AMC Eagle?

[shonuffisthemaster]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'm too lazy to look. These sometimes tempt me, anyone have experience with them? I've heard bad things about AMC in general, I've seen many good reviews of the Eagle, however if someone loves a car they are not likely to see it objectively (I know form personal experience .

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/c ... 07451.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37709025@N ... 286623268/

[ARCHINSTL]

A GF of mine had one of these back in the '80s. She liked it, but she lamented the MPG - don't recall what it was, though. I think a common plaint of the AMC (including Jeeps) of that era was that they did not use the same parts on the same models, ie, it would get a deal on 10K carbs from Carter, and then a better deal from Zenith, and then a better deal from Holley - so one model could have three different carbs in the same year - and so on with other components.
I don't think anything fell off her car, though.
There is a comparo of the Eagle (wagon) with our cars and others in the Road Test sections in our site.
I'm pretty sure there is a Club for them, too.
Tom M.

[takza]

The auto does 15/17 mpg.

[splatterdog]

Two acronyms for you my friend- Aint My Car, American Made Crap

While the 4wd may have offered some cool, much like our terc's. Reliability stunk. They were always a mess. If you ever thought you had lots of cv joint troubles you haven't owned one of these. Think 70's Jeep with wood grain stickers. The only thing worse from AMC were their French offerings (Renault for you youngsters). The 2 door's, sometimes called cammback, definitely look fun with it's super short wheelbase. For me though I have a 5 door minimum. The 2 door also resembles something between a pacer and gremlin. Good or bad- your call...

An extra car or two would be a must with any eagle deal. I don't have any data, but I would bet that as a whole they had a much earlier retirement rate than same year tercs making them even more fun to find parts for.

If you are a glutton for punishment go for it! Myself, I would be reluctant to take ANY car that has flown the Eagle badge for free.

[shonuffisthemaster]

thanks for the info, seems like its a good idea to avoid these. They are about the macho-ist looking wagons out there though!

[splatterdog]

Most macho wagon I've seen was mid 70's Vista Cruiser plopped on a suburban chassis. A little too macho though. Probably weighed 8000lbs. Frame on top of frame,welded together conversion. I guess that's one way to do it....

2wd wagon would be a mid 70's corvette seen at a car show back in the late 80's

Seen a couple pinto wagon/early bronco's too. Being an early bronco owner at the time, I like them. But was glad my body wasn't rusted enough for something so drastic. The chevette/early bronco I saw was grotesque however.

Back in the day, a T4wd owner would likely be on their first muffler or maybe second brake job by the time an eagle owner was ready to/or did give up.

I would wait for a free one to come along, and then think about it.

[red91sit]

I dig anything wierd... but I'm sticking with Tercels..

Tercel - econo-box with lots of storage and 4wd when you need it

AMC - pickup truck without a bed

[Petros]

AMC did a lot of unusual experiments, most were really weird, and the Eagle was one of them (and perhaps ahead of its time). Unfortunately they just could not make a reliable car. Remember the Pacer? or the Rambler, or the Marlin? All interesting concepts, all very poorly executed with very bad reliability.

I would not take one for free, because this is a "free" car I could not afford to keep fixing. AMC deserved to die an ignominious death, as should GM and Chrysler for the same reason.

[SynthDesign]

AMC Eagles are a nightmare to work on. Horribly thought out is an understatement. Also oil leaks are a very, very common problem. Be prepared if you purchase or are given one, to carry a full 5 quart oil container with you at all times. Most common leaks are front and rear main seal as well as pan and sub gasket.

15mpg considered average mileage. There's nothing economic about them.

[ARCHINSTL]

Well - time for me to stick up for AMC a bit...
Now, not for the Eagle and subsequent cars, though...
A sister had a Hornet wagon (successor to the Rambler) and it was a simple and sturdy car. Her ex had a Pacer, and that was a piece...
One of the best, albeit unexciting, cars I ever owned was a '66 Rambler base two door six with three-on-the-tree. It was a low-mileage, little old man's car with no radio and not even an automatic dome light. It did have a fantastic heater, for which Nash/early AMC cars were quite noted. This car also saved me when I fell asleep and ran under the back of a milk tanker - the front clip accordioned so evenly it looked OE - while I bounced around on the inside, almost (but not quite) unscathed...
This car was a one-year bridge between Morris Minors and a VW Bus. As I recall, it got 18-20 mpg in mixed driving.
I must admit that it was nice to have a car which worked completely without drama or idiosyncracies, after years of BritMobiles.

My Father, one Gfather, and two Uncles were Big Nash men back in the late '40s through the '50s. Does anyone remember the Nash bathtubs?
Tom M.

[splatterdog]

I rode in the back of a hornet once when I was a wee lad. I was rather scared as I was told NOT to put my feet on the floor. Apparently it had only carpet for floor. At least it was iced up for rigidity. Car couldn't have been 8 years old.

When I was even younger my great grandmother had a purple gremlin. I was scared in that one as well after she said I usually don't drive this car in the rain.

Synth, when did you last have the displeasure of working on an eagle wagon? It's been 15-20 years for me. And I'm OK with that...

"It's a Jeep thing" has more than one meaning.

[takza]

My Father, one Gfather, and two Uncles were Big Nash men back in the late '40s through the '50s. Does anyone remember the Nash bathtubs?
Tom M.

If you mean the cars that looked like a cast iron bathtub on wheels...yep. They weren't considered the "in" vehicle to be driving.

Of course if you see some of the old 70s - 80s monsters out on the road....you have to ask...what were they thinking? They seemed rather over the top at the time...acres of sheetmetal....but many were driving them.

Really like some of the old rods boomers have done....saw a big blue something or other crusin' down the freeway a couple of years ago...really well done...fantastic.

[SirNik83]

My dad told me a story about AMC. He had 2 friends, brother, born 10 months apart. he was born between them. My dad grew up in the central valley. My dad and his friends all worked together in the summers saving up to buy cars. when they were 16 the older of the 2 brothers bought a 1973 AMC Javelin, then later when my dad turned 16 he bought a 73 Dodge Challenger. my dad and his friend both notaced that they had the same AC systems. later that year the younger brother also bought a 1973 Javelin... he had problems with the AC. my dad and his brother both thought they could help... they poped the hood to find the compressor with FOMOCO stamped on it.....

My dad was happy he bought a Dodge!

[Jarf]

while the Eagle was based loosely on the Hornet it was a truly horrible car. I also had the displeasure of working on several of them back in their day. Jeep's were bad enough back then but they were reliable compared to the Eagle/SX4 line. AMC sourced parts from whoever would sell them, the cheaper the better. Oil leaks were the least part of the problem, at least you could just add oil (regularly as in check it every time you get into it, not just when you fill it up) the only fluid that got used more than oil was gas. Mileage was beyond ridiculous, they used more fuel than a Grand Cherokee.
When they first came out, I wanted one so bad but then I had the pleasure of working on them, over and over and over, same cars, same problems. If you could get past the MPG and OPG then you could truly enjoy the wipers that didn't work in the rain or the window cranks that would break off when used, very few still exist as they were horrendous rust buckets, not at all uncommon to see bumpers rusted thru within the 1st year. I am truly amazed that any have survived this long.

I too find myself drawn to the weird and different but an Eagle is something you give to an enemy, not yourself.
Try a Toyo Van with 4wd, now that is cool, weird, different and at least has Toyo reliability.
I know, because I own one of those too.

[toughtercel]

AWWWW come on guys , that not nice things to say about AMC, Pinto,Vega and other cars you name it ,there were alots of big 3 cars company had plenty of problems in the past and they sweep all recall stuff under their carpets.
Problem with AMC cars because of the PRESS in 60's and 70's who wrote many little bad stuff and spark big fire causing people look somewhere else ( big 3 ) Remember the car call the " TUCKER " , same thing the big 3 crush them , how about the beautiful 1953 Studebaker they were ahead of the time , same thing as for Pacer too ! they were all stab by the PRESS .
Right now Gremlin and Pacer are collector items , they are paying big bucks especially PACER .
I never own and probably won't own an Eagle , BUT I do own 67 Marlin and 69 Ambassador . My brother used to own few Jeeps wagoneer in the past , he love them ,last one he own was 79 Cherokee Chief Quat trac plus extra 4X4 emergency knob in glove department , that Jeep goes every where want to go , but 8 -10 MPG for short time then normally 14 MPG , they all rust pron .