Mav's Lifted 1985 Eagle Wagon Limited/Sport Stroker - Picture Heavy! - 04/09/10

[Mavericke]

Ok, so this started as a project thread for the "White Castle Queen"... my 1980 AMC Eagle Wagon, but once we got down to the nitty gritty, we found it was too far gone to be saved. It was rotted in places I don't even have names for, lol! So once we finished stripping the 80', we pulled in my 1985 Limited to rebuild it using alot of the parts from the 80'. So with that being said... we'll start from the begining.

First off, if you're wondering about the "White Castle" reference and if you're even the slightest bit interested about how I got my hands on her, check out this thread titled; "Mav & Dusty Go To White Castle - The Story Of The Free Wagon". You can view it here. --> http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=23443.0 I do hope you've got your reading goggles on and a good since of humor... oh yeah, and you should probably be warned that there are some dangerous stunts involved - don't try it at homes folks. Viewer discretion is advised.

Ok, with all of that out of the way... I wrecked my Blazer and totaled it in December of 2009. Everyone came out unharmed, but my poor tricked out 2002 Chevy Blazer ZR2 was totaled beyond repair. It was kind of a blessing in disguise because I was trying to sell her awhile back to fund my Eagle project and get out of the payments (even though she was less than a year from being paid off). I won't get into too many details... you can actually read all about it here --> http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=23839.0

So, in my desperation to get a daily driver on the road, I just jumped into one Eagle project after the other to find somethgin worth saving. Prefferably something with four doors. I obviously didn't want to purchase another vehicle and be stuck with payments again, but I have to have something 100% reliable and safe to haul my children back and fourth to town 16m away. So, that puts the 82 SX4 Sport project on hold (yet again) and it left me with the 1985 AMC Eagle Wagon Limited... the wagon was solid from the firewall back, but the front frame rails were rusted beyond belief. My buddies and I jumped in anyways with the intent of repairing the damage. About halfway through the project, I was searching through Craigslist and found another 1985 Wagon... but this one was a sport and it was rust free.... the problem? She was wrecked. Well, even still... that's going to be easier to fix than the frame rot on the Limited. Plus, if I combine the two... then I'll end up with one really cool Wagon! So I bought the $400 wrecked Eagle and had it delivered... when the seller showed up with his flat bed, he asked me if I wanted to steer her down the ramps. I agreed and I sat inside the car and patiently waited for him and his partner to push the car down.... after a few moments of awkward silience, he said... ok, just push the gas down one time to set the idle, then crank the engine over and fire it up. I snapped back with, "It runs!?!". He laughed and told me to fire it up and drive it off.... so I pumped the pedal one time and turned the key and she instantly fired up. I drove her off the ramps and down the driveway.

This is where my future daily driver landed...

Mav's 1985 AMC Eagle Wagon Limited/Sport

The brown/tan/gold one is the 85 Limited.... the white one is the 1980 rust bucket.
From here on out, it will be documented as it happened by dates in chronological order. Enjoy!

01/17/10 - Preparations
So I've spent the last week buying up parts. Most of them haven't arrived yet, but should be here by Wednesday. I requested a week's vacation from work next week to tackle this project... I've asked friends to help, but we'll see what happens when the real work begins. The majority of the important parts are here. I've got a 1983 Eagle 258 here bored .60 over and totaly overhauled. I'll keep it simlple and say everything is new. It was never put into a vehicle and it has been sitting for just over a year or so. I'll be sure to lube her up real good before I crank on her. I've inspected what I can and she appears to be in perfect shape. A zero miles engine... can't wait.

I had a list of all the parts that took me 20m to type out.... highlighted it to copy it and hit the wrong key and erased it. Perfect. Needless to say - you're going to have to wait on that list now, LOL! Sorry!

Here are a few pictures to tide you over.

More to come soon!

01/19/10 - Goodbye to the 1980
This is why the 80' project was canceled.

Rust in all the door jams.... most of the doors are gone. The front passenger side fender is toast. The rockers are shot. ALL of the floor boards are shot and the front sub frame is just starting to swell.

Here are a few things I've found inside the car... a retro windshield sunguard (which obviously wasn't used very often considering the fading of the carpet), a NOS oil filter (looks older), the original car owners manual, a chilton's manual, and service records from 1984 through 1997. Cool stuff!

Yeah, it sucks... but everything happens for a reason.

We have it almost totally stripped (minus drive train). Good news for you though Brandon... assuming the headliner is good in the Limited... we successfuly salvaged the headliner in the 80 and you can have it. It's not perfect, but it'll deff hold a new cover.

I've posted the limited before... but not sure where... I'll be posting more soon, but here are the only ones I have right now. This is how it was delievered to me. Oversized wheels and a stearing box that has rusted out and broken away from the frame... so no steering at all.

01/20/10 - More Preparations
More pics...

I just had to show these... First off, we were kinda proud to finally have a garage door opener... took us most of the day, but it works! lol! The second picture is my new work space. This was all full of boxes and furniture just two days ago... it's been crazy, but now I finally have most of my workspace. Of course, this is only temporary until I get the barn set up. And lasty, here are all my service manuals and stuff... the big red one in the middle is my hardback 1980 TSM, its pretty cool. Suprisingly though I'm enjoying reading the blue Chilton's the most.

01/21/10 - Getting started... again.
So, the new project is officiallt underway. Four days wasted on a car that was too badly rotted to be saved... On day five we drug in the 85 Limited... and by the end of day 6, she is almost completely stripped down. The interior is being replaced and updated, she's getting prepped for paint, and we are currently pulling the engine which has proven to be a rather difficult task. We've almost got her though.

Once the engine comes out, we have some frame rot/cancer to repair - then we will be coating the engine back and underboday with primer and rolled on Herculiner.

Here are the current pics...

The steering box has long since rusted from the frame so there is virtually not steering, and we couldn't fire her up and drive her in because I stole the radiator out of her several months ago for the orange SX4. We drug it from my barn, through the 1/4 thick ice and several inches of old snow to the front yard where we then pushed it into the garage. The only piece that suffered damage was the passenger side taillight and I have extras.

Here is the rust damage... this is not the only spot, but believe it or not she's really not all that bad compared to the 80.

Here are the mice we've found so far in the interior... along with two perfect end caps and an Aerosmith CD, woot! The total number of mice so far is now at 12.

Here are some of the pulled parts from this one (the 85) and the 80... Also, a possible wiring issue, and some fender damage.

And here some shots of our progress... I keep taking photos from the exact same spot periodically... I want to make a video tranistion out of it from scapper to roller! And don't mind Dusty... we were up late and way too tired to be thinking clearly. He just wanted to pose like Spiderman... pretty good job too, lo!

Having a hard time getting the engine/tranny/transfer case out in one piece... we think we've got it worked out now though; I'll be posting pics for sure, so stay tuned!

01/23/10 - An extra pair of hands

Brandon (83Eagle!) is here... he made it about a quarter till 11am. We started right away... he helped me clean out my garage, hang some shelves and organize all the extra parts from the 80 and 85 so that we had more adequate work space. Once we finished, we had a small lunch and we've been going ever since... going to break for pizza soon, then back at it for awhile. Going smooth although... Brandon's poor poor fragile lil' hands are getting awfully banged up. I think she (my Eagle) likes him. LOL!

Stay tuned!

01/24/10 - War Wounds

Here are the only two pics I got from Brandon's visit, lol... I'm sure he'll post all the cool ones he got. He's kind of injury prone with a ratchet and torque bit, LOL!

We didn't even get out to the barn... he literally pulled up and we started working. We came in a couple times for food, but mostly just cranked away on organizing the garage and ripping out the interior of the Eagle.

01/25/10 - Progress

Ok, time to make this thread official and remove the "White Castle Queen" from the title... I'll post this and then go back and clean up the thread. So, as of now the Eagle is sitting with no tranny or transfer case. We tried pulling the engine with them attached and it was a "no-go". The we tried disconnecting just the tranfser case... still, we couldn't get the engine unwedged. So, then we disconnected the tranny - which was a huge hassle... Dusty forgot to drain the tranny first so everything dumped out on us and all over the floor. I'm all out of quick-dry too... so it was messy.

So after the tranny was out, we thought it'd be smooth sailing.... LOL... what a joke that was. The exhaust is now in the way. We busted out the sawzaw when the transfer case was still attached and we cut the exhaust off, but it looks like it's actually going to have to be unbolted from the manifold... well, the bolts are so rusted that there almost really isn't a bolt there... you'd that'd be good right? No bolt - no exhaust pipe.... wrong. It's all fused together!

Sooooo.... I've just started disconnecting the intake and exhaust manifolds off the head so that we can pull the exhaust out in one piece. After that.... she should, theoretically, slide right out. I've already removed everything in the way; radiator, condensor, washer and overfill bottles. And everything is disconnected.

I'll post more as it happens. Unfortunately, it's time to go back to work... my week off is now over. Joy. So it'll be a couple a hours a day until it's done.

We finally got the sandblaster working... here are a couple shots of it's work. We haven't really used it much though.

Here's the 3" lift kit I bought for it... not sure what I'm going to do about the sagging rear leaf springs just yet. Leaning towards add-a-leaf, but I haven't gotten any deffinitive answers/info yet to help me make up my mind. The lift says 3" for the front, but I hear you only get 1 or w inches out of it... I'm betting though that with new coil springs and those spacers... I'll get at least 3". Same with the rear.

Here are a couple concept pictures.... the visor fits perfectly. It was for my 02' Chevy Blazer. It'll take some very minor trimming with the dremel and of course some drilling for mounting holes and wiring for the lights, it's going to look pretty cool. The bumper concept is impossible... well not impossible, but not worth the $100 for the bumper cover and all the cutting that would be involved. The problem is the cover is about 3" too wide... when I pull the old wrecked cover off of Shelly's 00' Jeep Cherokee Laredo, I'll toy with the idea some more and do some actual cutting. My idea is to cut off the corners and use the the original Eagle bumper caps. Or... cut off the corners... trim off a couple inches on each side and then reattach the corners. No matter what is done, the grill will not work. It takes up too much room to fit the orginal headlights in, and if you convert (like I'm doing) to the cherokee headlights - they will stick out too far and not fit in the fender well. So either way, you won't be using a Jeep grill - sorry. But who knows... once I start cutting, anything could happen.

Oh yeah, and my valve cover showed up today from Collin's bros! Awesome! I went with the black one this time... it just looks awesome! I'll post pics later.

01/25/10 - Brandon's Photos

Here's a couple shots of Brandon scraping the random residue left over from the carpet and the padding.

 
Here are some shots of the empty interior of the 85 Eagle...


Here are some other random shots of Brandon's



Now for the intellectual shot of the bunch.  Here's Dusty and I pondering the predicament about getting the engine out.


I think the decision was made that I would just grab the chains and muscle the darn thing out myself... I'll get back to you on that one. 

01/26/10 - The Engine is Out!

Dusty-Spider strikes again!!!
Because Spider-man was already taken, Spider-Dusty didn't sound right, and Dusty-Man jsut didn't make sense for a super hero name.

Yep, the engine is finally out THANK GOD! Gah, that was just ridiculous. We kept tugging and dropping and tugging and dropping and it kept lifting the entire car... Mudkicker even told us about this specific plate and still we missed it... anyways, we were getting hung up on the two bolts that connect to the front differential. We figured we'd have to disconnect the exhaust to get to the bolts on the plate, but getting the exhaust off seemed more of a daunting task than just weasling our way into those bolts.... the bolts on the exhaust were rusted and fused to the manifold. Not to mention that the nut was so far down the bolt that it needed a deep-well socket to be reached, yet with the clearance down there - a deep-well was impossible. I was digging for a blade for the sawzaw when Dusty finally broke the final bolt lose... I was going to just start chopping away, lol!

I played around with the sandblaster again today... having fun with it, althought I think it's something better used outside, lol! Black sand is everywhere! I forgot to take pictures of the sand blasting job - but it's actually working pretty good. I sandblasted a rear wiper motor for a fellow nester and it looks great! Then I shot it with a thick coat of black rubberized rust resistant paint. It looks brand new! Which by the way... that freaking motor was a pain to get out. The motor was easy, but the wiper arm was a bear... it was rusted and fuzed with the motor arm... what a pain! I tried everything to get it off of there and when I was ready to give up I finally just grabbed a prybar and yanked a few good times and it popped off... the hatch is trashed from it, LOL! Don't fret though... the hatch was rotted out anyways. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

01/27/10 - Shopping List

Wow, no comments? Man... I was really anxious to see what you guys had to say about the most recent progress. Must be sleeping? Lol! Ok so several days ago I tried typing up my shopping list for what I've bought (and or aquired through trade) for the Eagle and the few things I still need to get. Then I acidentaly deleted the text before I could post it. So anyways... here it is again.... 20 min later, LOL!

Already purchased and waiting to be installed:

• Holley 2300 Carb with new jets, adaptor plate and rebuild kit
• Espo front coil springs
• eBay Sway bar links
• 99 Grand Cherokee Projector/Halo Headlights
• 99 Dodge Ram Projector/Halo Foglights
• 99 Grand Cherokee Headlight wiring harness
• Jurjen's MUI ignition upgrade kit - I got the Pertronix 3.0 ohm coil off of ebay, the adaptor plate at the EN store, and the rest at Autozone - http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=13269.msg228088#msg228088
• Carpet molded for my Eagle Made by Auto Custom Carpets ACC
• 1983 AMC I6 4.2 stroked and bored .60 over with new oil pan, water pump, oil pump, and motor mounts.
• A new aluminum valve cover from Collin's Brothers, Black powder coated with 4.2 logo - this is the best place to buy them on the web for quality and cost. Period.
• Lund Windshield Sunvisor for an 02 Chevy Blazer - near perfect fit
• LED flexible underglow lights with wireless remote, multiple presets and multiple colors - from Sharperglow
• All LED bulbs throughout the car (brake lights, turn signals, interior lights) with relays to prevent rapid flashing and/or no flashing - from HyperLEDsInc
• ebay Used 4.0 exhaust manifold to run true dual exhaust
• Inline radiator flush kit
• New rebuilt tranny and transfer case
• New refurbished gas tank
• NOS guage cluster with 0 miles on the odometer!

• Front coil 3" donut spacer and rear leaf 3' lift
• Orion 6" front speakers and Orion 5x9" rear 3-way speakers
• Two MASSIVE 12" subwoofers in a slot ported box with a 1000W MASSIVE amp, cap, and monster cables.

Items that I still need to pick up:

• Rear leaf springs - leaning towards 1985 XJ springs
• Shocks front and rear
• Entire front end kit - ball joints upper and lower, tie rods, etc etc etc
• Re-apohlstered seats (almost $1000, woah! That'll be something that waits awhile, LOL!)
• Wheels & tires
• Brakes front and rear along with new brake lines
• Mustang Rear tailight housings with LED's - not sure if I will do this one or not
• New mirrors with turn signals - not sure if I will do this one or not
• New vinly headliner
• New CD/MP3/DVD/GPS player with 7" screen in the front - I had a 3.5" Jensen deck, but returned it for something different. Still looking.
• Rear headrest DVD screens for back seat viewing.
• Rear window louvers posibbly even the side windows. Will have to fabricate them.
• Power moon roof
• High powered alternator for all the eletronics on board.
• New AC compressor & Condensor

Not bad eh? Still got a loooong ways to go. Budget is maxed at this point... nothing I can do but work with what I have for now and upgrade the rest as I can. Most if which will come with tax money... just as soon as I get all my forms, gah!

As for the louvers... from the different sets I've seen, they all have little plates that side under the trim, then the louvers screw onto them. On the top, the plate has a hinge.... so you can easily loosen the bottom ones and lift the louvers up for scraping ice or cleaning the glass. That's the one downside to louvers... you get leaves and stuff in there and they sit and stain. I mean, you can scrub it off - but it's not fun. The snow isn't too bad imo... especially if you have heated glass. Just brush off the excess and the heaters do the rest. The louvers actually help keep alot of snow from getting on the actual glass.

My mounting bracktes will be almost identical. For the 08 meet, I didn't have time to fab anything... so I went to Walmart and bought some cheap thin cabinet hinges to get me by. They did the job well... left them on there almost a year, LOL!

The side windows just have little tabs and they pop into the window trim. I don't really like that though, because you have to bend the louvers to get them in... if yours are brittle... you may have a hard time getting them out in one piece. I'm thinking double sided tape/adhesive. Again, for the 08 Meet... I had little time to prepare... so I used double sided tape on a good portion of the trim and fender wells.... it also sat for a year and honestly, I was really worried when it came time to peel it off because the stuff was strong, I thought it was going to tear/break the plastic trim... it took some time, but I got them off with no damage. The worst part was trying to get it off the paint, LOL!

Anyways, everyone has been waiting on my louver prototypes for almost two years I think, LOL... but good things come to those who wait. I promise.

01/28/10 - Carpet

the carpet arrived today, so the interior will start tomorrow. I'm going to rattle-can the interior metal with a rust-oleum paint... from the reviews I've read, it's supposed to be the best. I bought a few cans to test it out... won't really know till a year or so down the road, but might be able to get some sort of insight after it dries and try to rough it up with a screwdriver or something. We'll see. I'm going to start sanding and grinding tomorrow and then get it painted so I cab lay that carpet.

01/29/10 - Carpet Pictures

Ok, so if you haven't noticed from my other thread(s), I'm working on the front end right now. Trying to remove the springs. I busted a nut today... *cough* on the car and it scared the heck out of me. There's a pic below. I've also been spending some time sand blasting some of the rust, mostly in the interior floor boards. I'm getting ready to lay carpet and paint interior. Pictures of the carpet are also below. Oh yeah, and I got the other fender off too... it's rusted out pretty bad. Still going to save it though. Might be useful later if I need a chunk of it to save another fender or something. It wouldn't be a bad fender if someone were going to use it and cut out the wheel wells anyways for bigger wheels or something. Again, pics below... along with pics of the new carpet and the paint I am using inside the cabin under the carpet to cover the fresh metal.

Links to the suspension threads, questions, and answers... these aren't all my threads, just some places with info that I'm using on my build. A whole lot of "I don't freaking know!" right now though, LOL!
Scared to Remove Shocks! - http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=24942.msg231647#msg231647
Triangle Leaf springs - http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=24884.0
Redundant Springs - http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=24907.msg231392#msg231392
Taller Shocks For Lifted Eagle - http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=24893.msg231145#msg231145

02/11/10 - Scrap it!?

I thought I'd share this with everyone... I'm guessing since Brandon was wondering... other might be as well. Today he asked me if I had scrapped the Wagon project... Here's my answer:

-----------------------------
Oh god no, man! I won't be abandoning that project... I will see it through. Too much time and money into it to see it junked, LOL!

Mark my words... I will be driving it with my family in tow to the meet in Sept.

And it'll look brand new and totally custom... going as far as possibly chopping off cherokee fenders and hood from a 99... to hack and weld onto the Eagle. I'll keep the Eagle fenders, but chop the fronts of them off to match up to the 'kee.... then I'll use the Jeep hood, after I extend it about 12 inches or more to meet the front custom clip...

Basically... it's going to look like a magnum when I'm done... but it'll be a Jeep front end rather than the 300 or Charger front end. At least this way, I'm still partially keepinr to heritage.

Imagine your wagon with a newer Jeep front end on it... lifte a few inches, with 18" rims, true dual exhaust.... halo/projector headlights... a bangin sound system and the torque and sound of a stock V8 while keeping the weight and durability of an I6... basically a really badass magnum is what I'll end up with.... with AMC badges, AMC drive train, and a much more solid frame/body without all the computer electronics that come with the newer vehicles....

It will own ALL. Dominate ALL. And I will have to be burried in it, LOL!
---------------------------------

Does that answer your question? I don't know how well the Jeep conversion wil actually work... but I've been working on measurements... I have the entire front clip, all I need are the fenders and hood.... but I'm still thinking I can save the fenders and fab them out of fiberglass.... maybe even the hood. Not sure yet. I need to take some pictures and show you guys.

The project has been on hold because I was waiting on my oxy/acetelyn tanks to be delivered... they should be here anytime and when they arrive... I'll start cutting away that front end. Don't worry... I wouldn't attempt this on a solid perfect Eagle... that's blasphemy. This fron end stuff has to be cut off and replaced anyways, so I figure it's worth a shot to try it out. If it doesn't work... then I'll go back to the original.

Brandon also asked about a Sedan I may be buying.... yes, this is a very likely possibility. The wagon is moving much slower than planned and I HAVE to get a vehicle on the road asap. If I buy this sedan.... I will not touch anything on it. Everything will remain factory besides, the valve cover, headights (which will only have minor upgrading), wheels and stereo.

Ok... back to the regulary scheduled program.

03/03/10 - Shifting gears again, no pun intended!

Ok, so I need to post updated pics of the Wagon project... it's still going pretty slow. I've been spending alot of time working in the house. Finally got around to running the plumbing for the toilet in the family bathroom and finally got the toilet installed. All the wiring is done on that side of the house as well. Just need to texture and paint in the bathroom and it's done... woot!

So update on the wagon... started cutting away the rust on the front subframe area. Some of the bolts were rounded off into points to look like ice picks. Had to cut the bolts to get the driver's side bumper mount off. Now it's ready to be cut. Still having a hard time getting the pitman arm off of the stearing box, but once we get it off... the cutting will begin.

Also, got the cracked windshield out and removed the dashboard and labled all the wires. Most of the rust spots in the cabin have been sand blasted. I still need to grind a few spots and cut a couple more.... then weld in some new sheet metal and get her taped off and ready for paint.

Even after removing the entire interior.... it still smells like a mouse cage. There was some spilled oil in the spare tire hump and some dead mice were laying in it before...although the mice were removed weeks ago, I still think that liquid has something to do with it. I spread some cat litter over it to help soak it up. Then I'll vacum it out... scrub it and paint it. If that doesn't get rid of the smell... nothing will, lol!

Does anyone know if SX4 rear seats will fit in the wagon... I don't see why the wouldn't... the look almost identical.
Also, how hard is it to remove the black metal insert that covers the spare tire in the hatch area? I'm thinking there coule possibly be more mice up in there out of sight.... plus, I'd like to remove it to make painting easier.

And here is the last thing... I came across another wagon nearby... about 3hrs from home. It appears to be a sport model in great shape... well, excluding the taco'd front end, LOL! But I know I have everything needed to fix it. I could have it on the road in a day assuming the engine still runs. I'm guessing, radiator, water pump and fan... and she'll run. If so... and assuming the body/frame is solid... the project will be shifted to that one. I will continue on this project, but I will not install the new engine in it. I'll just finished repairing the frame/body, sand blast and tune up the old engine, paint both the engine and car, and install interior.... then I will keep it for a spare car for awhile until I find someone that wants to buy it for what I'd have in it.

As of now, the deal has been made and the offer has been accepted... still waiting on these darn taxes to arrive though... I had to mail them out to get the house tax credit so I mailed them priority 3-day mail.... that was Feb 3rd.... I ran the tracking number the other day and apparently they didn't even get my forms until the 13th... so 3 days became 10 days... and the 13th was on a Saturday as well, so they didn't actually get them until the 15th. So... basically, I probably wont get them until closer to the end of March. GRR! I've got alot riding on my taxes! :/ So hopefully soon. And hopefully, this guy holds out for me. I have no idea how the heck I'm going to get it home though, LOL!

Here are a few pictures of the new wagon... $400 - 1985 AMC Eagle Wagon Sport

I found it on craigslist. These are the only pictures I have seen. I am still waiting for more. I guess it was just recently wrecked... so 50/50 chance on how well she runs and how solid the frame/body is. Besides the obvious... she sure looks great though, eh? I know I said that I wouldn't back on the 85 Limited project, but if this car pans out... It'd be much smarter to get it on the road first.

03/04/10 - Updates back by popular demand!

Here's one update on the Wagon... at least another side project I'm working on for the Wagon.

http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=25240.0

And here are the only pics I have of the last couple of weeks. Most of which were taken this past weekend. Basically, all I've done is a bit more sandblasting, some minor cutting with the torch (you can see some pics of cut bolts below), we ripped out the cracked windshield, and I removed the dash and labled all the wires.

The cutting and welding should be done soon I hope. Then she'll be getting some body work... popping all the dings and dents and getting her sanded down. I finally got the black primer in the other day so I'm excited about that!

And, we're working on the custom front end... it's going to be alot harder than initialy expected. Which is bad because we already knew it was going to be really tough. I'd probably back out of it... but since I've already spent several hundred dollars on it... it's going to happen if I have to glue and staple, LOL!

04/04/10 - Updates back by popular demand!

Ok... so once again now that the car is stripped and I am fed up with the hassle of all the welding.... I have moved this car out to pasture in the Eagle Sanctuary Badlands, lol! She's good from the firewall back so I'm not scrapping her... but work is being suspended on her so that my efforts can be moved forward on the other three Eagles here with REAL potential. First off, I've got that blue SX4 I'm working on... secondly, I still need to finish the body work on the orange SX4 and swap motors.... lastly... here's my newest project. I paid $525 for her and that included delivery. Not a speck of rust. And get this... she runs great! The fan was busted off and the radiator is shot, but she fires up! I drove her off the trailor!

The fenders appear to be good... even the bumper caps look nice. I just need to replace the obvious grill, headlights, trim, buckets, radiator and tranny cooler hose... and then weld in a new front clip... which just so happens to be perfect on the rust bucket out back. We've already cut off the pieces that will go on this one.

Here are the pics... Dusty broke the tip on my welder, but assuming he gets it fixed tonight... we'll spend all day on the wagon tomorrow and I'll drive her up and have her registered on Monday and she will be my daily driver until the blue SX4 is done... then when the blue SX4 and the RAM is finished.... I will pull this wagon back in the garage to swap in the new interior and the stroker.... and of course, give her a nice fresh coat of paint. THEN... work will be started on the orange one... THEN... back to the rust bucket! Woot! Plenty of projects to last me into next summer!

She's a 1985 AMC Eagle Wagon Sport.... I will eventually convert this thread to reflect THIS project rather than the rust bucket (which probably won't see the light of day for another year or more, if ever). I'll be pulling the power window stuff off the Limited... heck maybe even the badges, LOL! I'll have a "Limited Sport".... woot!

Here are some pics I took this morning!

04/09/10 - Progress!... again.

Here's the progress! Now that the Dodge is up and running and getting me back and forth to work... and some playing.... and dragging Eagles around the yard, LOL.... it's time to get back on this project! So, we've got all the front end torn apart and the wrecked/crushed metal cut off with the torch.

Oh yeah! And I have officially updated the first post with all the other updates within this thread... it also reflects the progress and gradual decision to move on from one Eagle... to another.... to another... to a truck... and back to this Wagon. This one will not leave the garage until it is running.[/list]

[wagoneerhauler]

Keep us updated Mav.  It looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one.  It makes it less fun when you have to get it done too.   

[Smitch]

adue (spelling?)

ado

[83Eagle!]

Looks good so far Mav.  Can't wait to se this thing in person.  Not sure yet as to my departure time.  Either Friday evening or the wee hours of the morning Saturday (I kinda like the idea of arriving to your place in daylight.  So we will see. 

[Mavericke]

Yeah it's easier to find in the daylight Brandon, but even if you show up at 3am... I'll come to town and meet you at the gas station so you can easily find your way to my house.

Thanks for the spelling Smitch!

Keep us updated Mav.  It looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one.  It makes it less fun when you have to get it done too.  

Yeah, usually you're right... and the deadline sucks... but for the most part, I'm really excited... it's a good excuse to lock myself in the garage for a week without the ol'lady b***ing, LOL! She's actually encouraging me... woot! Didn't complain once while I was shopping. I came out of Autozone with $300 in fluids and engine paint and rust protectant and stuff... not a word. Walked out of Sears with $800 in tools... not a word. How freaking cool is that!? And it's not like we have loads of money - infact we're in debt up to our knees with this freaking moneypit of a house we love so dearly, but... hey, it's the insurance money for my truck and she knows that. She probably knows how upset I was about the Blazer which is why I get to get away with it all for a couple weeks, LMAO!!!!!

[Smitch]

Hope you have decent weather for the job.

[amc78concord]

Man, that looks like fun 

[Mavericke]

I got to looking at it a bit closer today... lot more rust than I orginally thought. So I'll be doing some more welding... thats ok though I guess. At least the drive train will be off, so I should be able to get to everything fairly easy. Nothing beyond repair though... the worst part is around the doors. Luckily, I have an 84 Limited out back that has perfect door with power windows and locks... should be an easy enough swap... and it gives me an excuse to put in new hinge pins anyways.

[83Eagle!]

Thanks for the update. 

[vangremlin]

adue (spelling?)

ado

adieu

[Mavericke]

Ah geez... how the heck do you spell it already!? LOL!

[Smitch]

adue (spelling?)

ado

adieu

Adieu is a french word. It means goodbye.
Ado means fuss.

[Mavericke]

Woot! You da man Smitch!

crashed out at 4am last night watching that HBO show "TrueBlood" about Vampires that live in our world openly, it's kind of a cool different twist on the vampire legend. Anyways, this chick drives a purple Gremlin.... and it's freaking sweet! Just thought I'd bring that up... you see her driving it all the time in several episodes.

Anyways. the girls had me up ay 9:30a.... about to finish my grape jelly muffin and I'm getting back to the grind. I'll post pics tonight

[Mavericke]

Well guys... bad news.. I think she may be too far gone. At least for now. I'll post pics in the morning... but I just got in from the shop and she's just in pieces... rust everywhere. I'm afraid of investing too much time into her to find that she is beyond repair. Prime candidate for a solid frame or saolid axle swap.... but to patch up for a daily driver... I just don't know. The frame appears to be decent for the most part, but the front subframe is starting to give. If I get to it now and do it right, I can save it... but all of the floorboards are totally gone, the rockers are gone and all of the door jams are gone in the bottom corners.

The door jams I can fix with fiberglass. The floor pans should be easy enough to weld in from the inside of the cab. The rockers.... not sure... totally gone. Fender's are pretty well shot too, but with time maybe could be saved.

Sub frame can be saved with alot of grinding and sandblasting followed by some precision welds and a good undercoating to seal it up.

I'll post pics tomorrow and get your input...

[ScottD961]

You found some cool things inside for sure,I'm tracking down a shop manual myself right now. As for the car, I dunno, do you think it will be structurally sound when your done ? It sounds like there is a LOT of rust . Just from what you said it almost seems like it needs a whole new body. If you had other cars that were in better shape in your flock they might be a better candidate.Not trying to be negative here but your sure going to have a lot of time & money in just getting it back together & you said you only have a week to get it done ? Wish I was closer Ive got some time off right now , I'd give you a hand but even the body work I have done is no where near what your doing here, I think I'd probably slow you down.