Progress is being made

[IowaEagle]

Did you drive it much this winter Brandon?  Could be clogged idle tubes.

[83Eagle!]

Did you drive it much this winter Brandon?  Could be clogged idle tubes.

No I did not.  Too afraid of salt with all the work I have put into it. 

How do I check idle tubes? 

Wasn't CaptCarl having a stalling issue recently?  Cannot find his thread.

[83Eagle!]

Also noticed something I don't like this morning... 



Swiss Cheese anyone?  I noticed exhaust coming out of somewhere other than the tail pipe and found the above.

Luckily (I think) it appears to stop right infront of the gas tank.  See below....


Anyone know. is this a cheap fix?  I don't have welding or cutting capability.  I wonder what a shop would charge for this? 

I also noticed some nicks in the bottom of the fenders I had redone 2 years ago   That sucks because I have maybe put 5k miles on it since then. 

Never fails I was going to look into headlights and this decided to happen.  Plus the freaking Elantra's check engine light is on again.

I did get this attached finally...

I had 30 minutes before my meeting at church today, so I stopped into Rainbow Glass in Papillion.  Talked to one of the owners, Gene.  Heck of a nice guy.  He reattached it for $5.00.  The last place I checked with wanted $40.

Gene, I think might become one of my best friends.  He complimented the eagle and mentioned that he had a 304 4 Speed Gremlin back in the 70's he ordered from the factory.  He said it as a lemon, but that he would love to have it back because they are unique and it was fun to drive when it ran.  He said he's always been an AMC fan.  I told him about the AMC Eagle Nest and about the International Meet.  He thought that was pretty cool.  He also said he could get ahold of a spare windshield for me cheap when I have the money (I asked about them since they have stopped production).  He also said he had a last generation Rambler American that had a 290 and a 4 speed.  He said that was one of the best cars he'd ever owned. 

[Pat]

Don't know about Nebraska's laws, mine has been converted by a previous owner to duals. Single in, dual out muffler. Both pipes come out right in front of the rear wheels. Temporary / cheap fix may be to cut it off behind the muffler & run a piece of flex pipe out in front of a rear wheel instead of buying a new tailpipe right now.

[83Eagle!]

Took the Eagle to Ron's Automotive to get a quote on the exhaust.  Ron's Auto was a place I found on CL.  Little did I know it was one of the main sponsors of the Brownie's Car show and that I drive by it nearly daily.

Ron threw it up on the lift.  He recommended a new exhaust from the Cat. back.  Said that the rest of the exhaust all could last a year or so before it ends up like the swiss cheese section.
 
Here's a shot of the undercarriage.  Sorry it is sideways. 

Having it up on the lift allowed me to inspect the undercarriage, sonething I had not done since 2007.

Things I noticed...
1. some surface rust starting in a couple spots where there isn't any undercoating.  Still really solid though.i
  -- I'll have to save up for some POR15 

2.  Some small spots of rust on the bottoms of the rear fenders (that were sand blasted and painted in November '07
  -- Looks from rock chips.  Not bad not, but don't want it to spread and become a cancer epidemic again. 

3. Rear axle seal is bad again.  Grrr!  He said he's repair it when he does the exhaust.

4. No change in the oil drip.  Still not bad at all.
 
5.  I have developed a slow transmission leak.  There is tranny oil on the undercarriage, but there is no fluid loss.  He suggested a service of the transmission and possibly a new pan gasket.  He was going to look up kits for that. 



Overall, it'll be $150 for the rear axle service and the exhaust and an oil change.  Not too bad really. 

Ron has a heck of a shop.  I was jealous.  Very very nice guy.

[83Eagle!]

When I got home with Morgan from preschool she helped me fix the front licese plate bracket. I had picked up a self tapping screw kit from O'Reilly's right before going to Ron's Automotive.  My Eagle got a lot fo attention at O'Reilly's.  It was all good attention too. 

I drilled two new holes for the top of the plate.  Then, I had added a spacer to the bottom of the license plate made out of a heavy duty plastic hanger I round in the basement.  Then I attached the top with self tapping screws to the bumper via the holes I drilled. 

I used the pot metal license plate holder that the camper had for this project.  It was more sturdy than the cheapo plastic ones.  It is still at a slight angle, but not nearly as bad by far. 

The Eagle with my helper Morgan


Here's the new plate holder.

[Pat]

Price for repairs doesn't sound bad. Looks like you've found an Eagle friendly shop. Congrats.

[83Eagle!]

Not able to work on the Eagle today.  Too rainy.  I really need to find a seal that fits for that hatch.  Don't like driving it in the rain...  Getting tired of having to clean out the back end and having stuff get soaked.  Supposed to have better weather here coming up.  Need to get the center cap logos on too.

[83Eagle!]

Good weather and a paycheck coming up.  Should be able to get her repaired by my birthday or shortly after.  I am hoping.  Spent the weekend working on the Elantra.  Have to pull the sensor back off that thing and take it back.  The light is still on.  More to come...  God willing.  One of my classes ends tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll have more time for the Eagle.  Thinking I might put the Elantra for sale earlier than what I expected (July) to be able to get a few things done on the Eagle and the camper. 

[83Eagle!]

Repairs delayed.  Hopefully they'll be done later this week.  Had a check to pay for it all inmy possession.  Sam ripped it up.  Paying bills tonight.  Will know when I can take it in tomorrow.

[83Eagle!]

Got the Eagle back from the shop today.  I found Ron's Automotive in Papillion, NE on CL.  He's been in business at that location for 35 years.  I took the Eagle in Friday when Morgan was at preschool and I walked back home in time to get in the Saturn and go get Morgan. 

I had not remembered seeing Ron's shop before, but I knew I had when I saw what he had inside the shop.  Opened the door to his 46 or 48 Pontiac Cheiftain and his yellow Dodge Coronet that I remembered from the Brownie's car Show, which was held on that block.  Amazing how you can see a car at a show and not notice what it's parked infront of. 

Anyway, I was running home inbetween youth group meetings and went by his shop to get a picture of it.  Suprise suprise he was working.  His hot rod was in the lot, the Coronet was in the doorway with the hood up and I could see the Eagle in the back groud.  So I gave him a call.  I said that I was suprised he was working, and asked how the Eagle was.  He said, "I'll have her finished up in about 5 minutes."  I told him I'd run home and get the money and be there asap.  In retrospect, I probably sounded crazy, like I was excited to see a long lost family member or something.  I ran home and grabbed the moeny.  My neighbor Marc went with to drive the Saturn back to the house. 

Ron was great, and he did a fabulous job.  Ron did the following for me...

- Serviced the transmission and fixed a leak
- resealed and serviced the rear differential
- Oil change, since it was already up in the air
- replaced the exhaust from the cat back. 

It looks great.  I snapped a couple quick pictures on my cell that I will post.  I'll try to post more later this week when I get my homework done and finish assembling the patio table and new grill.   

 





I love the way he did the tip of that exhaust.  It looks great, and now it actually sticks out below the car. 

Well, it might be awhile before I have more improvement updates like this, because I just did this and a major purchase at Menards.  Besides I need to save up for the meet this September.  I'll get some better pictures if I can later this week.

[IowaEagle]

Looks good to me.

[Jurjen]

Pretty good!

[83Eagle!]

Thought this would be a good photo op.  The Eagle with one of it's younger cousins.

I have been thinking about it, and I am a little tired of the egg crate grille I have on the Eagle.  I think I am going to start looking around for something to replace it with little modification.  I like the looks of the grill insert on my Saturn.  I am thinking if I caould find one of those cheap and modify it with an AMC logo instead of the Saturn on it might look pretty cool. 

Not sure where I'll go with this.  Found a grille like that, but they want $50 for it used.  I think that's a little much.

[Jurjen]

Would you please consider to keep it original?