dlb wrote:that's really cool, bryan. i can only imagine the thrill of driving such a cherished thing that you've been separated from for so long. congrats on getting it this far, and looking forward to the rest of the restoration.
1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Thanks! What a difference it makes when you get the right shop involved, eh? The project feels fun now, and exhilarating.
- Mattel
- Highest Ranking Member
- Posts: 1789
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:11 am
- My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Hi Bryan,
Did you change the transmission and rear diff oil as well? I would recommend synthetic Redline product (can't remember if it is GL4 or GL5) as a preventative measure.
Did you change the transmission and rear diff oil as well? I would recommend synthetic Redline product (can't remember if it is GL4 or GL5) as a preventative measure.
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Indeed they did. But thank you! Very important, I agree.
There are still mechanicals to take care of once the frame is straight. But this push to get the car back to being mobile has been a long time coming.
There are still mechanicals to take care of once the frame is straight. But this push to get the car back to being mobile has been a long time coming.
Mattel wrote:Hi Bryan,
Did you change the transmission and rear diff oil as well? I would recommend synthetic Redline product (can't remember if it is GL4 or GL5) as a preventative measure.
- Mark
- Highest Ranking Member
- Posts: 888
- Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:49 pm
- My tercel:: 1984 Automatic, 1981 sedan
- Location: Victoria, B.C.
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
I was thinking the same thing. It must be pretty surreal for you. I'm trying to think of the idea of reuniting with something from my childhood that would give me the same "blast from the past" emotional connection, but I can't think of something as cool. I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of your story.dlb wrote:that's really cool, bryan. i can only imagine the thrill of driving such a cherished thing that you've been separated from for so long. congrats on getting it this far, and looking forward to the rest of the restoration.
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Thanks, Mark!
The idea of this project has been conceptual for so long, knowing that I would restore it "someday" that to see it actually happening is very satisfying. I calculated the time the car spent in its storage unit in Arizona, and it turns out, I've had it there for longer than we actually owned the car, from when my parents bought it new, until they traded it in on a Ford Aerostar!
The idea of this project has been conceptual for so long, knowing that I would restore it "someday" that to see it actually happening is very satisfying. I calculated the time the car spent in its storage unit in Arizona, and it turns out, I've had it there for longer than we actually owned the car, from when my parents bought it new, until they traded it in on a Ford Aerostar!
Mark wrote:I was thinking the same thing. It must be pretty surreal for you. I'm trying to think of the idea of reuniting with something from my childhood that would give me the same "blast from the past" emotional connection, but I can't think of something as cool. I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of your story.dlb wrote:that's really cool, bryan. i can only imagine the thrill of driving such a cherished thing that you've been separated from for so long. congrats on getting it this far, and looking forward to the rest of the restoration.
- dlb
- Highest Ranking Member
- Posts: 7329
- Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
- My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
- Location: bc, canada
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
i think the closest thing i can think of would be a viewfinder with the slide disc for michael jackson's thriller. i was so scared to look but couldn't help myself. one of my fave childhood memories -- but admittedly still nowhere near as cool as restoring the first car i loved, learned to drive in, inspired my career, etc.Mark wrote:dlb wrote: I'm trying to think of the idea of reuniting with something from my childhood that would give me the same "blast from the past" emotional connection, but I can't think of something as cool.
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
This is awesome! I had the same disc.
dlb wrote:i think the closest thing i can think of would be a viewfinder with the slide disc for michael jackson's thriller. i was so scared to look but couldn't help myself. one of my fave childhood memories -- but admittedly still nowhere near as cool as restoring the first car i loved, learned to drive in, inspired my career, etc.Mark wrote:dlb wrote: I'm trying to think of the idea of reuniting with something from my childhood that would give me the same "blast from the past" emotional connection, but I can't think of something as cool.
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Came across a nice shot from about 1985 or '86 of the Tercel; it would've been about two years old here. I love seeing the little brake light indicator on. Just a daily driver at this point; It's affect on a little young designer already cast and in motion. The car couldn't know yet the rough life ahead, and subsequently the special care it would receive in restoration. #Tercel4WD #JapaneseNostalgicCar
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
- dlb
- Highest Ranking Member
- Posts: 7329
- Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:03 pm
- My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
- Location: bc, canada
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
where was that, bryan?
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
dlb wrote:where was that, bryan?
I believe it was somewhere in Colorado.
We did lots of skiing trips, and I remember the Tercel being a massive improvement over the '78 Subaru 4WD we had before. I actually started to like the trips because plaid fabric and modern interior design made life much more enjoyable than cold, sticky vinyl and painted metal door inners. Lol. I was such an aesthetite even then...
- Mattel
- Highest Ranking Member
- Posts: 1789
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:11 am
- My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Did you use Snow tyres?
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Oh goodness I have no idea. At 9 years old, I would've considered anything not having to do with the styling as part of "the help" and not been interested. I was acutely aware of nuances in the exterior surfacing; the delicate transition from the D pillar to the door chamfer, or how the value, hue and saturation in the grey makes a gradual shift from darker to lighter, from cooler to warmer, and from more pigment to less in order to draw the eye upwards from the carpet to the headliner. But if someone talked engines or other "dirty bits," I would've stared blankly and waited for the foreign language to return to design. A little precocious designer right from the start, I was. But I knew what I was talking about, even then.Mattel wrote:Did you use Snow tyres?
- bryanthompson
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:38 pm
- My tercel:: 1983 4WD SR5 Wagon : "The Brochure Car"
- Location: West Hollywood, CA
- Contact:
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
Restoration Update:
Today is the first time seeing the donor car (left) next to the restoration car (right). Frame straightening and transfer of components begins now.
Today is the first time seeing the donor car (left) next to the restoration car (right). Frame straightening and transfer of components begins now.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
- helipilot77
- Top Notch Member
- Posts: 382
- Joined: Tue May 03, 2016 9:03 pm
- My tercel:: 1984 SR5 wagon
- Location: Seattle, WA
Re: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
That donor almost looks to clean to cut up. But I trust your judgment.
. / TOYOTA
./_| |/|/ |]
./_| |/|/ |]
- 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: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5 : Life in Pictures / Lost & Found: RESTORATION DOCUMENTED!
The recipient T4WD is Bryan's actual family car from when he was a little kid.helipilot77 wrote:That donor almost looks to clean to cut up. But I trust your judgment.
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
"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