'83 Tercel sold... for good :-(

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:09 pm

The '83 Tercel has been sold. I'm not happy.

At any rate, I got the thing to start and brought MY own battery. BIG MISTAKE!

I tried to run off but didn't work, I stalled in reverse. That and I wasn't fast enough to get to the car on time. In order to start it I had previously sprayed carb cleaner about a week before. The first time is was choking. Tried again. This time I quickly pumped the pedal until I got it running and then revved up to 4.5k rpm. That was fun. Actually, it wasn't good for it because it probably wasn't getting any oil.

Then the car was moved on the main level of the parking lot. Then the guy forgot the towing hitch and then we took him to Pep Boys. I was about to remove my battery when he wanted me to lend him the battery. "THIS IS MY BATTERY, FROM MY CAR!!!" and then I started blurting that the engine was going to lock up because of the water in the cylinders and that 2nd and 3rd would be gone by the time they got home. Ah uh, you're not driving this thing.

On the bright side, thanks to this car I found out how good these cars are. I can still find it someday, but I guess it was time to let it go. Well now this chapter closes and hopefully I'll be able to find another '85-'88 Tercel with the stuff I want. It was almost 9 years and 64,514 traveled miles.

ctishman · Post by **ctishman** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:37 pm

You had a Tercel

(about three paragraphs of incomprehensible narrative)

You sold a Tercel

(pics)

Wait, what?

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:19 pm

I've owned a lot of cars... and every morning when I get up, I look forward to driving my '83 Terc. It doesn't look as nice as the one in your pics, but I still love it. Maybe because it hardly ran when I bought it, and after regular efforts to make improvements, it keeps getting better. I'm coming up on 196K, and I think this Terc will reach 300K... as long as I don't give up on her. ...Paul

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 8:37 pm

Let me clarify... when I joined the Yahoo Groups board my dad drove this '83 daily back in early '03 since '97. I wanted this car for myself, but since it overheated badly the engine screwed up. I had posted all of the major issues in a thread on this board. Since we bought this car it never ran right (e.g. bad engine, chipped 3rd gear, etc).

My dad bought another car when the radiator cracked on this one. I made major attempts to keep this car for 2 years. The plan was to get it running again. Then I found the '84 SR5 I now have.

Now I was pissed off because all of my effort to keep it was in vain and I never got to drive this car. Then at the last minute I tried to drive it around slowly but it was too late. When I tried to get the car out I went in reverse to move the car out of the spot, but it stalled on me like the first time I tried to drive it. The '84 hasn't stalled on me.

Since I was REALLY angry at the guy's overall attitude, I acted like a jerk... "My battery, from my car"... the guy didn't even know where the reverse gear was and acted like all of the car's issues could be fixed easily. I spent an awful lot of time figuring out how much it would cost to get it running right again.

Yes, I was emotionally attached to this car and like some people, it was hard to let go. It's gone, it's gone...

PS: This car's paint was a lot worse than it looked in the pictures with plenty of dents.

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:31 am

I'll tell you what the SOBs always told me...."there are other fish in the sea". There ARE other fish...but they are never the SAME fish.....

ctishman · Post by **ctishman** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:58 am

Damn, what a shame. Here's to you finding another!

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:49 pm

Thanks! Yeah, this really sucks.

Takza is right, sure I can find another one that looks like it but it'll NEVER be the same. It won't drive the same but it might have the same problems.

For now I have plenty of stuff I need to fix on the '84... engine, clutch replacement, blower motor switch, rear brakes, carburetor, and some other issues.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:12 pm

Doh! Sorry to hear that man! That sucks! At least you still have the 84 though!

ghettomobile · Post by **ghettomobile** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:39 am

I just basically gave mine away to get it out of my parents yard. They told me that if I wanted another project car, I would have to get rid of it, and I got rid of it by trading it for an RC car. Besides that, I really dont have the time to be restoring that thing because I am in college and have work.