1985 4wd in Lac La Hache, BC

[North of 64]

http://bc.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-car ... Z376459243

[GLet71]

Hey, that's only a day and a half drive from Dawson!

[ARCHINSTL]

Wow - the air cleaner adds 10-15 HP...!
Tom M.

[GLet71]

You like that do you Tom? I would be leary about this one for some reason; maybe it's the totally dirty engine compartment, and new(?) exterior. It looks like a DLX with an SR5 instrument panel. Is that right, or did some DLX models come with a tach?

[dlb]

haha, tom is being facetious--he likes a healthy dose of sarcasm now and again. while all the aftermarket air filters (K&N, the one in the ad, the ones that come with webers) do increase power a bit by increasing air intake, they do so by having bigger holes that let more dust in with all the extra air. while it may not be readily noticeable, if you live somewhere really dusty it could wear out your rings and cylinders quite a bit quicker than regular air filters. on top of that, the stock filters are like $5 while K&N ones are $70 up here--so you'd have to buy 14 regular air filters to equal the cost of the K&N, and each filter should last xxx many kms/miles...long story short, you'd have to drive a buttload for that fancy air filter to pay for itself. i've been lucky enough that both my parts tercel and my parts VW vanagon came with K&N filters and i live somewhere where i don't worry about them causing premature engine wear.

incidentally tom, have you cleaned your weber filter yet? i remember you mentioning a while back that you hadn't.

enough about air filters, more about the car. you're right that it's a DLX that has had the SR5 gauge cluster swapped in, glet. the front seats look like they're from an '87 DLX, like yours. the ad states it's an '85 but the grill, folding side mirrors, raised 'toyota' logo on the valve cover, and rear wiper indicate it's an '83 or '84. it's got high kms but looks like it's been taken care of fairly well. a concern i would have is that the ad states there is lucas oil in the engine so i wonder if that is done because the rings/cylinders are worn and the engine burns oil. lucas oil is a common short term solution to burning oil due to worn rings/cylinders. it might also be preventative but no way to know until the next oil change.

i don't like the mismatched grey/brown/black interior but that could be remedied pretty easily. it's also missing the shifter console. i don't like the wipers, side mirrors, license plate holder/ATM, hatch knob, and rub strips being painted red but those could be repainted. those 14" wheels are ugly but a quick coat of paint could make them acceptable.

overall, i think this car is worth checking out but overpriced. i don't think i would pay more than $1400 for it. if i took it for a drive and it felt great with no shakes, rattles, or clunks, maybe $1600. that's my two cents.

[ARCHINSTL]

OT, but Yes - I've cleaned it (shortened Redline one) three times now since late '08. My part of MO (STL) is not unusually dusty. I've simply washed it with dish detergent - never sprayed it with the K&N oil or anything else. The last time, I paid attention to the "first wash water" out of curiosity - not dirty at all.

K&N sure has peeps convinced of their filters (maybe with cause - I dunno). My clueless s-i-l installed one on his POS Chrysler Pacifica some years ago and swore he could feel the power increase - his friendly O'Reilly counter guy was persuasive... Swear to God, Kevin would have been a sucker for those bogus "improvement" products that used to be advertised in Popular Mechanics years ago. He even asked me about those magnet devices that fit on the fuel line to ionize (?) the gas...
Tom M.

[dlb]

i would definitely spray it with the oil. that's what catches the dust and debris and makes it stick to the filter. it would be interesting to see how dirty the first wash water gets with oil vs. without.

[ARCHINSTL]

OK...I'll buy some.
Tom M.

[Petros]

K&N sure has peeps convinced of their filters (maybe with cause - I dunno). My clueless s-i-l installed one on his POS Chrysler Pacifica some years ago and swore he could feel the power increase - his friendly O'Reilly counter guy was persuasive... Swear to God, Kevin would have been a sucker for those bogus "improvement" products that used to be advertised in Popular Mechanics years ago. He even asked me about those magnet devices that fit on the fuel line to ionize (?) the gas....

Tell him "give it a try...it should work. Even if you get half the improvement claimed you will save a lot of money!" Be a good way to test the psychological effect of the "secret" to getting better economy. Convince him to get every item that claims to improve economy, should have that car getting 100 mpg in no time.