info on the 4age for those contemplating a swap

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

info on the 4age for those contemplating a swap

Post by Petros »

'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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eightyfive4WD
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Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:59 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Tercel 4WD 5 speed wagon
Location: Arizona

Re: info on the 4age for those contemplating a swap

Post by eightyfive4WD »

Great info! Gives me some food for thought on my grand schemes. I smell a 20V 4AGE, big brake kit, rear disc, suspension refresh and manual transmission swap in my future.
1985 Toyota Tercel DLX 4WD 5 spd wagon (manual swapped, daily driver)
2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD access cab long bed (road trip/adventure-mobile)
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Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: info on the 4age for those contemplating a swap

Post by Petros »

eightyfive4WD wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:49 pm Great info! Gives me some food for thought on my grand schemes. I smell a 20V 4AGE, big brake kit, rear disc, suspension refresh and manual transmission swap in my future.
if you do not have a manual transmission now, why not find a T4wd with a bad engine and use that as your project 4age "Tercel4wd GTS" project car, rather than attempt that on a DLX with a working drive train now.

that way you will have a working car while to do a ground rebuild up on a rescued SR5.
'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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eightyfive4WD
Advanced Member
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:59 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Tercel 4WD 5 speed wagon
Location: Arizona

Re: info on the 4age for those contemplating a swap

Post by eightyfive4WD »

Petros wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 8:19 pm
eightyfive4WD wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:49 pm Great info! Gives me some food for thought on my grand schemes. I smell a 20V 4AGE, big brake kit, rear disc, suspension refresh and manual transmission swap in my future.
if you do not have a manual transmission now, why not find a T4wd with a bad engine and use that as your project 4age "Tercel4wd GTS" project car, rather than attempt that on a DLX with a working drive train now.

that way you will have a working car while to do a ground rebuild up on a rescued SR5.
That is also a good idea! The main issue I'd have with that at the moment is strictly a lack of space and time to dedicate to the project.
In reality it will be a while before I get to any engine swap plans. Maybe not years before brake & suspension upgrades, but I am at a critical point of my Engineering degree currently and time is quite a commodity. So at the moment, most changes I can make to the Tercel will be relatively low-cost and minimally fabricated.

In addition to this, the T4WD I recently acquired is in fantastic shape, and with only 52,000 miles on it. I'm certain I could eventually find another T4 in good shape, but I doubt it would be in a condition quite like the one I recently acquired.

For the moment, I plan to continue to do as many small tasks on my Tercel as I can chip away at while I finish my degree. Thorough detailing & leak inspections, electrical refreshing and overall making sure the Tercel is completely up-to-date on maintenance tasks.
1985 Toyota Tercel DLX 4WD 5 spd wagon (manual swapped, daily driver)
2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD access cab long bed (road trip/adventure-mobile)
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eightyfive4WD
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Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:59 pm
My tercel:: 1985 Tercel 4WD 5 speed wagon
Location: Arizona

Re: info on the 4age for those contemplating a swap

Post by eightyfive4WD »

I am considering my time with this Tercel now as my "value building" time. I will get to the fun stuff eventually!
1985 Toyota Tercel DLX 4WD 5 spd wagon (manual swapped, daily driver)
2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD 4WD access cab long bed (road trip/adventure-mobile)
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