terc #6

[dlb]

picked this one up off a guy nearby. he had listed it for $150 but when i got there, he said he'd be happy with $100. he said one CV was about to explode but besides that it was "pretty good." he said it had good tires, good exhaust, etc. well, it didn't. it started easily even after sitting for a few years and the trans seems to shift fine but the tires are junk, the entire exhaust is rotted off, it needs a new rear anti-sway bar, pretty much all the brakes replaced, shifter bushings, a radiator, a general tune up, a few other minor things, and a big cleaning. i managed to get it towed home for free though so at $100, i decided to go for it. i did a compression test today and got 190, 200, 150, 190. too bad about the one cylinder, i might wind up having to pull the head off at some point but it runs quite well as it is so i'll get to that later. brakes first. which reminds me: the lid of the brake master cylinder has an electrical plug on it. where is the receiving plug for it supposed to be? i can't find it on this car.

note the shoulder belts for the rear seats! i've never seen them before and didn't think they were available here. pretty neat.















tin can exhaust







torn steering rack boot

[Mark]

The brake master cylinder cable is for the brake warning light in the dash. There's a float switch that warns of a low level. My guess is that the wheel cylinders are leaking, the master cylinder reservoir level drained down and they unplugged it to make the light in the dash go out. The other end must be hanging down around there somewhere. It's a pain to bleed out all the air in the system. Hopefully it still works, but if not I have one that I recently rebuilt and it works fine. I wonder if that sway bar is the same as on the hatchbacks? If so, I have those too.

[dlb]

yep, one of the brake cylinders appears to have been the cause of the brake fluid leak. the shoes look new so i just ordered two brake cylinders, and one park brake cable to replace the frozen one. i hope to get those today so i can get them in and then move on to the front brakes.

can you (or anyone else, for that matter) take a look and tell me specifically where the receiving plug from the master cylinder is on the car? a picture would be even better. i know it should be obvious and right next to the master cylinder but it's not. i may have to wire something in.

i figure the seals in the master cylinder would be all dried up from sitting like this for so long so i'll just replace it. how much for your rebuilt one? i'll take it, definitely.

the rear anti-sway bar is unique to t4s and their solid rear axle, i believe. i think colin might have one so i'll send him a message now. this is the second tercel i've picked up that has had it attached with shoe laces!

so far it looks like most of the trim is accounted for and in good shape, but i'll try to take a closer look today and let you know if i need anything.

[marlinh]

Hi dlb, the plug for the warning light comes out of the main harness that comes through the driver's wheel well. It tee's off right underneath the fuse box. Mine is actually clipped to the underside of the fuse box, and then connects to the brake reservoir by the strut tower. If you still need a pic I may be able to do that tomorrow.

[dlb]

found it! thanks marlinh, it was clipped to the side of the strut tower, just behind the fuse box. i guess i just couldn't see it from the front or driver side. that's a relief. less work is always good.

[Mark]

i figure the seals in the master cylinder would be all dried up from sitting like this for so long so i'll just replace it. how much for your rebuilt one? i'll take it, definitely.

You can just have it. I used one of those on sale brake cylinder rebuild kits from Rock Auto for something like $10. It had the pistons, springs and seals all in one assembly. I used it for a few months so I got my money's worth out of it. I don't know how long it will last, but it worked fine when I took it out of the car. I'm sure there's a more pro way of bleeding out the air when you install it, but I went through almost 2 bottles of brake fluid before it felt firm.

[dlb]

siiiiiick, thanks mark! i'll let you know when i can make it down to vic. i'll try to do it soon, maybe on the weekend. PM me and let me know when is good for you.

[Mark]

You know, except for the algae (seriously, how much rain do you get up there?), the body doesn't look too bad. You mentioned drive axles? Did you still need one (or both) of those? I also have a decent radio antenna. I noticed that the one on yours is kind of mangled, even though it's probably just cosmetic. I don't know if my radiator would fit your wagon since it's for an auto and has the trans cooler on the bottom. I'd offer you the fenders off my hatchback, but I kind of want to be selfish and keep those for my wagon. We'll figure out a time to meet up. I have Friday and Saturday off.

[dlb]

just pm'd you regarding all that stuff. synchronicity.

i noticed the same thing about the condition of the body today. the fenders some rust but the rest of the car is actually pretty good. there are no big dents, the hatch is in good shape, and even the cubby behind the rear wheels is still solid. besides the huge tear in the driver seat, the interior is pretty good too. all the windows work well, no missing trim pieces, all the lights work, climate controls work fine, even the rear wiper and rear spray nozzle work. it's wild to not have a mile-long to-do list on the car.

just remembered, i also need working vac advance cans from the distributor. do you know if the ones on your hatchback are any good, mark?

[Mark]

I honestly don't know if they are good (it's one with 2 hoses, not 3). When I checked the timing on it I noticed unplugging one of the hoses on it didn't change the timing just like on my wagon so maybe that means it's shot? I was planning on installing that distributor on my '81 eventually anyways. Actually I just remembered I have another old distributor that came as a spare when I bought the wagon. I've never tried it, but I'm assuming the guy wouldn't have salvaged it from another of his old Tercels if it didn't work. You can give it a try if you like, but I'm not optimistic that many diaphragms are still good on these old distributors.

[irowiki]

Dlb: I have a vac advance you can have for $10 plus shipping (the rock auto blowout, I ordered like 8 lol, figured board members may need some)

You too, mark.

If you two are meeting up could ship both to one spot and save!

[dlb]

thanks, irowiki. i'll try mark's out first, then see if i can't find one in canada. i bought one from larry mcgrath earlier this year and the shipping from the US was outrageous so i want to avoid cross-border shipping if possible, but will go for it if need be.

[irowiki]

According to USPS, first class package is $10 to canada!

First-Class Package International Service™
Maximum Value for Contents: $400.00
Other than rolls: Max. length 24", max length, height and depth (thickness) combined 36"
Rolls: Max. length 36". Max length and twice the diameter combined 42"
$9.15

[marlinh]

iriwiki, if that's all the shipping cost is, I'm interested in a couple vacuum advances too.

[irowiki]

I will double check, I only have three left I think!