welcome to the forum Jamminfargo,
you came to the right place to learn about fix'in your Tercel4wd. Make sure you go read the FAQ section to learn about what to check on a just purchased Tercel4wd.
I will address your issues below
Jamminfargo wrote:
-The valve cover looks to have a bit of a slow leakage going on especially up front adjacent to the timing belt cover. Could be a lot of blow by and I will get to compression checks later this week I hope. With the age of the car I'm thinking of an oil catch can rather than routing it up into the air cleaner...any suggestions?
one of the most common places for oil leaks is the valve cover gasket, best replace it if it is all brittle and cracked (note: do not over tighten the valve cover nuts that hold it on, it will make it leak worse). other common leak areas are the distributor o-ring, the front main and cam seal, the oil pressure sender (behind the alternator), and the fuel pump gaskets. A catch can is not a bad idea either, some people use them, but I do not see how blow by will cause an oil leak. Check the compression just so you know the condition of the engine. but if you have too much blow by you will end up with oil in the airfilter, not on the outside of the block.
Jamminfargo wrote:-Previous owner has put new Firestone Winterforce tires on the 14" stock rims with some stock honda hubcaps. Works for now I guess but I've been reading the forums regarding rims and tire option. I like the idea of a small lift (1 or 2 inches if it doesnt monkey up the CV joints) and then 15" steelies or whatever with better street tires. Craigslist rocks for rims and tires.
I would use the tires you have for now, the car came with 13" steel wheels that were noticeably flexible, the 14" ones should be better. Going to 15" wheels will not necessarily get you more clearance because the tire dia you can use is limited because of the fender clearance. You can improve the clearance with a hammer and tin snips, but with out a lot of major cutting and welding, you will not beable to go very much larger dia tire. That means with a 15" wheel you will not have very tall side walls, okay for a street machine but if you drive gravel roads daily (like I do) you run the risk of side wall damage with such small side walls. I find 14x6 alloy wheels (both lighter and more stiff than steel wheels) with 195/60 tires is about as large as will fit, but this will improve handling and steering response notably. where you live you might consider having studded winter tires (also from craig's list, on any wheel with the 4x 100 mm bolt pattern), and some good street tires for summer driving.
Jamminfargo wrote:-P.O. also recently did the exhaust from the cat back but I'm interested in adding a header to let it breath a bit better and dont know how that will work with stock exhaust. I've had Spitfires and a Midget in the past and those sound awesome with just an old fashioned non restrictive bullet muffler but never had to deal with the convertor on those. I will do some reading here on exhausts but again, suggestions would rock.
Unless you want to custom make a header, there is not really anything available. there is an inexpensive Tercel header that shows up on e-bay every once in a while, but I hear it is not that good. It will also mean you will not have a heated manifold since the exhaust manifold has a means of heating the intake manifold in cold conditions to prevent carburetor icing (which is likely a problem in your part of the world at least half the time). So it is best to just replace the exhaust pipe from the exh. manifold back with 2 inch pipe. You are likely exempt from emission testing in your state in a car that old, so you can omit the cat converter (though federal law prohibits anyone from tampering with the emissions controls on any car, as a practical matter there is not enforcement if there is no inspections required).
Jamminfargo wrote:-The front lower air dam (or whatever that lower plastic piece is called) is sort of trashed and I'd like to replace that with some sort of one piece brush guard and lower plate assy. I see them on pickups and 4Runners a lot and I'm hoping I can source something similar to fit the Tercel even if it takes a little fabrication. Any suggestions here would be appreciated. I have a small trailer hitch on it that will be coming off so if anyone has a brush guard to get rid of maybe we could work something out?
Do you mean the plastic splash tray that goes under the radiator to the cross member? A good strong replacement would not be a bad idea. Be aware that if you drive on gravel roads if this pan is not in place pebbles and stones get kick up and caught in the fan belt and even the timing belt and cut the belts up. so it is a good idea to keep the pan in place.
Jamminfargo wrote:-One of the dings up front is in the headlight corner area and the bezel is cracked and part is missing. Will need to source one of those.
post pictures of what you need, likely someone has one (or two), or can get it locally. You can not buy most body parts new any longer, you will have to see what you can find in wrecking yards or off ebay sometimes.
Jamminfargo wrote:-Oh and the paint is really faded and dull with white powdery areas. Hoping it will buff out but kinda doubtful on that. May get creative with a rattle can but that can wait til the rust issues are dealt with.
most common problem is the clear coat on the hood and roof crack and peel, and that allows the color coat to fade and oxidize, making it very mottled looking compared to the sides. sometimes if not too bad you can touch up and clear coat it to improve appearance.
Before you take the car on the road for the trip home, top up all fluids, and particularly top up the trans gear oil (24 mm socket to remove the plug on the side of the front diff housing). running low can trash your transmission, and replacements and parts are hard to find. take good care of your transmission and it will last a long time, neglect it and it will blow up on you. In fact if it was not such a hassle I would suggest you drain the oil gear oil out of the trans and fill it with 4.1 quarts of new gear oil before you bring it home just so you will not harm it if the oil has never been changed. But topping it up is good enough until you get it home.
If your parking brake light is on than check your brake fluid level, it might be low. If very low you might need new brakes too. but that can wait until you get it home. You should change all of the fluids, including the brake, rear diff and trans/front diff oil when you get it home.
Good luck.
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