a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post about yourself, your Tercel, or your Tercel projects in here, share pictures of your Tercel, or post trip threads!
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Hello everyone!

My name is William and I am from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

I have just bought a Yellow 83 Tercel SR5 4WD 6spd, no A/C, no power steering. It has 168 kms on it! It's a little rusty but the car is complete, no damage, and even runs fairly well! Both fenders need to be replaced and maybe the hood too, also fair bit of rust on the inside, bottom edge of the hatch, but the body is very, very minimal in rust. It drives/handles really well! Suspension doesn't make any noise and seems tight. Engine, transmission, and 4WD seem really strong, Engine starts instantly, It shifts great and no problem with 4WD on the fly! Just needs a major tune up. It doesn't smoke and doesn't leak from what I have seen. Interior is in great condition, just a little dusty... Brown SR5 Plaid! AWESOME! Doesn't look like it's EVER been in an accident, all the glass is great, no cracks, no chips. Seems like ALL the parts are there and original. (There is a oil change sticker on the car that said it had 161 kms in 1991 haha). It's the only used car I have ever bought that had EVERYTHING WORKING PROPERLY and NO MISSING PIECES! (...wait, sorry, the dome light is burnt out, haha, but that's pretty much it.) Best part is... I paid $850 for it!

I have never seen another factory yellow one before. At first I though... "Yellow?! You mean that brownish-gold colour right?!" NOPE! YELLOW! LIKE A LEMON! I was that guy that would never buy a yellow car, but it was love at first sight and I had to have it. I still am not totally sure about the yellow, but it's growing on me. I guess it's pretty rare (I think I read that somewhere in this forum). Any one else out there in T4WD world have a factory yellow one?
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
User avatar
irowiki
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 3463
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:02 am
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by irowiki »

Yeah I think 83 was the only year for factory yellow, or maybe 84.

I almost bought a factory yellow 83 (or maybe it was an 84) but he wanted too much for the shape it was in.
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

Site administrator, if something is broken, PM me!

87 Corolla FX16, 105k
94 Jamboree RV (Ford E-350), 90k
95 Camry Wagon, 170k
97 4runner, 275k
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Cool!!!
I originally just needed a car that fit a very specific bill, regardless of how it looks on the outside. This car was so far off my radar when I stumbled upon it, it blew me away. I thought it was so cool because it was so unique. It was almost kitschy. But the more I learned about it, the more I started loving it. I started thinking things like... "I should find a luggage rack for it! An original canadian one! That would look sweeeet!" or "...maybe I could paint it white! That would look awesome with the brown plaid interior!" But then I realized the yellow ones were kinda rare, so maybe I should just preserve it's original awesomeness, and keep it yellow? I just wanted try my "one paycheck" car experiment, and had absolutely NO intention of restoring a car... But it is definitely looking like it could go that way :-D I told my dad I was going to keep this car forever and he just kinda looked at me, haha. He said he'd rather see me in something new. I told him this was a beautiful machine, he just doesn't get it yet :-)
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by Petros »

welcome to the forum!

the yellow/cream color is actually fairly common around here in Washington and Oregon, I have owned two or three in that color, my daily driver (below) is an '84 in that color, I have also had an '86 in that yellow (I think actually it was made for all years from '83-86). Forum member Synth also has had several. It is one of the only colors (and the more rare white) that does not have that clear coat that always peels off the hood and roof, so they can be kept looking good for many years.

These cars have a way of wrapping themselves around your emotions, more than most would think. I guess they not only have some personality, but also are great reliable and rugged little 4wd wagons that are fun to drive. Strange for an unremarkable vintage import econo-box. I guess all of the later cars just never made good replacements, so there are those of us that like to keep as many on the road as possible. I have rescued perhaps 10 or 12 many from going to the cursher.

Image
shown with the MR2 wheels

Image
here it is in "action" after a snow storm on our driveway, with wheels I still have on it now.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
User avatar
ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Welcome to the Club!
Many very helpful - and knowledgeable - members here, for sure!
As irowiki mentioned, yellow (real yellow) was available only in 1983.
See http://www.toyotareference.com/tercel/1983-1988 As you will notice, this page also has dealer brochures (and TV ads) for all years; fun to explore for your car.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Thanks both of you!
I have just been reading as much as I can in these forums and I have been learning so much! Any day know I should be receiving my 83 FSM and I cannot wait to read that too! Petros, my car isn't the yellow/cream colour in the photo. It is a FULL ON yellow, but faded. That cream SR5, looks sooo clean! I want my SR5 to look like that! I think I might try to track down some MR2 wheels because that looks great! I have always wondered about the bumpers. I noticed your front bumper is nice and thin, where as my bumper juts out another 6". What years were those bumpers available? Do you know if I can easily fit that to my SR5? ARCHINSTL, thanks for that link! I was actually trying to track down the colour code for this car, without any luck so far. I was thinking about doing a temporary spray bomb paint job just to clean it up a little. The yellow is really faded in places and one of the previous owners spray painted everything below the SR5 door trim black, rims too. Thoughts?
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Tercel Front.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Tercel Side.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Tercel Interior Front.JPG
Love that emblem on the steering wheel!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
LeeBiew
Advanced Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2014 3:59 am
My tercel:: "The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd and "The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by LeeBiew »

Tercel Inclinometer.JPG
First, it was a 4WD, now this too?! Just too awesome!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"The Humble Bee" - Yellow 83 T4WD SR5 6spd
"The Goose" - Grey 86 T4WD DLX Auto (orphan to be saved)
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by Petros »

You are correct Lee,

I have never seen that color yellow before, ever. And not those bumpers either, and i know that your steering wheel is unique to Canadian Tercel4wd only. I would guess the standard federal bumper would fit no problem. I really like the bumpers used on Japanese and European models, much lighter and trim looking, I would love to get a set of those for my Tercel. That seat pattern we call "picnic blanket plaid", kind of retro look, very popular.

looks like it should not be too much trouble to clean up the bit of rust on your T4wd, you might also paint your wheels white (I do not care for all black wheels either), those are the factory option "pizza cutter" style wheels, should be 5.5x13", the MR2 wheels are 14" and noticeably improve handling. The 'triangle' MR2 wheels look better on the Tercel than on the MR2, find a local MR2 club or forum, there will be plenty of MR2 owners who will be happy to sell you their old factory wheels at a great price (get the lug nuts and hub caps with them too).

Repaint the black window trim with satin finish black, it will improve the looks quite a lot. Rub out the remaining paint with rubbing compound and put some good wax on it to protect what is left. I ordered perfectly matching touch up paint from these guys, decent price too for custom mix paint put i a spray can: http://www.automotivetouchup.com/

Good luck.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
BrownBadger
Top Notch Member
Posts: 145
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 3:46 pm
My tercel:: 83 4WD Tercel SR5 - The Brown Badger

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by BrownBadger »

Hey Petros - what are the details on that spoiler. I've never seen one on a Terc before.
User avatar
marlinh
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 1584
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:15 am
My tercel:: 'Everett' Blue 87 4WD Wagon (Rocky 86, recently retired)
Location: Kootenays

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by marlinh »

My first 84 SR5 was bright yellow too. It was a freebie with a ceased engine. I rebuilt a motor for it from a 2wd and drove that car till the rust did it in. Loved it though, it got me hooked.
User avatar
ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Re Petros' suggestion on painting the window trim: https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... lit=+paint
I'll be doing the trim and bumpers again this Fall - after 8 years of sitting outside!
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: a YELLOW hello from Alberta, Canada!!!

Post by Petros »

the spoiler is home made from a sheet of ABS plastic and two sided foam tape. I wanted to "modernize" the look of the Tercel.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Post Reply