83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

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irowiki
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by irowiki »

David: I insist, this is normal for most 80's cars sold down here in the south which never saw a garage.
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dlb
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by dlb »

and i insist that sunlight doesn't reach underneath the dash to front speaker covers and stereo bezel, and that normal, cleanly people don't use dirty rags for dash hoods, leave wires hanging out from where a stereo used to be, and fail to get seat covers for their badly torn seats.

regardless of sun damage, this car was owned by a slob.
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irowiki
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by irowiki »

So are most of the cars down here!
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87 Corolla FX16, 105k
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95 Camry Wagon, 170k
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Mad_Marx
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Location: Boise, ID

Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by Mad_Marx »

We have plenty of sun here (south west Idaho). But most of the tercels I've seen for sale in this area only seem to suffer deterioration on the door/window trim, and the plastic instrument cover, I wonder if it's the type of plastic used on those parts. The dash pads seem to hold up rather well. I think the missing and trashed parts in this car are due to abuse and neglect.
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Petros
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by Petros »

intense sunlight breaks down plastic, and a closed up car in the summer can get up to 140 deg F, that tends to drive out the plasticizers and all plastic becomes brittle, even the stuff that is not exposed to direct sunlight. without the plasticizers to keep it flexible, it tends to not just get brittle, but also start oxidizing and decomposes. Treatments like Armorall are supposed to replace the lost plasticizers to keep it soft and pliable, but it does not penetrate deep enough to keep it good indefinitely.

When I was a child there used to be "pubic service" commercials on TV about properly disposing of trash to keep the city clean. One of them had these children picking up trash and putting it in the trash can in a pubic part, the theme was "plastic if forever". Implying if you do not recycle plastic it will stay in the ground "polluting" it forever. If it was really that inert it will do little harm buried deep in the ground, but it is not inert. It decomposes releasing petrochemicals. If you have a land fill made of mostly decomposing plastic, you can end up with a very toxic goopy mess in a few decades...far from "forever".

I know better now, cheap waste plastic that does not have uv stabilizers and other additives break down fairly fast, a year or two at best, and it certainly does not last forever. Besides that it comes out of the ground (as petroleum), and no matter what we do with it, ultimately will end up back in the ground at some point. Making new plastic cost less than recycling plastic, therefore it uses less resources to just make new plastic products, and dispose of waste plastic in conventional land fills.

Although the dash vinyl seems to have the right mix to hold up well, even that will break down (I know the early vinyl dashes all fell apart after only about ten years), the rest of the plastic in the Tercel does not seem to hold up very well. The various parts do not even fade the same amount, so they all slowly turn to different colors as they age. I keep thinking if there is any way to fabricate decent looking door panels from Masonite covered in fabric. But they would look rather odd and unattractive unless I can give it some shape, meaning lots of extra work.
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lannvouivre
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by lannvouivre »

I guess I have just seen considerably nastier cars for that price. I've worked on much worse (mostly from customers who think floorboards=trashcan). One was a Buick with the rear seats literally filled to the roof with trash, and it was parked in the sun. This one just looks kind of beat up. Heck, it's not even drowning in tobacco spit.
But...did you try hitting it with a hammer?
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Mad_Marx
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My tercel:: 1986DLX (K.I.A. by a Texting Driver, currently being uses as a parts car) 1986 SR5 AC, Cruise, Sunroof a.k.a. TERC II Electric Boogaloo (restoration in progress). 1984 SR5
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by Mad_Marx »

Seller just reposted the add dropped the price to $400.00 (Salvage title) Radiator core support looks like it's been replaced. What's it worth as a parts car?
http://boise.craigslist.org/cto/5467224651.html
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Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by xirdneh »

If I was close, I would buy it for engine, tranny, rear diff and tail lights, good front seats a bonus
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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Mad_Marx
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My tercel:: 1986DLX (K.I.A. by a Texting Driver, currently being uses as a parts car) 1986 SR5 AC, Cruise, Sunroof a.k.a. TERC II Electric Boogaloo (restoration in progress). 1984 SR5
Location: Boise, ID

Re: 83 SR5 (Beat Up) Meridian, ID $500

Post by Mad_Marx »

Previous listing showed interior pictures, many interior trim parts missing and the seat upholstery was shredded:/
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