My Tercel

[davep1968]

A few snaps of Lucy, including a before and after of the rear springs and shocker replacement.
Also seen towing a trailer with my other transport loadeed, 1973 Moto Guzzi 850 T.
Mattel may recognise the beach!

[Mattel]

Solid looking rig that one. Those springs are good doesn't even look like the trailer is attached. Is that standard height or Heavy Duty?
I'm glad you didn't send a photo of Port Willunga with any sort of waves.. That sort of thing almost makes me homesick! Cheers

[ARCHINSTL]

Sweet interior (unless you only showed us the nice part... ).
Amazing how different the cars look with the composite headlamps - I presume yours is an '83-'84 because of the inclinometer? Did the Tercs in AU and NZ come with these lamps for all years?
Love those rear shoulder belts!
Interesting about the propane conversion - did you get the tank for the spare wheel well? What kind of mileage do you get (if there is a direct correlation to gasoline, that is)? Does the government subsidize this - I was unaware that AU was a propane producer?
Re your springs - the Pedders rep told me that they are called "HD," even though they will not make the car ride like a "cement truck" (his words). Are they "normal?" What is their number?
Nice pix!
Tom M.

[davep1968]

Solid looking rig that one. Those springs are good doesn't even look like the trailer is attached. Is that standard height or Heavy Duty?
I'm glad you didn't send a photo of Port Willunga with any sort of waves.. That sort of thing almost makes me homesick! Cheers

Yeah, she is pretty solid now!
The springs are Pedders H/duty, picture for comparison.
Remember there is a full gas tank and petrol tank plus the trailer in this photo.
Perfect, super tough!

[davep1968]

Sweet interior (unless you only showed us the nice part... ).
Amazing how different the cars look with the composite headlamps - I presume yours is an '83-'84 because of the inclinometer? Did the Tercs in AU and NZ come with these lamps for all years?
Love those rear shoulder belts!
Interesting about the propane conversion - did you get the tank for the spare wheel well? What kind of mileage do you get (if there is a direct correlation to gasoline, that is)? Does the government subsidize this - I was unaware that AU was a propane producer?
Re your springs - the Pedders rep told me that they are called "HD," even though they will not make the car ride like a "cement truck" (his words). Are they "normal?" What is their number?
Nice pix!
Tom M.

Hi, the car was made 01/86, apparently thats how they were issued here in Australia.
The rear seatbelts standard too. The interior is all good, didn't want to upload a truck load of photo's!
I kept the tank as was, picture to demonstrate.
I am getting 430kms on average from a 45 litre capacity tank (85% of total volume). Uses a little more than petrol (5% ish), no noticeable difference in power now that it is set up right. I am saving a fortune, my Audi cost $90/week, Tercel around $30. Petrol hit $1.70 cents per litre today, Gas is around .70 cents per litre....
The government doesn't subsidise as such but there is a rebate available for conversion rom petrol to LPG of $2,000 which normally means the changeover cost nothing at all....
The springs are the H/D with 25 mm(?) higher ride height. They ride really well, part # 7174.

[Mattel]

I got a thing for old Italian Machinery also. My 1958 Lambretta 150 series 2 scooter usually needs some tinkering still. It's good to have 1 machine that's always reliable though.. with a trailer as a recovery machine! I'll probably get those springs next also I think. Now I'm missing my dog that's still in Adelaide! You live in one of the best spots I reckon. You can get rid or those old Tercel racing stripes with a hair dryer I think if your inclined too.

[ARCHINSTL]

Interesting - thanks for the info.
Our gasoline prices have dropped in STL, MO, to approximately 90 US cents/liter, or about 83 AU cents - quite a bargain compared to you folks! We do have some of the lowest prices in the USA, mainly due to Missouri having one of the very lowest state gasoline taxes in the USA - which is why our road/bridge infrastructure is so crappy. Interesting - some of the highest taxes are in states which have no "salting weather" - guess their roads are all glass-smooth?
The propane conversion certainly makes sense. Dunno the cost here, as the USA actually (still) produces propane somewhere. The tank is smaller than I had imagined. Have to do some investigating...

The hairdryer tool that Mattel mentioned works well, particularly in concert with using dental floss to "peel" away the offending stripes...obviously you need more than two hands for this. Not wishing to remarry, I just waited for a really hot, sunny day...

Thanks for the comparison pix of the springs - this helped. Interestingly, they bear the same resemblance to the OE as did the MOOG/various USA "HD" front springs did to the OE fronts when I replaced them in November - about 1/2+ additional coil and of course more space between the coils.

Off-topic a bit, but I've noticed many references to "Willunga Hill;" I "Google-Earthed" it, but can get no perpective of its steepness/ length. Is it a really long and steep grade that is well-known to be challenging to modestly-powered cars? Wonder how my old Morris Minors would have done...especially the '52, which had 27HP.
Tom M.

[Mattel]

Willunga Hill isn't quite L'Alpe D'Huez but there is a reason they have a stage in the Tour Down Under up there. It seems to start as a slight slope and gets steeper towards the end. Not sure how the morrie would go up there (2nd gear?).. perhaps you would need one of those bastardised minors that had there little motor replaced with a datsun 1200 engine. defiantly air conditioning off in summer with any sort of load on board.

Hey Tom, all our cars came with that front end (the grill and air dam changed in '86). and the rear seatbelts were mandatory. (I think I may have found some for you, find out on the weekend). I think the inclometer was an optional extra on the later years as some cars had it.

I'm just happy I'm not in France like last year I think petrol was around $2.60 aus a litre. or around $8.50 U.S. for a U.S. gallon! One good thing about the high petrol prices is the lack of big SUV's around. We have a fair share of Landcruisers which are mostly used by people on the land. but not to many full size trucks. Holden tried to market the Suburban a few years ago but it flopped and you still get the odd F250's. I actually felt safe driving in europe in a little VW polo at 130kmph than I do in a larger car in Australia.

[davep1968]

A quick update while my very late dinner cooks!
The Tercel is going great, Clutch cable replacement last week, a big clunk while pushing down on the pedal, spongy pedal but operational, cable down to 2 or 3 strands....very lucky.
Bought a Weber, looking for a 4 AC for a rebuild, plan to rip out the petrol tank and mount a bigger LPG tank in the space left. Free up my interior storage ( yes, it really pisses me off on occasion), gain extra HP (high compression suits LPG and gains more power...) while being cheap to run. Nice.

[Mattel]

When my clutch cable snapped it was in the middle of Melbourne while taking my girlfriend to hospital. I had the best luck though and threaded through the backstreets there and home by stalling it at red lights (only got two on the way home though) starting it in second on the green.

Was an easy repair though (three hands could have helped at times though). We have a different clutch pedal set up than the LHD versions though as mine didn't have the self adjustment the FSM talks about and most of the RHD Tercel have an aftermarket plate over the firewall where the cable has pulled through before. I try and lube the cable up twice a year but it still keeps making noise. I got the cable at the dealer though as they could get it overnight - not sure if you can get it cheaper anywhere else.

good luck with the mods.. sounds good. even if you put your LPG tank in sideways you could at least lie down in the back I guess. A rear mounted spare tyre would be awesome then you would have even more space for a tank.

Cheers

[davep1968]

Now you are talking, rear mounted spare...Hmmmm....

[Mattel]

start sizing them up at the wrecking yards, lada niva or suzuki or something else perhaps? tow bar? could be more hastle than it's worth though.. my old kingswood used to have the spare mounted inside the Driver Side rear window in the wagon section above and behind the wheel arch to make room for the LPG tank you may get it to fit there?

[davep1968]

Some snaps of the first Tercel "Ruby", being put to work..

[terkill]

oh my g-

How or where did u get that brush guard? Very nice. looks identical to mine besides the pimp clear euro headlights and grill and white center caps, besides the guard of course

[Silver Bullet]

Wow, that's one lovely Tercel! The interior is so clean.