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Author Topic: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project  (Read 106125 times)

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Offline Mechanic

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #90 on: March 26, 2010, 04:14:31 PM »
Yes, I'm curious to. I've been folowing your thread since it started and it looks like it is finally coming to a point!!
2000 Toyota 4runner 221,000 k's (DD)
1997 Chevy S10 180,000 k's (Project car)
1988 Mazda RX-7 248,000 k's (For Sale)
1984 AMC Eagle Wagon 192,000 k's (Project car)
1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 65,000 k's (Restoration Project)
1981 AMC Eagle SX/4 140,000 k's (Trail build)
1981 Chevy Camaro Burlineta 134,000 K's (Performance build)
1977 Ford F350 Dually with dump (farm truck project)

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #91 on: March 26, 2010, 07:29:22 PM »
I failed the e-test, but not by much, due to excess NOx emissions. I knew it was running lean, especially after experiencing a very brief show of the car's true power, thanks to a bad alternator surging the fuel pump. I'm running pure E85 right now and I don't think my pump can keep up, it's only 35-40 gph at 12v, and adjusting fuel pressure doesn't help much at all. It accelerates somewhat smoothly, but not NEARLY as fast as it did during that one surge. I literally got thrown back in the seat as the car rocketed from 20 to 60 in second gear in no time. I felt the blood rush back to my face as I shifted to third XD I'm convinced that motor is putting out no less than 250 hp and 300 tq, with the right tune. It looks like I'm gonna be getting a bosch 044 external pump, when I can afford it, which could be weeks from now, and my temp tag expires on the 29th :P Until then I have to hope the roomate will let me borrow her car, which has busted window cables so the windows are stuck halfway down.

I might have to invest in a new regulator too, since mine's billet aluminum, and AL and ethanol don't get along very well.
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

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Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #92 on: April 22, 2010, 06:45:36 PM »
I've made some progress. I was reading in Jeepforums on E85 builds, and many had mentioned adjustable or advanced crank sensors. So I removed mine and cut out the holes on the sensor into slots so I can slide the sensor over. That seems to have made a pretty good difference. I also moved my regulator to the rear of the car, in a true returnless style setup, since I decided to put my '97 fuel rail on. Money is very very tight right now, I haven't been able to purchase any more parts and I don't know when I will be able to. In the mean time I've been doing research and making a parts list..

To get my car running as it should, I will at the very least need
larger injectors (I'm looking at 36lb'rs
bosch 044 fuel pump (80gph)
fuel rail pressure gauge
and most likely a piggyback ECU controller, either megasquirt or a safc. This would allow me to tune back and forth between gas and E85

I have a few other things that need replaced as well...
CV shafts
Guage cluster (confirmed it's the cluster not the sending unit)
Rear axle pinion seal replacement (i'll probably order a u-bolt yoke, they're 50 bucks and come with new seals)
power steering lines (for now, though autozone has a rack and pinion that is supposed to fit, I'd love to convert to that)


HOWEVER....

I have some great news. My parents are going to sell me my brother's car for a dollar, he just got something else a little newer. I'll be picking it up tomorrow. It's a 200(1?) VW Jetta, base 2.0 with 5 speed and a kicking sound system. They really want me to go back to school, so they're helping me out. I just hpoe I"ll be able to afford the gas to drive it...
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline Mavericke

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #93 on: April 22, 2010, 09:18:51 PM »
NICE! Good job!

LOVE that steering wheel.... does the horn work!!?
Its got style... its got class...
It goes the extra mile... and still kicks @ss.
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The AMC Eagle
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81' AMC Eagle Sx4 (My very first car, The Millennium Eagle)
82' AMC Eagle Sx4 Sport (Custom General Lee Style)
85' AMC Eagle Wagon Sport (My Daily Driver)
00' Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (The Grocery Getter)
And a plethora of other parts cars, and future restoration projects:
80 Wagon, 82 Spirit, Two 83 SX4s, 84 Wagon, 85 Wagon and more!!
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Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #94 on: April 26, 2010, 06:37:42 AM »
NICE! Good job!

LOVE that steering wheel.... does the horn work!!?

Thanks! The horn does work, it was a direct hookup, I didn't even need to use the wires that came with it... Don't steal my wheel <_< ....... >_>
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #95 on: May 12, 2010, 07:03:26 AM »
Some progress to update y'all on, finally. I'll have pics coming later, my phone was stolen out of the junkyard yesterday, and the process of removing the pictures from other half's device and getting them to my computer is a bit more daunting....

I found an 84 Limited wagon with every option. It has EVERYTHING I've been needing to do some minor mechanical touch up with, all the way down to brand new belts. Unfortunately, it suffered a moderate front end collision, passenger side, which bent the radiator into the fan clutch, so for now I'm going to have to leave those belts behind unless I can figure out a way to wedge the rad past the fan clutch. It did have brand new radiator hoses though :D plus a replaced power steering pump and lines, so I can finally put a stop to the gooey bulidup of power steering fluid around my front end components. That should be the last of the needed OE components, save for half shafts. Sweet!

One of the best parts of that car: Awesome leather seats. The driver side has two holes about the size of quarters in it, and the leather is a bit dried out, but the rears are nearly perfect, AND... the carpet was nearly spotless, without a single rip. I'm confident I can get those fronts nice again with some good leather restorer and conditioner. I've already snagged the back seat and carpet, which are now in my car, though only temporarily because I need to run wire for my eventual rear speakers, and for the power motors in front seats. The front seats are sitting in the junkyard building off to the side, I put a deposit down and hopefully will have enough cash to pick them up on Saturday.

I hope like heck the car is still there then, because I want to snag the rear bumper, it has the original factory 2k lb tow hitch, and the bumper itself is in awesome condition with all trim strips. Mostly, I want that tow hitch...bad. That's the first one I've ever seen, and I browse ebay and here constantly.

I am aware that the power seats have completely different tracks from manual seats, but I have two ways to go about it, and am most likely going for option A: The floorpan has dimples where the holes for the power seats would be, and two holes line up as it is, so I just need to drill through, and patch up the holes from the other seats. The carpet is a huge help, it will be useful as a stencil for finding/drilling the proper holes. I want to avoid welding if at all possible, so I'll try to find some rubber plugs to seal up the unused holes.

B: I can swap the rails over from the manual, rendering my leather seats manual, and fab cross rails to fix the manual rails to on the power seats. But then I have a big ole chrome button box that does absolutely nothing, and I want to avoid that. As it is, I won't be using power mirrors any time soon (unless someone has cinnamon door panels with manual windows but power mirrors....fat chance :P) since I'd have to figure out a way to delete the hole for the cable mirrors, in the top of the door panel.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2010, 07:12:37 AM by tougeagle »
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #96 on: May 24, 2010, 09:57:39 PM »
I've got my interior back together save for the center console and two A-pillar trim pieces. I took some pics today, and it's a HUGE change from what it once was. The carpet makes the inside of the car look worlds better... I'll be posting a how-to convert from manual to power seats in the Eaglepedia...






The carpet looks amazing, the pictures don't do it justice. I probably should not have overdrawn my account to get those seats, but I just couldn't pass them up!
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #97 on: June 27, 2010, 02:35:51 AM »
Finally installed the clutch cover for the ax15, and fixed the leaking clutch master. I still need to replace the transfer case output seal and the rear diff pinion seal. I'll do the pinion seal when I pick up a u-bolt yoke conversion kit, which comes with the seal. Still need to purchase some 32lb injectors as well. It's running very lean here, and odds are it might not run at all at sealevel. These are all the immediates that need done before the trip...
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #98 on: July 03, 2010, 03:14:18 AM »
Just replaced the transfer case output seal and rear diff pinion seal/bearings (not cones). It was so easy I didn't even stop to take pictures of how it was done, though it's very self-explanatory. They both seem to be holding over well, though my rear diff continues to heat up quite a bit, despite being topped off with both tires at even pressure. Also finally got around to getting another power steering belt and replacing the blown fuse for my blinkers.

It's all coming together, just need to work on my exhaust now, and get those injectors and gauge. Then, I'll be set :D
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #99 on: July 10, 2010, 11:55:06 PM »
Finally, I have pictures to add!
I rerouted my exhaust last week thanks to a decent but short-lived odd job, running it stock location, and added a second catalytic converter, and exchanged the muffler for a cherrybomb :D. Pics of that toward the bottom.
I had been sitting around on my 300 dollar supersprings that came off my cherokee, trying to figure out a way to make them fit. I started making a bracket since I'd misplaced one of them, and it was an essential piece of hardware. Laid my foot open to the bone in the process when it spun around and clipped me just above the top of my shoe, so now I have seven stitches in my foot :P I did manage to make them work, without using anything but the leaves themselves. I dropped the rear axle, cut off the alignment dowels for the leaves, then drilled a hole in each of the leafs. I then positioned the SS's under the Eagle leaf pack, and put a bolt through, after rounding off the head enough to fit through the spring perch, then stuck a nut on top to tighten it down, and reinstalled my axle. I would recommend getting the best set of metal drill bits you can find, it was NOT easy to get through the leaf, I broke or dulled nearly all of my bits, and had to use a Dremel bit to further widen the hole. Here's what they look like, and what they did :D

The picture is not the greatest quality, but you get the idea. I couldn't mount them up above the leafs because of the swaybar end links and lack of that bracket. I would have had to purchase longer axle U-bolts to make it work by lifting the end links. And I didn't use ANY hardware, even the metal piece that led to my emergency room visit. Sometimes less is more :D
It lifted the back of the car a good two inches:
Before:


After:


And, the exhaust... I made it emissions friendly, since I'm going with the cheaper crush bent elbows and couldn't route it correctly for their tube. I ran it along the stock location, added a second cat and replaced the muffler with a cherry bomb. I also divided the piping into two sections by welding three hole flanges from the street hookup kit that came with my outlet flare, and using a gasket between them. Unfortunately the two flanges warped from the heat of welding and I had to add a little exhaust clay. The piping is held up by the inlet to header at the front, and mechanics wire wrapped several times through the old exhaust hanger at the back, around the bottom of the cherrybomb. The piping is very stiff because of all of the welded sections so it hangs and swings like a factory system.

outlet:

Rear section (cat and cherrybomb)

front section (first cat, to header)

It's not exactly quiet, but it's not deafening either. It;s just loud enough to set off cheap car alarms in Wal Mart parking lots (as I found out earlier :D) and remind you that it's a bigass torquey American straight six with a few modifications :D It actually gets really quiet at highway cruising speeds, in low part throttle.

The power steering belt took a trip again, so I realigned my pump and made sure it matched up, but decided to just disconnect the power steering lines and drive it wouthout power steering for a while. The smaller wheel makes it pretty difficult, but it seems to be getting easier every day, probably the box breathing a bit. I may drain it and put gear oil in it, but I"m not sure yet. The box is in bad shape, there's about two inches of free play in the wheel, and my alignment is bad on top of that. WIth power steering, it was too vague, I couldn't tell when there was dead play or steering, from just the steering wheel alone, now however, I can feel where the play stops, making it much easier to drive smoothly on the highway.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2010, 12:06:48 AM by tougeagle »
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

Offline IowaEagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #100 on: July 11, 2010, 09:24:25 AM »
EGG for the great update and new pictures.
Click for Toledo, IA Forecast" border="0" height="100" width="150   


Not a Jeep.  Not a Car.  Its an AMC Eagle!

1982 Eagle SX/4 Sport;
1980 Concord DL;
1970 Ambassador 2 Dr HT, SST
2002 Hyundai Santa Fe;
2008 Jeep Patriot Sport - Freedom Drive II

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #101 on: July 26, 2010, 02:28:20 AM »
EGG for the great update and new pictures.
Thanks!
It finally passed emissions earlier this week, I also obtained tags for it. So, the long haul is over and the easy stuff begins. I recently wired it for a trailer, I'll have pics posted of that as well. I also intend to create a full writeup on the conversion. I still have so many plans for Caroline, but most of those are going to be put on hold for the next few years, as I am going back to school, for automechanics. I intend to obtain at the very least, an associate degree in applied sciences of automotive technology, but would like to go for a bachelor's.
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

68AMXGOPAC

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #102 on: July 26, 2010, 09:51:33 AM »
An egg for all of the relentless hard work and toiling hours you have put into this.Myself, I can be accused of ,and rightly so , of looking at something so daunting and moving it over to the side of the driveway and getting another car.
Great decision on going back to school,sounds like you have a plan , and your deternmination is more than evident !!

Offline tougeagle

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #103 on: July 26, 2010, 10:35:23 PM »
An egg for all of the relentless hard work and toiling hours you have put into this.Myself, I can be accused of ,and rightly so , of looking at something so daunting and moving it over to the side of the driveway and getting another car.
Great decision on going back to school,sounds like you have a plan , and your deternmination is more than evident !!
Thank you! I am extremely determined, this is pretty much my last chance at making something of myself and getting out of wage slavery and job insecurity. I can't wait to get started, and learn more about one of my life's passions.
Upcoming 1982 Wagon "The Silver Bullet"
Goals: 550hp/600tq 4.5L EFI Turbo Stroker, Tremec 6 speed manual
2007 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 6 speed 600+hp/1400+tq fully deleted
1998 Honda Civic "the hoopdy"

What's your 'sona?

A dream car does not have to be beautiful in the eyes of others, it's not theirs.

68AMXGOPAC

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Re: The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project
« Reply #104 on: July 27, 2010, 09:24:57 AM »
Your welcome , It's allways that break that comes your way or the chance to go after it,that pays off.When I was younger,like 25,I was pumping gas, washing windows and checking oil, turning an occasional wrench.A steady customer , who I guess noticed my work ethic and determination to do it right even with the most menial jobs , scribbled an adress on an envelope and told me I should go down and put my name on the list at the hall,and asked if I knew anything about sheetmetal.I did not, but he said go anyways. Two months later I was starting my union apprenticeship,only to learn he was on the comittee,and had got me up near the top of the list.I still am thankfull 27 years later for that break. ( sorry all, I know this is a weee bit off topic)

 

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