MR2 and Terc

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:57 pm

Well, at the same place I found the rims, I found a title-less (cry) MR2 T-Bar Gen1.. Engine in it, but no wheels lol. 1600, DOHC, Yamaha-Head, 7200RPM redline.... 4AGE... The guy wants $200 for it.... DROOL.... I have no idea if it runs. The guy who runs the yard thought there was no engine in it, and had no idea it was a mid-engine vehicle... After some rummaging around, I found the rear hatch, and there, staring up at me, was a semi-oily 4AGE. I have NO idea what type of shape its in. If I get the opportunity, I'll go back with some jumpers and put some power to it and see if it'll at least crank. If it'll do that much, I'll be that far ahead of the game.
I am wondering if its worth blowing dang near a full paycheck on this.... Any opinions?

Oh yeah.. Next to the MR2 stood.. or rather leaned... an 86 Terc Wagon SR5 4wd... With 2 wheels missing, 1 of the remaining 2 was alloy, the other standard... Interior was MOSTLY together. Clutch pedal was sideways and thouroughly mangled. It had what looked like a factory hitch. It had a sunroof. It had cruise control. The guy wants $200 for the whole thing. I have no idea what I would be getting myself into, but I'm staring at it with hungry eyes...

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 4:05 pm

Typrus wrote: Well, at the same place I found the rims, I found a title-less (cry) MR2 T-Bar Gen1.. Engine in it, but no wheels lol. 1600, DOHC, Yamaha-Head, 7200RPM redline.... 4AGE... The guy wants $200 for it.... DROOL.... I have no idea if it runs. The guy who runs the yard thought there was no engine in it, and had no idea it was a mid-engine vehicle... After some rummaging around, I found the rear hatch, and there, staring up at me, was a semi-oily 4AGE. I have NO idea what type of shape its in. If I get the opportunity, I'll go back with some jumpers and put some power to it and see if it'll at least crank. If it'll do that much, I'll be that far ahead of the game.
I am wondering if its worth blowing dang near a full paycheck on this.... Any opinions?

Oh yeah.. Next to the MR2 stood.. or rather leaned... an 86 Terc Wagon SR5 4wd... With 2 wheels missing, 1 of the remaining 2 was alloy, the other standard... Interior was MOSTLY together. Clutch pedal was sideways and thouroughly mangled. It had what looked like a factory hitch. It had a sunroof. It had cruise control. The guy wants $200 for the whole thing. I have no idea what I would be getting myself into, but I'm staring at it with hungry eyes...

GRAB all the CRUISE CONTROL pieces off the Tercel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is super super rare!!! I might even buy it off you if you want to sell.

You'll find it a ton of work to put a 4age into a tercel, but I think you'd end up with a fast and very fun car indeed! For $200 I'd go for it if I was you! You don't have to swap it right away, just keep it around until you have the time. (only if the engine is any good of course...)

Good luck!

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 5:42 pm

If the MR2 runs, I'd be all over that like a duck on a June bug. I"ve been wanting one of those for a couple of years now. Personally would rather have one with just a sunroof, as opposed to the T-bar, but either one would be cool. What kind of shape is the body and interior in ? Those cars have to be extremely fun to drive, plus I bet they'd get great gas mileage, too.

If the tercel has a good tranny and good interior parts, it's well worth $200, I'd think. Maybe you'll be spending 2 paychecks ??

Can you apply for a salvage title in CO?? Here, in TN, you can get one if the car has been declared a total loss, and then repaired ( I assume it's pretty much the same all over the country). All they require here is the usual proof of ownership ( i.e. bill of sale, etc.) and pictures before and after the repair, and I think some kind of safety inspection. When they issue the title, they also issue a sticker that has to be affixed to the driver's door jamb which details that it is a salvage vehicle.

I would get the VIN off the MR2 if you're seriously thinking about buying it , and check it through either Colorado DMV or CarFax. You wouldn't want to buy something that you were planning on driving that you had no hope of getting a title for.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:14 pm

I WOULD try and grab the whole thing, but personally I was more staring at the engine.
I'm going to attempt to work somethihng out with the lot owners and see if they'll let me try and get the AGE running, and pull some carpeting and such on the Terc. Various examinations.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:41 am

The MR2 has the same ball joints as the Tercel

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:32 pm

The coolant reservoir was topped with windshield washer fluid... The lines were dry.. Oil fine... WILL NOT CRANK. The starter near caught fire while trying to crank according to the resident mechanic. After I discovered that it had an engine, they apparently tested it. I am A)Pissed B)Not convinced due to the fact they didn't know it had an engine to begin with. I want to go back and try for myself if they will permit it.
If it won't start, what do you guys recommend?

The Tercel is pretty well dismantled. It has no skidplates, much to my sadness. I'm still going to look into it.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 9:21 am

Typrus wrote: The coolant reservoir was topped with windshield washer fluid... The lines were dry.. Oil fine... WILL NOT CRANK. The starter near caught fire while trying to crank according to the resident mechanic. After I discovered that it had an engine, they apparently tested it. I am A)Pissed B)Not convinced due to the fact they didn't know it had an engine to begin with. I want to go back and try for myself if they will permit it.
If it won't start, what do you guys recommend?

The Tercel is pretty well dismantled. It has no skidplates, much to my sadness. I'm still going to look into it.

It could be that is has a blown head gasket and one of the cylinders is full of coolant (won't compress to let engine turn over). Pull the plugs out and try turning it over again. Sounds like the wrecker guys may have damaged the starter though.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:03 pm

I'm thinking of letting them think whatever they want to. They dropped the price to $100. I forgot to ask if thats with the harness or not, but I'm going to do some serious considering of this.

I found all 4 alloy Tercel rims. Didn't get them because they are 13's and I wanted bigger. I think I can get them for $15 each. Dunno what shipping would be, but if someone fairly close is interested, I MIGHT be able to buy them and send them to you for no profit on my part. I can only see 4 of the stock lugs, so those would likely need to be purchased.
WARNING! ON THE SUPRA, CRESSIDA, AND TERCEL ALLOY RIMS, SPECIAL LUGS ARE REQUIRED AS TO NOT DAMAGE THE WHEEL ITSELF- DO NOT USE STEEL RIM STYLE LUG NUTS ON THE ALLOYS!!!!

This was different on the Escort ones and the stock Toyota steel lugs worked perfectly.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:16 pm

I have lugs if anyone needs some

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:47 pm

Assuming it truly is seized, about how much could I expect to spend purely on machining?
Can anyone point me towards performance parts? If I had to rebuild it, I'd try to do some perf parts to save me trouble down the road. Just stuff like con rods, bearings, oil pump, etc... If I were to turbo it, who can be recommended for low compression pistons?

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:46 pm

Dear God... Well I guess Formula Atlantic is WAY out of the question lol
<a href='http://www.toysport.com/New%20Products/Atlantic.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.toysport.com/New%20Products/Atlantic.htm</a>

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:46 pm

Dear God... Well I guess Formula Atlantic is WAY out of the question lol
<a href='http://www.toysport.com/New%20Products/Atlantic.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.toysport.com/New%20Products/Atlantic.htm</a>