This post may help you a little. This was the first time that I had saw the Eagle mentioned. Try searching for this: AMC Eagle and it may lead you to some more info.

Hope it helps.

 

I used to see one around here that was lifted, and driving around on 36's. He got plenty of strange looks, but I thought it was pretty cool.

 

I've owned two of them and thought they were great cars. Mine were both 2 door SX4 hatchback models. 81 & 82.
They both had the same 258 That the CJ's have. The 81 was all wheel drive, but the 82 was the "sport" model and was selectable via vacuum switch. It was almost impossible to drive in 2WD since the rear tires would spin really easily.
Can't tell you much about the drivetrain that was in them. I remember a solid rear axle and independent front with CV joints.
I think they were GREAT cars.
Check out the readers rides section of my webpage. A guy submitted a nicely modified Eagle.

 

Being one of the first semi-reliable 4wd American cars they were very popular in Alaska in the eighties. Problem here was they would get snow and ice packed up in the u-joints/cv-joints and they would break. I've only helped wrench on them once or twice, so I really don't know how that could be fixed/avoided. 'Course if you don't get a lot of snowfall, it shouldn't be a problem!

I've seen a couple lifted up, but don' know how well they did for holding up.

 

Thanks for the tips. Maybe I'll be adding to my list of project vehicles. I need something to drive while I overhaul the f-head in my 49. I have also finally located the buick v6 I wanted for the 51 so that project can move forward.

 

There are several in the local junk yard and I occasionally hit them for parts on my CJ. I used them for the power steering brackets, and I fabed up the eagles fan shroud to fit my radiator.

 

Not exactly my cup of tea, but if the price is right??????
I like to call them organ donors. Thats where my engine came from.

 

in FOURWHEELER in the late 90's there was article on how to put an AMC 360 into one...

 

I'm very familiar with Eagles, having owned every body style except for the Kammback (think an AWD AMC Gremlin...)

Anyway, they are good stout cars, I used to four-wheel in one back in high school. Oddly enough, I never managed to get my '82 wagon stuck, though I did come close.

They originally included skidplates on the front and over the transfer case.

All AMC Eagles are All-Wheel-Drive. From '80-81 they used the NP-119 case (single-speed, always in 4WD, center viscous coupling), from '82 to '85 and '87 to '88 they used the NP-129 case (single speed, vacuum selected 2/4WD, center viscous coupling). In '86 they used the NP-128 case (single speed, vacuum selected 2/4WD, center open differential). For this reason, '86's don't work quite as well as the others.

Numerous transfer cases are interchangeable to give low-range in an Eagle, check out this URL:
Swap your Eagle's Transfer Case

From '82 to '84 they used a right half-shaft axle disconnect on the front, requiring you to stop to shift to and from 4WD. In '85 they eliminated this disconnect, allowing shift-on-the-fly. Do NOT attempt shift on the fly in an '82 to '84 Eagle, the front axle would likely explode!

Independent front suspension with equal length CV shafts (they are interchangable left/right), dana 30 front axle. AMC 20 rear axle, with the

tapered axle / hub assembly, just like CJ's of the era. Lockers are available for these axles.

Frame horns are different between the 4 and 6 cylinder Eagles. The nose of the front differential is located by a bracket bolted to the engine block, and the front diff hangs from the engine mounts. To swap in a different engine, you have to build a crossmember to locate the front axle. The 4.0 liter I6, at least through 2000, had the necessary mounting point on the block for the Eagle front axle, so you can swap a complete 4.0 I6 into one(I haven't looked to see if it's on the 4.0 liter in my Rubicon or not). Here's a link to the article on a V8 swap:
Flying with V8 Eagles

I have an '82 Eagle SX/4 Sport in my garage I've been working on. 258 and a T5 5-speed... should be a fun little car once I find the time to finish it.

More info: EagleWeb