I have been in contact with Al at Control Freaks suspensions regarding their sub frame connectors. They do not list any for Eagles, but he is sending me a set a cost to trial fit on my SX/4. I will keep folks posted.
Cool!
If you get it take lots of pics!
Sweet, pics would be appreciated. I haven't spent a lot of time underneath either of my eagles and am very interested in how subframe connectors would go in.
I will document the install and fit.
Do they list them for other AMCs? Should be the same for Gremlin. Wagon would be the same as Hornet wagon.
It seems they have them for Gremlins and Hornets. Al, thought the SX/4 was Hornet sized and I shared with him they were Gremlin sized.
Any update on this?
Not yet still in box.
hi i wrote about this a little on another thread, but, sorry if I repeat myself, here goes. I have subframe connectors on my 82 sedan, put them in in 04, in retrospect, possibly the best thing I have done to my Eagle #1, extended the life of the car by an easy 5-7 years. You do not need a kit, easy to make yourself. Measure between subframes, measure again! Add 2". Get hollow square stock, i used 2", but use whatever size you like. cut to size. get some 1/4" (at least) flat stock, make an "L", (x4) weld, or have your local welding shop do it, as I did, the "L's" to all 4 subframes, take your square stock, fine tune length between "L's", and have it welded in. Cost varies from almost nothing, (if you do it yourself), to whatever your local fabricator charges for about 4 to 8 hours of work plus materials. (Now would be a great time to make friends with a welder, lol!) I think I paid a couple hundred for mine, don't remember anymore. Again..very worth it, lets face it our unibody cars are getting old, and unless your floor and rocker panels are in absolutely perfect condition, your (car) body will start to twist. If you have a hairline crack at the top of your windshield pillars, even after a new paint job, your car IS twisting. (Imagine wringing out a wet towel, like that). Subframe connectors will stop it, or prevent it from starting. If you don't want to do this, there is a guy n Quebec, Pierre (I forget his last name), has a shop called AMExperience, who will make you some. I got some from him for my 78 AMX about 15 years ago, and I still haven't put them in! Talk about procrastination!! anyway, good luck y'all! gz
Pierre Beauchamp
I was thinking about this the other day, oddly enough there is a bit of a post about it.
Where along the frame would you suggest to place the connectors?
Between the front and back sections. I don't have an under car pic or I'd draw a diagram.
hi passenger side front to passenger side back, drivers side front to drivers side back, angle the "L" so its a straight shot back to front. what you are basically doing is reinforcing the strength of your floor pan by a couple of orders of magnitude. good luck! gz
Anybody have some pictures?
Hi, recently, I purchased a set of Control Freaks subframe connectors. The Hornet sized ones. Al was very helpful. They are on the Eagle, so they will work. However, it is not a simple "bolt in". I had my buddy, a very good fabricator, install them, and he said it only needed a "little" modification. I think he put them in "backwards", meaning the supplied frame wrap is on the front instead of the rear frame rail, so he had to cut/fit a bit of the existing floor support crossmember out, and then reweld. It looks good! Very strong! One caveat, you may have to re route your fuel/brake/return lines slightly. good luck, gz
you will also have to modify/cut your transfer case skid plate a little, but this is no big deal. gz
I have been away from my Eagle project for a long time. I'm interested in seeing what the Control Freaks subframe connectors look like installed.
I would also like to see pics of these installed, also how would you support the vehicle during install
would you leave it on it's suspension or support by jack stands and let the suspension droop
Quote from: DAVE on August 24, 2015, 09:19:12 AM
, also how would you support the vehicle during install
would you leave it on it's suspension or support by jack stands and let the suspension droop
I've wondered the same. You would have to make sure the unibody isn't tweaked from wrong placement of supports if jacked up. Also, I would be tempted to take it to a frame shop first to make sure nothing is out of whack before welding up some connectors.
That's a really strong point - I think it'd be important to have the car on a frame rack to make sure its straight before welding anything to it. Probably could get away with noting any strange tire wear and making simple measuring tape measurements to check it without taking it to a frame shop.
I was thinking it could be done with a laser underneath the car in the center somewhere, see where it hits on each side and adjust the jack stands accordingly till you get some kind of equality between the sides, or if you could just put the jack stands in certain spots and that would cause the vehicle to level out from its own weight
If you have wheels of a certain type, the Jeep dealer can use their quickie tester to check alignment like they do with TJs. TKs, JKs and my wife's Kia Soul when it comes for an oil change.
hi, some of you may be overthinking this. if you have a straight running Eagle, or any car, and add subframe connectors, well, nothing will change, you just have a much more solid car! Now , if your car was in a wreck, and possibly tweaked a bit, you may want to have it straightened out before adding subframe connectors, sure, makes sense. In my case, the car was/is more or less solid, I did not even worry about any frame straightening, and this is with drivers side front frame rail repair as well. Sub frame connectors will actually "lock in" your current frame geometry, which is what you want! They prevent (or at least seriously slow down), the eventual, and inescapable ravages of time on your Unibody car! ., which is the WHOLE point of sub frame connectors. They keep a straight car straight! Now, if you have more money than you know what to do with, by all means go to a frame shop, have your car checked out, tweaked a bit, and then have your subframe connectors put in, no harm in that at all., just an extra expense. Remember, sub frame connectors do not change a thing, they REINFORCE what you already have. So, unless you plan to run Paris-Dakar @ 10/10ths with your Eagle, and have an absolute need to know the shear strengths of all the metals in your car, putting in sub frame connectors without a frame diagnosis is just fine. Did that on my 82 Eagle 15 or so years ago, and those were home made, see above in this thread. This time decided to try the Control Freak setup, cost a bit more than home made, but well, I liked the look and had a couple of extra bucks, so I went with it. I have to say, it's impressive under there! Eagle looks like a full frame car! As for pictures, sorry, I'm a computer idiot, don't know how to do it, but i'm sure someone else will eventually, good luck y'all! gz