It proceeded the sport-utility vehicle, crossover, and the soft-roader by decades. It was rolling proof that American Motors could take a shoestring budget and stretch it to the ultimate, yet still turn out an amazing product, one that only has gained respect in hindsight, long after Chrysler bought up AMC and turned the Eagle nameplate into a brand of misfit cars, rebadged Renaults, Mitsubishis and one lone Chrysler product that managed to actually go one step better than it’s siblings. The American Motors Eagle was the Concord, fitted with a four-wheel-drive system courtesy of Ferguson Research, some wheel flares, and either the Iron Duke 2.5L four-cylinder or the AMC 258 inline-six. There was a coupe, a sedan, the Spirt SX/4 hatchback, the Eagle Kammback (essentially, a Gremlin with a new nose) and even the seriously strange Sundancer convertible, but it’s the station wagon that sold well.

This 1984 Eagle, for the most part, looks like your stereotypical Eagle wagon: that same brick-red color that tons of them seemed to be painted, the Jeep-like wheels at all four corners, and the two small foglights at the grille. If this car didn’t come from the factory with a metric ton of fake woodgrain slapped all over the sides, then we are all the more happier for it. And luckily, it’s got the straight-six…not exactly a powerhouse, but it’s got potential and there’s parts a-plenty out there for it. But go inside to see the big surprise:

No joke: we didn’t think ANY AMC Eagle wagon got the manual transmission. Maybe the SX/4 or the Kammback, but the wagon we thought for sure was automatic-only. But there it is, folks, a five-speed sitting right there. And full instrumentation, too…we’ve only seen that in Spirit AMX’s!

Every other part of the car is Eagle wagon as you’d know it: a useable station wagon that can handle it’s own off-road. We wouldn’t know where to start with this car. On one hand, a slight lift, some wagon-spoke wheels, a stroker six and some decent off-road rubber would keep this car trail-happy for years to come. On the other hand, the FF four-wheel-drive system was the same design that held up in the Jensen Interceptor, which is big-block powered. You don’t need to big block swap the Eagle, but imagine a 304 backed up by a Tremec in a car that looks like this. We’d be hunting down races, waiting for suckers in Mustangs and Camaros to try us out. We’d even leave the wrinkled front fender on, because according to the seller, that’s where the Eagle got into a fight with a bear. No, seriously.

It’s an automotive unicorn that gets respect, but very little love. What would you do with it?

eBay Link: 1984 American Motors Eagle station wagon