AMC Eagle Update: To Be, Or Not To Be?

"AncientOfDays" (ancientofdays)
04/17/2014 at 11:43 • Filed to: 1985 AMC Eagle

All right folks, time for a touchy subject. There may be some feels. But I need your collective advice on something.

This is the car I've had and been working on since last Labor Day weekend.

The transmission was toast and a bunch of other things needed to be fixed too. Now that it's mostly done, something unexpected has happened:

I've started to think I might sell it.

All along, I thought that I would keep it and sell my other car, a 1995 Nissan Altima. Probably everybody else reading this would do the same thing. But hear me out.

The Eagle has only 3 forward gear ratios, so it totally murders gas at highway speeds (at least it did when there was a big vacuum leak). This puts a damper on my hope to use it as a family road trip car (it's what station wagons were invented for, right?), as does the fact that the wind noise and infiltration at highway speeds are very significant.

There's more. I could probably get more for it than I could for the Altima, which is only worth about 3x its scrap value, but runs flawlessly. And then the weird thing is, even though I've been working on this thing like crazy, and it's great to see it running and driving again, I really have no emotional attachment to it at all. Lots of people have admired it, in person and on the internet, but lately I don't find myself among them, even though I was sure I would.

It's not completely fixed yet, and there will be a couple more repairs in the near future no matter what I decide. But I'm opening up the question for debate. So Oppo, what would you do? Any words of wisdom or thoughts on the matter?

DISCUSSION (24)

DeltawingGothamDeserves > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:44

Well, what's your next step? Watcha goning to buy after this?

quarterlifecrisis > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:47

Old vehicles generally aren't at the top of the list for family road trip vehicles...they're fun and all, but realistically speaking, in terms of hauling people around, new vehicles do it better. They may not have the character...and that can be great for a road trip...but hauling around kids in a loud, old station wagon getting 14 mpg ranks somewhere below self-sterilization on my list of fun things to do.

Takuro Spirit > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:49

Its in very clean condition..... I bet you could sell it to someone like me, who unlike me has money.

Meatcoma > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:51

I'd say you've fulfilled your obligation to Oppo and if you decide to sell it, I hope you make some money off it and enjoy the memories you gave all of us as well. It's been fun reading your updates. I agree 14mpg kinda sucks, it's the reason my 2003 f250 with a v10 only has 106k miles on it.

AncientOfDays > DeltawingGothamDeserves
04/17/2014 at 11:51

Well, probably nothing for a while. We'll still have two cars which is all we need. It's time to take a break from having a project car anyway, and maybe get some repairs done on the house, which I've been putting off.

AncientOfDays > quarterlifecrisis
04/17/2014 at 11:52

Yeah, when you're right, you're right.

CalzoneGolem > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:52

If you want to sell it then sell it and get something else. Later you can sell that and get something else and so and and so forth. The more you fix the more you'll be able to sell it for.

quarterlifecrisis > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:55

I'll say this though...I'll give you credit for tackling a malaise era car. I'm big on the fact that these cars were mostly thrown out, and they should be preserved as a part of automotive history. That's the same thing I say about slant-6 powered Challengers, and base model Camaros.

It makes for a great conversation piece, if nothing else.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 11:58

Here's the way I see it, and I think you know I've been paying quite good attention to the updates! Despite the Eagle being one of the COOLEST cars of the late 80s, if it doesn't fit your life than it's not the right car for you.

14 mpg is rough and unless now that the vacuum situation is under control it increases greatly (doubtful) it just doesn't fit your family's needs.

AncientOfDays > quarterlifecrisis
04/17/2014 at 11:59

It's certainly been a conversation piece, there's no doubt about that. And as a first project car, it's been ideal for its simplicity and total lack of refinement, which both translate to a large margin of error for most things.

AncientOfDays > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/17/2014 at 12:02

That's what I'm thinking. There's basically nothing that the Eagle does that a) it does well; b) is something I would use it for; and c) it does as efficiently as either of our other cars.

jariten1781 > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:03

That's how I always am at the end of a project. I get it all buttoned up and...well now I just have a car. A car that usually isn't as good as my more modern cars. I sell it, cool off for a bit, but inevitably another project calls.

AncientOfDays > jariten1781
04/17/2014 at 12:06

Yeah, I suppose once you're bitten by that bug, it never goes away for long.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:09

How many miles are on the vehicle?

Nothing > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:10

I rarely, if ever, knock someone's choice of vehicle. Having been around during the period when these cars were available new, and they were crappy then, I've never seen the allure of any late 70s/80s AMC car-based vehicle.

Independent of the car, if you've lost the desire to maintain this one, dump it.

AncientOfDays > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/17/2014 at 12:15

156,000 and change.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:18

And what other repairs does it still need?

AncientOfDays > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/17/2014 at 12:21

It needs a new vacuum actuator for the Select Drive system. From the factory, you could switch the thing from 2WD to 4WD on the fly, and the vacuum actuator on the transfer case would activate or deactivate the 4WD. The transfer case itself still works fine, but it's selector is wired in place in the 2WD position right now, since the actuator is broken.

AncientOfDays > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
04/17/2014 at 12:23

Other than that, just some very light bodywork and a new paint job. Oh yeah, and new gas springs for the rear hatch. I think that's all.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:30

Well I think you just signed it's death warrant (or for sale sign) in A,B,C.

It's a shame but hey, you'll probably make a profit right? If so at least you don't have to hang your head, take a lose and be shamed.

AncientOfDays > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/17/2014 at 12:43

I might make a slim profit, or just break even. To get it home I had to transport it on a rented truck and trailer from northern Utah to my house in Mesa, Arizona, which cost well over $1000 once gas was factored in. That was the biggest single expense of the project, and so it might just be a wash. Either way, it was worth it for the experience.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:43

From the start up video, it seems like your kid had a great time with the project too, can't put a price on that!

AncientOfDays > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/17/2014 at 12:45

Haha... yeah he was pretty stoked, and plus it's provided some good bonding moments along the way.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > AncientOfDays
04/17/2014 at 12:48

There you go, I can't wait until my son is old enough to hang in the garage