Tucker has a new home

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Brodieroni82
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Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:56 am

Tucker has a new home

Post by Brodieroni82 »

Hey all,

I bought tucker back in March. In general he’s in pretty good shape considering home much oil was leaking when I got him. 238k mi and 2 owners. PO had gone over the brakes, fuel system and replaced the strut inserts.

Had my mechanic r&r the engine and just got it back. Working on breaking in the first 500 mi right now and working on my next plan of attack.

My thoughts are:
Little sound upgrade
Mr2 caliper upgrade
New ball joints
Front and rear suspension lift (I ordered the Moog cs212’s)
Suspension mounts
Boots
14” alloy rims
New at tires

Where can I find 14” alloy wheels with 4x100 bolt pattern?

Is there a limit on file size for pictures? I’m having a hard time uploading.
Hteverow
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Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2018 3:35 pm
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: Maine

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Hteverow »

Try 1st gen MR2 wheels--the triangle design. They fit right onto the Tercel, but you need different lugnuts.

Something like these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1985-1989-Toyo ... 2967741074

I paid less than $200 for the ones on my Tercel, including shipping. Running 195s on them right now with no rubbing, they make the car handle noticeably better (and reduce the RPMs needed to maintain same speed as 13 in rims, giving slight increase to fuel economy).
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rer233
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Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 1:49 pm
My tercel:: Multiple

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by rer233 »

14" Miaia "daisys" bolt right on too, have the same size opening in the center, and steel inserts for the tapered wheel lugs. Plus, you can use our lug nuts if you're not running center caps (or cut 'em off if you are.) Personally, I like a taller tire- 185/70 14 works real well.
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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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Petros »

sounds like you are doing it all right. If you are driving it while these mod are getting done, I highly advise you replace all worn or questionable suspension bushings, ball joints, etc. and have the alignment done. That way it will be safe to drive, and you can get a better feel for what each up grade does for the car. You are not really making a fair comparison if you start with sloppy stock suppension, and you can better tell if one or more of your non-stock mods are working properly when you have a good working stock suspension as your baseline.

If you change a lot of things at once, and discover you a problem after you get it back on the road, it will be hard to know what change you made is causing the issue.
'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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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
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Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Center caps for Daisy wheels: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5827&p=42940&hilit=hardware#p42940
Tom M.
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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Mattel
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Posts: 1788
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:11 am
My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Mattel »

How is your transmission? I would recommend a good synthetic oil change unless you can find out it was done recently and change the rear diff while you are there!
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
Brodieroni82
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:56 am

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Brodieroni82 »

Thanks for the replies y’all. I’m new to the community but it’s amazing to see the info that has amassed and how much everyone participates in each other’s process’. I’m happy to be here.

Thanks @Hteverow those are rad, a bit narrower than I was looking for but that’s not a deal breaker. Fits the bill and at a reasonable price.

My spring order got cancelled because they were NLA, not super surprising but annoying. I’ll do the abra-cadaver lift now, just as soon as I wrap up the brake upgrade.

@Mattel I’m on the fence about the trans oil. I’ve been cautioned against it by 2 shops since it seems to run very well. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it sort of scenario...what do you think? Do it anyway? Def will swap rear diff oil.
Brodieroni82
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Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Brodieroni82 »

Updating the progress -

Recently had the brand new fuel pump die after 2000k mikes, found a better replacement that has really changed the starting and driving experience. $65

I found some bmw bottle cap rims in 4x100 and 14x6 with 195/65r14’s on there all in great shape, no curb rash with good rubber and perfect center caps. Threw them on tonight and man does that change things. Such a better ride. $300 Does anyone know where I could get a Toyota emblem sticker to go over the bmw bottle cap center caps?

Also, just received my order from Rock Auto with suspension parts for the Abra Lift. Just need to source tie rods and bushings for the sway bars. Will I be able to retain the rear sway bar after the pathfinder springs and thunderbird struts? Haven’t found a definitive answer for that one.

Brake upgrade is on hold until I knock Out the steering and suspension upgrades.
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NWMO
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Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by NWMO »

Hey Bro,

The photo limit was updated some time ago, so that shouldn't be an issue for posting. (So post up some pics of you car!!) When I installed the Pathfinder springs I didn't even try to remove the rear bar, so you should be able to keep it. There is a post here somewhere that discussed pros and cons of keeping or not, mine drives well in my opinion. Tie rods should be easy enough to find, but the sway bar bushings are not easily located.

Here is a link poke here to my project with some pics, just updated as I had never let everyone know what I ended up doing.

Chris
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
Brodieroni82
Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:56 am

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Brodieroni82 »

Here’s tucker, cleaned after purchase but to her rebuilt engine.

I’ll snap some other pics of the bottle cap rims, updated roof rack and motor in the next couple of days!
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NWMO
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Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by NWMO »

Nice looking car!

Chris
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
Brodieroni82
Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:56 am

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Brodieroni82 »

Thanks Chris!

Here’s tucker with the bottle caps - haven’t seen too many Tercel owners pick them up, not sure why. 14x6, 4x100 and alloy; they fit the bill just right.

Would be rad to find some stickers to cover up the bmw center caps.
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NWMO
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Posts: 1615
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 1:08 pm

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by NWMO »

Very nice! There should be a discussion concerning “poly” bushings that folks like for the front sway bar.

Chris
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
User avatar
Mattel
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Posts: 1788
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:11 am
My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Mattel »

Looks good but keep the OG wheels if you want to sell it as original.

I don't agree with you with the if it's not broke don't fix it when it comes to oil. would you do the same for your engine oil? why risk your transmission. Your mechanics just don't want the bother of trying to work out how to change it I think!
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
Brodieroni82
Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:56 am

Re: Tucker has a new home

Post by Brodieroni82 »

Chris,

I’ll take the bait! energy suspension has them (poly) for $90ish for the set. It’s 4 weeks to get them bc they come from aus. I heard they’re the best. I just bought mine from toyotapartsdeal.com who had them for 1/2 that - unsure on the product quality, but I can let you know when I get them.

My understanding is that it’s less about which is best and more about what your preference is in regards to ride quality, lifespan, performance and feel. I’ve never tested though. There are trade offs with each and depending on your needs a choice must be made. I opted for cheap as, maybe I get a softer ride, less road noise and and a shorter lifespan. Just my thoughts.

What do you think?

Mattel,

I’ve got snow tires on the o.g’s, only place they’re going is through the snow in the winter.

I don’t disagree with you re:trans oil. What thoughts do you have about full synthetic vs a blend. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on what to use. I guess that’s my real sticking point. I’m comfy doing it myself.

Alright good chats!
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