The collection begins?

[Petros]

most likely it was something they did, perhaps forget to fill it, forgot to put filter on or cap on it, or messed up the filter gasket (easy to do) so it leaked oil out, or they perhaps did not put any oil in (not likely it would have gone 20 miles without oil, more like 3 or 4, but that is possible it had no oil for that long). That hole in the side looks dry, usually if there was oil in it, oil is blown all over when the rod lets loose (I did that once), so it was run without oil.

[irowiki]

There's a little bit of oil on the tip of the dipstick and it smells like gasoline. The filter is still there, will see how the gasket looks when we take it apart later.

The flat tow might have been longer than 20 miles too, I'm guessing more like 30+ miles based off what you've said.

[tercel4wdrules]

If the oil smells like gasoline, perhaps the fuel pump failed and started pumping gas into the oil and thinned it out.

[rer233]

My money's on the "forgot" theory.

[irowiki]

Engine acquired for the 87. Came out of an 82 Tercel coupe with 160k miles, rebuilt 20k miles ago.

[irowiki]

Made it home, 400+ miles, up many grades, she seemed fine on power and even braking, and fuel economy only went down to 22 MPG or so!

[irowiki]

Offered him $300, he took it. $200 now and $100 when he finds the title.

Guy claims it hasn't run in six years, but the tags expired in 05, so that is more like eight years.

He didn't care at all about it being a tercel, or me having a tercel, it was just that car that broke and get it out of here.

One tire went flat and cracked, so I'll need to put one of my spare tires on her to move it. New CV axles right before the transmission "went".

The wagon is in bad shape inside. Back window got shot out with a bb gun, sunroof is partially open, and driver's side window was left partially open when he parked it (8 years ago) so 8 years of the elements!

The manual transmission shifter just slops around and doesn't attempt to go into any gear. Linkage maybe?



Sunroof makes me sad:



Factory alloy wheels?



"fancy" steering wheel



stock radio, aftermarket AC



It smells even worse than it looks:



277k miles?

[dlb]

i hate to say it but my vote is for parts car.

for the sake of knowledge though: the shifter is easy to remove. you need snap ring pliers though. the shifter has a big metal ball near the bottom that sits in a rubber cup bushing, and the tip of the shifter has a small ball that a tiny bushing clips over. if these are worn out, it will be sloppy as all hell. also, there are two guide pins by the cup bushing and they slide up and down two straight grooves in the big ball of the shifter. in my most recent project terc, the grooves were so badly chewed up that even with new bushings, it still felt like hell. i used jb weld to build the worn portions up and then filed them flat. that did the trick.

[irowiki]

We do have a set of seats that could replace the ratty ones.

Those wheels though, might put those on our 87 FWD!

[Petros]

I say it is still worth fixing. pull out the seats and pull out the carpet, if the carpt is not actually molded away or worn out, you can wash the carpet on your driveway with heavy duty detergent and a stiff brush. rinse well and use shop vac to pick up the remaining water in it. Recover or replace the seats.

those wheels were an option only available for that year. kind of rare. decent quality, worth keeping even if you intend to go to 14" wheels. Use them for winter tires, or on your other 2wd Tercel.

[dlb]

the interior is easy to clean but it will take a lot of work. and isn't the hatch badly dented, in addition to missing the glass? even if the rest of the body is rust free, you will need to find a new hatch and paint it to match. and the trans needs work or replacing too, correct? does the sunroof work or is it stuck partially open?

all those things can be fixed up but it might get pricey, and it will definitely take a lot of work. and more jobs will pop up as you work through it, guaranteed. once it's done, will the car be worth the cost of those repairs to you, or would you be able to recoup those costs if you sold it? that's just what i would consider.

[Gottolovem]

I think if the car is not rusted out it deserves to live again

[irowiki]

So wait, what size are the alloy wheels vs the steel wheels?

[Gottolovem]

All my cars are 13 some alloy and some steel but the ones on the car you got today must be a rare option never seen those before as stock tercel rims i like them.

[irowiki]

Ah yes I checked car-part, all 13 inch. Is it possible to buff out the chrome and make them shiny again?

What are the advantages of 14 inch tires?


Dlb: I do want a beater manual 4x4 wagon for camping and off roading, so she doesn't need to be prefect, this might be a candidate!

Supposedly the sunroof works. If I could find glass and a seal the Dented hatch would be fine.