If you don't mind I'm about to tell a story. If you do mind, please move along. There are plenty of pictures to suit your fancy after the novel.
For starters I've been a fan of the AMC Eagle ever since I saw an SX/4 outside my Jr. High. Someone's parents were picking them up in this strange lifted sports car looking thing that said 4x4 on the side. That spawned my interested in the Eagle and I've always had a soft spot for these odd vehicles. Never really having the urge to purchase one I just loved knowing what they were if I was with someone that saw one and was like what the heck is that!
Recently though I got the itch. I was considering selling my car and started seriously looking into purchasing an AMC Eagle. Around that time, maybe 4 months ago, was when I found this lovely community and I became a pretty hardcore lurker. This lurking lead me to the Midwest/International Meet thread. Mavericke has been a great source of knowledge and his Sanctuary is only about 260 miles from where I live in MO. Was considering going to the meet when I found out about it several months ago, but a friends band was in the finals for a Battle of the Bands and we were all gonna camp on the river that weekend and go to the show. So I pretty much decided I couldn't make the meet.
Then about two weeks ago I finally sell my car (2008 Mazdaspeed3) and I'm carless and looking for Eagles like crazy and start talking to Mavericke again who decides he'd be willing to sell me his lifted '85. Not really one of his project cars, but 'his' Eagle!
I'm seriously considering and me and Mav are shooting back emails like crazy...novels much like the one I'm writing now. I'm also looking at another '85 which is local to me and here it is the end of the week right before the Midwest Meet and things just start snowballing.
My girlfriend has come into town cause we haven't seen each other in 3 weeks and I tell her we have to take a look at this Eagle on Friday at 10am (The local '85). The agreed on Wednesday to drive the Eagle to my town, he lived a mere 30 minutes away, and let me test drive it. I'm abruptly awakened Friday morning at 7am to a phone call. It's the guy with the local '85 and he's called to tell me he sold the car on Thursday night. I was too tired to curse him so I just said ok and hung up. Looking back at it though I was quite
at him as we had discussed on the phone how some people on craigslist just aren't honest and blah blah. I told him about another story where someone had sold a car right out from under me. And then not only does he go and do the exact same thing he also doesn't even have the courtesy to call me on Thursday night instead of waking me up in the morning of the day he's supposed to be letting me test drive his car.
Rant over!
So it's Friday morning and I have a wedding the following weekend I still haven't bought a suit for (I'm in the wedding and most by my own suit, a rant I'll not start now!) so the gf is nice enough to take me to STL so we can hit up the mall and see what I can find. We get to STL around 12 and are suit shopping for nearly 4 hours and I finally find one I like that fits me and is the right color (Chocolate brown suits are extremely hard to find). I also did some searching of the STL area and called on an Eagle that turned out to be a non-runner so I decided not to even mess with it. Another car I had been considering was an older Civic Hatchback (Pre '92) and I found one relatively close and we went and took a look at it. It was a piece of crap like most of them are...civic owners never seem to take care of their vehicles or they try to rice them out like it's a race car or something.
Having no luck in the car department, but toting a new suit we decide to get some grub before heading back home. We find a local restaurant that sounds good and head that way when the gf says, "After we eat why don't we just go check out that Eagle in Illinois?" She new I had been talking to Mav about his car and thinking I may never get a chance to check it out since I was carless and probably wouldn't want to make the 260 mile on my motorcycle. So it's like 7pm and we are 5 hours from where Mav lives and I call him up and say, "Mav, we're heading your way so I can take a look at the car."
Five and half hours later me and the gf are sleeping on the floor in the living room of Mav's house. Basically a complete stranger to us he stayed up late to let us in around 12:30am when we all had to be up around 6am and get ready for Cordova. I finally make my way off the floor around 6:30 or so and head outside where I can tell there is some commotion. Sorry, I'm bad with names...but eaglefreek (don't remember your real name) and don't remember the other guys name either (was driving I think an '84 Burnt Orange Wagon, maybe Eagleearl?) were outside getting there cars ready and the three of us just talked while Mav wrangled up the family. While we were talking I had a chance to take a look at Mav's lifted '85. I love the Windshield Visor and the lift looked nice. Maybe a little taller than I thought it was. The car just needed a ton of little things and I wasn't being drawn to it. Unfortunately me and Mav never really got to talk as we were in such a rush to get off to Cordova.
And actually me and Andrea (the gf) weren't really planning on going to Cordova, but we had already driven that far we just figured what was 45 more minutes and a chance to see some cool AMCs! So me and Andrea joined the caravan of Eagles taking up the caboose with our 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport...that kinda counts right?
The AMC Nationals were really something else. Was so cool seeing so many AMCs running around from show cars to racers and of course it was cool to see all the Eagles. Though it would have been nice to see some more. There were only like 7 Wagons and no Sedans/Coupes/SX4/Kammbacks. There was one wagon there that wasn't apart of our group and it had people turning there heads.
It was a 1983 Limited in Showroom Condition with only 34,000 miles on the odometer. As we are walking up to it Andrea goes, "Look, it's for sale!" I look it over for like a minute or two and tell her I think he's probably asking $5500 (There is no price on the sign). Soon after the owner comes over and starts talking to us and she asks him how much he's asking for it and he says, "5500"
I just look at her and smile!
After leaving and coming back to the car many times and seeing person after person drooling over it and just talking about how great it was I decided I wanted it to be mine! I didn't have the cash though so I asked him if he'd take a deposit and he agreed. In less than 30 minutes we raced off to Clinton, Iowa where there was an US Bank and raced back with a deposit. Andrea got two pieces of paper and wrote up a quick official sounding agreement and we both signed it and I walked back to the car and took the For Sale sign off the window! Likely for me the guy was actually from STL which is only about 2 hours from where I live. Not wanting to put miles on it he trailered it up to Cordova. (Hence her name: Trailer Queen. I'll probably just call her TQ)
Before leaving we got a grab back from Mav and took a seat in the stands to watch a few drag races and just relax for a bit. Turns out I was a winner of one of the door prizes from the grab bag. So I got to come home with a cool little shop vacuum. And on that note we said our goodbyes and thanked Mav for everything. Took some crap for buying an Eagle that wasn't his. Sorry Mav next time I owe you!
Six hours later we were walking up to the stage just in time to see my friends band start playing at the Battle of the Bands. The show was great, the beer was great, the camping was great, and the water was fricken cold!
Sunday we head back to my house and just nap most of the afternoon. We had been on the move quite a bit in the last couple days.
Rested up Monday morning we headed to the bank and I applied for a loan at 9am. Took my suit to get tailored at 10am and picked up 5000 bucks at 10:45am. I immediately called work and told them I needed to take the day off. They couldn't really afford to not have me later though so I had to be back by 6pm. Andrea just being the great sport she had been all weekend then drove me to STL. By 2pm I was driving my new Eagle around with Andrea before we took her back to her car and she headed back to KC and we had to say goodbye again.
Needless to say I had quite the productive weekend. And Tuesday morning I had the Eagle inspected, insured, and licensed all before work!
Well I'm done talking and if you even made it all the way through that novel props to you. In fact tell me if you read the whole thing and I'll give you some eggs!
PICTURES!!!!!!
Lucked upon this Eagle Sculpture when a construction detour had me pass this bank.
Searching for more photo locations I ended up on a gravel road. Probably the first time she's ever been off the pavement.
I've never felt more American driving this car. Something about staring at that emblem just feels right!
Sparkles! Like polishing a turd!
Topic: "Trailer Queen" the 1983 Limited Wagon (Read 80067 times)