The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project

[Draekon]

Sorry to hear that!  Your project has been inspiring seeing what you've accomplished on a small budget.

I wish you the best and hopefully you find your way back to Eagles before too long.

[vangremlin]

Sounds like this isn't the right time in your life for an Eagle.  Your time will come!

[captspillane]

I've made reference to this speed sensor solution several times. I also intend to post on this thread occasionally to keep it near the first page of project threads. I'll post by quoting information and pictures that we'll want to find easily. I also suspect that stagnant threads get deleted eventually while the recent ones do not. This thread is well worth saving. Thanks Tougeagle!

And finally, the one significant accomplishment today that might actually help others out significantly as well. I discovered how to adapt a vehicle speed sensor with cable driven speedometer , without attaching it to the transfer case, since our eagles use a rather unique transfer case cable input. First, the sensor, grabbed from an early 90's Dakota pickup (that also had an AX15 on it....)


Second, the piece needed: (sorry for bad pics, I've been too busy to charge the batteries for my decent camera)


If I recall correctly, 1/2" to 3/8" steel pipe bushing. Some electrical tape has to be used around the threads, so the large end of the bushing will catch the threads in the speed sensor. The cable side (on stock setup) of the speed sensor is exactly the same size as the speedo cable input on the back of the instrument cluster, and the 3/8" bushing is a near-perfect fit for both. Again though, you'll need Teflon or electrical tape around the speedo and bushing threads..





It is a rather unorthodox way to do it, but it is just a simple sensor that derives electrical energy from kinetic energy, and I doubt the sensor has a designated direction built into it, so it should work out.

[68AMXGOPAC]

So what exactly does this speed sensor do ? Since I am sure it is still behind the speedometer on the car......

[captspillane]

The Vehicle Speed Sensor is necessary for the car to run right. When Tougeagle's speedo cable broke, which means that the VSS wasn't hooked up, he reported the car stalling every time he put the car in neutral. The MPI is able to make the car idle fine, but it relies on the VSS to let it know when the engine is under load. It can't react to changes in load condition without it and it will be prone to stalling. You need a VSS for both TBI and MPI, even if you have a mechanical speedometer.

There is a much more in depth discussion of the various VSS options in my project thread, "Perkiomen Project Pics". I reference this solution in that post.

[68AMXGOPAC]

Thanks - just another piece of the puzzle if I ever get to working on Caroline his old rig in the post.

[captspillane]

I like to bump this thread every so often to keep it from being deleted. This time I picked a picture of the shifter to prove the AX15 comes out of the floorboard in a nice spot in an Eagle.

[captspillane]

Anyway, I got the trans bolted completely to the mount last night, along with getting my exhaust almost complete. I even managed to almost get rolled over, since the transfer case had not fully engaged in 4 HI and detented to neutral, and I didn't have the parking brake on. My exhaust (specifically catalytic converter) managed to stop it a foot later and wreck my carefully tacked welds in the process. At that point, I gave up on the exhaust for the night.
The transmission mount bolts definitely ate ground clearance, but again, this car's going to shine in the snow, not offroad, I'll be using a cherokee for that, eventually.




I didn't get the chance to get to my exhaust today. It started getting too cold and wet. As of last night though, what it looked like when "complete":



However, now this section is separate. I have to line it up JUUUUST right to keep the muffler from hitting the floor pan and driveshaft, but not suck up more ground clearance at the same time >_<:


I did manage to get the CPS installed. It's a real PITA that requires very good feeling in your fingertips, and a long reach...

Since it's supposed to get cold and nasty for a while, I'm done working on the car for a few days. I'm also completely out of money

On the bright side, I got to test the 4.0 starter, since I have something to actuate the clutch now XD. It works It's nice to hear it crank over again.

[68AMXGOPAC]

Hey Capt. thanks for keeping the dream alive ! I haven't been on in a month allmost and this is the first thing that popped up.As the owner of the old Caroline I can say it sure does clear !! I have as of yet had any time to put into this project , cleaned it out of parts etc etc. But it does start right up everytime even sitting for a month or so.The lack of power steering is a B%*&# though !!I don't think Touge ever got a chance to get that part figured out or didn't have the parts. When I bought it he thought it had dropped a cylinder, and I haven't even had time to check that out.
He put alot of hard work into this car, hopefully I can continue that soon. I really would like to drop this whole set up in the MoneyPitt II , an 82 SX/4.

[maddog]

having actually road in this car i too can confirm the clearance and also the awesomeness of this car.

[shanebo]

X3 its an impressive eagle....it performed like no other eagle I ever drove and or rode in.

[captspillane]

Here's another bump so that people can find this thread easily. It's a good one to read if you are thinking of putting an AX15 stickshift transmission into an Eagle.

I like to bump this thread every so often to keep it from being deleted. This time I picked a picture of the shifter to prove the AX15 comes out of the floorboard in a nice spot in an Eagle.

[eaglebeek]

Bump

[ChickenFarmer3]

nice thread!