eagle mod questions

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   i just bought a 82 eagle wagon(which by the way my grampa bought brand new then sold to my uncle then he sold to someone and has been out of the family for 5-7 years and i found it in a junk not far from hear and bought it)so it has history and was planning on turning into a mild off roader and hear are my questions:

suspension:its not so much the rear it the front are there lift kits you can buy or that can be transfered from another vehicle(with mild modifcation)if not what can i do to get 2-5inchs of lift?

wheels:i have seen alot with jeep tj rims on them so can i get a conformation those and are there others that might fight on there. also how big a tires can you under there with out modifcation?

engine:what are some mild and not to expensive mod that i can do to the straight six can you buy like head,header,cam,carb anything like that just to get a little extra hp?

warning:i am only 13 and have a some what limited buget to around $1500-$2000 so not to costly sugestions thx.

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woody wagon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: Dec/10/2010 Location: innisfail ab ca Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote woody wagon Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: eagle mod questions Posted: Dec/10/2010 at 11:31pm
	i just bought a 82 eagle wagon(which by the way my grampa bought brand new then sold to my uncle then he sold to someone and has been out of the family for 5-7 years and i found it in a junk not far from hear and bought it)so it has history and was planning on turning into a mild off roader and hear are my questions: suspension:its not so much the rear it the front are there lift kits you can buy or that can be transfered from another vehicle(with mild modifcation)if not what can i do to get 2-5inchs of lift? wheels:i have seen alot with jeep tj rims on them so can i get a conformation those and are there others that might fight on there. also how big a tires can you under there with out modifcation? engine:what are some mild and not to expensive mod that i can do to the straight six can you buy like head,header,cam,carb anything like that just to get a little extra hp? warning:i am only 13 and have a some what limited buget to around $1500-$2000 so not to costly sugestions thx.

ramblinfsj Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Jul/07/2007 Location: Lubbock, Texas Status: Offline Points: 1611	Post Options Post Reply Quote ramblinfsj Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec/11/2010 at 10:22am
	First off, Welcome to the forum. I can't answer the first question because I've never dealt with lifting an Eagle but there are a few guys on the Eagle's Nest Forum that can. www.forum.amceaglenest.com As far as wheels go, yes Jeep wheels with the 5 x 4 1/2" bolt pattern will bolt right on. That pattern is the same as Ford car wheels. If you look at Ford Wheels to bolt on the car, check to see if the center hole is large enough for the Eagle. A lot of Ford wheels have really same center holes. Also make sure the backspacing isn't so bad that the wheel hits the suspension. Now the engine. There are a ton of cams to choose from but I would stick with the stock cam for now. The best upgrade I did to my 258 was swap the Carter carb out for a Motorcraft 2100 2 barrel from an AMC 304 V8. The 2100 is about the easiest carb to rebuild and tune and is the absolute best offroad carb ever built. They handle the angles and off camber situations very well. Edelbrocks and Holleys can't touch a MC2100 offroad. A lot of folks have swapped the 258 head out for a head from a 4.0L Jeep. Seems to be a good upgrade but you would also need the intake and exhaust manifold from the same engine which means going to muffler shop and having exhaust pipe work done to match the newer manifold. Go to youtube or streetfire.net and type in AMC Eagle in the search and you will find some offroad Eagles climbing the rocks.
	1982 Jeep J-20 1965 Rambler American 220 1978 Jeep Cherokee w/401 1983 Jeep J-10 1979 Concord DL 2dr

comanchemty Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Apprentice Joined: Nov/21/2010 Location: mc ewen tn Status: Offline Points: 33	Post Options Post Reply Quote comanchemty Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec/11/2010 at 11:28am
	I may have an old renix head , intake , and exhaust manifold. I've never seen a carb mounted though. It was originally injected. As far as the head it should mount right up.
	Mike.

billd Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894	Post Options Post Reply Quote billd Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec/11/2010 at 10:14pm
	2-5" of lift is not possible with a stock Eagle front suspension and steering. You'll have to put a Jeep solid front under it. Once you pass 1" on the eagle, the half-shafts will no longer work out. No headers - there's not room. You can go with the 4.0 engine, or head and the 4.0 exhaust, but it requires some mods to make the exhaust work (see my Eagle thread - I'm putting a 4.0 in it, actually it's in, just not wired yet) If it's a stick, you have to make the exhaust clear the clutch slave, if it's an automatic, the exhaust would be a bit easier. The stock 4.0 exhaust points right at the differential support bracket on the left, so you need to re-do the manifold, or build a custom bracket. You can't do the mods you suggest on the cheap - and it will require a LOT of work, and a lot of modification and fabrication. That much lift on an Eagle makes it pretty much not a good road vehicle any more - it's more of an off-road thing or a rock crawler. Frankly, you are talking wild off-roader, mild is more like ONE inch lift, and for an Eagle, pretty decent and doable as stock, they sit pretty good. Although with the age on it, I suspect simply putting new springs under it will give it a lift. The rear springs have a bad history in Eagle - especially the wagons. On that stock 6, a cam and performance intake will add a bit, there's some things like roller rockers that will help a bit. Here's how I made a new bracket and home-made pipe to clear everything - it JUST fits and misses the floor in the car.
	http://theamcpages.com http://antique-engines.com

jeepjerry Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Nut Joined: Dec/11/2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 291	Post Options Post Reply Quote jeepjerry Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec/23/2010 at 10:41pm
	I did a 2" lift on the first eagle i had. It drove ok, but i would not do it again. When i went over the crest of a hill when the suspension unloaded, the front CV shafts would bind up and give me a nasty clunking noise that i could feel in the floorboard. Like said before, just shoot for new springs. Eagles always sag. If you want bigger tires than can fit in the eagles wheelwells, plan on re-gearing the axles since the eagles gearing is meant for highway cruising and smaller tires. Your best bet would be to find a junk jeep cherokee xj and fabricate the front suspension and axle into it along with its rear axle. On my second eagle, i did a 4.0 head swap to the 258 to wake it up a little. It was a noticeable difference, but a better cam would have done a lot more. I had a sr-4 4-speed manual and was able to use a jeep cherokees stock downpipe for the exhaust. It was fairly tight, but i never had any contact or problems. There is a good 6 cly section here to find mods for the 258. You can alxo check out jeep forums since the same engines were used in tons of jeep CJ's and get more heads up on how guys get more power out of the 258's
	-72 SST Javelin -under restoration. Alfano Performance 360. -76 CJ-5,strong 360, 6" lift, 35"s. -77 J-20, 4bbl 360/t-18, 33"s. marlinsteve's son

farna Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Supporter of TheAMCForum Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19692	Post Options Post Reply Quote farna Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Dec/25/2010 at 12:07pm
	billd wrote: "2-5" of lift is not possible with a stock Eagle front suspension and steering. You'll have to put a Jeep solid front under it. Once you pass 1" on the eagle, the half-shafts will no longer work out." Right, but you can replace the half shafts with late 80s/early 90s Chevy S-10 half shafts (IFS, naturally!). They are a bit longer and supposedly fit. You really need to take a shaft out and take it with you to the dealer to compare it to an S-10 shaft though. I got the info second hand. The fellow who told me originally thought it was an early Cadillac FWD shaft, called me back later and said it could have been from an S-10 instead. Someone on the Eagle's Nest may have checked this out for sure by now. The joints should be okay, but about 2" is all you can get for lift without major work. 1"-1.5" would be better for the suspension. To get more lift the crossmember needs to be lowered and a spacer made for the upper ball joint to keep the suspension geometry intact -- similar to IFS truck lift kits (which usually include a new steering knuckle instead of a spacer). I have seen an Eagle or two turned into a serious off-road driver, but it's a lot of work and money. Rough trails is more its forte than serious off-roading. An inch of lift with maybe one size larger tires is all I'd do for that, along with some engine improvements (4.0L head and exhaust manifold, 2" exhaust w/turbo muffler, better cam, Offy Dual Port intake w/450-475 cfm 4V carb, or 4.0L EFI system). If you want more of an off-road vehicle find a Cherokee. Edited by farna - Dec/25/2010 at 12:15pm
	Frank Swygert