You have to give struggling American Motors credit for trying. They always seemed to make something come out of nothing. Case in point is the four-wheel drive family of cars called the Eagle which AMC launched for 1980, a few years before their acquisition by Chrysler (who really wanted Jeep out of that deal). In basic terms, the Eagle was a Concord with a Jeep chassis underneath it. It worked so well that they applied it a year later to the sub-compact Spirit and called it the Eagle SX/4. This one from 1982 has been sitting in a barn/garage for quite a while, but its seller had converted it to V-8 power. It’s located in Champaign, Illinois, which is south of Chicago on I-57. It can be found on here on craigslist, but the seller has not included an asking price.
AMC’s Eagle product lines were the only four-wheel-drive passenger cars produced in the U.S. at the time. The goal was to combine automobile-quality comfort on paved surfaces with good off-road traction capabilities in light use. In today’s terminology, it would be thought of as a crossover. The first Eagles were half Concord and half Jeep, and the same concept would also be applied to the Eagle SX/4 (Spirit). Because the Eagles and SX/4’s used established mechanical components, they proved to be reliable vehicles, enough so that they’re still running around in the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska where 4X4 is a way of life. The overall Eagle brand saw 192,000 cars built over nine model years, with 30,000 of them being SX/4’s which were only made for 1981-83. Thanks, AllPar and AMCEaglesDen for historical and production data.
The seller doesn’t offer us many photos of his treasure, nor does he tell us what he wants for it. But what he does tell us is that it’s an ’82 model SX/4 that has had its original, well-worn GM “Iron Duke” inline-four replaced with an AMC 304 V-8 that came out of a ’71 Javelin. He did the work himself but advancing age has prevented him from going any further, so here the car sits. He’s a self-admitted AMC fan (there’s a Concord sharing the barn with the SX/4). This car has a 4-speed manual transmission and the seller says that everything worked when the transplant was finished, including the A/C and 4WD. Besides this change, dual exhaust is now on-board and 304 emblems rest on the front fenders, the car is stock. With the engine change combined with a lengthy hibernation, what’s a good price to pay for a car like this?
Can’t be bothered to wash it?
Sorry, pops, no interest. The V8 is a welcome addition, I suppose, again, the 6 did just fine, the 4 maybe a bit anemic. These were great cars, probably AMC’s last gasp, and they sold a bunch. Fact is, there’s an Eagle wagon on my bike route, rural mail carriers used them for years, and I bet are still being used in places. Not to be partial, but these would leave that Honda 4×4 in the powder. Same old thing, they have to be nicer than this, nobody is going to restore this. Too bad, they were great cars.
Yeah, me too pops.
However, they NEVER got stuck in the Missouri clay!!
That stuff is NASTY!
Personally I would love to have it. Almost bought an earlier Eagle wagon many years ago with 258 six. This would definitely be more fun.
I had one with a 258 6 cyl in it, and full time 4wd. It hugged the road better than any car I’ve ever driven. It also got 30 mpg and went down the interstate at 85.
It just goes to show ya that every car has a lover out there !! I enjoyed owning a 70 AMC AMX 390 4 speed car in a high state of condition . I do like other AMC,s from 1968-74 but that’s the end of my love affair. These cars were not attractive or powerful by any means to turn my crank. But of course there is someone out there who already has a dream of owning it and giving it a nice wash .
Any car I have looked to buy from that region has had an exorbitant amount of rust-no exceptions. I no longer even entertain the thought of a vintage purchase from Illinois, in particular something like this that was very likely to have been the winter go-to driver. I suspect the underside of this is a nightmare of ferrous oxide on the remaining surfaces, holes where there is no ferrous oxide. Add in the engine swap and the non-photos from the seller and I am looking elsewhere.