I've always thought the 4wd AMCs were cool but never really knew much about them mainly the front suspension and axle. Does anyone have a picture of whats going on under there? Something about an axle that bolts to the block with independent front suspension?
Now I've also read about people lifting them 1-2 inches and whats needed but what about lowering one? Also can all the 4wd stuff be removed and swapped into a non 4wd Eagle or other AMC?
i checked out a REALLY rust free SX/4 up in my area that needed some work but was mostly there and had an excellent running 4.2L and auto. the thing just needs some GRM-friendly attention to make it awesome. brown too. i might be able to find the guy's number if youre interested.
The whole suspension/drivetrain can be swapped to any other "small body" AMC, IE- Gremlin, Hornet, Spirit, Concord, and Eagle.
Lifts can be done w/ brackets to lower the front diff and spacers for the coil springs, blocks on the rear leafs. Never heard of a kit for these tho. Lowering would be trickier, there just ain't a whole lotta room to work w/ there. Ball joints were a problem so any mods might multiply the problem. Axles were Dana 30/ 35. Single speed T-case w/ viscous coupling, but it prolly could be swapped out for 2-speed Jeep cases.
I always thought these would make a great rally type car. Bunches rusted out back in the day, some survivors were cashed in during the great scrap steel drive, so parts may be hard to find. You be lucky to find a rust free survivor.
I had a 1983/84 Eagle SX/4 as my second rally car. Mine was 'lowered' in the sense that the springs in front and back were modified to make it sit at a lower height, about 3/4-1". It made it a lot easier to use the 'flick' technique to rotate it around a tight corner.
That said, they are great cars. The Jeep six is such a beast and can be modified in many cool ways. A friend of my in CO put a 4.0 HO from a 90's Cherokee into his Eagle wagon, complete with the slick gauge pod. Torque for daaaays!
Good luck if you buy one. Some of the parts can be very hard to find but you can always keep it running with more dead Jeeps.
I also just learned that the SX/4 also came with a 4 cylinder. I though they were all 4.2L's. I found one on Craigslist that I might go look at tomorrow. I sent the owner an email and the only useful info I got back was that it had a manual transmission. Not sure what engine it has but I'm hoping for a 6.
IIRC the 4 cyl in the SX-4 was the Iron Duke. Hard to kill, but not much power-wise. I'd hold out for a 4.2. The manual trans 6cyl SX-4s are more rare, but still around.
Parts are still pretty easy to find for Eagles, as AMC used many different OEM suppliers. ( Motorcraft dist., Delco Waterpump, Citroen slave cylinder, etc.)
In reply to Joe Gearin:
Either that or an AMC-designed 4-banger that has even less of an aftermarket.
isnt hte amc 2.5L basically a 4.0L or 4.2L without the middle two cylinders? if so i would imagine there's enough internal stuff that could swap for building up one, maybe weld and regrind a cam. intake and exhaust would likely require welding for big improvements. but i would think it might be like the SBC/4.3 v6 interchangeability perhaps?
I recall speaking to a rally team driving an AMC 4-cylinder-powered Jeep Comanche at last year's New England Forest Rally. The driver said that some stuff would swap between the I-4 and I-6 but it was not a cut-down version of the I-6 and there was little in the way of an aftermarket for it.
Hmm, so the iron duke shares the same bellhousing pattern as a SBC. How many seconds will the 4 cyl trans last behind a mild SBC? Trans is a 904 right? Bet I could swap in V8 parts. Wonder if the transfer case would be happy with that?
What front end is on this SX/4? Is it the 78 Concord AMX? What other front ends swap on and is it straight forward?
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