Fresh Horses

[Mad_Marx]

Here's a pic of recent progress. Got the trans, refurbed cross-member, and Power Rack installed. I got the engine in just as it was getting dark, I'll put up a picture of that tomorrow

[GLet71]

Thing of beauty, can't wait to see the rest!

[Mad_Marx]

Finally, 91 Cubic Inches of ported, polished, hand built sweetness Installed! Still buttoning up components and have some little things to do before start/run/drive... but ALMOST there!

[ARCHINSTL]

Sweet and sanitary! The Tercel4WD.com added to the manifold hole cover was clever!

It looks like your torque rod idea was a combination of mine and sdoan's - clever!
But above the nut is a silver device that is thick and has a dart-shaped protrusion pointing to the ground - what is it and why is it there? Looks like the handlebar stem bolt wedge from an old American bike.
Tom M.

[dlb]

good eyes, tom. what did you use to make your engine shock, marx? i've deleted it from every terc i've had because all were worn out and there's been no noticeable difference without it but it's something i would like to reinstall at some point. i've seen the threads here but curious what you went with.

[Mad_Marx]

@ARCHINST, I think that's a bit of bad photography/lighting on my part, what you're seeing is a power steering line that was not yet connected to anything, it was dangling behind the strut. @DLB, I used a threaded rod, washers, and the stiffest spring I could find (all purchased at the local hardware store. The rubber bushings came from a sway bar end link set from the local auto parts store, I think it ran me $8.00 total for all the parts.

[Petros]

looks like you still have to do the MR2 brake master upgrade, and it appears your charcoal cansister is missing.

Nice looking build. I did something similar in my first 3a overhaul but was rather disappointed in the power output increase, the next rebuild I took more radical measures, but than had trouble with the head gasket. So do not expect too much out of these engines, the obsolete head design limits the available power capacity. That is why I choose to do the 4age swap.

[Mad_Marx]

What's the upside to the MR2 brake master upgrade? I recently replaced calipers, pads, and lines in front, flushed the system, and the current brakes work great.

Yep, no charcoal canister...

I'm not expecting anything special for horsepower... I was more concerned with getting it all right.

[Petros]

Upside? The stock brakes, even in good condition, are too flimsy. I knew the brakes were undersized, and coming down from STevens pass one day, carefully modulating the brakes, I overheated them and badly warped both rotors. They had turned blue, one had surface stress cracks. the Tercel was not even fully loaded, just me and my ski gear. Toyota should have known better, same front brakes on the 2 door hatch back as on the 4wd 5 seater wagon.

I drove on it with warped rotors for another six months, meanwhile spending time in the wrecking yard seeing what would fit. Got the parts together and installed them all at once. Read about the procedure here: https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4998

Rather than the unvented 11mm rotors, you can fit a 25 mm vented rotor with same size pad and piston, so there is much more heat capacity and braking ratio does not change. The final step would be to put in the MR2 master and booster, also a direct bolt in conversion, and it improves the braking power. More stopping power for less peddle effort, which is what I wanted.

The stock brakes work fine, but requires a lot of pedal pressure to make a fast stop, and you always risk overheating the rotors on long down hill runs. If your brakes are in good condition now, I would just leave it. Wait until you need new brakes and just do the swap over than. No reason to put back on the undersized brakes if you are replacing them. the vented rotors only cost about $5-10 more, why not up grade? I see no reason to install the same undersized brakes when an up grade is easy and costs only slightly more than buying the factory brakes.

BTW, the same brake pads are used by new rotors and calipers. And these change do not have to happen together, you can change the master and booster over when your master cylinder needs replacing, and wait until you need new pads and rotors or calipers to up grade the disks. You will not regret the up grade. You should have check the repair guides section before you bought new brake parts.

[ARCHINSTL]

@ARCHINST, I think that's a bit of bad photography/lighting on my part, what you're seeing is a power steering line that was not yet connected to anything, it was dangling behind the strut. @DLB, I used a threaded rod, washers, and the stiffest spring I could find (all purchased at the local hardware store. The rubber bushings came from a sway bar end link set from the local auto parts store, I think it ran me $8.00 total for all the parts.

Nope - this is definitely a metal piece, between the top hex nut and the spring. It is silver in color.
I do like your resolution of the prob!
Tom M.

[Mad_Marx]

Here's a better shot with better lighting...

[Mad_Marx]

Thanks Petros! You're right, I should have researched a bit more, but when I did the brake job it was due to caliper failure, so I was kinda in a hurry to get it back on the road. I WILL keep upgrades in mind when the time comes

[Petros]

So, are those new cadmium plated pan bolts, or did you just paint the old ones? I bet those new looking bolts will improve the engine output, it just has to!

[Mad_Marx]

nope, those are the original bolts, all I did was clean them a good clean engine sure makes oil leaks easier to find.

[Mad_Marx]

Terc II Back on the road! Running like a CHAMP! Now for some serious engine break-in driving!