T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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TooManyToyota's
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My tercel:: 1984 Tercel 4wd SR5, 1987 tercel 4wd 4a-fe swap
Location: Hudsonville MI
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T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by TooManyToyota's »

I just made a 35 mile round trip drive from Dorr Michigan to Hudsonville Michigan in my beloved 84 tercel 4wd, ive never been more impressed with a car, we've had 8 inches or so of snow this weekend and since its a weekend and the drive mostly went through the boonies, almost all of it was packed onto the roads I took a trip into grand rapids earlier in the day in a friends civic and saw everybody including my friend struggling with the road conditions. I used to daily a 1988 camry wagon in the winter and made a similar drive last year around this time, it was a little bit icier but almost the same, anyway, on that drive I was a little bit on edge and worried, driving 5 below the limit and the car didn't like the cold as much. 30 minutes ago I walked out to a stone cold carbureted car in ten degree weather, started it in one crank with no hesitation and drove home 5 over the speed limit with zero insecurities, having a lot of fun actually, the car was running especially well tonight, shifts felt smoother than usual. I took the long way home and decided to go through our town's park, the parking lot was completely unplowed, so I said, ok, stuck it in 4wd and drove through the whole thing like nothing was there, I also went through some subdivisions to see how they were plowed, got a little sideways action, and brought it home, drives like this come maybe once in a lifetime, and I cant help but feel this car was the best money i've ever spent and that the three years I was tracking one down were well spent also this car lives up to the hype in every way (I just wish mine had heat) any drives like this for you guys this winter?
Cars
1984 Tercel Sr5 4wd 6 speed Red/tan
1987 Tercel Sr5 4wd 6 speed Gold (4a-fe swapped)
1988 Camry Station wagon 5 speed (305k and climbing) (winter rig)
1989 Nissan Pulsar NX 5 speed (autocross rig)
1997 Pontiac Sunfire (Circle track car)
1991 Camry V6 wagon (Derby car)
1987 Celica Convertible 4 speed auto (for sale)
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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by ARCHINSTL »

You have succumbed to the bite of the :shock: T4WD Vampire :shock: as have most of us! :o
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Tom M.
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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
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Terbo4WD
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My tercel:: 86 SR5

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by Terbo4WD »

I cant help but feel this car was the best money i've ever spent
I say that every time I drive mine :')
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LowBuckCanuck
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Joined: Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:32 am
My tercel:: 1986 DLX 4wd Wagon "Jenny"

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by LowBuckCanuck »

Sounds like my morning commute! A bit of poorly plowed country road, a bit of trans Canada highway, plenty of fun!
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splatterdog
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Location: Minnesota, USA

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by splatterdog »

Yep, awd is ok, but it's not 4wd. Try snow tires. It's almost like a 2wd/4wd difference. They enabled me to take a brand new awd BMW from behind within a block, when the light turned green. That had to hurt.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by Petros »

great story. one of the reasons I keep fixing mine, can't find anything good enough to replace it.

why no heat? usually there are fairly easy fixes, I have a hard time keeping ice and fog off the window without any heat.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Hoodwagon
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Joined: Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:41 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Tercel SR5

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by Hoodwagon »

I hope I'm not too late to the T4 party and will get to play in the snow a little this winter myself! Sounds like you had a lot of fun.
1985 Toyota Tercel SR5
Pacific Northwest, USA
cyyzgnus
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Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2018 12:41 pm
My tercel:: 1986, 4wd, DLX, Auto
Location: Provo, Utah

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by cyyzgnus »

That is why I was so excited when my uncle sold me his 86 that he purchased new for one dollar. My wife said I wa an idiot when she saw the car. I simply stated wait until it snows, you'll change you mind. After the first snow storm of the year she was hooked.
Neil
"I am always maintaining our cars because my wife thinks that our cars run on unicorns farts" unknown from the MBworld w210 board.
Present 1986 Base Wagon rescued from an impound lot and currently fixing up.
1995 Tacoma Xtra Cab 4x4
1986 SR5 wagon, my uncle owned since new, RIP
xirdneh
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My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by xirdneh »

Check your heat control valve in engine compartment on passenger side firewall. Make sure it opens all the way. Disconnect cable and push lever towards driver side as far as it will go then reconnect cable.
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by ARCHINSTL »

xirdneh wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:16 pmCheck your heat control valve in engine compartment on passenger side firewall. Make sure it opens all the way. Disconnect cable and push lever towards driver side as far as it will go then reconnect cable.
What I've done for years, but I leave it unhooked until warmer weather and then hook up the wire, just in case a few cooler days visit until real Spring.
And then move it to "closed" and unhook it during Summer.
Tom M.
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
Fudd
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Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2018 10:01 pm
My tercel:: 87 4wd wagon

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by Fudd »

ARCHINSTL wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2018 6:59 pm
xirdneh wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:16 pmCheck your heat control valve in engine compartment on passenger side firewall. Make sure it opens all the way. Disconnect cable and push lever towards driver side as far as it will go then reconnect cable.
What I've done for years, but I leave it unhooked until warmer weather and then hook up the wire, just in case a few cooler days visit until real Spring.
And then move it to "closed" and unhook it during Summer.
Tom M.
I used to have a Baja bug that I did i that with. The controller cables were rusted solid, so around October I’d grab some wire and tie the levers on the heater boxes in the on position. Around May I’d take a pair of snips and cut the wires off.

It was an awesome POS car. Like working on an old rundown lawnmower. You were always wrenching on it, but there was nothing on it that couldn’t be fixed in about an hour.
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NickC809
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My tercel:: 1985 T4WD
Location: Rough & Ready, CA

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by NickC809 »

I couldn't agree more! I hadn't driven mine in about 3-4 months and today there was finally a decent amount of snow dumped over Donner pass! I can't believe some of the places this thing will take me.

Biggest plus was helping a WRX owner get un-stuck then easily pulling away.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: T4wd kills it in the snow, the hype was real

Post by Petros »

that must have been fun. wonder what the WRX owner was thinking when a 35 year old tercel pulls him out.

we have gotten a lot of snow in the last week, the Tercel4wd is the best car I have ever used on snow and ice. Right now I have to tear down my engine and replace the rings, but need it for the snowy roads and driveway. we have gotten about a foot of wet snow around our house in the last week. it is the only car that can get all the way up and down our driveway in the wet sloppy snow. my wife's heavy Lexus RX300 while more power and with the traction control does well, but when we hit hard frozen snow with wet stuff on top, it just slides around sideways and want to go where gravity takes it.

I really like the capability, feel and simplicity of the TErcel4wd, if it needs another engine, than so be it, willing to do what it takes to keep it on the road. well worth it.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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