Brand new Eagle owner here, my first (though I've eyed them for many years).
Traded a 78 Wagoneer to a guy down the road for this '82 wagon and definitely got the better deal, at least in my opinion.
I originally thought the motor was going to be junk and planned on putting a 401 I pulled out of that Wagoneer into the Eagle.
Looks like this swap is out, at least for now. Expected serious problems in the bottom end because the oil that was in it had clogged up most of the lifters, was getting very little oil to a few rockers, none to most, causing galding and bent rocker brackets, but turns out my concern was wrong. Pulled the head, replaced the lifters, straightened out the rocker brackets and replaced the bad rockers, put it all back together and it runs perfectly. Well, mostly, there's the problem of 18 year old gas (nearly a full tank), but once that's drained and fresh stuff put in, should be driveable.
Had to pull the tranny and do some repairs because my youngest boy got rough with the shifter and broke the...well, not sure what it's called, but it's the piece that slips down the shaft in the shifter top that keeps the forks where they need to be. Couldn't find a replacement part, so I had to weld that one up, grind, sand, polish, etc. Works fine now, though, and once it has clean gas, a new muffler and some tires, I'll be using it for my daily driver.
Incidentally, I'm a long-time AMC guy. Dodge is my first love (I think the first cars we own will either ruin us on them, or on everything else), but I love AMC's because of their unique look, rarity, and because like many Dodges, they were great performers right off the factory production line. The heads were built to breathe and give you plenty of go, and a simple cam swap can give you a 25% horsepower increase with almost no other modification, without the worry of destroying the bottom end.
I also own:
90 Grand Wagoneer (360 auto, but would like to find a 4 speed drivetrain for it some day)
76 Matador (304 Auto, but would like to find a T-10 and put that 401 I have in it)
89 Cherokee (I hate the thing)
And I'm planning on trading the guy down the road out of a couple of Ramblers he has, though they might take a back seat to the '73 Scout he just picked up...gotta have that thing.
Topic: Picked up an '82 several months ago (Read 1918 times)