Different steering wheels?

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
TominMO
Top Notch Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:21 am
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: St. Louis, MO

Different steering wheels?

Post by TominMO »

Just wondering what other nice-looking steering wheels are a direct bolt-on fit onto Tercs? Esp. on '86 SR5s. :-)
1986 4WD Tercel, formerly gold, now camo
1995 Ford Aspire SE, MPG development car, shooting for 65 MPG hwy
1990 Ford Festiva, mild motor swap, HP development car
The other Tom M. in STL w/a gold 1986 SR5--from the universe where Spock has a goatee
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by Petros »

almost all toyota steering wheels use the same spline shaft. I have an '88 Corolla GTS all leather factory steering wheel in my '84 T4wd. I love the leather steering wheel, but I had to do a few mods to make the turn signal "off" work properly. Otherwise you have to get in the habit of turning off the turn signal manually or risk looking like a clueless geezer driving around with the signal blinking.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
TominMO
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Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:21 am
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by TominMO »

Petros wrote:1. almost all toyota steering wheels use the same spline shaft. I have an '88 Corolla GTS all leather factory steering wheel in my '84 T4wd. I love the leather steering wheel, but I had to do a few mods to make the turn signal "off" work properly. Otherwise you have to get in the habit of turning off the turn signal manually or

2. risk looking like a clueless geezer driving around with the signal blinking.
1. So probably any non-airbag wheel would work. Just count the splines at the JY to make sure....
2. of which we seem to have a disproportionately high number here in STL! :lol:
1986 4WD Tercel, formerly gold, now camo
1995 Ford Aspire SE, MPG development car, shooting for 65 MPG hwy
1990 Ford Festiva, mild motor swap, HP development car
The other Tom M. in STL w/a gold 1986 SR5--from the universe where Spock has a goatee
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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
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Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

TominMO wrote:
Petros wrote:2. risk looking like a clueless geezer driving around with the signal blinking.
2. of which we seem to have a disproportionately high number here in STL! :lol:
Watch it, you young pup!
1940 rules over 1950...
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by Petros »

I am looking more and more like that clueless geezer with the blinker always on as each year goes by...
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
TominMO
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Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:21 am
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by TominMO »

ARCHINSTL wrote:
TominMO wrote:
Petros wrote:2. risk looking like a clueless geezer driving around with the signal blinking.
2. of which we seem to have a disproportionately high number here in STL! :lol:
Watch it, you young pup!
1940 rules over 1950...
Tom M.
Sir, your unseemly outburst exposes you as one of those to whom Petros alludes!
1986 4WD Tercel, formerly gold, now camo
1995 Ford Aspire SE, MPG development car, shooting for 65 MPG hwy
1990 Ford Festiva, mild motor swap, HP development car
The other Tom M. in STL w/a gold 1986 SR5--from the universe where Spock has a goatee
TominMO
Top Notch Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:21 am
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by TominMO »

Petros wrote:I am looking more and more like that clueless geezer with the blinker always on as each year goes by...
I have solved that problem by never using them. Makes driving much more interesting.
1986 4WD Tercel, formerly gold, now camo
1995 Ford Aspire SE, MPG development car, shooting for 65 MPG hwy
1990 Ford Festiva, mild motor swap, HP development car
The other Tom M. in STL w/a gold 1986 SR5--from the universe where Spock has a goatee
User avatar
ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

TominMO wrote:
ARCHINSTL wrote:
TominMO wrote:
Watch it, you young pup! 1940 rules over 1950...Tom M.
Sir, your unseemly outburst exposes you as one of those to whom Petros alludes!
As well as sharing my Cupholder Mod Plans, I will send my extra Tercel-Embroidered Drool Bib.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by Petros »

here is a picture of my '88 Corolla GTS leather steering wheel in my Tercel4wd;

Image
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
TominMO
Top Notch Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:21 am
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by TominMO »

Yeah, that's the kind of wheel I had in mind!
1986 4WD Tercel, formerly gold, now camo
1995 Ford Aspire SE, MPG development car, shooting for 65 MPG hwy
1990 Ford Festiva, mild motor swap, HP development car
The other Tom M. in STL w/a gold 1986 SR5--from the universe where Spock has a goatee
TominMO
Top Notch Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:21 am
My tercel:: 1986 SR5
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by TominMO »

ARCHINSTL wrote:As well as sharing my Cupholder Mod Plans, I will send my extra Tercel-Embroidered Drool Bib.
Tom M.
Not necessary, I just duct-tape a sponge to my chin. I'm guessing that the staring women are thinking how sexy it looks.
1986 4WD Tercel, formerly gold, now camo
1995 Ford Aspire SE, MPG development car, shooting for 65 MPG hwy
1990 Ford Festiva, mild motor swap, HP development car
The other Tom M. in STL w/a gold 1986 SR5--from the universe where Spock has a goatee
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by dlb »

tom2, i personally like the european sr5 and canadian 87-88 sr5 steering wheels. here's a pic of one from my '87 that i sold to another forum member:

Image

and the canadian 87-88 DLX steering wheels aren't bad either, IMO:

Image
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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Add another unanswered question to the list to Toyota:
1. Why did Middle North America get such dorky steering wheels? Marketing? NTSB?
2. Why did North America not get remote release fuel lids and hatches?
3. Why did North America not get lumbar adjustment for driver's seats?
4. Why did North America not get rear seat shoulder belts as did OZ (and other areas?)?
5. Why did North America not get the optional goodies as did Europe?

After all, I'd imagine North America took more Tercels than any other continent.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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Petros
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Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by Petros »

I can speculate on some of that:

the steering wheel may have been a misguided attempt to make the interior look more "American" rather than European, and they may have anticipated the driver's airbag becoming a requirement (odd however that the '88-92 GTS steering wheel above does not have that large center pad). There are internal "gurus" and consultants at all car companies that think they know what American customers want to see in a car, most of them are idiots (as if buying an obviously Japanese designed and built car with a dorky steering wheel will convince any American on the fence to buy it). All of the late sixties and early seventies Japanese cars for example looked like scaled down big American cars in styling and trim.

The remote release fuel lid, lumbar adjustment, rear shoulder and other options all add cost and weight, at the time the Japanese marketing strategy was "economy" not necessarily superior engineering and design (though that was starting to occur in the '80s). So they stripped out what was not required by Federal law, those stupid heavy and wasteful bumpers were already driving the weight and cost up, so they had to strip something else out. There may have been an attempt to keep the weight down as well to get a higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Also, other countries were ahead of us in requiring rear seat shoulder belts, so that was a requirement in those countries.

You are correct in assuming that North America was their primary market, over 90 percent of Toyota's world production was sold in North America back than, the Tercel must have been over 80 percent. the car was designed and built for the North American market, as were all of the imported Japanese cars at the time. I know this from looking at Nissan's production and sales numbers when I worked for Nissan in '79-85, which also included their competitors production and sales numbers. It is rather interesting that the modern Camry, Accord, Corollas, Odesscy, Prius, Previa, Civics, and many other Foreign brands are still viewed as "imports" even thought they are design for the North American market, and all now built in North America. This is also true of many European makes like Mercedes, BMW, Audi and others.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Mr. Mad Ox
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Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:40 pm
My tercel:: '86 SR5 Wagon
Location: Northeast TN USA

Re: Different steering wheels?

Post by Mr. Mad Ox »

In regards to those awesome options we missed out on- has anyone seen the sweet James Bond style licence plate winch in action? or is anyone actually lucky enough to have one?
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