Re: [AMC-List] Re; Disc rear interchange/now Eagle Fender Flares

["Jim Blair" <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

But, we are talking about an XJ rear diff and not an Eagle one into the 
Spirit. That narrow width may be for the SX4 and not the Eagle wagon/sedans. 
The flares were added (and required) to cover the tires from throwing stuff 
onto the vehicle behind them. Front suspension was lifted to make it 4x4 
because that was the closest they could get to the oil pan with a diff and 
have the axles level.


From: "John Elle" <johnelle@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [AMC-List] Re; Disc rear interchanges/now Eagle Fender
Flares
To: mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <000001c70463$c54deb80$40de0d82@john1>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"


I am not sure all of the following is correct;

Snip
I meant that on the '82 Spirit, the wheel wells are shallower
than the
Eagle, so if my friend put an XJ axle in (which is 2" wider)
with XJ
rims
(to tuck the tires further in) in the "normal" Spirit axle
position
(axle on
top of springs) the tires may still stick out past the wheel
well
openings
and/or hit the fender lip or top. Eagles got around this issue
with
fender
flares and the axle under the springs (which gave it 4" of lift
too)
Snip

If my some what aging memory is not overly faulty it seemed to
me that
the Eagle had to be lifted to allow all of the four wheel drive
mechanics fit under the chassis. This was the primary reason for
lifting
although at the time 4 wheel drive vehicles had more ground
clearance
than 2 wheel drive vehicles so that may have been a supporting
reason
too. But it seems to me that it had to be raised to get stuff to
fit.

Once raised it looked silly, sort of like a Concord driving
around on
stilts so the fender flares were incorporated along with the
ground
affects to fill in the gap between the fender openings and the
wheels
and to visually lower the car. I could be wrong, but it does not
seem to
me that the flares were added to enhance the use of wider axles
or
tires.
The 1980 product and information hand book lists 15 inch wheels
as
standard equipment on the Eagle only and not available on other
models.
Although the 1980 AMC TSM lists the tread width front @59.6
inches and
rear @57.6 inches while a Concord is 58.4 inches front and rear
is 57.5

The rear numbers are almost identical (these are for a 4 door)
which to
me implies pretty much standard interchangeable parts and the
difference
between 14 and 15 inch wheels maybe. The front differences could
be for
a lot of reasons but probably to give room to get the 4whd parts
out to
the front wheels. 1.2 inches or .6 inches per side does not seem
very
big looking at it this way.

I am sure the flares allowed some latitude in wheel size and
width for
aftermarket but out of the factory I sure believe they were
there to
foster the allusion of being lower to the ground.

For what it's worth.
John.

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