Building An Eagle

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   To begin, I am the youngest of 3 sons, my dad wheels a '79 Jeep Cherokee, and both of my older brothers have Suzuki Samurais, I turned 16 a couple months ago and decided it was time to get my own rig.  Being the AMC fanboy of the family, I wanted to build an Eagle, I found one in the local classifieds for $225 that is in fairly good shape and just needs a trans service.  Now comes the problem, I need to lift it.  I have heard that in order to lift these you need to swap out the suspension with that of a Cherokee XJ, because the Eagle has indepent front suspension, is there a cheaper or easier way to lift one of these than buying an XJ and ripping out the suspension?  Also, I want to be able to run atleast 33" tires, preferrably 35"s, how much of a lift do I need to run that?

Thanks in advance

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AMC Newbie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: Jun/18/2009 Location: Utah County, UT Status: Offline Points: 8	Post Options Post Reply Quote AMC Newbie Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Building An Eagle Posted: Jun/22/2009 at 11:46pm
	To begin, I am the youngest of 3 sons, my dad wheels a '79 Jeep Cherokee, and both of my older brothers have Suzuki Samurais, I turned 16 a couple months ago and decided it was time to get my own rig. Being the AMC fanboy of the family, I wanted to build an Eagle, I found one in the local classifieds for $225 that is in fairly good shape and just needs a trans service. Now comes the problem, I need to lift it. I have heard that in order to lift these you need to swap out the suspension with that of a Cherokee XJ, because the Eagle has indepent front suspension, is there a cheaper or easier way to lift one of these than buying an XJ and ripping out the suspension? Also, I want to be able to run atleast 33" tires, preferrably 35"s, how much of a lift do I need to run that? Thanks in advance

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: Jun/23/2009 at 6:57am
	How much lift do you want? You can use balljoint spacers on the top control arm - and longer bolts (grade 8) to gain an inch or so. You'll need to buy them or have a machinist make them for you - aluminum will work. You can only go so far or you end up with some real angles on the front half-shafts and cause premature wear and binding. You also need to be aware that it will toss the alignment all out of whack - and with the eccentrics there's only so much camber adjustment. Springs spacers in the front are NOT good but can be done. I prefer the balljoint spacers. You can remove the fender trim for more gain - it's just a plastic sort of material. For the rear, you can use blocks, but different springs would be the best bet as blocks cause axle wrap. But since the axle sits under the springs on an Eagle, blocks will lift is. Buy new springs, specify what you want. Pricey but will give you stability.
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