1983 Tercel SR-5 4wd --- $800

[Schism87]

She definitely has a bit of rust and that's what I fully expect her to succumb to

She does only have issues when there's heavy humidity or rain ---however a light bulb went off reading your comment. She never starts the first time no matter what the weather. I always pump the gas pedal before starting her and rev her a bit, but it always takes more than two goes at it. On a nice day, once she's running, she drives well. Did your '85 have this issue as well?

I can't thank you all enough for the advice and knowledge. It's managed to temper some anger/frustration and now I feel fairly confident that I can get her going again.

Rer233, if I cant salvage her, I'd make it worth your while to ship her out to you. I'd much rather her go to someone who'll use her than go to the crusher. Thanks for the input too!

[Petros]

Usually hard start on damp days is ignition related, if your spark plug and wires are old, first replace the spark plugs and wires. they do not cost much, and are an easy swap out (replace the wires one at a time so you do not mix up the order).

The distributor cap might also be suspect, but that is less common problem. There is a fairly simple coil test that requires a volt-olm meter (they do not cost much and worth getting to help with other diagnostic problems), you check the resistance across the coil terminals. It is in the Factory Service Manual, available for free down load elsewhere on this forum.

Get after that rust too, when it is early it is easy to correct and repair the rusty spots to prevent further degradation. That is something I need to do on my car as well. There are several threads on rust proofing your car.

Save that Tercel! Go for it!

[Mad_Marx]

I had the same problem with cold starts on both my 86 dlx and 86 SR5, even with fresh tune ups (cap, rotor, plugs, and wires) the heat riser hose and a freshly rebuilt carb. I ended up finding an intake manifold leak (on both cars). Easy to diagnose, after a cold start, with the motor running, squirt some carb cleaner around the edges of the intake and base of the carb, if you hear a change in engine idle speed, you've found where the cold air is sucking in. Unfortunately, the repair takes a bit longer.

P.S. A good block heater worked as a temp fix on both cars until I got to the repair.