1980 AMC Eagle Wagon review from North America

Headlight switch, which took out my dash lights and my headlights. Bumper fell off when I was jacking it up to get it unstuck from a snowbank I deliberately drove into.

Ahh, what a nice car. My Eagle wagon was an 80, the first year for them. I bought it for 600 bucks back a few years ago. It had the 258 with the 3 speed Chrysler transmission and full time 4 wheel drive. The 258 with it's 110 horsepower didn't move the 3500+ pounds of weight around with much zest, but I wasn't expecting V8-like performance anyway. This car didn't have a catalytic converter, which caused a bit of trouble when I took it to have it inspected, but I've read that at the time these were manufactured, they were classed as light duty commercial vehicles, and therefor weren't required to have a catalytic converter. My Eagle had typical Eagle trouble, rough idle caused by clogged jets in the carburetor, the valvecover leaked oil, among other things a 20 year old car would have. Even with the fairly worn tires I had on it, I was able to get through some pretty heavy snow, the 4 wheel drive system doing it's job without being noticeable. These cars weren't designed for serious offroading, but I took it through some pretty rough trails, using common sense and good judgment I rarely got stuck. at the time I had it, parts were somewhat hard to find, which was a downside when my headlight switch burned out on me, leaving me to drive home in the evening with only my park lights and two fog lights. My dad had owned a total of 4 Eagles before me, two for driving, and two were for parts, which got me well acquainted with these machines. Some people say the Eagle wagons were a bit funny looking, but I still say they are a pretty nice looking car. Perhaps I'm a bit blinded by my love for them, but I still think they're a good looking car, especially for an AMC. I only had this car a few months when I had to sell it, I lost my job and had bills to pay, but in that short time I really grew to love these odd little (in a literal sense) cars. I'm willing to bet that if they were still being built, they'd sell pretty well. I sure as hell miss the old beast.