My not so new 87 Terc (pics inside)

[dlb]

i just did a quick and ugly job on the wheels i painted yesterday. they're stock DLX steelies that were pretty rusted and filthy and weren't really nice to start with so i didn't care about making them mint. i didn't even wash them because i didn't want to wait for them to dry, degrease, all the boring tedious painting stuff. instead i just used a scouring pad to remove as much dirt and big rust as i easily could, blew and wiped them out, taped off the tires, and sprayed them with tremclad 'aluminum.' i love that stuff. i also used it on some nice mr2 wheels a while back (before pics at the top, after at the bottom):

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6940

and again on some beat up '83-'86 stock sr5 alloys:

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8& ... 384#p56384

i'll post pics of the steelies in the next few days. just got to wash the exterior and do a photo shoot.

[Acuna989]

Those mr2's turned out really good. I've been looking for a set of mr2's craigslist ever since I got my car. I gotta try that stuff. Its hard to find metallic colors in spray cans that dont come out looking like poo. Putting a good couple coats of clear coat engine enamel really brings out the paint plus is good for durability. Here's some wheels that I did for my other car

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... 405&page=2
Those things took me a total of 12 straight hours to finsh. I was hating life about 6 hours into them lol

[Acuna989]

Getting a little bit closer to finishing with the paint. The roof needs a couple more coats plus some touch ups here and there. Next week is tie rods, tires and sway bar bushings.

[dlb]

man, that seriously looks awesome. you did a great job of making a formerly neglected t4 look slick. the steelies i just painted ended up looking way too shiny and ridiculous for the rusty old car i put them on, here's the link to that if you're interested.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8& ... =15#p63955

not sure if you saw it but i posted a thread on front anti-sway bar removal to replace the bushings. here's the link.

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7481

[Escarbo70]

Most saturns have the 4x100 bolt pattern (15in) if you're looking to go that much bigger. And they're pretty common in junk yards. Paint looks great so far

[TURTCEL]

Ditto on the car lookin' good. Nice work.

Amazing what a little time will do.

Peace

[Acuna989]

Rebuild time, just picked up a 4ac from Craigslist 125 bucks. Going all out on this one.

[dlb]

nice! what are your plans, how far are you going to go in your rebuild? are you going to stick with the stock carb?

remember that you need to swap the manifolds and oil pan from the 3a to the 4a for it to fit the tercel. i think i remember also swapping other stuff but i don't believe anything else is necessary. i could be wrong though.

[Acuna989]

I need to do some more research but as of this moment I'm thinking full rebuild kit, shnieder cam, 2 " exaust, double valve springs, ported head, balanced and a 32/36webber. I'm not sure what cams to get. My goal is 100hp with 30mpg freeway on 91.

[Petros]

good luck on getting to 100 hp, even with the 4ac. the head design is going to limit how well it breaths and there is only so much you can do with an 8 valve head.

I would advise against the schnieder cam, list member Synth had one and it was way too much cam for this engine, idle rough and delivered poor economy. The schneider is also pretty costly. I would go with the Delta Cam regrind, it is only about $50 exchange and it improve power without harming the economy and it is great for street driving. I have one in my 3ac and find it is a great street cam.

This is what I would suggest: go max overbore of 0.040" with new pistons, flat top pistons if you can find them, port and polish the head as much as you dare (the larger you can go the better), this also includes clearing away metal from around the valve heads in the combustion chamber (just make sure you do not interfere with the head gasket seal). Do the head gasket modifications I outlined over in the repair guides section and follow the procedures here:https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6059

You should also balance the combustion chamber volumes so you get smooth flow of power. I am running 11.25:1 compression ratio but I would not recoomend going over about 10.5:1, the premium pump gas is not quite up to that much compression.

Take as many pounds off the flywheel as you can (requires a machine shop), there is a profile I used for the flywheel on my 4age conversion that is good for the 3a/4a engine as well. I got mine down to 14 lbs vs. the massive 19 lb stock one (way too heavy, slows down the reves). Than rebalance it and balance all the other engine parts as well. When you install the weber you should get a jet kit and try to optimize the jets to your engine, this will improve both power output and economy.

You will need the intake/exhaust manifold and oil pan, and I think the front engine mounts as well, possibly the bear metal plate that goes on the back of the engine. If you do not make a custom header than you will be stuck with the stock cast iron manifold, and than put a nice 2" exhaust system.

That is about the most you can get out of one o these engines. I rebuilt my 3ac several times to get more power out of it. It kept blowing head gaskets until I had did some mods to the head gasket to improve cooling and durability.

You can also advance your timing to about 10 deg BTDC, (vs. the stock 5 deg) it improves efficiency and actually cools the exhaust and improves durability of the valves.

to get more hp you will have to do an engine swap to either a 4afe or even better a 4age. these will almost double the hp and improve the fuel economy running street gas. they have a much better head design and have fuel injection. If you teak these engines you will get even more power, but at the risk of blowing out your drive train/cv axles, trans etc.

[Acuna989]

Wow thanks for all the info. I picked the 4ac over the 4age for a couple reasons . I really just want something that is reliable and has good fuel economy. My reason for the extra powers is to just get me up to the sierra mountains during the winter for snowboarding. A 4age would be pretty awesome in one of these, I would definitely like to see that or maybe try dropping one in one day.

This is my first engine build. I'm trying to get the most I can out of it without reliability issues. My build so far based on your reply would be this.

Pre Rebuild:
-label all vacuum lines
-Take pulleys, timing belt and carburetor off

Block:
(machine shop)
-Washed
- Overbore to 0.040
-Balance combustion chamber to 10.5:1
-Balance original crankshaft or new crankshaft ?????
-Decked

(Work done myself)
-Install new crankshaft and bearings
-Install piston and rings
-Paint

Head:
(Machine shop)
-Washed
-Delta Cam regrind
-Decked
-Port and polished

(work done myself)
Install cam/new valves and springs

post rebuild":
(machine shop)
Take the 3ac flywheel and bring it down to 14lbs. Have the correct mounting holes drilled in.

(Work done myself)

-Things that need to be change over from the 3ac to the 4ac
1.oil pan and pick up tube
2. Oil sending unit
3.Engine mounts
4.flywheel and dust shield
5.exaust manifold

-Install weber 32/36 weber carb
-Head gasket modification

My issue right now is finding a good master rebuild kit. I don't want to buy one on eBay . Any suggestions?? I would appreciate any feedback on my current engine build. Thanks for the help!

[dlb]

i agree with petros that you will not get 100 hp with those mods because the 4ac is only about 70 hp, and a weber and more aggressive cam may only get you to 75-80 hp tops. a custom exhaust may help a small amount but i don't think it would be worth the cost. i looked for 4ac headers but the only ones i could find were custom made and super expensive. however, i think that you would probably find your current list of mods sufficient for what you want, plus it wouldn't be anywhere near the headache and cost of doing a 4age swap and you wouldn't be in danger of wrecking your trans or diffs, so i say go for it.

[Acuna989]

I guess 100hp was an overstatement lol. As of this moment for parts I'm leaning towards.

Import performance kit 82mm bore at 10:1
Delta 260 cam regrind
For exaust I'm going to have that made locally.

I'm not sure what's the census regarding valve stem, valve springs and crankshaft. Do you just clean the valve stems or replace. Get the crankshaft rebalanced or buy a new one ??!???

My budget for the build will be 1500. Maybe less if I decide to piece things out from toyota and stay with the stock compression.

[Rokkatansky]

If you would like to know, I currently have 195/60/15 tyres on 15x7" rims from a honda civic 90's model on mine and they grip extremely well.
Fuel economy is not as good as pizza cutters 165/70/14. But they handle ALOT better,especially on corners in 4wd it grips like a rexy (WRX).
Sits on 110 km easily because of the dimension being larger thus lower revs, yet it throws out your speedo. I use a GPS for my speedo, 93kph is 100kph.
I'll be doing a 2" lift all-round for Australia's harsh dirt roads and tyre exchange to larger 205/70 tyres in the next few weeks.

[Acuna989]

I ended up going with a set of 185-60R14 that I found on Craigslist. Wanted to keep the same Gas milage. Steel wheels, but they look really good with the flat paint. Speaking of Craigslist http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/3834294589.html

If I'm dropping links might as well post this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbwaM0LaQ_Q&sns=em