'84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

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travelbyota
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:38 pm
Location: Ozarks

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by travelbyota »

Thank you all for the nice comments.

Petros, every time someone mentions Gambler, I have read this post from you in some form or another. On a positive note, the Gambler does seem to be getting a bunch of younger folks in to these cars which could otherwise end up as scrap or salt rot, and most of them are pouring more time/energy/money in to them than the average person would. Unfortunately these cars aren't worth a bunch of money, even if they are nice!

That said, I most definitely agree. Not even my dogs will be allowed in this car, no way, which is a first for me. This interior is a time capsule, but the exterior is a different story. It will be totally refurbished inside and out, and enjoyed in my general area as a most-time daily driver.
K
79 Subaru Brat 4WD, 84+85 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD, 85 Toyota Xtra cab 4WD, 07 Subaru WRX AWD turbo
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by Petros »

these great little 4wd wagons do not get the respect they deserve. too many times the Gambler is just an excuse to abuse an old beater, a decent T4wd is worth more than a throw away car. A good daily driver in decent shape can bring $3500 to $4500, a few with really rare very low miles has brought more than double. I would not consider that a throw away car.

while not really rare enough to be a collectable car, neither would I consider it a throw away cars. Compare to a good used Camry will sell for less than $2000. it means there is a strong market for decent condition Tercel4wd.

But there are a lot of cheap beat up T4wd available, I have sent two parts cars to the crusher that were not worth fixing up, rust and too much body work was required to make them decent cars. But they could have made good Gambler candidates. There is no reason to strip a decent chassis to take to a Gambler, they are worth fixing up, and there are still a lot around that are not worth fixing up, but can be reliable drivers. I have turn a number of them down because they just needed too much work to improve their cosemedic appearance. For the Gambler, you can just paint it with a rattle can or even roll-on acylic paint to cover mismatched body parts or minor body damage.

It would be fun to strip a rusty beater T4wd for a Gambler. I just hate it when people find a really nice condition Tercel4wd and start talking about entering it in the Gambler. Save those for the many who will pay well for a decent looking Tercel4wd, and use all of the rusty beaters out there for racing.
'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)
oldfaithful
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My tercel:: 1984 Tercel 4WD

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by oldfaithful »

Exactly , I have sent 14-16 to Toyota Heaven because they were so rusted out,maybe 3 of them could have made Gamblers cars,but I strip every available part of them that I possibly can, when they hit the salvage yard there is nothing left on them.
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travelbyota
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Location: Ozarks

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by travelbyota »

Geez, please start your own forum topic where you whine about the gambler and what everyone should or should not do with their cars instead of hijacking mine or others. This thread is about my build, which has nothing to do with the gambler...
K
Last edited by travelbyota on Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
79 Subaru Brat 4WD, 84+85 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD, 85 Toyota Xtra cab 4WD, 07 Subaru WRX AWD turbo
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NWMO
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Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by NWMO »

Hey all,

I drug the Gambler into this post and apologize, I could have easily started my own thread. I don't care if anybody puts a Terc in, I think it would be fun to get together and provide a little support and learn how they operate. The Rusty Frog is one of those cars that others may have junked due to rust, etc. But they aren't easy to find around here and I'm more than a little stubborn. One of these days I will post pics of the hillbilly frame repair to keep it on the road. Until then, I should be posting pics of my 4a build here anytime now.

Keegan, Kevin, Tom and any others in the Missouri or surrounding area, we should get our cars together for a group photo and cruise sometime.

Chris


PS - Kevin, what is the Xtra cab about??
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
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travelbyota
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Location: Ozarks

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by travelbyota »

No worries, ya'll. Generally speaking, rust and neglect kills cars. Of course, there are the few that will abuse a nice car and toss it aside, but I am not one of those folks, and I suspect nearly all on here are not, Gambler or not.

Xtra cab is my truck, see the first pic. Rear quarter window is nearly identical to the Tercel, and that is not all. Interesting to see the similarities, if not some identical parts used in construction of the dash. I swapped the blower motor and fan out of an '86 parts truck in to my '84 Tercel, for example.

K
Last edited by travelbyota on Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
79 Subaru Brat 4WD, 84+85 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD, 85 Toyota Xtra cab 4WD, 07 Subaru WRX AWD turbo
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travelbyota
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Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by travelbyota »

I am now daily driving this sweet little car! Replaced a brake line due to rust, bled the brakes, drained all the fluids in the trans and rear diff(thanks to Robert Walker for the detailed transmission info---keep that fluid fresh and full up), and also did a Weber conversion. Car starts and runs like clockwork, shifts flawlessly! Could not be happier.
K
79 Subaru Brat 4WD, 84+85 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD, 85 Toyota Xtra cab 4WD, 07 Subaru WRX AWD turbo
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travelbyota
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Location: Ozarks

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by travelbyota »

I chose 185 75R14's for stock height. Got these Winterforce off of Ebay for a great price...small tires with good tread are getting more and more difficult to find. Wish General Grabbers made a small size or Kelly/Springfield like back in the day, but definitely like 'em: heavy duty without being heavy. That said, they are already old stock and on their way out...
K
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79 Subaru Brat 4WD, 84+85 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD, 85 Toyota Xtra cab 4WD, 07 Subaru WRX AWD turbo
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seantp
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My tercel:: 1983 SR5 4WD Wagon
Location: White River Junction, VT

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by seantp »

How much do they rub on bumps and turns?
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by Petros »

nice looking tires. I also lament the lack of options for smaller tires. I went to the 14" wheel and the selection is better, but I think the trean in all wheels and tires has been going to really tall rims 15", 16" and even 17" wheels on smaller cars.
'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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travelbyota
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:38 pm
Location: Ozarks

Re: '84 metallic orange/plaid 80's radness!

Post by travelbyota »

Driving around town, I can keep up with traffic. Still peppy with a healthy engine and fun to drive, although I think jumping up any more sizes will lose the fun, especially with the 3.7 gear ratio in these early models... '85 and up should be able to push it a bit more? I also don't live high-altitude or with regular hills or mountains, at least not in town.

I have had zero issues with rubbing. I don't think there will be any issues, but it will be a little bit before I have it out of town and can test it in the forest and on gravel. Just swapped in a NOS Denso alternator and fuel solenoid idle cut-off for the Weber carb (a must have, in my opinion). I don't know where I read about eliminating the phenolic spacer due to clearance issues with the hood, but that's not happening around here: I have fuel boiling in the float bowl after a good hot run in the upper 80's. Tomorrow hope to have the spacer installed (along with the heat shield), all the coolant lines replaced and everything flushed. After that, I should be good to drive outside of town, and I look forward to it!

Petros yep, we will both lament. Its not going to get any better with time; all newer cars are going less tire more rim and larger diameter, but as long as that's kept in check, it makes sense to me: less sidewall flex is good (unless you are really gearing up for serious off road), and larger diameter rolls over road imperfections much better than smaller.

13's are pretty much all trailer tires in the larger sizes or stock sized and quite small for a 4WD. 14's have some decent options, but most are old stock now, except for a few winter tire options. 15's are a bit too wide before you can choose anything with decent tread, and well, anything 16" is pretty much out of the question without lift and later gears...maybe. I really like the 185 width on these cars, and 14's is the only option.

K
79 Subaru Brat 4WD, 84+85 Toyota Tercel SR5 4WD, 85 Toyota Xtra cab 4WD, 07 Subaru WRX AWD turbo
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