My MIL had a health issue, so I borrowed my parents Hyundai to drive my wife to Springfield, MO (~300 miles, my better half doesn't like to trust older cars) on Wednesday to be at the hospital with her. I drove home Wednesday night and then drove the Tercel down to my MIL's last night after work to pick my wife up. While my wife was a little nervous, the Tercel did great. Just drove it 320 miles home, mostly 65-70 mph on the interstate, 30+ mpg . And honestly, even my wife felt it drove and rode just as well as my parents newish Hyundai Santa fe.
Still lots of work to be done, but I'm looking forward to it.
Chris
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"
In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:
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
Reliability IS a creature comfort- can't think of anything less "comfortable" than sitting on the side of the road broken down...
Just got back from my first road trip to NY's Finger Lakes in my '87 t4- 600 miles in 2 days without a hiccup. Man, do I love simple!
if it aint there, there's a good chance it won't break!
83 SR5 Silver/Blue (Snowmobile/work beater)-totaled but drivable
85 SR5 Blue
88 SR5 White (the 'good' one)-not anymore-totaled
87 fwd silver wagon a/t
87 4wd dx Cream (a/t- not anymore- now m/t)
get in her and drive her, I put on 3300 miles a month this summer only problem I had was a burned out low beam head light, last summer was the same, head light pass side this year drivers side
get in her and drive her, I put on 3300 miles a month this summer only problem I had was a burned out low beam head light, last summer was the same, head light pass side this year drivers side
Wonder where that Hyundai's gonna be when it's 30+ years old...
if it aint there, there's a good chance it won't break!
83 SR5 Silver/Blue (Snowmobile/work beater)-totaled but drivable
85 SR5 Blue
88 SR5 White (the 'good' one)-not anymore-totaled
87 fwd silver wagon a/t
87 4wd dx Cream (a/t- not anymore- now m/t)
My wife and I just got back from a 5700km. trip without anything going wrong,and my car has 838,000kms. on it, 5 years ago we went on an 18000km. trip, we drove across Canada and were gone 8 weeks. The only hicup it had was we got bad gas in Calgary and she bucked and missed until I got a new tank of gas and after that not a glitch. So I would tell your wife that the 'ol Tercel is the only way to travel if she's looking for reliablity, and I must say those SR-5 Seats are pretty darn comfortable. As for the Hyundai! It will have gone through the bean can factory within 10 years, you won't have to worry where it will be in 30.
As stated, I've got some work I hope to get done this winter as time allows, BUT,
I am going to get down and see Tom again this spring/summer. It would be great to get another or better yet a few more Tercels together for some pictures and Midwest get together.
Any pics from the Pacific NW get together, maybe I missed them?
Chris
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"
In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:
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
Five or six times I have bought Tercel4wd over the phone, site unseen in another state, and drove them 4000 miles cross country to bring it home. some I was planning on doing repairs when I arrived and before I took it on the road, others were almost glitch free all the way home, and a few needed fixes along the way, but all were done in an autoparts store parking lot. The worst that occurred was hitting a deer in Texas, though I found a place to stash it, and managed to get back to it a month later with parts, did the repairs, and completed the journey. Though that was not even the cars fault, could have happened to any car, but not likely it would have been easy to fix by the side of road.
I have also taken other road trips in much newer cars, almost of them needed some minor fix along the way. From sensors, headlights, to tires. One time my wife's parents came for a summer visit and rented a brand new Dodge to take our kids camping, and got stranded. The rental agency put them up in a hotel for several days until they could deliver a replacement because the local dealer could not fix it. I would take an old tercel any day over that kind of reliability.
. And honestly, even my wife felt it drove and rode just as well as my parents newish Hyundai Santa fe.
