AMC Eagle sx/4

[joe_peters]

Anybody on ever own or drive one of these?

Good, Bad, and Ugly on it?

 

[casm]

Anybody on ever own or drive one of these?

Good, Bad, and Ugly on it?

Didn't have an SX/4, but I did have an '82 Eagle Wagon (4.2, 4-speed) some years ago. Hated that f***ing Carter carburettor. Emissions gear was as fun to deal with as anything on the market in 1982 that didn't use fuel injection.

Used a single-range New Process AWD transfer case, vacuum-actuated; spent a lot of time fixing cracks in the vacuum lines to get it working. Transfer cases changed almost year-by-year in them. Converting to an NP231/242 is a definite possibility and not a huge problem from what I recall.

Front's IFS, but seems to work well for what they are. IIRC, the front diff mounts to the block, so if you're doing engine swaps you'll need to accommodate for that. Can't remember if it's a U-joint / CV axle front, but it didn't give me any real trouble.

Things that went wrong: freeze plug blew out, radiator died, various electrical gremlins (most of which I was able to fix by cleaning up grounds). Overall it ran reasonably well, but a guy wanting an engine and gearbox for his CJ made me a stupid offer on it, so I let it go. Had pretty much decided to get an XJ by that stage anyway.

Might want to check over on the AMC Eagle Nest if you haven't already; they know them pretty well inside-out. FWIW, I'd jump on a decent SX/4 or Kammback if one turned up just for the oddball value.

 

[SteveT]

See you in MOAB

We had a thread over in the Colo chapter on them...I think Yella starred it (surprised?).

I think it'd be cool to get one, pull the hatch, run a hybrid cage, D30 swap, 231 and go have some fun.

Another vid with some Cherokees.

 

[jmaxj]

Another vid with some Cherokees.

i wheeled with those guys for 4 days in moab a few yrs back, the red XJ in the vid is mine, those things were way capable for modified cars. and after that trip a buddy of mine decided to take an eagle to its limits, we swapped in D60 and 14 bolt 39" tires and a d300, looked pretty good after we got done with the cage but it only lasted about a yr of "hard" abuse. so if it were me make it mild like the guys from wyoming.(the ones in the video's)

 

[joe_peters]

Thanks for the replies, vid and links.

There is one sitting a mile or so from my in-laws' house, been thinking about stopping in, talking with the owner and checking it out. No 4-sale sign on it, but this guy's place looks like a mini-salvage yard.

Like I need another project.

 

[casm]

Thanks for the replies, vid and links.

One thing I should have mentioned earlier: interchange with the Jeeps of the era isn't necessarily as good as you might expect. That's not to say that there isn't any, but rather that you'll get into something and find that for some reason there's a tiny but significant difference between how things were done on a Jeep and how they were done on an Eagle that kills direct compatibility. It's been too long since I had to deal with it to quote specifics on that (and I'm sure that by now the workarounds are better-known), but I do recall running across things like that in a couple of places.

Like I need another project.

'Project' is an apt description of any surviving Eagle at this point Not that I'm trying to discourage you; I do have a sneaking love of them...

Late edit: also check out this site - some useful tech there as well as the breakdown of transfer case by model year and swaps. Oh, and the plastic valve cover was a constant source of annoyance - they really like to warp and leak. The only permanent solution was to buy a $100 cast cover, which, for a $400 car, wasn't going to happen, so I just lived with it.

 

[ktm racer 419]

i would absoutely love an sx4.

used to be a couple wagons sitting in someones yard in my town, but i was too poor, and the wagon didn't do it for me at the time

 

[Ian Christiansen]

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=291553538&dealer_id=65928559&car_year=1982&doors=&systime=&model=EAGLE&search_lang=en&start_year=1981&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&search_type=both&distance=0&min_price=&drive=&rdm=1293656463154&marketZipError=false&advanced=&fuel=&keywords_display=&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2012&showZipError=n&make2=&certified=&engine=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&body_code=0&transmission=&default_sort=&max_mileage=&address=17601&color=&sort_type=priceDESC&max_price=&awsp=false&make=AMC&seller_type=b&num_records=25&cardist=371&standard=false

 

[tbburg]

SX-4 would be a fun car to get a decent chassis, strip the power train, swap in a Renix 4.0/AX-15 with a NP-242 or one of the full time Grand Cherokee -cases with the torque sensitive center dif, throw in maybe 1" taller springs, some good shocks, good all terrain tires, then wail on it down fire break roads.

 

[joe_peters]

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...e=b&num_records=25&cardist=371&standard=false

I had the checkbook out until I saw it didn't have full gauges! LOL!

Sure is pretty.

 

[tbburg]

A car that old, in northern Ohio? If you chipped the structural rust, there's be nothing to hold the bondo in place.

 

[Matthew Currie]

A friend had one of the hatchbacks, and it didn't seem like much of a bargain. Good ground clearance for a car, and the old bulletproof Rambler engine, but it was pretty trouble-prone. Carburetor, emission tubes rotting out, brakes constantly acting up, hydraulic clutch problems. More important, though, was the drive train. The manual transmission was not very robust (same Borg Warner unit as found on Chevettes) and the AWD setup was tricky and, as I recall, could blow up expensively if shifted on the fly. Add to this that the full frame design made for almost no interior space, and it seemed a pretty poor alternative to an XJ.

 

[casm]

Add to this that the full frame design made for almost no interior space, and it seemed a pretty poor alternative to an XJ.

Actually... The Eagles were unibody, but you're right: they had no load area. This was a big factor in pushing me towards the XJ; even with the seats down, the wagon didn't have much usable cargo space. Long, definitely, but shallow.

Joe, did you take a look at the one you'd mentioned? Just curious to hear if you'd formed an opinion on them yet or not.

 

[Matthew Currie]

Actually... The Eagles were unibody, but you're right: they had no load area. This was a big factor in pushing me towards the XJ; even with the seats down, the wagon didn't have much usable cargo space. Long, definitely, but shallow.

Joe, did you take a look at the one you'd mentioned? Just curious to hear if you'd formed an opinion on them yet or not.

Right. I don't know why I thought it was full frame, but thinking about it I don't suppose AMC, pioneer of the unibody, ever made a full frame car after about 1956, did they? Brain cramp there.

 

[joe_peters]

Actually... The Eagles were unibody, but you're right: they had no load area. This was a big factor in pushing me towards the XJ; even with the seats down, the wagon didn't have much usable cargo space. Long, definitely, but shallow.

Joe, did you take a look at the one you'd mentioned? Just curious to hear if you'd formed an opinion on them yet or not.

Not yet, been sick since before Christmas and I'm still not feeling too great. I hope to stop by this weekend.