Just put a down payment on an Eagle!

[XtrapepperoniartX]

My husband and I are going to be purchasing a 1966? Eagle off of his grandmother. We won't be in a position to go pick it up for a couple years, but we've made a down payment (fully refundable since it's sight unseen) and I am definitely going to want to gather information (technical, specs, and otherwise) while we dream and plan for it. 

At this point, I just want to say hi to the folks in this forum as I am sure you will be a a wealth of information for us. 

Also, I'm curious how many folks have an Eagle from the 60's.

Thanks for letting me join!

I am attaching a few preliminary photos of both the bus as it sits now and some pictures from the 90's when it was first being converted and having it's engine rebuilt.

[beltguy]

First of all, welcome to the group!!!

There is a wealth of information in both the forum and the website.  You can pick through it as questions arise, or just post a question and we will point you in the right direction or answer the question directly.

You bus is a Model 01 which has some good features.  The main feature is that it has a tag axle system rather than a bogey axle system.  Translated that means the drive axle is in front of the tag axle and you do not have to deal with what is known as a drop box.  This really lends itself to engine conversions if you ever get in that mode.  The negative aspect of the 01 is that it has had many years to gather rust and that can be a major issue.The second issue that must be addressed with any Eagle is how much adjustment is left on the Torsilastic suspension.

For starters you should review the thread on inspecting Eagles:  (link)

That thread has a lot of good information for the potential buyer.

I sure hope that this will work out for you folks.  It is great if an Eagle can stay in the same family.

Jim

[beltguy]

Some rambling thoughts:

I looked at your registration applications and noted that you signed up over a year ago.  Hopefully you have visited us a bit during that time so that you can get a feeling about Eagles. 

I see that you live in the state of Washington.  I there is anyway possible, you should consider attending all or part of the Eagle rally in October.  Hopefully the rally will be well attended and that would give you lots of folks to talk to and Eagles to inspect.  Long ways from your area, but I think it would be great to think about.

Next, it would be great if you could tell us where the bus is and maybe one of our members can help you inspect the bus when the time comes.

It appears that maybe grandpa did quite a bit of the work.  Assuming he was a good mechanic, that makes it more valuable from a sentimental standpoint.  The engine in the picture appears to possibly be a rebuilt 8V71.  Assuming it was rebuilt by a reputable person (and not just cleaned a painted), that is a great positive factor.  

A model 01 would not have power steering from the factory and would have breaks that are a bit marginal.  Both those issues can be addressed.

I will babble on in future posts.  It is fun for us "more mature" folks to help folks like you make good decisions and possibly become an Eagle owner.

Jim

[XtrapepperoniartX]

While it is true I signed up over a year ago, I haven't been on the site really until now. I originally signed up because we were going to be getting the bus, but then we had changed our minds because family had sort of made it seem like it was more trouble than it was worth. Recently we have come back on board about it though after finding out more about it.

The engine was actually rebuilt by the dealership, so I'm hoping they did a good job. Even with professionals it doesn't always work out. I believe the new engine has about 50k on it at this point. I think you are right that it's an 8v71. It's kind of hard to get information because our family who lives near there so not work on their own vehicles and so lack a lot of even basic mechanical knowledge. But they're doing their best to pass us info.  I listed the things that were done to it when it was converted in the project eagles section as well as some random photos we were sent.

When the time comes it would certainly be nice to have someone accompany us to check it out. It is down in Arizona.  For the price she wants ($1500) I think it's definitely worth it, even if at the end of the day its too expensive to fix up and becomes a vacation house on the land where it sits.