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Often mistaken for a Jeep

8.7K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  IowaEagle  
#1 · (Edited)
Made by AMC (Jeep), designed/engineered by Roy Lunn (Eagle, Cherokee, CJ7, and the military HUMVEE) and marketed in Europe as a Jeep Eagle. Was the test bed for the XJ to demonstrate that 4WD can be used on uni-body vehicle, successfully.

1982 AMC Eagle SX/4

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#3 ·
This was a great attempt By AMC --But just a little too late--AMC went down & the rest of took up the idea & ran with it!! Great pity!!
 
#4 ·
Decent ones do come up for sale once in a while -- I think we have one or two SX/4's at the Nest that are for sale. I saw one on ebay last night. Stuff a 4.0 in there -- its a bolt in engine -- Chrysler even left the front axle mounting bosses on the block all the way to the very end of production.
 
#6 ·
Thank you -- yes it was and in some ways still is. The employment of the viscous coupling in the transfer case made it the first true automatic 4WD -- where slippage was detected and compensated for without the driver having to do anything.
 
#7 ·
I love those Eagles. My grandfather had one for many many years and drove it through some of the roughest roads/weather up in the high country of Colorado. He sold it with I believe over 250,000 miles on it.

Iowaeagle,
Does the one in the picture have a lift kit on it? It looks higher than his.
 
#9 ·
No, it is stock. I did put air shocks in the back to compensate for tired leaf springs. Every vendor who says they have leaf springs for them make springs that flatten out in no time so many of use air shocks, or coil overs, or helper springs -- Eagle's were sprung over the axle to provide lift from the factory; AMC Concords had the springs under the axle. Eagles are hard to lift over 2" from the factory lift because of their independent front suspension. Stock ground clearance is 8".

There are some much nicer ones than mine, here: http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php
 
#11 ·
That is a very nice later model one -- built at the Brampton, Ont. plant -- looks to be stock height. The shorter 50 series SX/4's and Kammbacks probably do look taller because of their short wheel base -- they are built on the old Gremlin platform. Is that one yours?
 
#13 ·
Had a two door hatch like that for a station truck once, it would go through anything. even sank it twice in the near by river bottoms and it kept coming back for more. this one had the six and was it a strong motor. I had an uncle who had the wagon and loved it.
I would like to have either one today.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Thanks. Most mechanical parts are easy to get as they shared a lot with Jeep (AMC was an early master of shared components among product lines). Body parts are are different story though - only used are available. Nice thing is that all Eagles/Concords/Spirits are the same from the A Pillar forward -- and in a pinch you can bolt on Gremlin/Hornet sheet metal. Doors stayed the same from 1970 - 1988.

That picture was taken after I had replaced the left front fender, hood, grille and all lighting components within the grille. Cost for body pats: $50 after I took them off of a terminally rusted out Kammback. I hit two deer with the car a few weeks before. Before that I ran over a deer carcass that I did not see until it was too late. That removed a rusted out exhaust system and made replacing it much easier.