I've been having a good time reading through the forums for the last few days. You all seem like a friendly bunch, thats for sure!
A couple of months ago I bought a 1st gen tercel from a neighbor, and have been having a great time with it. 1981 Corolla Tercel with 191k. Its got the 3A-C so I figured you guys might be so kind as to have me in your forum even though its not a wagon, and no 4wd either....
Anyhow, I look forward to having some good questions to ask, and maybe answering some of my own as I learn more. I don't have much mechanical experience, but I'm learning. Changed out my filters, found some vacuum leaks, good start right!?
You are certainly welcome to this list, although much of the information is not relevant to your model, all of the engine and perhaps front end information should be valid. I do not imagine there was that much of a following for first gen Tercel that is should get its own list, it is sort of the the ugly duckling of Tercels (designed as an entry level econo-box car). Parts must be getting difficult to find, even at the pull-a-part nearby I hardly ever see the first gen Tercel.
itsthewater wrote: 1981 Corolla Tercel with 191k. Its got the 3A-C so I figured you guys might be so kind as to have me in your forum even though its not a wagon, and no 4wd either....
Anyhow, I look forward to having some good questions to ask, and maybe answering some of my own as I learn more. I don't have much mechanical experience, but I'm learning. Changed out my filters, found some vacuum leaks, good start right!?
Bentley has a manual that covers that year of Tercel...I have a copy. It was rated on one site as about as good as the FSM...but covers differently. Available as a used book.
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.
Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...
maybe i'm just a sucker for cars that remind me of growing up but i think your terc looks awesome! it appears to be in good condition, and i love the colour and pinstripe. the bumper looks a little damaged on the passenger side but you can just clean it up with sanding and then spray paint the whole thing flat black. should only be a few bolts to remove it.
the easiest mods for increased performance and economy on 3A engines is to advance the timing to 10* BTDC (use a timing light) and to upgrade to a weber 32/36 carburator. the timing only takes a few minutes and costs nothing, the weber is about a $300 mod if you do it yourself. i think that's roughly what i paid for mine.
The ugly duckling! Sheesh. Well, I'm okay with it as long as I get to be one of the ducklings....even if I stick out some.
Regarding the bumper, that passenger side is split. Now that you mention it, perhaps removing it would be the best way to figure out how to fix it up some. I'll try that out.
I've definitely noticed the affinity for the Weber carb mod among people with the 3A-C. Is it just because the existing carb is finicky? What is the general attraction? I've read through the various posts detailing how to do it (and it seems simultaneously simple and complicated...hmm) but there isn't too much discussion of why...any thoughts?
yeah, if the bumper is anything like ours it will have 4 bolts, probably 17 mm.
the attraction of the weber carb is that it's awesome! gives our old cars some balls--power and responsiveness. even my wife likes it now. there aren't many other easy mods for our puny little engines, it's not sporty enough to have any cool aftermarket stuff available, save for the weber. and with all the emissions hoses everywhere, the old carb is prone to vacuum leaks. with the weber you can rip all that sh*t out and make more room for wrenching. you can also hook it up with the emissions stuff if you like.
with a lot of work you can get a 4AFE or 4AGE engine in but that's a serious endeavour. petros is preparing to do a 4AGE swap and i think synthdesign did one but am not sure. besides that, i don't know of any who have actually gone for it. the 4AC engine will bolt right in because it's almost identical to the 3A but is 1.6 L instead of the 3A's 1.5 L. put the manifolds from your 3A on the 4A and it's the exact same height so you could probably do this mod to your terc if you wanted. or you can shave the head and overbore the pistons on the 3A so it's almost a 4A but it's not recommended due to head gasket issues, it seems.
there are actually several good guides on here now for weber installation so don't be intimidated. a bunch of us with webers are actually discussing the best way to set up the vacuum assist for the weber so if you go for a weber, check it out: http://www.tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtop ... f=4&t=6085
There is a product for fixing tears in the heavy rubber bumpers, I posted pictures of it here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4751
the first gen Tercel is okay looking except those really odd rear tail lights make the rear end look a lot less than elegant. For some reason many designs seem to lose it on the rear end, and the first gen tercel is one, as is the third gen and the Echo rear end also looks unfinished. The most current MR2 is one of the ugliest cars Toyota ever made, especially the rear, and we are talking a lot of Toyota models it has to compete with for that title.
I've run my OEM carb thru 70K miles and a period of heated fuel no less...also put a manual choke on it even though the autochoke worked fine (attempt to increase mpg). You just need to replace or at least check all the vac lines and make sure they are routed right...tighten some screws...and go for it....
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.
Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...
sorry takza, i'm not saying the stock carbs are crap and need to be replaced. i'm saying that the weber improves performance and is a lot more compact. some claim improved MPG, mine has stayed the same but even that's remarkable considering the improved acceleration and responsiveness.
DLB, I appreciate your liking of the early toyotas. I grew up with a 2WD hatchback tercel and have always loved em, regardless of how they might seem to others. I wish this tercel was a hatchback, but I'm happy to have any tercel to play with.
And Petros, its true that the rear portion of my tercel is the strangest, and it doesn't quite work with the rest of the car. I agree with your comment about many designs failing when it comes to the backside. (insert dirty joke here) I've felt that many cars can't quite deal with having a trunk. Maybe thats why i like hatchbacks....
I'll take a look at the bumper product recommended, and I'll pick up that bentley book. I have a haynes that seems good, but second opinions always help!
Regarding the weber, it sounds interesting. Mostly, i'm intrigued with completing a mod on a car of mine. Seems like it would be a fun project, I would learn a lot, and I'd definitely feel more ownership of my vehicle. More pickup, better mileage would be fun too, that's for sure. At the moment, I think there are probably more mundane concerns that i should deal with first, and my time will probably be better served replacing vacuum lines, learning the vacuum diagram, finding oil leaks, fixing that pesky blower motor, etc.
what's the blower motor issue? if the problem lies in the heater controls themselves or the cables that open and close the various valves, it can be an easy fix.
The heater controls are a little banged up, I was looking at them today. But no, the problem with the blower is that it doesn't go. I picked up a test light this afternoon and discovered that juice appears to be getting to the blower, but still no spinning....
I assume that this means i need a new blower motor. Any other possibility come to mind?
I found one online that appears to be the right fit for $50. Otherwise, I guess heading down to the pickapart might be a good option. Thoughts on a replacement, if thats what I end up needing?
