Pop quiz time! What has a straight six, a four-speed manual, four-wheel drive and…opera windows? Nothing, you say? Au contraire. Take a look at that instrument panel, guess, and click to find out what it is!
Dat’s wight wabbit! An AMC. Well, come on, who else but AMC could take so many dissimilar parts and turn it into a fully functional vehicle. Whitewalls, opera windows, stand-up hood ornament, two-tone paint, landau vinyl top…
Not to mention floating-pillow leather seating, woodtone trim in abundance…and a four speed manual! Great Caesar’s ghost! Who would order such a vehicle? Perhaps some AMC executive who wanted all the power options, but had a cabin in the woods well north of Kenosha, perhaps?
This car is identified as an inaugural ’80 but the bold checkerboard grille identifies it as an ’81 or newer, unless the grille was replaced at some point. Behind that grille lies the time-tested AMC/Jeep 258 six. Not the most efficient engine for the early eighties, but stout and stone-reliable.
I’ve always liked the AMC Eagle, but at the same time its popularity helped spur today’s silly, ugly crossovers combovers–with bar-stool seating. Bleah!
Intrigued? Well this car is currently on eBay and is located in Janesville Wisconsin. Got a need for four-wheel-Broughamin’? Then check it out here.
Pure AMC deliciousness, the economy option for someone who wanted better fuel economy than a Grand Wagoneer? 😀
Sweet, I’d drive it.
I’d gladly drive that beast.
I have always thought these things were lumpy and confused in an endearing sort of way.
Man, oh MAN, I’d walk over my own mother to acquire one of these (and she is a tough Black Irish sort). There are plenty of the wagons afoot out here, but I’ve not seen a coupe anywhere for ages.
Tom, I’m glad you found this! This listing has been discussed to great extent in the AMC Eagle community. I have an ’85 Sport Wagon. This is almost surely an ’81. Besides the eggcrate grill, note the wraparound bumpers. If you look at a picture of an ’80, the bumpers “end” on each side and are separated from the Krayton fender flares. Also, there was not “officially” a manual Eagle in 1980 (however, Kenosha was known for doing weirder things than install a drivetrain option listed as ‘not available’, so I wouldn’t put it past the car, but it would still be unusual). What also makes this car an ’81 and not an ’82 (there were no two-door sedans after ’82) is that it has full-time only 4X4; this car does NOT have switchable 2WD/4X4. “Select-Drive” became standard in 1982 after having become an option in ’81. The switch would be on the left side of the steering wheel where there is mysterious other switchgear. Aftermarket AC perhaps?
.
And, you are totally correct on the unusual nature of the options. No Cruise. Manual transmission. Yet, it is a Limited model, which, to be honest, really only gave you leather seats and super-freaking-houselike-thick carpeting.
And, it has the original hood release :). Most people I know either have Vice-Grips permanently “gripped” onto the busted piece of plastic. I have a solid bar tied around for mine. I’m tall; I’d hit my knee on vice-grips.
Thanks again so much for posting, and hopefully people appreciate what a rare car this is, even for an AMC Eagle!
The other give away is the square outside mirror; 1980’s had the rounded earlier style mirrors (which look an awful lot like the mirrors Jaguar used in the 1970’s).
Aftermarket A/C controls to the left of the wheel.
I would prefer the sedan or wagon, but would not kick this little beastie out of the garage. And of course, it is near AMC’s home in Kenosha. It’s even the color of cheese! I’m thinking gouda with the orangy rind. 🙂
Always liked the wagon version and it was a contender….. quality of fit and finish and the “wood” kept me away.
My lawyer says I shouldn’t talk about the things I’d be willing to do to own one of these.
This was an easy one to guess. Poor AMC did their best to keep up with the broughamization running rampant everywhere else, slapping all manner of vinyl and hood ornaments on the poor Hornet/Concord/Eagle contraptions.
I knew that, same instrument panel as my Concord.
Same steering wheel too, which I hated & swapped for a 3 spoke gremlin wheel.
As someone who now has an Acura TL with AWD and a manual, this is probably the 1981 version for me…
I would love one of these or the wagon. Probably don’t need a truck anymore and think this would probably do as well as the blazer clone I bought except maybe in the towing dept.
Power seats and manual windows!
That’s the first thing I noticed too.
Can someone perhaps answer an AMC dashboard question?
Is that panel below the dash (where the vents are located)
a knee bar, for safety in case of a car accident?
Designed to prevent you from submarining under the dash.
Or is it mostly to locate the lower vents?
This coupe is in truly beautiful condition.
You are overthinking it (although I can understand your thought process) – the dash dates back to the original Hornet in 1970, which was not really designed to accommodate air conditioning. The a/c unit was essentially a hang-on affair under the dash, which in a sort of clever touch, made for a little shelf in some areas between the vents. The Maverick and Valiant/Dart of that era also did a/c by a semi-hang-on affair under the dash. AMC just stuck with that design so long, everyone forgot that this was how all compacts used to do it.
Thank you very much JP.
Given that this is AMC we are talking about, with their extended expiry dates on existing engineering, makes total sense.
You’re very right, I was originally thinking AMC was going on a safety angle here, given the roll bar accommodation, longer right hand door, and other safety features that went into the Pacer.
Was it for the AC or air vents in general? All of the interior photos I’ve seen of the early Hornets and Gremlins included the package shelf with the vents.
Back in those days, higher-mounted side dash vents were apparently considered a luxury.
In addition, didn’t AMC come up with a more integrated style of air conditioning way back in the mid-50s?
You made me curious. Most web photos show the shelf and vents, but I think most people who collect Hornets keep the nicer ones with air. I have found a few pictures of low-level models with no shelf or vents, and even one picture of a 75 with a shelf, but no vents. I wonder if this was something to check on the option lists?
I do not profess to be an AMC expert, but do recall that they were the first to put the entire a/c system under the hood of the car, at a time when everyone else had a large part of the system mounted in the trunk.
AMC may have been different, but I know that finding a Valiant, Dart or Maverick with factory air in the early 70s was a rare thing in my area (northern Indiana) at a time when a/c was becoming common in larger cars. As a side note, my grandma’s 69 Catalina was the first non-a/c car I ever saw that included the upper outboard dash vents in addition to the normal vents in the kick panels. Each side had two little pull cables, one for lower and one for upper. Both gave you fresh outside air.
Here is one without the shelf
International used the underdash add on style AC on the Scout II even if it was installed from the factory. It was a totally separate system with separate controls just like aftermarket add on units. On the 69 up Travelall and full size trucks they used a proper integrated system.
My ’73 Hornet Hatchback with factory air had the same under-dash vent / shelf unit. It worked well and the shelf was pretty handy.
I just saw a Turd Brown Eagle Coupe yesterday (Kenosha is a great place to live). It sure wasn’t in this kind of condition though.
Nice Find!
I believe it was actually just what it is….a parcel shelf. AMC’s A/C is on the upper vents; all cars had the lower ones. Before the parcel shelf came standard on the cars, there were just a square vent on each side. Mostly its a place to put crap. Notice, if you go on eBay or whatever and look at a car with NO A/C, there is just a blank or a shelf up top.
Hi, my name’s Scott and I have a confession. I really like this thing. I know, I know, it needs power windows, it has the world’s worst-located a/c vents, and who the heck carpets the side of seat bases?? But I can’t help it, I just love it. The concept of a manual-trans 4WD coupe shouldn’t work but does in this case… Then again, I’ve found through reading CC over the last couple of years that I really like most AMC products, the Eagle being a definite favourite. So that’s my confession – is there any hope for me? Yours in confusion, Scott. 😉
Hi, Scott.
Sounds like a meeting of the AMC Anonymous weekly group:
“Hi, my name’s Scott, and I used to be obsessed with AMC products. I’ve now gone ‘x’ months without owning one. However, I still find myself longing to go to Kenosha”.
I wonder if you get a chip for not owning an AMC product for a given amount of time…
I live near Kenosha and very close to where this Eagle lives. If you ever need an AMC fix, I’ll hook you up 😉
One day at a time. Keep away from persons, places and things…but then, I would have to give up reading Curbside Classics! Addictions are so insidious.
P.S. loving all those under-hood hoses-looks like some sort of major metropolitan pipeline interchange.
Awesome find, I’d love to own this… just needs the alloys pictured in the brochure photo and it’d be perfect!
When it comes to Eagles, I can forgive a lot of the brougham ticky-tacky that I dislike on other, lesser, cars. Especially when it’s one of the few left with a factory 4-speed installed. How often do you see a tachometer with a 4,500rpm redline on anything that isn’t a diesel? It’s awesome that AMC even saw fit to manufacture that part.
Could you get an Eagle 2-door sedan without the half-vinyl roof/opera windows? Every one I’ve ever seen has that “feature”.
Yeah, they all have that “feature”. However, if you peel it back I think you’ll find a ’70 Hornet rear window.
I remember back in 1981, reading in Motor Trend about the AMC Sundancer
convertible that was being introduced for ’81.
The conversions being completed for AMC by a supplier, as was common at the time.
It had to be the one of the most desirable Eagle coupes. I’m guessing too, one of the first new convertibles offered by a manufacturer after the ’76 Eldorado ended production.
It looks great with the top up, but rear visibility seems very limited. And it wasn’t a full open top either. I do like the B pillar treatment.
As cool as the Eagles were, it was really only the wagon that sold well, in decent numbers I recall.
The conversion was offered on the Concord as well.
But the Eagle Sundancer is way cooler.
So, this is where Nissan got the idea for this…
This is one of those vehicles you knew was possible, but doubted that such a creature ever existed. Cool.
yup I knew what it was just looking at the picture of the gauges. Or at least I was pretty sure it was as Eagle
My buddy had an 82 Eagle wagon at the same time that I had my 85 CJ-7 He always used to tease me that his Eagle had more ground clearance than my CJ did.
I don’t know if that was true or not, but his Eagle sure sat high. Both of our vehicles had the 258 six, but while my CJ was fun to drive with its 5 speed, his Eagle wagon with automatic and what felt like godawful 2:20 gearing wasn’t
. It always felt like its tires were stuck in sticky tar whenever you would accelerate from a dead stop. With that being said that Eagle would pull a loaded double snowmobile trailer down a snowy Wisconsin road like a train on a track.
At this point AMC was throwing anything out there with any in house parts they had in hopes that it would find a market, but to me these Eagles will always be the father of the American CUV
Since I currently own an ’87 Eagle 4dr sedan, seeing the 2Dr coupe with the fancy leather interior was a real treat. During the 2010 snow storms which dumped ~ 50″ of snow into Maryland, my car was unstoppable. And, it gets more looks than my ’63 Stude GT Hawk.
I drove an ’85 Eagle wagon in this color scheme, though the darker brown was darker. I couldn’t stand that flesh-toned interior, among other things. I will say though that AMC had some very good build quality in those years, the paint was good and thick and everything seemed very well assembled and tight, and this was some ten years ago on a car with 80k on it. It was one of the slowest cars I ever drove but seemed like a decent car otherwise.
How sad and strange that AMC made this car many years before 4×4 cars were commonplace.It’s a bit of a French Bulldog ugly but cute at the same time and I wouldn’t say no to one.
That is a sweet find!
I’d love to have that, well honestly, I can’t stomach the colors, but I guess I could paint it.
NEVER knew there was a convertible!
AMC had a knack for fielding niche vehicles – and some like the Pacer ended up duds. But, the basic Jeep, the Wagoneer, and the Eagle kept the lights on. The Eagle wagon had a bizarre appeal considering it was a based on the ancient and crude Hornet wagon. My neighbor in the early ’90s had a very nice two tone blue Eagle wagon that always looked quite handsome.
That AC compressor is huge!
That’s a York A/C compressor unit. Ford also used those monsters — I had one in my ’69 Cougar. When it kicked in at idle, it put such a drag that it could kill the engine. In the summertime, I had to kick up the idle setting in order to compensate…
Proof: You can ruin anything by making a brougham out of it.
There was a small local pharmacy in my neighborhood in Rhode Island, and the owner’s wife drove a sedan version of this exact car. They had it for many years. I remember one year it snowed like crazy – I went into the pharmacy to pick something up and ended up having a conversation with the owner’s wife about her Eagle. She told me she was glad she had bought her “little four wheel drive car” – that it absolutely went through everything!
I’m guessing back around 1981 or so some AMC dealer’s sales manager lost his job when the owner found out that he forgot to check the automatic transmission box on the order form.