Work in progress

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SnowGoose
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:54 am
My tercel:: 1985 SR5 Wagon
Location: Maine

Work in progress

Post by SnowGoose »

I've spent part of four days with my '85 Tercel 4WD (which I had dubbed Goldie a few years ago due to her bad gold paintjob...the previous owner had gotten it painted the same color as her late model Highlander because she liked that color). It's original color is a shade of brown. I will as some point be painting her again.

I was working on a brake problem that sidelined me on the maiden voyage of the season down to my garage a few weeks ago. The right rear wheel cylinder was shot. I repaired that and now, after having gone through all four brakes and the lines going to them all, have decided that I likely have a bad master cylinder. I'm going to take one out from one of my two parts cars (an '83 and an '87). If I get really ambitious I will turn one of the rusty parts cars into a winter beater (they both have so many problems, it is a miracle they were both running when I got them). So pretty much anything I take off of the '85 that is rebuildable will get put aside for future use.

I also replaced the two rear hatch struts with ones from RockAuto, and that works great now. I went about investigating needs under the vehicle (pictures attached). I didn't think to snap a picture of the exterior or interior of the vehicle, but rest assured it's rough (very little rust though).

This is a vehicle that has spent all 36 years of her existence in Maine with about 270,000 miles. I'm the third owner - the first had it for two years and the woman I bought it from had it for 28. There are a few minor rust spots that need attention on the body, but overall it is in very good shape for this region. I have no intention of driving this car in the winter (and neither did the previous owner who had it for 28 years). She stored it in a hay barn on her farm every winter. Now the interior is very rough. She used it to haul said hay around the fields (some on the roof, as much jammed in the cargo area with the seats down and hatch open, she said) for many years and took it cross country to visit family in Arizona every summer.

My intention is to turn it into a camp road car. My sister-in-law has a sporting camp in Northern Maine that is at the end of either 3 miles of logging roads or 20 miles of former railroad beds depending which way you go. The 3 mile route is horrendous off-roading and about a half hour of crawling. The 20 mile route is less rough but you need a reliable vehicle and ample tools & preparation and I really don't want to go that way because of the what ifs - if something goes wrong your only option is to jog quickly to the nearest camp...if you go slowly the thick swarm of moose flies will quickly have a meal of you, but once you get within a few hundred yards of a lake they peter out. It's easier to take the the rougher road because the desperation jog is more manageable.

I sold our last camp road car and for now I have to rely on my 2500 regular cab truck (which isn't as ideal because anything we carry can get soaked and because we're crammed 3 across the bench seat with a toddler in the middle). I'm going to eventually see if I can raise it an inch or so from stock height and put some rally racing tires on it (which are basically run flats).

This is a fun car that I do not have any need for. I haven't done much to it for the past few years, but I'm in the process of building a detached 30' wide x 26' deep garage at my house that I may outfit with a 2-post lift at some point. I currently rent space/time in a garage to maintain my daily drivers and work truck. I got sick of doing repairs out in the dirt or driveway with a torpedo heater, frozen fingers and/or snots, lost parts in the wind/mud/snow/dirt/grass/driveway-cracks through Maine winters (we have three seasons here - winter, mud and 2 weeks of summer). I don't know what my breaking point was but there were thoughts of "there must be a better way" after the umpteenth plow truck repair crawling around on my back in the middle of a snowstorm when the wind was howling and it was -5 degrees out. So I rented the garage space but I'm at the point in life where I want to just bring all my projects close to home in a nice warm conditioned spot.

The pictures show some of the stuff that needs attention, in no particular order (plus a few things not pictured). After 36 years the vehicle is in need of mostly maintenance. I'm sure there are a lot of things I am missing from this off-the-top-of-my-head list.

1. Generally all suspension bushings need attention due to age/brittleness.
2. Old gas needs to be drained out, clean/service sender
3. Fluid & filter changes
4. Window regulator and weather-stripping attention
5. Paint job
6. Interior maintenance (plastic paneling - much cracked/missing, seat fabric repairs, heater vent register fins broken...stuff like that from general wear and tear)
7. Alignment
8. New distributor cap/rotor/spark plug wires/spark plugs
9. Water pump (see picture, appears to be leaking from weep hole)
10. Suspension components/bushings attention
11. Timing belt
12. New rear bumper (old one is disintegrating)
13. Rear defroster
14. A/C swap over from '87 parts car (the '85 has no AC)
15. Torn boot on steering rack
16. Carburetor/vacuum system attention
17. Minor welding repairs - under battery tray where acid had leaked for several years it appears
18. General engine area cleaning so it's easier to see what needs attention in the future
19. New radio
20. Heater fan switch/relay (only one fan speed works)
21. Move inclinometer from parts car to the '85

All advice is appreciated. My vehicle experience has more or less been working on my daily drivers since I was 16. I haven't really ever gotten into any fun projects. Pretty much just work to make a living, fix what breaks on the car I am driving and keep chugging along. In real life I do odds and ends carpentry, building maintenance including minor plumbing/electrical, HVAC (I have a few licenses). Pretty much the same idea - fixing/maintaining things that break.
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SnowGoose
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:54 am
My tercel:: 1985 SR5 Wagon
Location: Maine

Re: Work in progress

Post by SnowGoose »

I'm going to be replacing the master cylinder. Is there any best practice on this? I have two parts cars stored about 20 miles away from home. Is this a part worth plucking from a parts car, or is it better to go with a new one? Rock Auto has 4 options ranging from $55 to $82 (dynamic friction, centric, cardone, raybestos). Anyone have any experience/recommendations on the different manufacturers?
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NWMO
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 1615
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 1:08 pm

Re: Work in progress

Post by NWMO »

M/C can be hit and miss, but I usually try Rock Auto because it’s pretty easy to get to.

Chris
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart"

In remembrance of my friend ARCHINSTL:

T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
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SnowGoose
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:54 am
My tercel:: 1985 SR5 Wagon
Location: Maine

Re: Work in progress

Post by SnowGoose »

Thanks NWMO. I went with the Raybestos from Rock Auto. Was reading old forum posts about the quality of rebuilt masters but it appears all that is available now are new ones. Going to bench bleed it when I get it and hope it solves the soft brake problem.
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Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Work in progress

Post by Petros »

a new master should work well, the trouble is with the rebuilt ones. do not waste any money on a rebuilt comonet, many are junk right out of the box.

if you are replacing the master, you should consider up grading to the MR2 master. you will also need the power booster too, but the combination bolt right up and you get a better braking ratio (more braking power for your foot pressure), and the booster is slightly larger too. and it all bolts up to the tercel firewall and pedal, as a unit, booster and master together. new boosters are rather costly but if you can find one in a wrecking yard they are usually good (the are a reliable component).

some of those bushings show surface cracks, but they are not a major problem to put off replacing until later. lots of times the cussion type bush can have surface cracks without affect performance or safety, so you can wait until it degrades further to replace.

only if the bush is shredded and falling apart, making the connection loose and sloppy do you need to replace it right away.

Good luck.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
SnowGoose
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:54 am
My tercel:: 1985 SR5 Wagon
Location: Maine

Re: Work in progress

Post by SnowGoose »

Thanks Petros.

Rock Auto actually didn't have any rebuilt master cylinders for their options right now. I read some of your old commentary describing the high failure rate of rebuilts so I didn't even really look for them.

Because this car is absolutely not necessary and because I'm really just using it for a hobby, I'm trying my best to keep everything stock for the time being until I get it up in good running condition. I've read a lot about the possible modifications, and many are intriguing. I'm building a 30' wide by 26' deep garage at my house (footers just got poured yesterday, frost wall probably tomorrow) that I would like to fit with a 9k-12k lb. 2-post lift. Once that's done I plan on really upping my game. I'm doing my best to keep car work a hobby - I've done a lot of small repairs for friends and family over the years but I refuse to take money for it because that would turn it into work in my eyes. I have no idea where I'm going with this - part of me is hoping for a cleaner T4WD to come along later on, where I'll figure out what modifications I want to do based on the experience with this one. I also have a few friends that are into rally racing - I'll consider building one of those cars too. That looks like a lot of fun.

I've been avoiding the local parts stores for some time now. I used to use Autozone (other options are Napa, O'Reilly, Carquest), but even with their liberal return policy for duralast gold, I got aggravated by the extreme low quality of a lot of the junk they sell. I had a duralast cx axle for a 1500 GMC truck snap in half, then another one, then another one. Finally I returned the third one and said I just want my money back. Lost a lot of hours with those repairs. Went back to an AC Delco OEM replacement and never had a problem again. Sometimes you get what you pay for. The same goes with all of the other parts stores - it's all a race to the bottom with cheap Chinese garbage parts. Napa used to be the quality supplier in the Northeast, but those days are long gone too. Lately I've noticed that things are 2x+ more expensive at the big box parts stores like Autozone versus Rock Auto. So they can't even compete anymore on the cheap stuff, they've been undercut by drop shippers and internet based businesses.
SnowGoose
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:54 am
My tercel:: 1985 SR5 Wagon
Location: Maine

Re: Work in progress

Post by SnowGoose »

Figured I'd throw in a gratuitous picture of the garage work.

I'm really excited about this. Some of my neighbors are not - I live in an old Maine coastal neighborhood that's been here since the 1700s. I'm maybe 500 feet from the Ocean (not ocean front or ocean view except in the winter when the deciduous trees lose their leaves). Houses like mine went for barely above $100,000 a few years ago. Houses on the waterfront a few hundred feet away go for almost $1,000,000. Sometimes neighbors like us don't see eye-to-eye. They like to pay people to do all their work and they don't want to see the magic happen. I like to fix cars in my driveway. In most of Maine my way wins out. It used to win out where I live but that's starting to change. I thought they'd be happy that I'm finally getting a place to bring the repairs inside, but now they're just pissed at the style/aesthetics of my garage (very basic/high roof/big garage door to fit my 3/4 ton pickup with lumber racks and a future tall body work van), but you can't please everyone.

Anyway, since this section of the forum is for Tercel related "projects," I figured I can keep everyone updated on the workshop/man-cave progress too.
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