I've been trawling here for the last week or so and just picked up my new-to-me 84 SR5 Tercel. It's been posted in this forum before.
Just got the car home yesterday after a 1400km drive home. I always liked these cars, and was looking for a cheap project as well as something I can drive around and throw my bike or dog into without any dramas. My other car is an 06 Mini Cooper S.
Here is a pic of the car, I bought it off social on this forum, so you've seen it before: .
There is a fair bit of work needing to be done, without even getting under it i know the wheel bearings are shot, some rust needs repairing, rotors are probably warped, gearbox pops out of first and clutch feels terrible but none of that is beyond my ability and I'd like a bit of a project. Right now I'm planning a full freshen up of the suspension as the first thing on the agenda.
welcome to the forum. the factory front brakes are too small, if your are warped and need replacing you might consider up grading the front brakes to '94 (or new) Tercel vented front disks and calibers, easy to adapt. In the forum "Repair guilds" section I have a thread on doing the brake up grade from Toyota factory parts (plus one simple hub spacer 3 mm thick). If you have to replace the brakes anyway, might as well put some better ones in it for about the same cost.
The best upgrade I did to mine was put in a electronic dizzy from a corolla 4a engine (ae82 I think)
we didn't have any other version of Tercel in Australia. So probably the best you could do wold look at corolla brakes as an upgrade? I think Petros had an Mr2 upgrade as well?
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
the corolla and MR2 front brakes would work but the big issue is both of these require a larger offset rotor, so it means you would need a thicker spacer under it to center the rotor in the caliper. not rally a problem but you may have to install longer wheel studs in the hub to make sure you have enough grip on the lug nuts. these parts are readily available, but 8 wheel studs add some cost too. I doubt the extra 12 to 14 mm or so of track width would affect anything, but that too is a consideration (may have to bend the fender lip up a bit, and it might increase torque steer unless you get larger offset wheels to compensate).
The 91 or new Tercel has the same thickness rotor but with a smaller offset, so you only need a 3 mm spacer. The these 25 mm vented rotors came on the '91-'98 Tercel and was also used on the 1996 - 1999 Paseo (not sure if they were called something else down under). They may be used on other models too, check around in a wrecking yard if you have one handy, or perhaps on-line sources of rotor dimensions.
Hi Petros and Andrew.
The only Tercel we ever got in australia was the al25 manual 4wd wagon but we did get the paseo based on the later version. My sister put over 300,000 kms on it and it wouldn't die. but horrible ride and space in the back for sure. There are plenty of them in wrecking yards around the place.
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
than you are in luck, you can use the Paseo front rotors and calipers (plus flex hose), with the 3 mm spacer and it should all bolt up to the Tercel front hub and give you 25 mm vented front rotors (rather than the flimsy 11 mm solid rotor front disks) These 11 mm solid disks BTW are used in the rear of the first generation MR2-odd toyota thought these brakes were adequate on the front of a 5 seat 4wd wagon but were used on the rear of a light 2 seat sports car.
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