Bitten by the Eagle bug x 2 recently. I believe they are starting to follow me home.
Starting to wonder when enough is enough lol I think I need to draw a line on this obsession somewhere.
First off a re-cap of the ones I have had for awhile now, since a lot of things were lost in the clean-up.
As most of you may (or may not) know I already have a '87 Eagle Limited wagon and an '82 Eagle parts wagon.
Believe it or not, the ugly beast '82 wagon was the start of my Eagle obsession.
(Eagle #1 - the Beast) (Bought Dec. 2006/Sold Mar.19, 2014)
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/1982%20Eagle%20wagon%20-the%20Beast/800.jpg)
1982 I6/auto. -Parts Eagle.
Here's my '87 Limited.
(Eagle #2 - the Tank) (bought Jan. 2007/Sold Mar.19, 2014)
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/1987%20Eagle/800.jpg)
I6/auto bought with 103k miles.
Found the build sheet for it on 6/21/12. Bought in Memphis, TN and now verified as an original TN vehicle (dealership was Foster Jeep-Eagle 1919 Covington Pike Memphis, TN 38128). I am the 3rd owner.
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/1987%20Eagle/smakk.jpg)
I have been pretty busy the past few months making purchases.
Here is what my recent purchases were:
Bought a spoiler, clear lenses, brush guard, a set of rear reflectors and other things I am sure I am forgetting. Not installed and no pics.
Bought this (TSM) and got a pretty good deal on the set too. A definite must-have.
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/Eagle%20related%20items/100_0003-1.jpg)
Finally found the chrome trim piece that fell off my '87 Eagle.
Thanks Sean :) . Got that installed.
And as some of you may (or may not) know I have been hunting for an SX/4 for awhile now.
Especially since I didn't get to buy the one I really wanted last fall (still bummed out about that, it will possibly be "the 1 that got away" forever).
Anyways, first, got this one:
(Eagle #3 - the Squirrel) (Bought July 7, 2011/Sold ____)
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/1982%20SX4%20-%20the%20Squirrel/100_0043-1.jpg)
1982 SX/4 DL I6/5 speed w/92k miles.
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/1982%20SX4%20-%20the%20Squirrel/152.jpg) (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/chantel5/media/1982%20SX4%20-%20the%20Squirrel/152.jpg.html)
Does need some work (and some parts).
The PO or someone was in the middle of changing interior colors - so as of now it is 60/40 black and tan. The floor boards have some rust holes but the rest of the undercarriage is pretty solid, has surface rust. Runs and drives.
Was originally a Topaz Gold Poly-Dark brown poly in color.
Next (yes, unfortunately there is a "next") is:
(Eagle #4 - the Black Mamba) (Bought Oct.24,2011/Here to stay!)
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/1981%20Eagle%20SX4-%20the%20Mamba/100_0112-1.jpg)
1981 SX/4 Sport I6/auto FullTime 4wd w/x25k miles. -Parts Eagle.
It has the AMC floor mats, Eagle mudflaps, perfect black interior, marchal fog lights, shifter package tray & intact hood release button.
This one more than likely isn't saveable but I was needing so many parts anyways. Just got home with it and will look it over more thoroughly tomorrow.
The PO's both use to live in Michigan and worked for the AMC plant. This car lived in Michigan, then went to Wisconsin and then moved down here with them. They are the 2nd owners of this car.
First it was the wife's car, she used it as a daily driver.
The wife said she worked at AMC on the Pacers and police cars. She also said as an AMC employee she was offered an executive deal, where the AMC executives would re-sell their vehicles to factory employee's. She bought an Ambassador through this deal. She also said she had a '79 AMC AMX before the Eagle that she had bought new and has since regretted selling.
Then later in the Eagles life it was the husbands, he used it to launch his boat. The husband said they owned it for 17 years but the wife believes they have had it much longer.
They both took pictures before we drove off with it 8).
It looks to have quite a bit of rust underneath, floor boards have huge holes and sag and inner rockers are gone. Will be taking plastics off to see the rockers better (hopefully) tomorrow.
Update:
On Mar. 14, 2012 I ran across the SX/4 that I really wanted in the beginning for sale yet again. So I snatched it up before it could disappear a second time.
Up to 5 Eagles now! So The Squirrel will probably go on the backburner for awhile and/or I might have to thin out some.
Edited in 2014 to add:
Selling off some of the fleet. Not getting out of Eagles entirely (you're not getting rid of me that easily >:D) just trying to simplify life a bit.
And I don't have the time (or money) to care for them all like I should (& that they deserve). Plus maybe I'll be able to focus more-so on the keepers now too.
The 2 wagons have found a new home and it looks like The Squirrel might have too.
Goodbye my beloved wagons :'( May you keep soaring high.
(http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/chantel5/b8520d12-f7b1-4932-b341-3f055dd8dbed_zpse67ea114.jpg) (http://s176.photobucket.com/user/chantel5/media/b8520d12-f7b1-4932-b341-3f055dd8dbed_zpse67ea114.jpg.html)
Nice collection!
I see your 87 limited originally had the woodgrain on the sides. Was the paint in good shape underneath, or has it been repainted since the vinyl was removed? It looks so good it's almost hard to believe a black one could look that good after 25 years. I'm asking because I was considering removing the woodgrain on Virginia, the passenger side is looking pretty rough and i'm not sure I want to go to the trouble of slapping more fake wood vinyl on the side if I can get away with just removing it.
Thanks :)
I wish I could help. But I bought the '87 like this, the PO had done it. So unfortunately I am not sure what he did to it. I am glad they removed it though. I wish it was black but it is a dark blue, it seems to show up black in pics for some reason depending on the lighting.
Are there any signs that the car has been repainted at any point? Usually if they've been repainted there are signs somewhere, like different colors or tape lines in the door jams, under the hood, etc.
Great collection. The '87 Limited is sharp man! Eggs!
Nice collection! Told wife everyone should have at least two eagles if not more,Ya know there like potato chips,ya just can't have one! Good for you!!
Awesome, glad you finally found an SX/4 er two, lol.
MudPuppy's 87 Limited was Eagle of the Month some time back, and with good reason.
Quote from: jim on October 25, 2011, 01:29:25 PM
MudPuppy's 87 Limited was Eagle of the Month some time back, and with good reason.
I can definitely see why. Those wheels go great with that color too. A wheel like that just wouldn't work on my Brown woody.
Quote from: Prafeston on October 25, 2011, 05:52:09 AM
Great collection. The '87 Limited is sharp man! Eggs!
oh and prafeston mudpuppy is a girl not guy. :rotfl:
Man is a general term. Like Man kind! :)
...also I didn't know that!
i was being my usual smart :censored: self so sorry i sometime just can't contain it. >:D >:D
Thank you everyone ;D
Quote from: WoodenBirdOfPrey on October 25, 2011, 12:57:56 AM
Are there any signs that the car has been repainted at any point? Usually if they've been repainted there are signs somewhere, like different colors or tape lines in the door jams, under the hood, etc.
I haven't ran across any signs of it being repainted. Inbetween the driver door and the rear door (in the jam there) I even found a piece of the woodgrain. I would guess that it hasn't been repainted, all the door jams and the engine bay are the same color. Jim redid all his woodgrain on his 88, peeled off the old and added new. Maybe he could tell you more about what his paint looked like underneath.
The paint underneath the woodgrain on our 88 looked very good after cleaning off the glue.
Thanks. That gives me more to think about. Either I strip the vinyl off both sides and clean it up and leave it that way, or I replace the bad vinyl on the passenger side. I almost worry that it'll look to plain to me after being used to the woodgrain. I guess I can just strip the bad vinyl off the passenger side and see how I like it.
Our vinyl was bad on one only one front fender. We couldn't match it so we did the entire side. I told my wife people could see only one side at a time so it didn't matter if the sides didn't match but that didn't go over to well. We did the entire car. She did almost all the work. It was a major undertaking.
Whelp, looks as though the '81 is best as a parts car :'( . The rockers are pretty bad as I suspected before pulling off the plastics but it is a lot more noticeable now. Looking at the car from a standing view, it looks pretty good... but when looking at an Eagle that old adage that your mother always told you -"Don't judge a book by its cover." always applies. And this car is one of those. The floor boards are pretty far gone, the only part of the rockers that aren't gone or rusted out are the exterior pieces below the doors, everything is coated in thick amounts of rust on the undercarriage, shock towers have some rust (1 has a bit more than the other), a lot of the metal components under the hood are heavy with rust... most of this I seen before I bought it. Was mainly buying it as a cheap parts car in the first place for the '82 but had hopes in the back of my head for more (don't we all). Everything I need for the '82 is here in the '81.... window glass, interior plastics, head liner, seats, bumpers, chrome trim, exterior plastics, etc. - most of which would be too expensive to ship from somewhere else let alone the initial costs. So it's not a total loss.
I plan to switch the '82 over to the automatic trans and AWD from the '81 as well at some point too. The '82 will be getting the full Sport treatment as well.
Well it's a bummer you can't save this one, but it sounds like it's going to be the perfect parts car for you!
Quote from: MudPuppy on October 26, 2011, 05:44:38 PM
I plan to switch the '82 over to the automatic trans and AWD from the '81 as well at some point too. The '82 will be getting the full Sport treatment as well.
That's one I never heard before, seems like you're moving in the wrong direction. I wish that my wagon was a 5 speed. Even a 4 speed. Just give me a clutch and a stick and i'll be a happier man for it. (especially since i'm selling the only manual transmission car I have left)
And why would you actually want to switch over to the non-selectable transfer case? If you want it in 4 wheel all the time you can just let the switch in 4 wheel. Personally, I think all time 4wd just puts more wear and tear on all the components, and isn't beneficial through most driving.
But to each their own, i'm not criticizing you, just curious of the reasoning behind it.
Quote from: WoodenBirdOfPrey on October 26, 2011, 06:15:30 PM
Quote from: MudPuppy on October 26, 2011, 05:44:38 PM
I plan to switch the '82 over to the automatic trans and AWD from the '81 as well at some point too. The '82 will be getting the full Sport treatment as well.
And why would you actually want to switch over to the non-selectable transfer case? If you want it in 4 wheel all the time you can just let the switch in 4 wheel. Personally, I think all time 4wd just puts more wear and tear on all the components, and isn't beneficial through most driving.
But to each their own, i'm not criticizing you, just curious of the reasoning behind it.
Well there really isn't much reasoning behind it. Mainly just because that is what the creator Roy Lunn had in mind when he developed the Eagle. IIRC his intentions was for all of the Eagles to be AWD like they were in the beginning. And the idea of less vacuum lines is always a plus lol.
I may just keep the T5 in the '82, I haven't really made up my mind yet. All that stuff will be in the future, so I have some time to think it over more. I have had quite a few manual cars and have loved them (though most of them had at least V6's in em). But driving in stop and go traffic with a manual can become mundane.
In my theory (this is some country boy theory) half the fun is getting stuck! Then I can flick the switch and get back out of the mess I managed to get myself into. In 4 wheel all the time, by the time I get it stuck it's buried and i'll need another 4x4 to drag me out of it. Plus getting out of the car to hook up the tow line means dragging mud back into the car and making a mess out of it.
Quote from: WoodenBirdOfPrey on October 26, 2011, 06:48:43 PM
In my theory (this is some country boy theory) half the fun is getting stuck! Then I can flick the switch and get back out of the mess I managed to get myself into. In 4 wheel all the time, by the time I get it stuck it's buried and i'll need another 4x4 to drag me out of it. Plus getting out of the car to hook up the tow line means dragging mud back into the car and making a mess out of it.
That is a pretty good point.
I have time to think it over and who knows what will change/happen in between now and then.
I have enough to occupy me for awhile with the floor board rust and all of the interior switching... plus winter coming and no where (warm) to work on it.
thats one fine fleet you got there.....That black wagon is just plain georgeous!! those alloys look smokin hot on it too!!
Either way its still a great looking wagon.