Greetings from Eastern Colorado

[Mopars_n_Marlins]

Hey all!  As the name suggests, I'm a Mopar guy, but recently joined the ranks of AMC with a clean little 1980 2 door.  62k miles, good runner.  We picked it up new years day, already took care of the leaking exhaust manifold gasket, put a new valve cover on, full tune up, fluids, KYB shocks.  We'll drive it as-is while I decide between fuel injecting and turbocharging or just swapping in a 5.9 magnum and 45RFE trans to run at modern speeds better.

[89 MJ]

Hello! That is a gorgeous 80. You sure don't see a ton of 80s out there. Engine swaps are difficult in these cars due to how the front differential is mounted. Fuel injection and a turbo seems like the better route to me. You could do a Jeep 4.0 and an AW4 swap easier than the 5.9

[Mopars_n_Marlins]

Engine swaps are difficult in these cars due to how the front differential is mounted.

I've stuffed a 511 stroker in a Dodge Aspen, transplanted an entire XJ 4x4 drivetrain into a '46 Ford half ton, etc.  I ain't skeert!

Lucky for me, I own and operate a substantial machine shop with 2 & 3 axis CNC lathes, a 4 axis VMC, a 5 axis subspindle millturn, gobs of manual machines, mag break, MIG, TIG, stick and gas welders, heat treat oven, etc. And if I can't make the shape with what I've got, a good friend is the owner of Nemesis Industries just up the road with a massive water jet and 200 ton press break.  There's not a lot we can't make happen!

[Taylor]

Welcome to the forums. Good luck with mods, sounds like a good challenge for you. Can’t wait to see the progress.

[89 MJ]

Engine swaps are difficult in these cars due to how the front differential is mounted.

I've stuffed a 511 stroker in a Dodge Aspen, transplanted an entire XJ 4x4 drivetrain into a '46 Ford half ton, etc.  I ain't skeert!

Lucky for me, I own and operate a substantial machine shop with 2 & 3 axis CNC lathes, a 4 axis VMC, a 5 axis subspindle millturn, gobs of manual machines, mag break, MIG, TIG, stick and gas welders, heat treat oven, etc. And if I can't make the shape with what I've got, a good friend is the owner of Nemesis Industries just up the road with a massive water jet and 200 ton press break.  There's not a lot we can't make happen!

Sounds good! I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting in over your head, and it sounds like you're not.

[vangremlin]

Welcome to the Den and enjoy your new Eagle!  Good luck with the the project and enjoy driving it “as-is” for the time being.

Where are you at in Eastern Colorado?  I live on the east side of the metro area. 

[Evenprime]

Show more pics of your car - looks great! 

I'm a Mopar guy myself, although I do not own a Mopar at this moment.
My last project was in 2017 - rebuilt a 76 Power Wagon that was already ~70% completed.

Cheers and welcome to the forum.