jeep handle, doin both sides, wanna go all black trim on this car.
According to the PO, the R-12 AC blew cold the last time it ran.
The car has been repaired from a minor accident on the passenger side, and the work done to the front subframe horn could be improved. There is a 1/2" plywood "shim" holding the bumper in its proper place, and amazingly, all the bumper ends are persent. The driver side fender was replaced due to a dent, and it now sports another dent/crease on the new fender. The sport package badge for that fender is in the glovebox.
It looks like it had a battery issue at one point that caused the radiator core support to rust out near the battery tray. I'll fab up a sheetmetal panel to repair that. Also discovered some rust in the passenger floor outside the subframe rail, but it should be an easy fix.
I think I'll replace the carpet to freshen the interior up, and I have some NOS blue front seat covers for the working reclining seats to wear, even though the aftermarket(custom/home made) seat covers it has on it are pretty nice. The rear seat backs are in need of some repair, I think the plywood in them is trashed, and the carped on them is fried.
The rear hatch popper works, and the hatch lift shocks are super strong, the thing practically lifts itself.
Turning to the engine - once I finish replacing the bellhousing shim/dust cover with a good spare I had layin around(the factory one got into the flywheel somehow, related to the two-bolts-only bellhousing to engine fastening), I 'll pressure wash under the hood, possibly reseal the decent Omix aluminum valvecover, and may change out the feedback carter for a MC2100, might even spring for putting it on an Offenhauser intake. The exhaust is good and new from front to back, but it is the smallest tubing I've ever seen used on an engine this size. It must be 1.5" tubing, I'll have to measure.
I have never cared for the Eagle factory wheel covers, but this thing has all four in nice condition, so they might stay with the car, with a decent repaint to freshen them up. Also might look into selling them so I can install a cool set of alloys of some sort, if I come across some I like for cheap. Might do the wheel spacer thing like Vangremlin did, since it really improves the looks of an Eagle.
The PO sold the car to me for the price he paid for the four new Definity cheapy pep-boys tires. I hope to double(or triple?) my money when I sell it to finance that plasma torch, which I could just go out and buy, but I told my wife I'd earn it by doing what I love and making some money at it - hey, if all those guys on TV can do it, why can't I? Also, if I can sell my nice MJ Comanche pickup and my Kawi KLR dual sport, I'll be able to get the CNC table I REALLY want for the plasma torch. Then I can fabricate all sorts of cool stuff for future restomods. She(wife) always said I have too many toys, so selling a few will free me up to get some new toys, and the CNC plasma torch(a toy, in her book) I'm interested in now can make me money if I put it to good use.
That thing is real sweet, what a find.
Looks like a great platform to start with. The gas gauge on the bird just needed the ground wire connected.
Tank is in, gonna steal the fuel cap from the Golden Eagle, have to go get some fuel. Also removed the two bolts that were holding the engine to the bellhousing - they're the wrong size, and hopefully didn't trash the threads in the engine block. I have a full set of correct bolts painted up, but still have to separate the engine and trans enough to slip the old dust cover/shim out and stab the new one in.
Also plan on pullin the rear diff cover to see what the gear ratio is, and to change out the fluid. Might do a pinion seal, too. Rear axle has writing on it in permanent pen like they use at some junkyards to mark parts they've sold, so I want to make sure the frone and rear ratios match before driving it in 4wd.
The front ball joints are in decent shape, as are all of the steering links. Extremely greasy, so at least someone was lubricating things properly, even if they failed to wipe off the mess afterward.
Brakes look good, and they worked for dropping the car off the trailer. The front parking brake cable is new. I will replace the three rubber flex lines due to age and importance of good brakes.
Can't wait to get it running so I don't have to push it around! I want to polish the thing, but it has to drive into the carport, I can't push it up the entrance to the driveway all by my lonesome. I think the paint will come back to life with a little buffer wheel time, just like the gold car did.
Its all in the sun right now, and its 100deg in the shade, so it'll wait till later tonight for me to get under there and swap out the bellhousing dust cover and get everything bolted back together. Once its running and driving, it will get to wait while I install the rest of the lift kit on my full size Jeep.
Glad you are getting some practice on Jeep lifts......I'm going to try to bribe you with Shiner to help me do a small lift on mine. I'll email you, looking for some ideas for it. What's up with the air cleaner on your blue one? Looks like something I would do. Redneck engineering. :occasion14:
Nice SX/4. Can't wait to see the finished product and possibly the price ;) .
Quote from: MudPuppy on July 31, 2011, 09:44:16 PM
Nice SX/4. Can't wait to see the finished product and possibly the price ;) .
X2
This thing is really tryin to eat my hat. Today I found that the trans mount had no bolts in it at all, nothing holding it to the trans, it was just bolted to the crossmember. I decided to finish pulling the driveshafts and found a bad u-jopint at the rear pinion. No rollers left. Good thing I found that. Since nothing related to the transmission is assembled correctly, I'm going to finish pulling it and have a look at the clutch, and probalby replace it with a new LUK clutch. I already have a clutch and flywheel for a Renix injected 4.0, and I may try to use that(I recall there are differences in flywheel thickness), and may proceed to swap in the rest of the complete Renix system I pulled from a parts XJ over a decade ago, especially since I have a running daily driver example(my MJ) to look at and also have the DRBII scan tool the dealerships used to diagnose the system. Injection would be nice. I have a feeling this car is going to get too expensive for me to be able to sell easily, so I'll try to talk myself into keeping it simple.
Also found the front diff still has the tag on it - 2.72 ratio. That sucks. I'll pop off the rear cover to check if they match ratios before testing 4wd when its all back together. Eventually I'll try to get a 3.54 ratio 4 cylinder front housing, and may swap in a Chrysler 8.25 3.55 ratio rear from a late model XJ, or even an XJ D35 just to get better shafts into this restoration. My other Eagle project has a 3.54 front and 3.55 D35 rear with disk brakes and a Trac-Lock, custom swapped from a Jeep ZJ, so it looks like it has a factory Model15/D35 with disk brakes.
This 2nd Eagle project has gotten me back into the mindset to finish my first car.
Update - Have trans pulled, looks like it was rebuilt at some point, ATF in the t-case was brown but not burned, will test viscous coupling. Found missing shifter diapragm e-clip stuck in the sludge in the trans crossmember. Will have clutch off in a few more minutes. Flywheel has rough looking starter gear. Will replace it.
Your newest Eagle sounds like most (car, house, whatever) projects - what starts out as something relatively quick and simple turns out to be one thing after another lol. We've all been there so we know how the thinking goes - "well, if I'm going to do that, I might as well do this also. And if I'm going to do this, I might as well replace the other thing." And so it goes. But it doesn't make sense not to do it right while you have the chance!
Good luck!
Ok, here's where the morning began - I pushed the blue car into the carport with the MJ with a trashed 35" BFG strapped to the front bumper. Shoulda taken a pic of that! Looked like it was ready for some mayhem. I had to dismount the 35 from its wheel, first. Fun.
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BluSX4trans_job012.jpg)
Many bad words later, this:
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BluSX4trans_job019.jpg)
I am seriously considering the Renix EFI swap since I already have a Renix flywheel, clutch disk, and pressure plate, and I have another 258 on the floor to use to mock up the bellhousing and get the CPS positioned right in the hole I'll grind to put it in there. I need to go get an intake manifold for this swap, but I already have a fresh set of injectors and a HO to Renix TPS sensor adaptor(HESCO). The T-5 flywheel is different from the Renix flywheel. I'll post a pic, even though I know I took one once upon a time. Ha, found it. 4.2L T-5 first:
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/258_flwhl_offset.jpg)
Then the 4.o Renix:
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/4-0_flwhl_offset.jpg)
Heck, how bout a pic of my train wreck of a shop?
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa217/txjeeptx/BluSX4trans_job009.jpg)
Cheers yall. Dang it, you can't read the AMC service department sign. Stupid digital camera.
Well if you consider that a train wreck of a shop , I'll buy a ticket to ride. NICE shop , super nice Gold gem next to the new addition.Gives me insperation.
Today I got the trans and t-case degreased, and unfortunately found a crack in the bellhousing near the upper starter bolt hole. I'm looking into having it repaired professionally. I wish I had a TIG welder, but even if I did, I'd need practice to be able to do it right. If the machine shop wants more than a new or salvaged bellhousing will cost, then this one is scrap. This is what happens when some moron with a wrench works on something at a level of complexity way above his abilities, and he reassembles everything with incorrect bolts and leaves most of them out. The poor mechanical work done to this car could have turned it into a parts car or landed it a spot in a salvage yard.
Update - Dropped the bellhousing of at my trusted local engine builder to have him TIG the crack, so it'll be repaired properly. Also dropped the flywheel for resurfacing and a new starter ring gear, since the one on it is pretty chewed up from being started so many times with the bellhousing barely attached to the engine and the starter barely attached to the bell. Got all my replacement bolts cleaned up and painted.
Gonna have to switch gears into fixing the interior up and swapping out the busted door handles with some black Jeep handles. The gauges in the center pod have butchered wiring that needs attention.
Probably going to skip the Renix EFI idea and keep it simple. I'll put the bell and flywhl back on the engine and test run the engine before I proceed to do any more modifications. Gotta see if the engine is any good, it looks like its been rebuilt, haven't found a rebuild tag anywhere, though. Its painted a non-correct light blue, even the oilpan is painted, so it was out of the car at some point. Have to figure out where all the oil its leaking is coming from - my guess is the valvecover needs resealed. I'll go out and pull the spark plugs for a quick diagnostic when the temp drops below 100 again.
Updated update - I degreased the engine by pressure washing - wore a lot of black crud, still have to clean the driveway before the wife can see the mess I made. Looks like there are no big leaks, all the crud was just from a weeping 710 cap and neglect. Waiting for parts to arrive(welded bellhousing, machined flywheel, carb), can't wait to install the trans and GRONK's MC 2100 kit and go for a spin. Still have to weld up the exhaust about 6" down from the manifold where some previous mechanic monkey cut it and never properly got it back together. I was, amazingly, able to unbolt the collector from the manifold, a first for me with an Eagle. Started wetsanding the paint, looks like it will polish out decent.
Got the bellhousing and flywheel with new starter ring gear and resurfaced back from the machine shop. Welding repair looks perfect, total cost $175(welding + machining + new starter ring gear), but doing things the right way can be expensive. The machinists/owners of the shop are off to Bonneville to run their Corvette, going for a land speed record. Way cool, Here's to them! :occasion14:
Going to start reassembly this evening, but I still need a new clutch throwout fork boot, and also need a new clutch master reservoir. Pegasus Racing has the right part, an exact correct replacement Girling remote reservoir, just under $40. Also can't wait to install GRONK's MC2100 kit.
Just have to wait for it to cool off outside.
Just got off the phone with the owner before the guy I bought the car from. I have had some trouble at the tax office tryin to get the title transferred. They need a particular form signed by the same person as the current title, and the guy I bought the car from didn't bother to transfer the title to his name. Turns out the previous-previous owner still has an Eagle wagon(and a Javelin) and is a member here. I'll let him come on in and introduce himself if he feels like doin that. Great resource of information about service history/past life of the car. Don't worry, man, the car's in good hands, now. Someone is going to get a fully functional daily driveable Eagle once I get this thing thrown back together with ALL the correct bolts in the correct places, torqued properly.
Diggin through all my old Heep crap, I found an old Jacobs Pro-Street ignition box and coil that I had at one time used on my YJ. That will be going onto the car, if I can figure out a couple of things with the wiring/triggering of the thing. Jacobs Electronics was bought up by Mr Gasket ten years er so ago, and many of Dr. Jacobs' innovations have supposedly made their way into Accel and Mallory ignition stuff, but Jacobs Electronics is history, and will be forgotten and washed over like AMC and the Eagle. Jacobs was based out of Midland, TX, while MSD came out of Autotronics, of El Paso. Texas was really strong on tryin to develop ignition systems that didn't burn up, short out, or corrode up like points did. Anyway, history lesson aside, the Jacobs box is cool blue, and will look good under the hood of the car while lightin off the fumes from GRONK's 2100.
We got spark over here in West Texas.
You need the:
1.- Title
2.- Application For Texas Certificate Of Title
3.- Owner Transfer
4.- Out Of State Identification Certificate.
I got the Jacobs book that explains the ignition system.
Gil, I have Dr. Jacobs' book, and I highly recommend it to anyone trying to figure out ignition system dynamics.
All I got from the guy I bought the car from was a TX title signed by the guy he bought it from. I'm sending the forms to the previous-previous owner to get them signed, and I'll get the car titled in my name soon enough.
Also got the real story behind the car. It is not originally a TX car. It has the high altitude emissions/fuel settings sticker, and was from Colorado er somethin like that. It was driven hard and run into the ground, and the prev-prev owner had a transmission shop he trusted rebuild the T-5 and reinstall it - that shop is likely the one that lost the bolts and did such a poor installation job. The prev-prev owner rebuilt the engine himself, and thinks it should be a good engine still. I told him about the parts-yard inventory writing on the rear axle, and he figures the guy I bought the car from probably broke something(attempting a burnout, probably), since it was sold with its original axle. I doubt the rear end gears match the 2.73 tagged front, so I'll be popping the cover off the back to check, and will probably be on the lookout for a 4cyl Eagle front axle for some 3.54 gears and will probably install an XJ D35 or Chrysler 8.25 with matching gears as an upgrade and to get the car geared correctly for 4wd again. All depends on what I find in the rear housing, and how much more scratch I feel like dumping into a project that I still intend to sell.
Its hard work saving these cars when they've suffered incompetent mechanics and a prev owner that had no business owning an Eagle - that guy is into Talons, which are somewhat cool cars, but in no way related to our cars.
Things I'm looking for right now: a tachometer(doesn't have to work, I'll fix it), possibly a 3.54 geared front axle(4cyl Eagle housing, needed if the car needs regearing), maybe a decent AMC DIN mount tape deck, maybe some black sport mirrors, and maybe a passenger side metal trim piece in black(one I have is bent, may be repairiable, also got no hardware to mount any of the trim, which isn't installed).
Check the cost of just re-gearing both diff., Since if you cant find any used ones locally or at a driving distance, the shipping gets expensive on differentials, for some reason they are heavy.
Big problem over here in El Paso is that there aren't any salvage yards that have any thing older then 10 years, so it a hassle. But I did find a 4x4 shop in Chaparral N.M. that the owner says he has some AMC Eagles for parts in his house. I posted a link in classifieds.
Yep, I've had a 4cyl front axle shipped from Massachusetts. Shipping cost about what I paid for the axle, and when it arrived, the shipper had beat it up so badly that both axle shafts were bent at the flanges and not useable(I mean too bent up to press straight). I had to put several axle's parts together to make one good 3.54 axle.
Regearing the Eagle front diff is a challenge, since its a low&long pinion D30, which limits aftermarket gear selection/availability, and if your car came with 2.35 gears, there is NO other gear set that will fit the 2.35 carrier, so you'll need to get a different carrier . . which isn't available in the aftermarket . . so you call up junkyards, no one has Eagles . . you find one a couple thousand miles away(might as well get one that has the gear ratio you want already in it, too) . . and it eventually gets to you, just BEAT up. I could have just had them ship the carrier and gears, I suppose.
Well, I'm stuck indoors with a nasty head cold and some good antibiotics, so I thought it might be time to dig up this thread for an update.
Before I got too busy with my enginerding classes, I managed to get the blue SX/4 legally titled in my name(thanks Marty), and got the transmission reinstalled, and installed GRONK's awesome MC2100 setup. The car runs and drives decently, but that's where I left off. It needs a lot, still. Also had a "DON'T do this" moment, when a jack slipped and left a nice dent in the oilpan(not bad enough to cause running problems, but unacceptable for a restoration project). Now I get to pull the oilpan, which is probably easier to do with the front diff out of the way, and hopefully doesn't require pulling the engine or trans(I know I'll have to raise the engine up /lower the trans crossmember down to angle the pan out - any other tips, anyone?). Still haven't gotten around to checking if the gear ratios match front to rear. That'll be the first thing I do to it once I get over this plague of slime in my lungs. Also gotta get the doors rekeyed - didn't get a set of door keys from the loser I bought it from(learned how to unlock AMC doors with a coathanger >:D).
I still plan on selling this car, so I is there any interest out there? I'll be asking more than the $800 I paid for it, plus the MC2100 kit, plus some in restoration work. I'll post a for sale ad officially tomorrow when I can take some update pictures and do some better ad-writing and estimate out a price that I can live with.
Also gonna post for-sale ad for my MJ Comanche and my Kawi KLR. Too many projects, not enough time with enginerding school. I'll be happier with fewer projects, so I can focus on school and the remaining projects I'll never part with(unless yer made of money ;D)
So, anyone interested in more info on these projects that you can take over - PM me. I'll git the ads written tonight.
Quote from: txjeeptx on December 28, 2011, 05:55:01 PMAlso had a "DON'T do this" moment, when a jack slipped and left a nice dent in the oilpan(not bad enough to cause running problems, but unacceptable for a restoration project).
Better than a dent in your head ;D. I've seen a lot of accidents where people don't use jack stands and the jack slips.
Ha, Sunny, the jack slipped as I was removing jackstands after a long time spent up on them for the bellhousing repair. It was a small slip as I was lowering the car, since the rear wheels were chocked, and the jack decided to stick in the concrete instead of roll on its wheels like its supposed to. Sucks that I (or anyone who buys it from me before I can get to the job) have to pull the pan to fix the dent, since this car is getting a proper restoration, whether I do it all or the next guy does.
Gotta go take pics to make an ad.
Lengthy ad posted. Price good for at least a week, then I'll be back in good health and might be working on the car again, which will alter the price.