85 Tercel 4WD SR5, Portland, OR

[GotToyota?]

Kathryn, I'm more than welcome to come look at the car and help you get what it needs. I'm in the SE Portland area.

If it's more work than you can handle, I'd consider taking it off your hands as well.

Feel free to send me a message.

[Petros]

if that car was running good, window fixed and cleaned up it would sell for $3000. No reason to part it out (that would be a shameful waste). I do not under stand why you would just park it and not drive it.

"overheating issue" can be any thing from a bad thermostat (about $15) to needing a new head gasket. the head gasket is a fairly big job but not very costly for a good do it yourself mechanic. might also need a radiator, or just a new radiator cap.

the problem is when a car sits for a very long time other things tend to go bad, seals dry up, brakes get mushy. If it was less than a year it should be okay.

Getting a fair price will just depend on what is actually wrong with it. I suspect it is the head gasket, only because if it was overheated once, than it will need a new head gasket, plus have fixed what ever caused the overheating in the first place.

good luck.

[florykitty]

for $3000 has to be closed to new condition in-out ,i had the oportunity to buy one for $2500 like new from montana the only reason i didnt has no ac,and it was a 87 with that new headlights ,but again to brink that car to $3000 i am sure it will take alot of time -monney-work

[Petros]

...to brink that car to $3000 i am sure it will take alot of time -monney-work

exactly correct, with a decent body and paint, and a fair inteiror and a good transmission (which it appears this car has), it is reasonably possible to get it that way. If the body was trashed and it needed major repairs, than it might only be worth a parts car, but not this one.

someone should get it, fix it and clean it up to get it back on the road. Good examples of these cars are getting rare, and with each year they are becoming move valuable. It is already a vitage classic, good low miles cars will only become worth more in the future.

[tercel4wdrules]

The best group size battery for this car is a 24. A group 26 will also fit, but it will not fill up the battery tray.

[Mattel]

For the faded window frames and surrounds it is easy to renew the paint by simply sanding them a little with some fine grit paper/ wiping over the frames and then masking around them and winding some paper up in the window to protect from overspray and use a spray can of matte finish black paint. It's a simple job that refreshes the looks well.

[GotToyota?]

I'll be looking at this car soon for Kathryn and helping her out with what it needs. I can take detailed pictures of the car also so people can get an idea of what we're dealing with. Need to tackle the following:

- Drivers side window (bunk regulator)
- Coolant system diagnosing
- Battery

We'll see how it goes. Probably helping her in the next week or so.

[Gottolovem]

let me know if you will be needing a window regulator i think there is one at my local j yard

[keith]

Heres a fix for the regulator if you can't find a good one somewhere.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... +regulator

Do you still have the door panel?

[florykitty]

Got Toyota you can tell that lady ,i buy the car from her if she decide about the price and ofcourse if you Got
toyota dont want it also she s got my phone #,let me know how that goes,i just dont want jump in front of you guys out there

[GotToyota?]

I could possibly be interested but I don't see myself scrapping together enough cash to buy it, unless the price is great of course.

Concerning the regulator, I'd rather get a new one. I've had experience with used ones, you never really know how long it will last.

[Kathryn]

I want to thank all of you so much for your willingness to share feedback and ideas about this car. I've been procrastinating dealing with it and hoped if I finally put something on this board it would help/force me to deal with it. So please know how appreciative i am for your time and expertise.

[dlb]

GT, that's awesome of you. fix that thing up and get it back in service! save the world, one tercel at a time! good luck with it, hopefully we can help if you need it on anything.

[marlinh]

Just wondering if Kathryn got this car running yet. GotToyota, did you give her a hand?