barn find

[nipper]

Hi everyone I have tried about everything to try to get on the forum, just to old to understand computers I guess.
I live in Onekama MI. and enjoy reading about all your AMC out there, I know you all would like to see pictures of my 1983 Eagle but the more I read about it the more I do not understand it sorry. I did find a very clean 83 a farmer had stored in his hay barn with 43000 miles on it, no rust anywhere top side or on the under side, it did take about 3 days to clean the inside with all the hay and dust. I have taken two trips with it and avg. 21 MPG with the old girl, each trip about 500 miles round trip. My 13 year old grandson seen the car when I came home and would like granddad to keep for him when he turns 16. My car does not go into two wheel when shifted between the two it always stays in for wheel, the car starts and idles very good, so I am  not looking forward to doing all the things that our other members have had to do to their rides. At about how Meany miles will thing start to fall apart? I sure enjoy driving it I get a lot of thumbs up, I get a lot of people asking me what I am doing driving my car out in the snow, some times I also ask the same question.
P.S. found 83 late fall 2011
Nipper

[eagleman]

Good for you and welcome aboard.Hope you enjoy your eagle as much as we do ours.

[carnuck]

Sitting around takes it's toll on things. Hopefully no rodents have made nests in the car (especially check the air cleaner inlet hose)

[IowaEagle]

Welcome to the Nest.  Someone could have locked it into 4WD.  Which if done right, should offer no problems.

[standup650]

I grew up on a farm and hay will suck the moister out of everything i would also replace all the vac lines.

[papacarn]

Welcome Nipper. I can relate to your computer problems. I too have not posted any pictures, and I have a couple of grandkids drooling over my SX/4. These guys have a lot of information gathered among the membership, and seem very willing to help you work the kinks out. I think you will enjoy your time here very much. All my rigs, with the exception of my wifes Durango, have carbs, so when you say 21mph, I could be very happy with that! Good luck, and happy motoring.

[jim]

Pictures - -
Most of us use free Photobucket accounts.
www.photobucket.com
We recommend clicky pics.  This is a thumbnail picture that enlarges when clicked.
Photobucket has made a change in the way you copy the code.
Here is the way it looks to me:
For a single clicky pic, hover over the picture.  This will open a drop down menu.  Click on the fourth window, img.
It will then say "copied".
Go to the thread where you want to put the picture and paste it in.
For multiple clicky pics, hover over the pictures and click on the small box at the bottom of the picture.
Scroll down and click on "Choose action".  Click "Generate code for selected".
This will open another page.  Click on the third box, "IMG for bulletin boards & forums".  It will say "copied".  Paste it into the thread of your choice. 
In both instances you can select "Preview" to make sure it is what you want before you post it.

[carnuck]

I'm using Opera browser with photobucket and it shows me the links on the right.

[Prafeston]

The links show to the right when you are in the enlarged view of the photo...if you are still in the Album view where you can see all the thumbnails then just hovering your cursor over the photo you want to get links for will bring up a list of the links in a little mini window.

[Baskinator]

nipper-

To preserve your Eagle and keep it from "falling apart" as you say, the most important things you can do (in my eyes) are rust prevention, above average maintenance, tune ups, and thorough cleaning.

If you're serious about the rust protection, you should at least give it a good underbody spray after removing any rust you find. Also, you ought to spray WD-40 or something similar underneath every so often. I know it is very tempting to drive such a great machine in snow, but that's one of the worst conditions for rust!

By "above average maintenance", I mean keep up with all of your fluids and change them at regular intervals: engine oil/filter, transmission fluid/filter, front/rear gear oil, power steering, brake fluid, coolant, wiper. Also, you must keep everything possible greased so parts don't wear down as much: ball joints, tie rods, idle arm, pitman arm, driveshafts, u-joints, anything with a grease fitting. Regularly inspect components for wear, so you can change them as soon as they go bad- one bad part often leads to more bad parts.

Tune-ups will come more often than on most newer cars. Spark plugs should be replaced or at least cleaned every 30,000 miles, and inspected often for engine conditions. Other things will include plug wires, distributor cap/rotor, air filter, rubber hoses and vacuum lines, belts, and fuel filter. Keep battery terminals clean and electrolyte level up,  run mild cleaners through fuel and cooling systems occasionally, and keep the carburetor tuned! These Carter carbs are known for becoming clogged, and should be adjusted to stay in top shape.

Finally, I believe it is very important to keep everything as clean as possible. If your engine compartment is dirty, it can hide problems and prevent you from noticing them in time. If your Eagle has a plastic valve cover, I would suggest upgrading to a metal one to keep it from leaking oil. Dirt also holds moisture, which is bad for preventing rust, and can cover up weak spots in the metal.

These are good practices that will help keep your Eagle running forever. Many people have reported well over 300,000 miles on the 258 engine before rebuild. Just remember- mechanics can be easily fixed, but excessive rust can kill an Eagle!

[standup650]

ski doo makes this stuff called bombilube it come it a spray can i use it for everything its great for holding back the rust. way better then wd-40!