Eagle Envy

[rohnk]

No real good way to "patch" that one and keep it safe. As soon as you remove the parts holding it together, it may snap from the looks of it or bend completely out of shape.

The best bet for this one would be to build a frame under the car alongside the existing frame rails. At least from in front of the rear axle all the way forward and past the rot area. Once that is welded in, you could do a solid axle convserion up front and really get a solid ride.

Downside, it'll cost a lot of money to have someone do all that work. If you aren't handy with a welder and/or haven't done this before then you should probably pass.

If your cousin wants to part it out, that might be the best way to go. Or find someone who can do the frame work on the cheap.

[priya]

I agree with the others, this one is not worth fixing, the frame rust is just too extensive.  I question the $1000 quote you got, I think it unlikely that a shop could do a proper job on that and only charge you $1000.

[Whuntmore]

I have to agree here, That's a bit too much of deep rot.  I'd part the car out, and look for something better.

[rohnk]

As a parts car, $300 is a good deal. I'd be into that if I knew where it was and had some interior pics.

[Prafeston]

Yeah, I'm definitely not saying 300 is a bad deal for that car, but it just doesn't sound like the kind of project he's looking for...or really anyone. Like you said. Would be a nice donor car it sounds like. We just can't save them all!

[TheWraith]

Hello All.  Stopped by my cousins yesterday to have a closer look at the frame rot.  I pulled the front (drivers) wheel and borrowed his angle grinder with a wire wheel on it.  After digging around in there I'm curious to know if anyone has cut into one of these subframes and can tell me exactly how AMC put them together.  I looks to me that the subframe can best be described as several pieces of c-channel that have been welded together but with an opening on one side.  Instead of the subframe being one continuous piece, it looks as if it is made up of several pieces of c-channel, some horizontal and some added in at an angle, and then covered with a stamped piece of metal that gives it that nice curved one-piece look.  The subframe appears to had then been covered with Ziebart or some kind of undercoating.

In this pic you can see what I'm calling the outer frame covering metal.  It is all the 'shiny' metal because I took the wire wheel to it.  I wouldn't really call this steel 'plate' as it is pretty thin material.  If I was to cut out and grind away this covering metal the thicker steel c-chanel is not rotten at all.  On the inside of the frame you can see where the two pieces of c-channel come together, all solid steel.  All the 'holes' are the thin outer frame covering that have rusted away.  While I'm sure it adds a lot of rigidity it does not appear to compose the major structure or sub-frame.  It is not obvious in this pic, but the hole above the bolt head you can see, where the trailing arm mount attaches, is where another piece of heavy c-channel ends and the outer steel skin rusted away.  Again, the c-channel is solid and it is just the thinner outer skin that has rusted away.


The inside of the 'inside' wall of the frame looks to be solid and in great shape.  It is the same on the outside of this 'inside' frame as well, solid.  AMC used steel tubing (like DOM tube) that was welded into the frame for the bolts that pass through the frame.  I imagine this was done so the subframe would not be crushed and so the holes would not cause a weak point in the frame.  Two of these tubes look pretty rusty and would need to be replaced.  You can see one of the two in this pic.  This is another bolt that secures the trailing arm mount.


Here's a third pic of post-wire wheel clean up.


My dry erase skills leave something to be desired, but this is what I am proposing is how AMC built the subframe before covering it with what I'm calling the outer skin.  The outer skin, best I can tell, is what gives the subframe its appearance of one continuous piece of steel.


So, am I way off base on how AMC built these subframes?  The more I dig into this Eagle, the more I want to believe the outer skin can be cut away and replaced with new metal.  Starting to think this really would be a fairly easy job for a skilled welder/fabricator.

[68AMXGOPAC]

In my opinion you are on the right track , and that the out "skin" as you call it, could be simply what i believe is called " fishplated" back on.You certainly could actually improve the strength and integrity of the original while doing the repair.
I have seen worse survive.

[Whuntmore]

I had to cut the front end off an eagle one time, and it seems to me it's more of a U, with the top of the U flaring out, then those 'out flares' is welded onto the body.  But that's more down the 'dog leg' and then under the floor.

at the place you are, it could open up a bit on the inside, to allow for some frame/steering parts to bolt/link onto it, but still most of it is a U.  If you open up the floor under either the driver's side, or passenger's side, you will see what I mean.  You are looking down a 'gutter' - down the top of the U.

At the bottom of the 'dogleg' there also seems to be some more internal metal - Not sure why, but I had to cut thru a few layers of metal to get all the way thru. 

That's all I remember.

[TheWraith]

Haven't posted up in awhile.  If I didn't mention it before, my wife and I are new parents; this is our first child.  As it is, and as I'm sure many of you know, having a little one changes your outlook on everything.  Before I would pretty much do as I pleased and the wife didn't much mind.  With a baby I'm looking at things differently.  I decided that I shouldn't be bringing home another toy unless my wife supported the idea.  At first she said she was on board with me bringing home my cousin's Eagle.  Sunday I got dressed with the intention of getting it fired up (it's been sitting a couple years) and getting it moved.  Well my better half had a change of heart and wasn't behind the project anymore.  Women often and do change their minds, at least mine does.  I could had still brought it home and she would not had packed her bags, but knowning we have a little one now I didn't want to get into another project with out my wife's support.  I still drove over to my cousins place to see if we could get the Eagle to fire up as he just wants it gone and I was thinking a running car is easier to sell then a non-running one.  After fiddling with it the Eagle did start up, but with such old gasoline it doesn't want to keep running.  To get it driving again we figure it would need the gas tank drained and fresh gas added, a battery (I took the one from my tractor over to crank it over), a fuel filter as we think the old one might be plugged up from sitting with old gas, and if that didn't get it starting and running well then the carb might have to be cleaned.  Still, it did start with starting fluid, and after a little while it did run on the old gas for a little bit, but fresh gas would be a min.

Since I finally made the decision to pass on it, his Eagle is up for sale.  If anybody is interested let me know and I can put you in touch with him, or you can answer his CL ad:
Contact poster for link , sorry no links to CL

I'm sad to say that I won't be buying an Eagle anytime soon, but still intend to some day.  Perhaps a wagon as I prefer those.  I've built one on paper many times and know exactly how I want to go about it.  Now I just need the money and the time.

I'd still like to be on the forum and keep in touch with what all the members do with their Eagles, etc...  Sad to say I'm not an Eagle owner yet, but looking down the road a few years I intend to be.  Never know, an Eagle that is in better shape might be around the next corner.

[Prafeston]

Passing on that one was a good idea. Something better will come along when you have more money to spend!

[jim]

It is interesting how our priorities change as we go through different stages in life.
By all means stick around.   It isn't a requirement to own an Eagle to be a member.  Besides, you can keep us updated on the new addition.

[TheWraith]

Thanks.  Our baby girl is growing and growing.  Amazing really.  She's two months old now.  Sometimes I wonder where the last two months went, sometimes I wonder how the wife and I got through the last two months.  Still, enjoying every minute of it.

The SX/4 is still there but someone from out of state said he'd put a check in the mail.  I suppose if the potential buyer is serious it will be gone soon enough.  In hind sight I'm wondering if I shouldn't had bought a few items off of it from my cousin first such as the factory gauge package and the sport steering wheel.  He has another steering wheel in the garage that would bolt on, so he could had still sold the car.  Oh well, no point in spending much time on what could had been.  I guess it is for the best as I really do prefer the wagon over the SX/4, but the latter is a very good looking Eagle too.

I'm determined to own and enjoy an Eagle some day, just not right now.  I've decided to keep my eyes open and collect a few parts along the way.  I've built my dream Eagle on paper many times and have settled on the AX15 for the tranny and the NP242 for the transfer case.  I'm in the process of picking up a SYE for the 242 now as I've found what I consider a good deal on one.  Since I keep one foot in the off-road world, I'm sure I'll happen along a good deal on a tranny/tc in time.  That and I believe the 4.0 head swap with FI is the way to go.  I read the article where a gentleman fitted a 360 into an Eagle.  He ended up using a D44 out of an '87 Jeep Wagoneer and said it was a direct bolt-in job.  While I do like the idea of rear disc brakes such as that of the 8.8 Ford, having a bolt-in D44 would go with a 'keep it simple' theme.  I'll admit the 4.0 head swap with FI might not be 'simple', but from what I read the other mods should be pretty straight forward and mainly bolt-in.

Question:  what kind of fuel economy are you guys getting out of your Eagles?  I read somewhere that one person claimed 30 mpg.  I know it is a tricky question as it depends on how you drive and if you do mostly city or highway driving.  Regardless, 30 mpg sounds awfully high to me, but then again I've never owned an Eagle.

[eaglebeek]

Best ours has done is 25 mpg...that was on flat terrain and no more than 60 mph or 100 kph. At that time the 55 mph national speed limit was still in effect. The car also had less than 50k miles...now it has 165k, and that's on original everything.

I agree that 30 mpg is a bit optimistic for a 6-cyl.

[Prafeston]

In my I6 Wagon I'm getting 19-21 on the the freeway at speeds 60-80 and in town I'm getting like 12-14. Averaging 17.5mpg on like 20 fill ups.

[TheWraith]

Thanks for the numbers.

I'm speculating that with fuel injection & 4.0 head swap, a 5-speed manual O/D tranny, and easy driving that it would be reasonable to get in the mid to high 20's highway.  That would be respectable IMO, but 30 seems a bit much.  The wife's Firebird with the V-6 and auto gets 25~26 highway with easy driving.  A friend use to have the 5-speed manual version and he said he would get 30 highway out of it.  I like to think an Eagle could get close to that.

Surely someone is running the 4.0 head swap w/FI and an AX15.  I'd love to hear from that someone as to how their Eagle does with that combination.

Also read that some claim slightly improved fuel economy when running in AWD vs 2WD.  Anybody tried this from a fuel economy stand point?

I'm not trying to split hairs on fuel economy, just curious as to what people are experiencing.  Given the cost of fuel these days, nothing wrong with trying to stretch a gallon.