Tercel 4wd parts car WTB.

[westernflyer]

Hey i'm trying to dig up a tercel 4wd wagon on Vancouver Island with a blown motor or excessive rust. I want to do a 4wd conversion on my 85 tercel hatch and need a parts car to get started. Has anyone on here tried this yet?

[ARCHINSTL]

There was some discussion on changing a sedan to 4WD some years ago here; believe in '04 or '05 (aeons ago). Periodically someone on Toyota Nation mentions it (!). I think someone in Finland or thereabouts attempted it - could be wrong on this (note that "attempted" is the operative word...).
The body pan mods from the very front to the very rear would be très formidable, to say the very least.
Tom M.

[westernflyer]

The game plan is to go for some heavy chassis modification. Street legality is not really an issue. I mainly need the tranny/transfer case so i can continue to run my 3A and the rear end.

[Petros]

It would be easier I think to get a T4wd body and alter it into a hatch back, but I do not know why you would want to do that, these wagons have a remarkable amount of cargo space due to their boxy shape (unlike much larger newer so-called crossovers road hogs), and they have excellent visiblity. Find a decent T4wd wagon with a blown engine and swap all your good stuff over from your hatch back. The wagons are really going up in value, and I have yet to see even a cream puff 2wd hatchback go for good money, so why go to all the trouble?

If I find a drivable rust bucket T4 I thought it might be fun to turn it into an ice racer or rally car since it would be a shame to cut up a good one.

[westernflyer]

I just want to be clear that i have no desire to hack up a good T4wd... if i could find a good one I'd be happy to keep it as my driver with minimal mods. Problem is, especially in the area where i live, not many of these cars have survived without absolutely catastrophic rust. The hatch i have now is virtually rust free and it's actually a damn cool car in it's own way, but the drivetrain apart from the engine and trans is about done. I don't think i'll get the resources together to buy all the parts i want to get for my hatch... and because of what you said (never seen a 2wd hatch go for good money) there's not really any point. The best thing i can come up with to keep my tercel needs met is to find a T4wd that's just too rusty to save, get it for real cheap, gut out the drive train, and start welding until i get my hatchback rolling with 4wd. If i have to i'll go find a toyota 4wd truck and mount the tercel hatch bodyshell up on that frame but i'd like to at least try to make one out of a t4 first. As i said I'm not intending to build a street legal car. I just want to build a unique bush buggy that will last for a while.