1981 Eagle too much for a first car?

[Geordilini]

Hello eaglesden,
My late uncle used to own a eagle wagon and I've always appreciated the car for its 4x4 and very unique look. Keeping my eye out for a while now, ive found an '81 sedan with very prime specs.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/edmonton/81-amc-eagle-4x4/592583495
It's odo is stuck at 50,000km so i figured a cylinder compression test would find the current state of the engine. Anyone on here familiar with the compression ratios? I havent found any.

Anything I should be looking out for with this car? Im worried about being buried in mechanic bills although i plan on doing everything myself. I know about the plastic/aluminim engine cap or something and the rust problem with these cars, but the owner says the driveshaft is clean and theres just some surface rust.

Thanks eagle fam

[EagleJoe93]

These cars can rust out badly on the underside if not cared for, especially in places where salt is used on the road during winter. Really look at every square inch under there to make sure there is no portion rusting out. If it is surface rust that can be cleaned up. Overall make sure that the underside, body, and interior are in good shape. Low miles would be just the cherry on top.

The plastic rocker arm covers on Eagles do leek oil, quite badly in some cases. An aluminum cover is what I have. You could also get an original metal cover, but those are hard to find and I think were only available for one year.

From how it looks in the pictures, the price seems to be worth it, but if it is too badly rusted underneath it would make it more or less a parts car. If the overall condition is not worth the price, try bringing the price down a bit.

As a fist car, as long as you know how to properly take care of it and maintain it; These make great first cars. My 1986 AMC Eagle Limited Wagon is my first car (also first antique car). After a good amount of mechanical work has been done by us, it has been getting me to and from community college with no problem.

[Horse]

Make sure to ask the owner about the wheel bearings, especially the front. There's usually not a good way to check them when purchasing but every "new" Eagle I've had has needed them within the first year.

[rmick]

Interesting set up withe winch

[DaemonForce]

It doesn't matter. If you really care about the car you're going to be pulling the whole thing apart like I'm trying to do. Get some practice on the ones in the junkyards if you think you might screw up. That's what I do every other weekend and I'm only 95% familiar with the car. Everything under the dash and the wires that follow sections of the roof are all that I haven't touched. My tired 258 had a compression of 150-151 in every cylinder when I first bought my Eagle around 159K. I put 20K on it before it finally blew up. Don't bother finding parts for it. Just start updating it. You're lucky you have the best front differential for this MPV. Good luck.

[carnuck]

It's gone so hopefully he got it.