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1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
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1983 Honda Civic Wagon
1983 Toyota Hilux 4x4

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MushyHeirloom
10/12/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
Having taken my stock Volvo 244 down a washed-out road with a half-dozen three-to-four-inch puddles this afternoon, come to a stream, and turned around and repeated the feat back out... almost nobody needs four-wheel-drive, heh-heh-heh.

That said, an AMC Concord that can be outfitted ridiculously like an XJ Cherokee is still, of course, awesome.

The above photo is a forgotten local example. I hope someone with more money and skill than I have saves it.
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CptSevere
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
I knew a guy who had one of these in the mid nineties. We took that car to some pretty difficult places in Utah's West Desert, and it went to those places with aplomb. I think these used standard Jeep running gear, I know that they had straight front axles, so you could probably do interesting things to them as far as suspension, lockers, transfer cases and other standard jeepy modifications are concerned, and build one helluva competent off roader that would be unique as hell. Now, that would be fun.
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Mike the Dog promoted this comment CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred

Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/12/09

@CptSevere: Nope. No straight front axle. the front diff mounts to the engine block (believe it or not) and it has halfshafts up front with CV joints outboard and tri-pot joints inboard like a FWD car. The front diff is a Dana 30 and the rear is a Dana 40. The auto trans is a Chrysler 902, the manual is a B-W T5 and the transfer case is either an NP 109, 209, or 219. All these parts are very common across the Jeep brand in the timeframe and very easy to upgrade.
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Edited by Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. at 10/12/09 12:06 AM

Elhigh
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
*Sob*

Was it ever a great car? No way.

But it was so much of what so many other manufacturers never tried to make. Cheerfully dipping into other makers' parts bins to acquire relatively neutral components, AMC economized to the hilt when building the Eagle. That left them more room in the budget to stuff in the difficult 4x4 bits. That's determination.

I love the Eagle. I've never been one who fit neatly into a pigeonhole. I cross genres.

Imagine how I could cross them in an Eagle.
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CanadaCraig
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
It was a sad day when AMC disappeared. It was the death of an underdog. I became an AMC fan the day i saw a Matador drive into a a barn - sprout wings - and FLY!! lol What I admired most about AMC was their willingness to take a chance and build cars that no one else was building. Not all of those 'chances' turned out to be winners - but so what. It takes guts to be different. I often wonder what would have become - style wise - of the Concorde, Pacer, Gremlin, Matador and Eagle if AMC was still around.
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Turboner
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
Chrysler DID make a very successful Eagle. Oh, wait, that was Mitsubishi, my bad! Serioulsy, it's hard to beat the bang-for-the-buck of a used, turbocharged AWD Talon. Plus, you will be a blue gloved god of automotive repair and maintenance when you get done undoing all the neglect and abuse from previous owners. Don't even consider one with a body kit ;)
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suzq044
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?

I'm still a fan of the SX-4.
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Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/11/09

@suzq044: Me too, but the Kammback is my all-time fave. (Other than the rare as chicken lips Sundancer Convertible.)
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
10/11/09

@suzq044: One of those with a late-model Jeep 4.0 (with EFI and all the other modern goodies) would be sublime.
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Mad_Science
10/11/09

@Tomsk sez so long Ash78, and thanks for all the fish!: 4.6L Sroker!
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Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/12/09

@Mad_Science: If you combine a 4.2 crank and rods with a 4.0 block and pistons you get a 4.4. Just sayin'...
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Bri
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
Whats with all of the vacuum lines to the tranny on these things?
-
I should say,
I tried to buy one years ago that was in good shape but the seller decided that he'd do me a favor by " not transfering the problem of fixing the hoses and vacuums line problems it had over to me."

Did he do me a favor???
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Mike the Dog promoted this comment Bri was starred Bri was unstarred

Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/11/09

@purebusiness: All of the switching related to the 4WD system on these is vacuum. When it works, it's wonderful. When it doesn't? Not so much. Fortunately comprehensive vacuum diagrams are easy to find.
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Bri
10/11/09

@Mike the Dog: but this was long before the internet.Thanks!
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Jeb_Hoge
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
Some of my frat brothers pooled together about $600 one spring and bought one of these. It got rattlecanned into a station wagon version of the General Lee and then they treated it like...well, like a $600 car. To its credit, it hopped curbs and transported beer just fine, but ended up demolished at the hands of some pissed off jocks.
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Maxichamp
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
Remember that guy on Jokers Wild (with host Wink Martindale) who won like 6 of these?
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Lost in the age of Aerostar
10/11/09

@Maxichamp:

"JOKER, JOKER..... JOKER!!!!"
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carlivar
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
I love these. Been keeping my eye out for one, but I'm a stickler for manual trans and it seems like most I see listed are automatics.

These have one overall problem: most were bought in areas with bad weather, which means rust. Really hard to find one here in rust-free SoCal because why would you need one?
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Mike the Dog promoted this comment carlivar was starred carlivar was unstarred

Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/11/09

@carlivar: Fair warning: The main reason you don't see them in SoCal is because the emissions controls are ungodly complicated and the parts to keep them exactly stock (as CA law appears to require) simply aren't available anymore. If it were simply a sniff test with no visual, you could do the 4.0 head conversion and use the more modern fuel injection and ECU and vastly reduce emissions and increase performance, but sadly this isn't allowed (AFAIK).
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Edited by Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. at 10/11/09 12:17 PM

Turboner
10/11/09

@Mike the Dog: Same fate as early 80's Jeeps? I'm helping my neighbor bring an '83 back to life. I don't know how much vacuum hose and extra, unneeded wiring we've ripped out! Oh, and feedback carburetors suck ass.
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brandegee
10/12/09

@Turboner: I had '83 Cherokee and the EGR gear was awful. Reverted back to manual choke, but it was still underpowered and the stock radiator had lots of trouble keeping things cool.
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that ain't the way to have fun, son
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
The AMC was truly amazing tech for its time.

This 4WD system became the Quadra-Trac, I think, and the full-time system on the '94 Grand Cherokee I used to have was bitchin'.

Unlike today's "SUV's", the Eagle wasn't sold in 2WD as the primary motivation.

2WD "SUV", or worse, "crossover" = station wagon but less efficient.

GENIUS!

There are still many of them in the Colorado high-country...they're coming into season, today, in fact.
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Edited by that ain't the way to have fun, son at 10/11/09 11:54 AM

Turboner
10/11/09

@brake booster by Lucas...I'd better get religion!: I'm trying to decide between one of these, an old Subaru, or a 4WD conversion van for my new ski chariot. I'm leaning towards the van, but it's hard to find one cheap that isn't close to death in many ways.

Wagons rule. If I hadn't just lost my job, I'd still be shopping for a gently used S4 Avant...
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brandegee
10/12/09

@brake booster by Lucas...I'd better get religion!: The Quadra-Trac (as a brand and system) pre-dated the Eagle by a number of years. In the mid to late '70s AMC sold lots of Quadra-Trac Wagoneers and Cherokees along with the low-range versions.
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Novaload
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
At first these Eagles were eye-catching because they rode so high, which looked strange at the time. Hard to believe, given what was to follow. But they were a nice, neat AMC design and quite handsome, really.
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Number_Six
10/11/09

@Novaload: They looked way too useful for their own good. When I saw them in the suburban hell in which I was stuck back then, I used to wonder what anyone could possibly do with all that utility. Now everyone's car is jacked up and bouncy like a pram.
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citroën67
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
AMC wagons are the shit! I remember working for a friend of my dad's doing odd jobs when I was twelve. He had an Eagle Wagon...and one of the odd jobs was to help him trim overgrowth on the trails at his hunting property. Needless to say, that wagon impressed the Hell out of me. We had to drive in on an easement that he shared with a farmer who had just harvested corn off of the field, and the drive was nothing but ruts and mud, and that AMC went through it like it was nothing.
I always told myself that if the right one came along and I had the money, I would buy it...but that opportunity has not presented itself just yet.
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Mike the Dog promoted this comment citroën67 was starred citroën67 was unstarred

Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/11/09

@citroën67: They're out there in nicer shape then mine in the $1,000-1,500 range. Lots of them have <100k miles on them, too.
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citroën67
10/11/09

@Mike the Dog: I saw one just a few weeks ago at the Midland Swap-meet that a dude had at his booth for sale. That would have been the right car, but his asking price (although very fair for the shape) was a little more than I have to spend at the moment. A shame too, because it was a nice ride.
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Edited by citroën67 at 10/11/09 11:49 AM citroën67 was starred citroën67 was unstarred

Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face.
10/11/09

@citroën67: I saw one for sale at the Dream Cruise, the guy wanted ...(wait for it)... ... ...$8,000! I ROFLMAOd on the spot. Would have laughed in the guy's face, had he been around. When people ask if mine's for sale, I say "No, but I'm willing to sell it for the right money." Fully expecting them to think I'm crazy when I say $5,000.
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Edited by Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. at 10/11/09 12:07 PM

citroën67
10/11/09

@Mike the Dog: Holy crap! The guy in Midland didn't want quite that much for his. To be exact, he was asking $1600 for it, and the worst thing about this car was the color. It was a faded gold-ish brown color.
I would have to say that your 5K price would not be too outrageous when considering the fact that I understand where you are coming from with that figure. I have been asked by a few people if I would consider selling my 93 Dodge Ram...and I simply reply that I would never get out of it what it is really worth to me, so probably not.
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Fd3rsrz
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
There is a gent around my parts with a mint white with "wood" panels on the sides Eagle and everytime I see it, I smile. It reminds of a quote I've seen on here several times "to strange to live, to rare to die." on a similar note, in my youth I had a friend who had an "eccentric" (to say the least) father who had a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and had cars scattered about the property, mainly late 80's/early 90's escorts ("best car ever built".. a 100% not joking quote for the eccentric dad, made on several occasions.) but he also had 4 running AMC Eagles of various year/condition. I kick myself now as I never appreciated them at the time for being so original and even more so for not buying them when he sold them to make room for more escorts. I'm not sure but I think he said once he took less then a grand for all 4. /wipes away lone tear running down face.
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Edited by Novaload at 10/11/09 11:08 AM Novaload approved this comment Fd3rsrz was starred Fd3rsrz was unstarred

Novaload
10/11/09

@Fd3rsrz: "Eccentric" -- I was going to take exception to that, in the description of "farmhouse in middle of nowhere and cars scattered about the property" -- because that's actually "heavenly" -- but then I got to the bit about their all being Escorts, so, well, yeah. Eccentric indeed. But bonus points for the 4 Eagles.
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Fd3rsrz
10/11/09

@Novaload: I agree with the house in the middle of nowhere with tons of cars being heavenly, He was just way to into escorts hence the eccentric tag. Made for great hooning times, though...learing to drive stick in a 5-speed Escort on the backwood roads of Ohio was way move fun then it sounds. Whatever we broke we could easily fix by cannibalizing the other Escorts in the lawn. All jokes aside, he had to have close to 40 Escorts in about a 10 acre area and he just had to sell the Eagles.
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danio3834
10/11/09

In reply to 1983 AMC Eagle: Too Far Ahead Of Its Time?
These cars really were the Forresters and Impreza wagons of the 80's. God they were always so frumpy looking, but you can't argue with the utility of them.

The concept seemed so foreign at the time. They were 20 years too early.
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