84' Brochure Car is My Birthday Present This Year

[bryanthompson]

Hey folks. Long time, no post. I'm the fella who hunted down and pulled his family's former Tercel from a ditch in Idaho (More on that here:) http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2014 ... -thompson/

It looks like I have a new member of this asymmetric, plaid-seated, box board family. Picked up an '84 blue plate, brochure car with all the options today. It arrives soon, and I'll post more about it as I learn what I have, but here are some pics to kick off the adventure:

[bryanthompson]

He arrived tonight, at 11:59pm. One minute to spare, on Back to the Future Day. October 21, 2015.

So far, we have a car that looks real nice. Tired and very dirty. But started right up, and idles happily.

Tomorrow, he will get a thorough mechanical diagnostic, and super intense cleaning.

More to come.

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[ARCHINSTL]

WOW - what an interior!
How many miles?
Tom M.

[Mad_Marx]

Good to see you again, I've been following your work and designs and really like your work.

The car looks like a real score!

If you're ever back in Idaho again give me a heads up... Your 84 looks a lot like my 84

[bryanthompson]

Thanks guys!

Update: It looks like it will need an engine rebuild and some tranny work. (For a couple hundred bucks, what would one expect. Ha) Do you know anyone in the LA area that is good with these, or is there anyone on the forum with an engine I could possibly purchase?

Thanks for your help!

Bryan
ilikebryan@gmail.com

[Petros]

I would not take it to any repair shop in the LA area (or any other large city), all crooks and/or incompatents.

you will have to look far and wide to find some one familiar with a car this old, best do the work yourself (saves money and hassles to get it fixed properly). You will save way more than the cost of the tools you will need to do your own rebuild.

There is at least one forum member in the LA area that might help you. I might be visiting there over the Thanksgiving day weekend, but I will not have time to do a rebuild for you. but it would be fun to meet for an hour or so if you want.

[Gottolovem]

Forum member Irowiki has a very low mile tranny for your 84. IMO your better off replacing with a known good unit than trying to "work on" the one you already have.

I could pull a motor from a parts car i just sold to a friend? Their is no guarantee what shape is in. (It starts without smoking)

[Petros]

first make sure you diagnose the problem, BEFORE you try and fix it. "tranny work" does not mean anything, it could be CV axles, rear drive shaft bearings or u-joints, clutch, throw out bearing or pilot bearing causing you trouble that will seem like a transmission problem, so make sure you actually need a trans. It would be foolish to replace the whole trans and than found out the problem you were trying to fix is still there, because it was not the trans at all.

what symptoms or behavior makes you think it is needs "tranny work"? Perhaps we can help diagnose it for you if you tell us how it behaves.

[bryanthompson]

Thanks Petros-

Definitely would be up for coffee; Give a shout when you're in town.

I do have a mechanic I trust; I was looking to see if anyone here had recommendations for mechanics who may have worked on these cars specifically.

I've procured a donor vehicle with an excellent powertrain. I'll offer the car up to the forum for parts that I don't use, as the car has a lovely brown plaid interior, complete with the hard-to-find hatch cover.

More to come soon.

BT

I would not take it to any repair shop in the LA area (or any other large city), all crooks and/or incompatents.

you will have to look far and wide to find some one familiar with a car this old, best do the work yourself (saves money and hassles to get it fixed properly). You will save way more than the cost of the tools you will need to do your own rebuild.

There is at least one forum member in the LA area that might help you. I might be visiting there over the Thanksgiving day weekend, but I will not have time to do a rebuild for you. but it would be fun to meet for an hour or so if you want.

[Mattel]

Happy Birthday Bryan, you find the most immaculate cars! good to hear your updates.

[bryanthompson]

Happy Birthday Bryan, you find the most immaculate cars! good to hear your updates.

Thank you! This will be a fun project for sure.

[Petros]

if that "parts car" is in decent shape it would be a shame to part it out. Good daily drivers sell for over $3k, so unless it is wrecked, or full of rust, it is worth fixing. All mechancial repairs are straight forward and fairly inexpensive to fix, short of a bundled up trans (even than if you can find a good trans it is worth keeping it on the road).

[bryanthompson]

Excellent! You should buy it from me. My grandpa always used to say "Money's voice is louder than opinion." I'll throw in the drivetrain from the blue car. If you want it, pm me, and I'm sure we can figure something out.

It's a decent car, with excellent mechanicals, but too rusty for my interests. But it may be a good candidate for a non west-coast enthusiast.

Thanks for the feedback, as always.

if that "parts car" is in decent shape it would be a shame to part it out. Good daily drivers sell for over $3k, so unless it is wrecked, or full of rust, it is worth fixing. All mechancial repairs are straight forward and fairly inexpensive to fix, short of a bundled up trans (even than if you can find a good trans it is worth keeping it on the road).

[Petros]

It will not bring a very good price if it is really rusty, particularly on the west coast. If it is just easy to repair, and repaint surface rust in a few places, than it might be worth cleaning up and reselling. But if it has complete rust-through in a lot of places, part it out. eventually that car will be unsafe, and few would want an old Tercel full of that kind of rust.

[bryanthompson]

The great Tercel Transfer has begun. It's fascinating to watch the mechanic transfer the powertrain from the red to the blue. Such simple, well built cars. These are both nice vehicles, and I'm sure the red one will have many more miles of fun down the road, with the right person.

In the mean time, the little blue car has its interior out for deep cleansing as well.

More to come shortly.

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