A Casper man says he's being forced to part ways with his beloved Bigfoot-hunting rig at his wife's behest, blaming the vehicle's irresistible appeal to the opposite sex.
"I knew this day would come, but that doesn't make it hurt any less," Austin Griess wrote in a tongue-in-cheek Facebook post advertising his lifted 1984 AMC Eagle wagon for sale. "My wife is making me sell my lifted AMC Eagle because of all the attention it brings.
"I only have eyes for her, yet this car seems to draw in way too many female lookers for my comfort."
Austin Griess found the 1984 AMC Eagle 4X4 Wagon on Facebook Marketplace during the dead of winter.
During the cold months he worked on it, installing a lift kit, tuning it up and making it reliable enough to serve as a daily driver. Then he said he turned it into a true “chick magnet” by added a modern stereo.
The goal was to debut the finished wagon with 150,000 original miles on it at a Memorial Day car show.
"We didn't make it in time for entry," Griess said.
"The payment is due here in June," he joked. "No trophy making a payment."
After months of wrenching and modifying the Oldsmobile, he said that his wife has had enough of competing with the AMC for attention.
“The wife just kind of had enough of me at that point,” he said.
So, the Eagle is now looking for its next owner.
Finding Bigfoot
Along with making whoever drives it irresistible, "This would be a perfect Bigfoot hunting rig,” said Griess, adding that his day job is in sales.
The four-door Eagle is rugged, practical, and weird.
"That's the ideal car to take your wife and two kids and throw all your crap in the back, go to the mountains for a picnic, and go fishing" says mechanical philosopher Ron Gordon.
The Eagle is powered by a 4.2-liter inline-six engine shared with old Jeeps.
The original muffler is still hanging on, although Griess admits it's become a little rough around the edges.
"It's a little bit raspy," he said.
Perfect For Wyoming
Long before crossovers filled dealership lots, vehicles like the AMC Eagle were doing much of the same work.
Ron Gordon owned an auto shop in Big Piney for 15 years and has spent nearly 70 years around cars. When shown photos of Griess’ golden Eagle, his first reaction was blunt.
"One of the Lee brothers made it: Ug Lee or Home Lee," Gordon said with a laugh.
But beneath the humor was genuine admiration.
"It was a pretty unique car in its day," he said. "It was the first real sport utility vehicle on the market."
The Eagle debuted years before today's crossover craze.
It combined station wagon practicality with four-wheel-drive capability, making it particularly appealing in places where winter weather and rough roads were facts of life.
"It'd be good for anything from going fishing or to sheep ranch," Gordon said.
That versatility made vehicles like the Eagle a natural fit in the Cowboy State.
Griess agrees, calling it "the perfect Wyoming car — great for snow, inclement weather and getting off the paved roads."
Before SUVs
To understand why people get nostalgic about station wagons, Gordon said you have to remember what Wyoming life looked like decades ago.
Then, a trip to town wasn't a quick errand.
"It was 60 miles to go buy groceries," Gordon recalled. "When you got in the car to go someplace, it was an event."
Station wagons weren't fashion statements, he added, "They were tools. They hauled groceries, hauled kids, and camping gear."
Gordon remembers one summer when his family traveled to Idaho, where his father was working in the mountains.
The family camped, and he and his brothers slept in the back of a station wagon.
"There was a bear come in one night," Gordon said.
The animal poked holes in juice cans before dogs chased it away and up a tree. Looking back, Gordon laughs at the memory.
"I guess the station wagon was a safe haven for me,” he said.
For families throughout the West, station wagons were simply part of life before minivans hit the scene.
"Everybody that had a big family had a station wagon," he said.
Time Machine
Griess was born in 1988, but said he grew up surrounded by remnants of the decade.
His parents were older. His uncles still wore the giant mustaches that survived long after the 1980s were over.
"Life was simpler back then," says Griess. "If you wanted to do something, you just did it."
The AMC Eagle was meant to embody that mindset.
"It just screams going out and camping with just the necessities," he said.
Music helps complete the vision. The Eagle has speakers — of course. Its soundtrack, according to Griess, has plenty of Molly Hatchet, Ted Nugent, and old-school rock.
It’s the kind of music that sounds best with the windows down and a dirt road ahead.
'Let The Eagle Fly'
Selling a lifted 1984 AMC Eagle won't be easy. Building it was part of the fun, said Griess, and bringing it to life was the reward.
"It's hard to part with,” he added. "But when you have limited space, you've got to let go sometimes. Let the Eagle fly free."
Its next owner will get a lifted station wagon, a conversation starter, a piece of nostalgia, and a camper.
Or, as Gordon puts it, they'll get exactly what station wagons were always meant to be, "a helluva good car."
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
