My first Eagle "RYNO".

[RYNOEagle]

I'm new to the forum, and the Eagle world in general. I only car I had before this was a 2.5L Wrangler YJ, but I got sick of it dying on me. Searched on Craigslist for an Eagle, and this one popped up. Called the lady, drove the 90 minute trip 4 times before I finally got it home a week later.



1982 SX/4. 4.2L 5-speed.

Thing is, it was sitting for about 14 years before I bought it. and it was housed under a tarp during that time, so a family of mice called it home. It was filled with chewed carpet nests, empty acorns, and droppings. It smelled awful.



So I had to strip out EVERYTHING. Carpet, headliner, all the interior stuff, dash. Got a new carpet, and piece by piece, scrubbed everything down.

I don't need AC in Massachusetts, so I deleted that. Got the engine running well, and finally gave it a fresh paint job.



A little bit more work, and it now runs really well! The transmission was sticky at first, but a couple weeks of driving has it loosened right up and ready to tackle the Massachusetts winter roads!

I couldnt find bumper end caps anywhere, so I decided forget it! I'm taking all the flairs off, and it those go, so do the side trim. Gives it a nice clean look, I like it.





Oh yeah, I opted to put in a custom headliner, too.



People love this thing, everywhere I go I have people waiting by my car to talk to me when I come out. Glad to be part of the Eagle family, I can't wait to cruise in it this summer.

[JayRamb]

Cool ride! Love the headliner! It's got great character!!!

[RYNOEagle]

Thanks! I'll post a couple more pictures once I get it running again. I'm in the middle of looking for a nice metal valve cover to convert to, so it's off the road til I find one and wait to get it shipped.

[Prafeston]

Congrats on getting it up and running again. My Eagle didn't turn out soo easy! I like the dual tipped dual exhaust!

[eaglefreek]

Good save. I also like the headliner, but would have a problem if it were mine. I'd want to stop for pizza every couple of hours.

I like the dual tipped dual exhaust!

I always wondered what the Monza tips would sound like on an AMC 6. Those tips were the "cool mod" back in day on imports.

[huggyb1972]

cool looking little eagle.

If it helps any I bought the valve cover from summit racing they had a good price and free shipping for orders over $100

[mudkicker715]

Welcome. Don't forget the epedia there are tips in there for the valve cover.

[Amc1320]

Very nice eagle!

My son and I redid an sx4 for him, we put the spirit/concord end caps on the bumpers and I think they look fine, there is some pics of it in the projects thread. They are a lot easier to find

You've done a great job with it !

[RYNOEagle]

Thanks guys! I did end up actually going for the valve cover at Summit. When it gets here in about 2 days, I'll check out the info on the eaglepedia. Shouldnt be too hard though, I already have holes drilled from the factory, just gotta tap some threads in.

Behind the dual monza tips is dual mufflers, all stainless steel, which I'm very thankful for. And it does sound pretty nice! Only problem with the dual mufflers and the wide tips is if I ever wanna change the t-case or tranny, or I wanna put a lift in the rear. I'll have to cut and reweld.

[huggyb1972]

I knocked the studs out of the rocker arm supports so nothing could drop in the motor later. The head on our Eagle was good to go from the factory. I will tell you this be patient putting the valve cover on, mine was a major pain and it involved some firewall massaging. With a hammer

I used a some ultra black sealant very thin on both sides of the cork gasket and wiped the head down with acetone before putting it all together. I'd recommend a dry run before laying any sealant on it.

[RYNOEagle]

I've done a few valve covers, and my engine bay is really clean after the gronk upgrade and A/C delete, I should be fine.

I've got the old bolt drilled out and helicoil placed in, so I could use the stock valve cover, but I havent heard anything good about it, I tapped out the other holes on the driver's side and I'll be using the new one, shouldnt leak for quite awhile.

[IRON HORSE]

Hi RYNOEagle,
            Nice work on the SX4 .. wish I had the skill to paint, really made a difference. I noticed you mentioned your bumpers.. You know, you could probably use bumpers from a AMC Spirit, since it was the same car except no 4WD .. just an idea. Spirit bumpers ends didn't attach to the car so you could still leave the fender cladding off  without it lookin' too bad. That head liner is makin' me hungry .. very creative .. really I'm going for pizza. Eggs to you .. OOps guess it's "Thumbs Up" now !!
                        Regards, Iron Horse

[RYNOEagle]

Thank you haha. Yeah, I've thought about it and couldnt find any of those either. I'll keep an eye open for em, but for now I just took the metal supports that all the old plastic fell off and painted em black and it doesnt look too bad.

[mudkicker715]

You would need the whole spirit bumper to use spiit bumper ends. The spirit bumper is longer than an eagle bumper

[RYNOEagle]

Ohh dang. Looks like it's staying then.