EAGLE 2 DOOR Sedan for sale.. Very CLEAN!

[Kelsey]

This is a very clean and very rare 2 Door '81 AMC Eagle..4 Speed manual..

The majority of the Eagles were 4 door station wagons, very few 2 door coupes were produced!

Last year I pulled the engine and had it completely machined and rebuilt from top to bottom,EVERYTHING in the engine is brand NEW.. I also installed a COMP CAMS camshaft and valve springs and replaced the factory plastic valve cover with a aluminum cover. The engine runs perfectly. and has under 4000 miles on it.

The front end has been rebuilt..Both front and rear driveshaft U-joints have been replaced on both driveshafts and the differential oil in both axles has been replaced.

I also installed the LEATHER POWER SEATS, POWER MIRRORS, DASH, INSTRUMENT CLUSTER and various other interior parts out of a LIMITED EDITION Eagle.. Making it very comfortable and stylish. I also installed a Oil pressure gauge in a pod down in front of the shifter.

The car has been repainted with a basecoat/clearcoat metallic blue paint, the body is fairly straight but there is some damage that was hidden under the plastic flare and rocker covers, such as dents and 1 rust spot on the driver side rear fender well.

This is a very RARE, clean and great running car and is VERY fun to drive!

Located in SE ID...  Asking $4900 

The car is my son's car... But you can call me at 208-221-7866

Pics are located here--->http://www.2strokeheads.com/EAGLE.htm

[captspillane]

Did you retain the black seats, dash, and sport mirrors it originally had to be sold with the car? Is the rest of the black interior intact and still black in the back?

Does it have a rear sway bar?

What is the differential ratio? The majority of stickshift Eagles were 2.35 but some early '81s might be 3.07. Since you have the very-desireable clutch reservoir you probably have the more valuable gear ratio too. 

Did you track that clutch reservoir down or was it on there from the factory? I'm betting it was factory because your car is pretty much identical to my two door sport coupe. Later in 1981 to the end all six cylinder stickshift Eagles would have a tube style that is prone to cracking and leaking.

[Kelsey]

The Dash and seats went into the Limited edition car.. so it would be complete.. They were not in that great of shape..

Back seat would not interchange,, so it is original.. only had 1 mirror..   The dash has the factory tach gauge cluster..

Clutch res is stock, we replaced the slave cylinder and lines.. This car has so many new parts on it it is hard to keep up with it..
Diff ratio?? not sure on that one..

With these plush leather seats and the electric adjustments, it makes it very comfortable to drive.. Electric mirrors are nice as well.. We mixed up the door panels between the  black and brown.. looks pretty good IMO..

Very unique car... Gets tons of attention wherever it goes.. My Son is in college now and does not have time to drive it anymore.....He loves the car but is considering parting with it..

[captspillane]

It is quite easy to determine the gear ratio. Put the transmission in Neutral and put a jack under one rear wheel. If you are in 4WD then put a second jack under one front wheel. Lift one or both wheels off the ground so that they are able to spin freely while the opposite side of the car is sitting still on the ground and unable to spin.

Spin the wheel while counting the half turns of the driveshaft. In other words the drive shaft will rotate 180 degrees about 3 times for every one 360 degree rotation of the tire. If you have a 3.07 ratio it will be nearly exactly three half-turns. 2.73 will be a quarter turn less than three half-turns. 2.35 will be a little less than 2.5 half-turns. 3.55 will be a little more than 3.5 half-turns.

The only possible options are 2.35 (extremely common), 2.73, 3.07 (All 1980 model year), 3.31 (rare), and 3.54 (usually only in Iron Duke 4 cyl Eagle SX4/Kammback).

I made a video describing this process at the 2013 Perkiomen Solstice Meet. Each year around June 21 I hold a meet and include videos and tutorials as part of the agenda. I've just tried posting it on youtube. Lets see if this works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-M_J00romA&feature=youtu.be

[Kelsey]

Yes, I understand how to determine it.. I just have never done it ...But thanks for the info..

Do you want to know because you are interested in buying the car? or are you just more curious?

[captspillane]

Simply put a 2.35 ratio front axle would knock about $300 off the value of the car. On the flipside a 3.54 front axle would add about $400 in value to the car.

I am interested in the car as a project to resell. The car was originally red so for your engine bay to be black you must have painted it while the engine was out. The suspension and underside work you did would probably cost about $1,500 to repeat, the rebuild and paint on the engine would cost about $1,500 to repeat, and the exterior paint work about the same. That work being done recently but not brand new puts the car's value easily at $4K to me. If you have a low ratio front differential, rear sway bar, clean black interior, or any other decently rare or desirable features then the value could be high enough to justify the cost of shipping and your asking price of $4,900.

If I purchased the car I would fuel inject it, upgrade the rear axle, remove the oddball Limited stuff, and put the exterior trim back together with Sport alloy rims. I would scrap your SR4 four speed, upgrade to a T5, and regear if necessary. Completed and modernized your car could easily be valued at about $10K to $12K, of which the cost to build would be about $8K without including labor compensation. That leaves enough of a margin to pay for about 100 hours of labor which is right about what I would expect to take to finish it.

[Kelsey]

There is much more going on with this car than what is in the listed...

The engine was work was well over $1500.. Every piece is new.. this was not just a freshen up ..

There is a brand new clutch , pressure plate, and turn flywheel as well..
Head is 100% redone as well with stiffer springs to accommodate the cam.

The transfer case needs some work.. It was locked in 4WD (on purpose) here and a couple of 80MPH free-way trips caused it to have issues..So, now, If locked in 4WD, the car does not move.. If in 2WD, the cars runs great.. Again, this is a very recent thing that just happened.. So the transfer case needs attention..

I am willing to reduce the price some for somebody like you. Not sure if I will go as low as $4K since there is that much just in recent work done, not including the car itself.. But I wil have to think about that....


I will check the diff ratio and let you know as well

[Kelsey]

Looks like it has the 2.73 ratio

[captspillane]

I can tell the degree of care taken in building it to where it is. You have done a beautiful job and put a great deal of time and money into the car. I was already impressed with your attention to the little details without knowing about things like new valve springs and which brand clutch plate you chose.

I apologize if the numbers I tossed around didn't sound right, they were my estimate of the effect certain things had on value. The sale price does not reflect well the cost of creating what it is. When I state that the value increased by $1,500 because of the engine work I'm really just stating that the amount I would offer you would decrease by $1,500 if the engine wasn't included. I don't doubt that the parts, consumables, and labor at a reasonable rate per hour would all add up to well over $3,000 in investment just on the engine as it sat on the stand. That's exactly why I'm interested. I could not possibly recreate all of those steps for the amount you're willing to sell it for.

I chose specifically to contact you directly instead of by private message because if someone else is on the fence about buying it then possibly this conversation will motivate them. Usually when someone asks, "how much is an AMC Eagle worth?" they get estimates between $2K to $3k. It's a different answer when someone with an AMC Eagle asks, "How much would it cost to professionally repaint my Eagle, repair all the underside rust, and rebuild my motor?"  That number is considerably higher. Your asking price is more than fair.

[Kelsey]

No Problem.. keeping it public.. It is always better to have Eagle experts like yourself, on here to aid

My son and I learned alot about Eagles doing this build, but are in no way "experts"

In any case, this car is pretty rare.. 2 Dr sedans are not real common.. I can find (and still own 1) of the wagons... Nice cars but not rare like this Sedan... Wouldn't you agree?

The interior of this car is really appealing with the Limited Front Seats and factory Tach.. (I still have the limited  if you need some parts)

The rear seat of this car is very nice as well.. There is only a smal piece of rust and that is on the fender well which was cause by the factory flares.. As you can see, we removed all that and the lower rocker rubber as well.. We still have the flares and they are nice.. but IMO, the car just looks "cleaner" without them...

I am sure there is a lot more I am forgetting.. But if you are anybody else is interested in it.. it is a nice car..

[captspillane]

Yes the two door sedans are pretty uncommon, especially compared to station wagons. The blue you chose is gorgeous. Among the two door Sedans too the "Sport" and "Limited" packages were both pretty rare among the already uncommon. A Red and Black Sport Sedan was a pretty hot item when it was new.

To be honest I cringed at the older style pillow seats. Yours look to be in very good condition and probably have had leather conditioner on them to soften them. Your pictures looked bright and oiled. Usually they stiffen up awkwardly, however, and when they are worn they are miserable to sit on. It is like they were designed to be slightly more lumpy than hideous. When you add the typical broken seat Z-supports they usually feel like you're sitting on a heap of bowling pins. After sitting on the newer style of leather Limited seats I'll never go back willingly.  I would immediately remove them and replace them with black narrow-body reclining SX4 seats.

I'm sensitive to mismatched interior colors. It feels unfinished the same to me like it looks when a fender doesn't match the rest of the car. Making the dash match the carpet would not correct it either, since I object to light baby-poop brown to be anywhere near a Sport Eagle. If the interior was totally brown I would be swapping exterior trim. Besides replacing the "Sport" emblems with "Limited" ones I would need to replace lights. I either mix Limited with lots of chrome or Sport with lots of blacked out trim and darker ninja colors. Each are beautiful in their own way but I put a good deal of effort toward matching things together.

The power mirrors are a pretty rare option even on Limited cars. They're valuable by themselves but would also be immediately removed and put on a Wagon in my care. I would not have a Sport emblem on the fender without the teardrop Sport mirrors and typical Sport rims. I happen to like your alloy rims but would be putting those on a standard Eagle. 

I also noticed your hood hinge needs to be adjusted. They will stick up a great deal if the three slotted bolts to the body are out of adjustment.

It also seems like your driver side door hinges need to be adjusted, specifically the three bolts that hold each hinge to the door itself. That plate is able to slide and it could be the reason the fender sticks out past the door.

The 2" hitch receiver is a big plus. Is it attached to the bumper or the frame?

It looks like adjustments were made to the AC lines. Does the AC work?

Mechanically I am cynical about how well it runs. It reminds me of my Spirit, which was sold to me because it ran horribly after being rebuilt. That engine could not run because of mismatched high dollar "upgrades" that were not compatible with each other. It's pretty common to see Eagles sold from frustration from that sort of thing.

Upgrading the camshaft and stiffening the valve springs can be a very good but to be honest for me it takes away from the value of your motor in this instance. I like mostly stock 4.2Ls that compete against four cylinders for fuel economy and I also like built up 4.2Ls with 4.0L heads and camshafts that compete against V8s for power. I shy from engines that mix from both niches. More often than not that makes for a poor end result that is hard to support. I often find myself pulling expensive upgraded parts to replace them with stock versions. 

Your distributor cap is still stock size, which means you have the lower spark voltage bottleneck. The same basic Carter was found on top of Chrysler 318 V8s and is capable of plenty of CFM. Without seeing other basic upgrades elsewhere, however, I figure you have not changed the jets on the Carter or the dizzy curve to match the higher demands of the new camshaft. I'm guessing it runs well but is tuned rich to compensate for the mismatch in stock parts versus upgraded parts. I bet it is still a work in progress getting it to run with the fuel mileage it is capable of getting. In my care I would immediately remove the Carter and dizzy to install a TBI system. The TBI can fine tune the mixture and atomize better to make up for the rest.

It's a really nice car with really nice work done to it. It would be a pleasure to own it, even if just for a short spell.

[Kelsey]

I did not realize that the Sport was more rare.. This one is a Sport... but you already spotted that,,

Yes, the seats are very soft and in great shape.... The car gets good fuel mileage but I am sure under your care it would do even better..

The Carb has been totally rebuilt.. the Jetting is correct as well..

The A/C unit is from a newer Eagle and has the better fittings on it.. As you can see, we changed up the pulley system a bit to make it more "Clean". Since A/C is not really needed around here, we have not even charged it .. But the compressor has been checked out and is fine.. I would have my doubts on whether the condensor is leak free..

The hitch is factory as well (best I can tell) and is attached to the frame..Obviously, the car has a slight lift on it as well..

Front end is tight, it has been aligned as well.. Drives straight..

Car is not perfect but for the year is in great condition.

We have not adjusted any of the doors or hood hinges.. They could use it for sure..

Lots of new parts installed but by no means a complete restoration....

Just a fun ride, with an 18 year old kids "spin" on what he wanted it to look like...that you really never see much and is 1 of a kind.. ...

[captspillane]

The alignment, carb rejetting, and AC work all add to the value. Nice work! No matter how much work was done there is always a punch list of things to keep improving. It's obviously in exceptional shape.

The factory only offered class 3 bumper hitches that bolted to the bumper and had a ball. No 2" receivers. If it looks like a vintage clean factory install it might be because Uhaul used to offer a hitch specific for an AMC Eagle. Those have been out of production for a long time. Pictures will confirm if it is the specific Uhaul brand hitch. The way it wrapped around the frame was unique. Pictures of the hitch will also set your car apart as desirable and in demand. You've made quite a few people envious I'm sure.

[Kelsey]

Took a look at the hitch..  It is very nicely done.. has a bar behind the bumper and then a channel under the tank to the frame.. Very sturdy  but I guess not factory?

So are you still interested in purchasing the car?

[captspillane]

No, that is not factory. I always love to save pictures of how other people have tackled that hurdle and I hope you're able to post them up soon. It's a rare feature to find already done, maybe even more rare than the "Sport" written on the fender.

Yes I am interested although I am at a stark disadvantage due to distance. I live near Philadelphia. I'd fly out at a cost of about $350 and then drive home at a cost of about $300 in gas. Most transport companies charge around $1,200 so I'm willing to drive 30 hours to save $500. Everything you've done to the car I would have to do with my own hands so thirty hours of driving in comparison to 300 hours in work still seems like a great deal.

The earliest I could attempt it is in May. In the month or so between then and now I'd bet someone else will step up to the plate. If that someone else lives on the East coast and is on the fence about the purchase I may also end up just assisting with the sale instead of directly buying it.

Buying it is dangerous because I'd be pretty torn about displacing one of the ones I was going to keep for myself. Buying an Eagle to keep carries the risk of pain and agony from my significant other. I only keep for myself dark blue, green, red, or black Sport Eagles with black interiors and stickshift transmissions. Yours is a very dangerous temptation because it fits well.