buying my first tercel

[marinecook]

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I've recently had this obsession come over me where I feel like I need to buy a 4wd tercel. I've never had one, but I did have a 90 tercel coupe that was solid until my wife crashed it. I'm currently driving a 85 toyota pickup and it's solid as a rock. But I still feel this compulsive need to have a 4wd tercel.

My question is, what things should I look for when checking over a tercel? What are some problem areas specific to this model? I found a '85 with 244000 miles, and he was asking $625. Is that a decent deal? The engine seemed strong, as did the manual transmission. The only problem I could see was quite a bit of body rust (Minnesota).

With your advice, I'd like to go back and check it over again, and maybe see if I could haggle the price down some.

Thanks for your help!

[takza]

That's pretty high mileage for a car with rust problems?

viewtopic.php?t=517

Rust on the outside means likely rust on the frame where it can be a safety thing. It's hard to stop...though I've done it more or less using oil....except for the front fenders.

[marinecook]

thanks for the info!

[shonuffisthemaster]

I think there asking a little much for that Terc., I bought mine for the same price, it was an SR5, and had only 130K with a great interior. What's the extent of your mechanical experience? Whatever you buy is likely to need some work, but since you have a 80's Toy already, I assume your used to working on it. The Tercels are also pretty easy to fix, I don't have a whole lot of experience with cars, but with a manual and this forum it's pretty easy to figure stuff out on these.

takza, we live in the rust belt man! Try being able to reach into the body of the car through the rust holes in multiple spots (I used to unlock my FX by reaching in to the door from the bottom rust hole). If I found one around here where the only rust was rocker panels and wheel wells, I would be ecstatic! Really though, mine is rusty as hell but the frame and suspension mounts are still solid, so don't let what I'm about to say discourage you!

Here's some problems I had with mine. Brake lines were rusted all the way from front to back, although they're not as difficult as some to replace (there not contained in plastic protectors like my FX, man is that a pain!!), if its that old the fuel lines might be rusted too. If you haven't done break lines before, here is a tip for removing the brake line fittings that will save your sanity. Cut the line off at the fitting, then put one of those spiral bolt extractors (the ones that grip the bolt head on the outside, available at sears, not the crappy "spiral screw extractors" that you have to drill a hole in the bolt for and always break) and use an impact wrench to get them off.

The fuel filler neck is a RUST MAGNET!!! Its a flexible accordion type and thus has about 20 crevasses for slush to collect and rust. When I took mine off after it was leaking and wire brushed it down, there were literally hundreds of holes in it. You might be able to see up there with a mirror and a flashlight, but the best way to tell is to over fill the gas tank and see if any leaks out. If you do end up owning one, NEVER over fill the tank, as this accelerates the rust exponentially!

Make sure the window and door mechanisms all work, on mine the bottom quarter of the doors are rusted through and everything was stiff, I took the mechanisms apart and greased them and that helped allot.

The front sway bar rusted half way through and then broke where it goes through the bushing (end bushing). Hard to see, it actually broke and remained in the bushing and the bolt end stayed on too as it was rusted to the bushing pinch sleeve, the only reason I discovered it is because I was taking it apart for something else. Not sure if this is common.

I was talking to someone from around here who seemed like he collects them, he said that a problem area is where the front control arms mount, although this wasn't a problem on mine.

Also the rear quarter behind the wheels, easy to see the extent of the rust if you open the small storage door in the hatch on the left side.

It's nice to see another Minnesotan on the forum! These things are absolutely incredible in the snow! Speaking of rusty Minnesota cars, I'll have to post a pic of my old FX if I can find one.

I saw this one a couple days ago, not sure if its still around:

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/509564766.html

[ARCHINSTL]

The front sway bar rusted half way through and then broke where it goes through the bushing (end bushing). Hard to see, it actually broke and remained in the bushing and the bolt end stayed on too as it was rusted to the bushing pinch sleeve, the only reason I discovered it is because I was taking it apart for something else. Not sure if this is common.
.....a problem area is where the front control arms mount, although this wasn't a problem on mine.
.....Also the rear quarter behind the wheels, easy to see the extent of the rust if you open the small storage door in the hatch on the left side.

Be certain to see recent posts on the swaybar & control arm mountings! Do a Search for swaybar and control arm threads! These can be quite dangerous!

While my Goldie was brought up in Nashville and was 99% rustfree, she still had a small, almost-rusted through area at the bottom front of the tool compartment - there is a thread on this as well - it's due to crud/moisture collection behind and above the mudflap.
Tom M.

[takza]

takza, we live in the rust belt man! Try being able to reach into the body of the car through the rust holes in multiple spots (I used to unlock my FX by reaching in to the door from the bottom rust hole). If I found one around here where the only rust was rocker panels and wheel wells, I would be ecstatic! Really though, mine is rusty as hell but the frame and suspension mounts are still solid, so don't let what I'm about to say discourage you!

Here's some problems I had with mine. Brake lines were rusted all the way from front to back, although they're not as difficult as some to replace (there not contained in plastic protectors like my FX, man is that a pain!!), if its that old the fuel lines might be rusted too. If you haven't done break lines before, here is a tip for removing the brake line fittings that will save your sanity. Cut the line off at the fitting, then put one of those spiral bolt extractors (the ones that grip the bolt head on the outside, available at sears, not the crappy "spiral screw extractors" that you have to drill a hole in the bolt for and always break) and use an impact wrench to get them off.

I use oil in the door/hatch bottoms...in any holes in the frame under the car...espec where there are rust holes...I pool gear oil under the front floor mats...I use oil on the rusted fuel lines...have replaced the brake lines.

I also seal up ANY holes in the wheel wells using roof tar and weed fabric or the roof tape. Oil or grease any rust spots on the floor pan underneath every fall....but always something new each yr.

The frame and door/hatch rust hasn't really progressed much in the 4 (?) yrs I've owned the car.

Once you have big holes they then get to be an entry point for water though...I caught mine before this happened.

For a beater...door rust would be OK...as long as you stopped the frame rust with oil?

[Petros]

I do not know what they sell for in MN, but that sounds like way too much if it full of rust. I would guess about half of that price. I even bought a running rust bucket here for $100 that only needed a radiator and a battery. I used it for parts.

Good running examples around here sell for about $650-1200. Non running or ones that need repair are $150 to 350.

Ortherwise the advice you are getting here is good. Trans is most important, a good radiator, wheel bearings, good engine compression, and the window mech. Otherwise they are a safe bet, and fairly easy to fix.

[marinecook]

Thanks for the replies, all of you. Looks like I'll pass on this one. Here's the listing, in case anyone's interested.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/506243687.html

[splatterdog]

They have always been very rare in these parts. I wanted one since I first drove one on a short test drive while snowing back in 1987. Always kept my eyes open for a deal, but they rarely showed up and never for under a grand in any shape. Even thru the 90's

Their price is out of line unless it's mechanically 100% and low mileage.

But from my recent experience $100-200 only gets you one with at least 1 VERY serious problem.

Good thing is, when they do show up around here they are usually $100-200.

[takza]

Thanks for the replies, all of you. Looks like I'll pass on this one. Here's the listing, in case anyone's interested.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/506243687.html

That is depressing.

[ARCHINSTL]

Wow !
With that much rust on the o/s - I wonder what the underside looks like?
After viewing various Northern-tier states' cars over the years, my view of cars rusting in MO has sure changed...we've got it pretty good in comparison.
Tom M.

[shonuffisthemaster]

I use oil in the door/hatch bottoms...in any holes in the frame under the car...espec where there are rust holes...I pool gear oil under the front floor mats...I use oil on the rusted fuel lines...have replaced the brake lines.

Those are some pretty creative rust prevention solutions Takza! But unfortunately my Terc. has been beyond help since before I bought it, the previous owner used it as a winter car.

I remember once seeing an 80's Toy truck on the road where about 75% of the bedsides had rusted off, the fuel filler neck was just hanging out in space!

Anyway speaking of rust belt cars, here's my 87 FX "THE SHOGUN", these are about 5 years old and the rust has progressed quite a bit more. You cant really see much rust, as most of it is covered by duct tape, and I had simply removed other rusted areas, lets just say there were several holes in the outer door sheet metal that you could easily reach your arm through, and the quarter panel was about 25% gone. About a year ago the hatch literally rusted in half, I went to open it one day and, well, the bottom half opened! (yes, that bungee cord is to hold the hatch closed)

[ARCHINSTL]

Why sure, Son ...
Susie will be right downstairs in a minute - let's see that car of yours she's been telling me about...

WHAT !

Not on your life!

Tom M.
(Experienced as the Father of three daughters...)

[takza]

That's his father sitting in the background...thinking...WHAT HAVE I DONE !...WHAT HAVE I DONE !...

Reminds me of my TR3 (Triumph) I traded for...had no fenders...or not enough to have a full set...so I left them off. Totally rust free though. Painted it safety yellow...with 2 big black stripes...made a hard top from oil tempered masonite....put a small opera window in the back. Most people weren't sure it wasn't OEM or something. Looked like a later model Morgan or something.

Sold it to a guy...took a ride up to Toronto...had a little problem at the border on the way back though...but made it through.

[ARCHINSTL]

That's his father sitting in the background...thinking...WHAT HAVE I DONE !...WHAT HAVE I DONE !...

Maybe he's thinking "He has red hair - I don't have red hair - the milkman had red hair...."

Tom M.
- Just kidding - as we used to say in the Army - "Field expediency works."