Need Help in Austin TX

[Petros]

my daughter was in a pile up in a massive rain storm in Austin yesterday, and wrecked the front of her beloved "Dragon Wagon" Tercel4wd. It does not look too bad, but I need someone in the area to go take a look at it for us and see if it is worth fixing (she actually wants to spend more than it is worth to get it working again, but I am going to discourage that).

The drivers side head lamp area hit the back of a Ford Explorer, crushed the head light, fender and hood above the bumper. if the fame is not bent and the inner fender well can be straighten than it may be savable with some bolt on parts.

She is willing to pay to have someone familiar with the Tercel fix it if it is worth fixing (I told her do not take it to a body shop, most are crooks and/or incompetent). so it needs a good inspection first, and someone willing to bend some metal and replace the parts. I have some of the parts needed, but fender and hood will need to be found locally.

Anyone game to help a young woman in distress get her Tercel on the road?

The tire is rubbing on the fender well, so if nothing else get it so it can be driven would be a big help, she needs a car to get to work. it appears to need a battery, and there is something leaking. Radiator looks okay, but that too needs to be inspected, make sure there is no damage to the engine.

[marlinh]

OMG how sad. Was anyone (besides the Tercel) injured? That inner fender looks nasty.

[bryanthompson]

I hope she is alright. If I can donate any of my extra parts, as we get going on my resto, please let me know.

[Petros]

Not hurt, more shook up, and upset her Tercel is wrecked. She called and talked to me an hour the day it happened. I told her to take a hot bath, relax and try not to think about it tonight. We can decided on if we need to replace it or fix later.

Funny thing is neither of my daughters or my wife care much for the several Tercels I have always driven since my daughters were small. I got this Tercel for almost nothing from someone that could not work on it themselves, did some minor repairs, tune up and cleaned up and offered it to this daughter so she would have something to drive during her training and internship (in Texas, the internship is unpaid so she still has to work at other jobs). She is a licensed massage therapist (completed her internship and training last summer) and needed something large enough to cart her folding table, mat and other equipment around. And like a lot of collage grads these days, has three jobs, including her own massage therapy busines, so it gets a lot of use. It has only about 120k miles on it, and has an auto trans (which is not terribly popular in the T4wd). She reluctantly took it to have something to drive when in school (and I am fairly certain she felt like uncomfortable driving the same odd nerdy old car her dad drives). She used it throughout her schooling and for several part time jobs and now is using it to help get her private practice set up and going.

Sure enough, it did the typical "Tercel magic" on her. She is under its spell. She now does not know what she is going to do without it. Is as angry that is is wrecked as she is upset. Can not imagine there is another car that she will like as much and serve her as well as this one does. I even kind of teased her about it during our conversation, she tried to defend her love for the car by rationalizing what a great little car it is, even if it is kind of ugly and dated and funny looking, etc. I just kind of inwardly smiled knowingly.

Yes, the inner fender is a mess. Probably should be cut out and a replacement welded in. But at least as a temporary measure, it should be pounded out so it can be driven. I have a spare fuse box, battery tray and perhaps a head light mount and trim assembly. She said there are a number of idiot lights that come on on the dash when it runs, but seeing that fuse box there is no telling if it is shorted or if there are mechanical issues. I told her to have it towed home so she does not damage the engine or trans if something was leaking or misaligned.

If nothing else, this car has a good low miles auto trans that works perfectly, and a good engine. Alone these worth as much as the complete car.

I am sure she will be very happy to give professional massages to anyone that shows up to help her out, as well as pay for their labor.

[teranfirbt]

I'm only a couple hours north in Waco, definitely something that can happen. I should be free this Sunday.
There was an '83 in the local pick-n-pull a few months ago that had a straight front end, miiiiight still be there.

[Petros]

Great, if you can go take a look at it and if fixable, get the parts and install them. The most important parts would be the hood and fender because those are difficult to ship.

[Petros]

Bad news for the Dragon Wagon: Terafirbt spent Sunday looking it over and found the strut tower bucked back closer to the fire wall, with lots of buckled metal. If this strut tower is bent back, it means the sub frame is likely bent as well. It could be fixed, but it would take a lot of cutting and welding, and some time in a frame rack to pull it back into shape. likely a new inner fender and strut tower should be welded into to replace the crunched one (after it is cut out and the frame straightened).

There also was some indication the firewall and a-pillar where the driver's door mounts is also likely buckled. So this is a major operation to repair, and far more than it is reasonable to do in her driveway.

The good news for those of you looking for parts is this car is up for grabs. It only has 128,000 miles, and strong and well cared for engine and automatic transmission (everything worked perfectly). the engine had a "Petros method" head gasket job done on it last summer, and it has a near new aluminum double row radiator that was not damaged. Good tires and a number of other recent repairs.

We can not part out the car, the whole car has to be taken. Otherwise it will go to the wrecking yard where they will likely just send it to the crusher. Which would be a shame since there are not many tercels with this low of miles on it.

It can be flat towed on its wheels, it could be driven perhaps a short distance, but the front end would be out of alignment.

If anyone has a reliable runner to sell my daughter she is currently looking. She has actually began to like the Tercel because of it utility and she actually needs a wagon or hatch back so she can load her massage therapy tables and equipment in the back. So if anyone has a good running auto trans Tercel wagon she would be very interested. She is also considering a small pick up with a shell on it.

[Mattel]

Sorry to hear about the accident Petros and that was great of Terafirbt to come and have a look at your daughters car. I hope that a new car can be found soon for her. I imagine the 2wd wagon would be a bit more zippy than the 4wd.

[4wdEconoBox]

Sorry to hear about that Petros.... Hopefully your daughter can find another one in good condition! I wish I was able to get the car for parts if nothing else just to help her fund another vehicle! What would yall want for the car, just in case I find some spare money laying around!

[Petros]

I have not thought about it, I think a wrecking yard might give us $300 for scrap. That is a good place to start, the trans is worth that much alone.

my daughter is looking at a 1996 RAV4, has more room, and likely a bit safer since it is slightly larger and a more modern design.

[Notmikeb]

While I don't doubt the car is at least that valuable in parts, don't be surprised if you get nowhere near that in scrap. Metal prices are down and full size trucks are going for less than $250 here on the east coast.

[4wdEconoBox]

Yeah, I got you, my only problem would be getting it from Texas to Alabama, I don't know anything about shipping cars and that would be the only snag I could think of, for me anyway.

I honestly have heard much about Rav4s, as far as reliability goes and all that. I know my mom wanted one for the longest time, but she never pulled the trigger haha. Either way, maybe your daughter could get a good deal on it if that's what she ends up going with!

[Mattel]

First model RAV 4s have the transmission and drivetrain including centre diff lock from the corolla alltrac so at least that bit should be sturdy

[NWMO]

While I don't doubt the car is at least that valuable in parts, don't be surprised if you get nowhere near that in scrap. Metal prices are down and full size trucks are going for less than $250 here on the east coast.

Good Morning All,

I just wanted to echo Mike's sentiment. I'm in Missouri and moving the remains of a stripped 51' Chevy Styleline out of the garage and have a few hundred pounds of additional scrap to throw in it. I will likely let someone haul it away for me for the taking. Scrap is running around $65/ton here currently and by the time I borrow a trailer, load/haul/hope all goes well, it just isn't worth the time.

On the bright side, I'm making room to work on my recently acquired 85' SR5. The paperwork is still in route (online purchase :/) so I've been holding off on an "official" introduction. I thoroughly enjoy the discussion boards and have been lurking for a while, I'm sure I will be requesting input soon.

I do want to give a big thank you to ARCHINStL for going to check out a possible purchase in his neck of the woods. We've spoken on the phone and texted a few times and he was beyond generous in helping me. Tom, I look forward to bringing the Terc down for a visit sometime:)

Chris

[Petros]

$300 is what about a wrecking yard around here would give us for it, last time I checked anyway (though that was a few years ago).

We will take what ever we can get for it, I would rather have someone make use of the parts than to just scrap the whole car.

Make an offer, anything we can get for it would go toward a replacement car.

likely the best way to get it home would be to tow it on either a dolly or flat bed, though it can be flat towed. It is licensed and registered in TX, so it should not be any problem towing on the hwy or across state lines. We have the title, so when it comes time to scrap what is left you just give the title to the wrecker. Or in most states, if you cut it up into small pieces, and you have no engine or trans with it, it would just be considered scrap metal and usually no documents are required (depends on the state).