Having jumped back into the ring of AMC ownership with an '82 Concord last week, I now view the extra two drive wheels and elevated stance of Eagles with a tinge of jealousy
. To add insult to injury, this is an extra-rare manual transmission example, leaving you the freedom to sling mud in any gear you choose. Find this 1986 AMC Eagle for sale in Charlotte, NC for $1,500 via craigslist.
Lest we become blinded by the vision of a manual transmission in an Eagle, let's not forget that this car is not without fault. First off, it doesn't even run. Mechanical unknowns aside, the seller claims the car to be fairly rust free with surface rust underneath. If this description adheres to the colloquial North Carolina Rust Assessment Standards that I'm familiar with, this means a light scale on the underside with no holes. This splits the difference of California "rust-free" and Michigan "rust-free".
Since we all know exactly what a dingy 258 looks like, let's focus on the things that make or break deals like this like critter houses in the engine compartment. Fortunately or not, the current owner has had the car for over a year in this condition so the critter either done runned off or has passed on. The seller swears that the chewed up wiring is isolated to the fog lights. Since the Eagle was still using - let's call it an 'Electrarburetor' - there weren't that many wires that were essential in running the engine.
And here it is, the most important shot of the interior; the gear selector. The rest of the passenger compartment looks exactly as you'd expect a near 200-thousand-mile Eagle to look; haggard and made functional by any means necessary. There will be a bit of undoing of past wrongs involved with this project, such as the deletion of Radio Shack switch gear and de-vicegripping of broken handles. This, however, is just par for the course and well worth the effort as even the nicest Eagles and Concords will have broken door handles.
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Matt,
a self-proclaimed bottom-feeder of the classic car market, spends half
of his time buying cars, half of his time retrieving them, and the
remaining third on keeping them on the road.
Be still my heart: not just a manual, but a 5-speed manual! As far a the critter goes, it looks like it ate the battery, so we know two things: it was an ornery beast; and it is pretty likely dead. These cars were tough and simple, so this looks tempting for the right person. How hard can it be?
ReplyDeleteWhat structural purpose could those pliers serve?
ReplyDeleteI assumed they were a replacement handle for (possibly) the hood release...
DeleteCant believe you bought a Concord! I was actually stuck behind one last week....driven by one of the local meth cookers....why? oh why?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of whys...whats the chance of a car...even an Eagle selling with the rats nest still in the battery box?
Dude, to be a crazy coincidence. Two buddies and I drove that car back from Indiana two weeks ago with a bumper sticker on it that said "I love meth". Please tell me that was the same car! It's maroon, sagging in the rear, with wire wheel covers.
ReplyDelete