SHE LIVES!

[SirNik83]

As some of you know I started a pretty epic rebild of my Tercel over a year ago. Well today she roared to life!
Had an interesting day. It started with a trip to the junk yard for a laundry list of small parts. Then home to get the car started. Then realised I had no clue as to where the keys had gone. I had them 2 weeks ago, but I thought I had lost them. I continued to work on the car after getting frustrated with the search of the keys. I found a key to one of my other tercels and tried it, and the ignition was in the acc position, and the key actully turned it to start. So I could try and and get it started...... but not having the real key means I couldn't get fresh gas in it. So thats good and bad news. I continued to work on the car, and got it to the point it was ready to start, so what the hell. I fired it up on the little bit of old gas that was in the tank. Once I heard her run i turned it off.
After having a good evening eating dinner and having some beers with my friend. I was in traffic on my way home and as if a flash went of I had a pictuer of my keys hanging on a tack that hold up the poster behing my computer monitor. So as soon as I got home I walked over to my computer and WAM! there's the keys!
Then a miniute later I got this text from my friend who is about 6 hours from here on a date with his wife. They found a random Tercel in a parking lot. From right to left. My friends wife, my other friends girlfriend an the one whos not so enthusiastic is her sister.


Gotta love those girls!

Today the car ran, tomorrow it drives!

[dlb]

far out. glad to hear your car is finally back. i want to see pics of everything, like your new carpet and custom shifter.

i'll take the chica on the left.

[ARCHINSTL]

Cool that your car is mobile again!
I've received four or five forwarded pix like yours from friends/a daughter when they saw siblings of Goldie (although they without the eye candy).
Tom M.

[SirNik83]

She runs, but not well.
I had it running but the timing was SUPER advanced. I stabbed the distributer about 5 times. Then while talking to my dads friend, hes a machines and one of my car mentors, we double checked the timing and the cam was off a tooth. got it timed again and shes now spot on. but not fixed. she will not idle lower then 2500rpms. I took off the throttle cable, as I had to make that linkage out of the old one and weld it to a bracket that bolts to the Webber. figured maybe the throttle cable was pulling on the carb. Took it off and it still idles high. I pushed the throttle linkage closed all the way and it idles down. I can then fuss with the mixture screw and get it all dialed in and running smooth. but when I get it the beans its like the plates get stuck open, and it hangs at 2500rpms. if i push the throttle back it goes back down to 800rmp where i set the idle screw.

Any ideas as to why the throttle is getting stuck?

Second problem. I installed the MR2 master cylinder and I've got very little peddle travel and no brakes. I'm, thinking since its a junk yard master cylinder maybe I just need to buy a new one. I'm so sick of the car being a never ending project, and I wanna drive it so badly I'm willing to spend some money to get it fixed ASAP.

[Petros]

sounds like the master cyl is seized. If it sits around a long time they can get internal corrosion. You can take the one apart you have and inspect it, perhaps just replace the seals if you can find a kit (hone the bore), and you should be good. Or a replacement master if you want to spend the money, OTOH it will last you ten or more years if you just go for a new master. Also, double check your linkage adjustment, the yoke that attaches to the brake pedal has some adjustment on it. I adjusted mine so it was the same length as the one that came out, though I would be surprised if it was different enough to make it not work.

[SirNik83]

My thought exactly on the master cylinder. I called the parts houses yesterday. No one had a master cylinder in stock. So i ordered one online. I've always enjoined rebuilding things. But right now, all I want to do is drive the car. My goal was to take it camping last summer... then life got in the way. Summer is approaching. I want to be camping in the back of this damn wagon! So, Parts are ordered.

I did some reading on the weber issue, seems that the nut that holds on the throttle linkage can can case the shaft to stick if the nut it to tight. since I took it off to ad the cable linkage, I'm thinking this my be an issue. tonight I'm going to pull the carb and see if I can't find out why its sticking.

[Petros]

check the cable alignment so it goes strait into the bell crank, bend the cable mount to align it. Also, lube cable sleeve with light machine oil, or better yet graphite dry lube.

[SirNik83]

I think it took more time to upload this video then it did to get the carb figured out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74yjVsGK-R4

[dlb]

what was the tuning issue with the carb?

that paint job on the engine is so slick. the blue pulleys are wicked. can't wait till you replace the brake master cylinder and start ripping around in it. i'm curious as to how you find the delta cam regrind.

[SirNik83]

I was having trouble making it idle, and return to idle. I came to the conclusion the throttle plate was sticking. I read that it could be that the nut that holds on the throttle linkage is to tight. I pulled the carb last night and when you worked the throttle while looking at the underside of the carb you'd see a small line around the edge of the throttle plate. It was about the width of a hair. I took the nut loose by about 10 degrees of a turn and worked the throttle again. You could see the plate closed all the way and the hair line gap was gone. Pretty odd to tell ya the truth. If I hadn't read about that being a issue online I don't think I would have caught that.

Before loosening the nut it was as if the idle mixture screw did nothing because there was air and fuel getting around that plate. the engine idled at 2500rmp as a result. After the plate closed all the way I was able to adjust the idle with the mixture screw. Pretty straight forward after that.

Lesson learned... don't "he-man" anything tight on the weber

I'm still waiting on my sister. shes got my valve cover, applying her artistic touch to it. The whole engine should look pretty nice after shes done. I'm gonna bust out the DSLR and get some nice pics once I have it all together.

Hopped in it last night and just chilled a bit while it was running. I've got more work to do. missing A pillar plastic and some other small interior pieces. I've got more work to do. but I have some time to kill waiting for the master cylinder. should have the whole car together soon.

[SirNik83]

Today my friend came over and we finished getting the interior together. Sadly one of my A pillar plastic pieces got broken while it was off. I'm gonna have to find one at the junk yard. but other then the A pillar plastic the interior is together. I even got the back cargo area put togehter. My dad and I made some 1/2" plywood for the cargo area some years back, before I took the car apart. I finally got it installed, and it looks amazing!

Sorry for the bad quality of this pic, but it was getting dark when I finished.

[ARCHINSTL]

Pretty clever, and particularly on the hatch for the spare wheel!
What is the purpose of the two square metal plates?
Tom M.

[marlinh]

Those look like cargo tie downs. Great idea since in an accident anything behind the driver becomes a projectile. How much weight have you added to the car with the ply?

[SirNik83]

Yep cargo tie-downs. I've hauled some crazy stuff in my Tercel in the past. and I've always been afraid of it becoming a projectile in the case of an accent. There are 4 cargo tie-downs, 2 up front you can see in the picture and 2 in the far back corners.
If I had to guess the wood in total weighs about 15lbs.

[marlinh]

Did you use the carpet as a template? Do the tie downs attach to the body as well, or only the plywood?