1983 Tercel 4WD SR5 Wagon | Overland Build

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rer233
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by rer233 »

May need parking brake cables too...
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)
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mungus
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My tercel:: 1987 4wd Wagon base model

Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by mungus »

One more vote for replacing everything that is designed to come in contact with the brake fluid. If you are rebuilding or replacing the rear wheel cylinders and rebuilding the front calipers, go ahead and replace all the hoses you have listed and the master cylinder too. The prices for the new parts are very inexpensive and when you are finished you will know all the rubber and seals the brake fluid comes in contact with are NEW. I recently replaced the same brake parts in stages; if I did it over again I would have done everything at once and saved some rework time. It is nice to be confident you can stop, as well as not having any of the brakes dragging from 30 year old constricted hoses and swollen seals.

1987 Tercel 4wd in AZ
señor.tercel4wd
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My tercel:: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by señor.tercel4wd »

It started to rain in SoCal so I started to look at wheels since I can't finish the brake job in my driveway...

Last winter at the Hoonigans Toy Drive / Car Show, my wife and I bought $10 worth of raffle tickets. The prize selection was pretty rad to say the least (KW Coilovers, Turbo Kit, fifteen52 wheel voucher fort $1k, RC Replica of Ken Block's Escort, etc...). Jokingly, I told my wife that if we won, we would get her Civic new wheels when we were dropping our tickets in the bins. Low and behold, when they started calling ticket numbers my wife had the winning number for the fifteen52 wheels voucher.

She didn't really like the idea of having to buy more expensive performance tires on the daily. She suggested that I should use it for the Cobra (isn't she the best? :D ) but they didn't offer any aggressive sizing for the Cobra. We waited out for a year to see what new wheel designs they would release but now the Tercel came into the picture...

These are the wheels we were thinking of getting.

https://fifteen52.com/collections/stree ... 3773645890

They are 15x7. The wheels can be re-drilled to fit the 4x100 bolt pattern and 54.1 hub on the Tercel (machining cost are $60 per wheel). They can offer anything from ET +15-40 mm on the re-drill. I personally love the design. It's aesthetically pleasing and I like how it incorporates functional aspects of classic rally wheels. I was thinking of pairing the wheels with some 205/70R15 All-Terrains - 26.3"

I really want these wheels to give the Tercel that beefy look. I've read a few threads on here and they recommended an offset between +35-45 mm and that didn't make sense because there was also threads indicating that their wheels would rub at full lock. The lower the offset the further away from the suspension components. So if 35-45mm rubs then I want to look between 25-15 mm. Ideally 15 would be great because then I would be able to fill the wheel wells as much as possible.
Last edited by señor.tercel4wd on Thu Sep 24, 2020 12:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
'83 Tercel SR5 Wagon Overland Build Thread >>> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14880
The Professor
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My tercel:: 1987 Tercel SR5 4WD wagon
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by The Professor »

Choosing wheel offset is not a trivial pursuit, there is a lot of measuring involved. I would say start with the stock offset and try to get the same or similar scrub radius while keeping the Dave Point in the center of the contact patch.

That being said, I would see if you can get a fifth wheel made, just so you have a matching spare, should anything happen to one of your wheels. Murphy's Law!!!
1975 Subaru SuperStar wagon
1984 Subaru Turbo-Traction wagon & hardtop
1987 Subaru RX 3-door
1987 Subaru RX Type-RA 3-door
1987 Toyota Tercel SR5 wagon
1999 Subaru Forester S
2002 Subaru WRX sedan
2019 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited
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AugustusFerdinand
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My tercel:: 1983 Toyota Tercel SR5

Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by AugustusFerdinand »

The Dave Point for the uninitiated (+1 to The Professor!), Dave Coleman is over at Moto IQ now for those interested.



1993 Escort GT wheels are 15x5 +41 (or so) and look like this with 215/70/15 on them.
Last edited by AugustusFerdinand on Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
1983 Toyota Tercel SR5 - 7AGE swap in progress
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Abletobecain
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My tercel:: 1983 4WD DLX, 1986 4WD SR5, 1985 4WD SR5, 1983 4WD SR5
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by Abletobecain »

Those are really sweet wheels! Would look great on the T4. I didn't see the weight on them but I'd be concerned about 205s on 15s. I have 195s on 14s (like you) and that's about as sluggish as I want to be.
1977 BMW R100S 1WD ("Brunhilda"/Summer Fun)
1983 DLX Tercel Wagon 4WD ("Charlie"/Daily Driver)
1987 SR5 Tercel Wagon 4WD ("Sprocket"/Off-road-Camping)
1985 SR5 Tercel Wagon 4WD ("Lucky"/Project)
1983 SR5 Tercel Wagon 4WD ("Cadaver"/Parts Car)
1985 Ford F250 6.9IDI ("Franklin"/Hauler)
1987 SR5 Tercel Wagon 4WD ("Ravensburger"/in a million pieces)
2006 BMW 530XI Wagon ("Inga"/Roadtripper)
1969 Mercury Montego MX Convertible ("Big Ed"/My Dad's Old Car)
1983 SR5 Tercel Wagon 4WD ("Al"/for sale soon)
señor.tercel4wd
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My tercel:: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4WD SR5
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by señor.tercel4wd »

Abletobecain 205/70R15 ATs weighs in at 27 lbs and according to Matt Crooke (President of fifteen52) the wheels... "start in the high teens depending on the specs. They're built to handle the beating of a gravel rally stage, so it's a balance of strength and weight..." so we're looking at about 45-50 lbs/wheel and tire. The 14" steelies and 195/75s that are on the T4WD currently weigh about 35 lbs and it handled the 1.3k drive from Oregon to SoCal like a champ. So hopefully it can handle the extra 10 lbs?

AugustusFerdinand, I actually emailed fifteen52 the pictures YakSr5 posted on his thread as a reference. Thanks for linking his thread. Below you can see the comparison between his fitment with the escort wheels and the Integrale Gravels.

Comparison.jpg

The Professor I asked about getting a spare and I would have to pay for the full sized matching spare and the machining for other 4 wheels. Granted, this whole ordeal would have been pricey without the voucher so I'm super thankful that we won it.
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Last edited by señor.tercel4wd on Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:17 am, edited 3 times in total.
'83 Tercel SR5 Wagon Overland Build Thread >>> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14880
The Professor
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My tercel:: 1987 Tercel SR5 4WD wagon
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by The Professor »

In the diagram posted above it seems like the wheels are mounted outside the lug studs, as if they're not seated on the brake rotor. Was this intentional?

If it were me I'd gladly pay for the fifth spare wheel, you never know when a company might go under and never find a matching wheel for your set. "Better to have and not need than to need and not have."
1975 Subaru SuperStar wagon
1984 Subaru Turbo-Traction wagon & hardtop
1987 Subaru RX 3-door
1987 Subaru RX Type-RA 3-door
1987 Toyota Tercel SR5 wagon
1999 Subaru Forester S
2002 Subaru WRX sedan
2019 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited
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AugustusFerdinand
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My tercel:: 1983 Toyota Tercel SR5

Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by AugustusFerdinand »

The green/orange boxes represent the outside dimensions of the wheel and don't illustrate the mounting face. If you use their calculator and put in 0 offset it'll center the wheel over the mounting face of the brake rotor. So it's correct, just looks funny.
1983 Toyota Tercel SR5 - 7AGE swap in progress
teranfirbt
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My tercel:: '86 SR5 4WD, 5AFE, lifted rear, 195/70/14 tires
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by teranfirbt »

Given that I have ~ 9/16" of wheel spacer on 195/70/14's that fit ~flush to the outside of the front fender, I'd say a 7" wide wheels with 35-40mm offset is just right on stock brakes. I'd be a little worried about a bigger diameter/wider tire rubbing on the inside of the fender tho, when I had mine on the stock brakes with no spacer I would rub at full lock with a 25" tire.
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AugustusFerdinand
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My tercel:: 1983 Toyota Tercel SR5

Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by AugustusFerdinand »

teranfirbt wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 2:49 pm Given that I have ~ 9/16" of wheel spacer on 195/70/14's that fit ~flush to the outside of the front fender, I'd say a 7" wide wheels with 35-40mm offset is just right on stock brakes. I'd be a little worried about a bigger diameter/wider tire rubbing on the inside of the fender tho, when I had mine on the stock brakes with no spacer I would rub at full lock with a 25" tire.
What wheels are you running?
1983 Toyota Tercel SR5 - 7AGE swap in progress
señor.tercel4wd
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by señor.tercel4wd »

teranfirbt wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2019 2:49 pm Given that I have ~ 9/16" of wheel spacer on 195/70/14's that fit ~flush to the outside of the front fender, I'd say a 7" wide wheels with 35-40mm offset is just right on stock brakes. I'd be a little worried about a bigger diameter/wider tire rubbing on the inside of the fender tho, when I had mine on the stock brakes with no spacer I would rub at full lock with a 25" tire.
+1 on AugustusFerdinand question and what's the width?

I think the best way to figure out what offset I'm going to need for a 15x7 wheel is to get some concrete evidence. I went ahead and ordered (1) Konig DIAL IN wheel and spacers from Amazon. The plan is to blue tape the wheel so I can return it lol. The specs are 15 x 7 with an offset of ET +35 mm. It only weighs 10.9 lbs lol... I'm going to test fit the wheel and check the tolerances (i.e. full droop, fully compressed, turn radius). I'll make to post my findings.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

I don't mind hammering/cutting up the wheel wells or rolling/pulling the fenders. I just don't want the wheels to rub against any important components (i.e. struts, brakes, lines, etc...). I know I can add fender flares and be done with it but I want to keep the body as close to OEM as possible.
Last edited by señor.tercel4wd on Thu Sep 24, 2020 12:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
'83 Tercel SR5 Wagon Overland Build Thread >>> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14880
teranfirbt
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My tercel:: '86 SR5 4WD, 5AFE, lifted rear, 195/70/14 tires
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by teranfirbt »

I'm currently running 14x5.5 Honda CRX rims, I think the offset is somewhere around 40mm. I just bought a set of the same wheels for mine, ostensibly for snow tires (although in reality they happen to match my AW11 MR2 in case I want to play musical wheels). They fit great with 185/60/15 tires, plenty of room to the front strut.
Tires will matter more than the wheels as long as the offset is similar and the wheels clear the struts. You can run things very close and be OK, my MR2 has the front wheel/tire about 1/8" away from the strut and has zero issues.
ThuleanTercel
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My tercel:: 1983 Toyota Tercel 4wd Manual.

Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by ThuleanTercel »

I had rust like that under my back window, didn't think it was that bad but i removed the glass/rubber and it was rusted through above the windshield wiper mount. Not that hard to fix seeing as i could fit my hand through the hole the rust made and since it was all under the rubber seal i didn't have to worry about cosmetics that much. Also had similar decay going on the other back windows.
señor.tercel4wd
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Re: 1983 Tercel Wagon 4WD SR5 | My Worst/Best Decision of my Life?

Post by señor.tercel4wd »

UPDATE

As promised, here's the test fitment.

The main issue I came across was at full lock. A 15x7 wheel with a +35mm offset rubs against the sway bar and the wheel wells. This was remedied by slapping on a +25mm spacer.

Shortly after gathering the concrete evidence, I talked to Matt over at Fifteen52 and placed the order. I ended up going with a +15mm offset and I ended up getting the 5th wheel to have the matching spare.

That was about two weeks ago. I got the email today that the wheels arrive tomorrow! So pumped!
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Last edited by señor.tercel4wd on Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
'83 Tercel SR5 Wagon Overland Build Thread >>> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14880
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