2689 miles in 53.5 hrs

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Grendle
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Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2021 5:44 am

2689 miles in 53.5 hrs

Post by Grendle »

After a flight delay due to Dallas weather, I flew out to Seattle Sunday night with a buddy to pick up this:
IMG_2780.jpg
, purchased through the forum sight unseen for $325. We visited with friends and family overnight and headed out late Monday morning. Other than gas, food, and pee stops, our only other stop was in a parking lot in the redwoods for about an hour and 45 minutes because my copilot was crashed and I couldn't drive safely without a quick nap. Now it's Thursday and parked here:
IMG_0972.jpg
, in my office parking lot in Dallas (TX, not OR).

A few bullet points from the trip:
- I will definitely be repairing or replacing the gas tank (probably both so I have a spare, but the pinholes seem to only be up top, so the only time it mattered for the trip was when we made a bathroom stop immediately after a gas stop and came back out to notice that the wagon had made a bathroom stop of its own.
- Letting someone else drive a transmission that is hard to replace can be nerve wracking if you're on a hilly street in San Francisco.
- Sometimes climbing a pass leaves you in 3rd gear on an interstate, but that's what truck lanes are for, right?
- Even though it's slow on the long steeps, these things are a lot of fun to drive.
- I packed the normal (and TSA legal tools) in my carry-on expecting to need something at some point. All I needed was about half a quart of oil.
- An SR5 console would be really nice, because, tachometer.

Overall it was a great trip. I honestly couldn't believe how well my new old car continued to drive without ever really taking a break. The temp needle only ever made it to the halfway mark on a long uphill in 3rd or 4th, the cabin was quiet enough to enjoy conversations and audiobooks, and it handled so well I can't justify a lift or beefing up the tires yet, which is almost disappointing. There are some cosmetic things to take care of now that I'm home, I'll clean the carb out, put new vacuum lines in, and look for a dash display and inclinometer, but mostly I'll just be driving for a while.

While I'm giving the recap, a quick thanks to Petros for the offer of company, a/c parts, an overnight lodging, and general knowledge. The way weather and time shook out, things didn't go as planned this trip, but hopefully next time.
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marlinh
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Posts: 1584
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:15 am
My tercel:: 'Everett' Blue 87 4WD Wagon (Rocky 86, recently retired)
Location: Kootenays

Re: 2689 miles in 53.5 hrs

Post by marlinh »

Nice looking car and great price! Glad you made it home with your new purchase.
oldfaithful
Top Notch Member
Posts: 118
Joined: Thu May 21, 2015 2:06 pm
My tercel:: 1984 Tercel 4WD

Re: 2689 miles in 53.5 hrs

Post by oldfaithful »

Most reliable car you will ever own. My wife and I drove across Canada back in 2011, we were gone 8 weeks and put 18,000 kms. on it completely trouble free, It had 685,000kms on it when we left home and 703,000kms. when we returned home. It now has 1,011,000kms. on it and still works perfect.
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Petros
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Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: 2689 miles in 53.5 hrs

Post by Petros »

Hi Grendle,

sounds like you had a great, uneventful, trip home.

several observations: the gas tank leak is likely the flex hoses on the top of the tank (at the outlet on top), the line gets brittle and starts to leak. you have to drop the tank and you will see the lines. they are swagged onto the hard lines that come out of the tank. you can cut out the ferrule and just use a quality hose clamp with new fuel line.

the dampeners/shock absorbers might be worth replacing, they do not cost much, and improve the ride. test the shocks by pushing hard up and down on the bumper and see if it continues to "bounce", or if it rapidly comes to a stop. also, the you might consider larger wheels at some point, and quality low profile tires when you are ready to replace the existing tires. no reason to replacement them just yet if the existing tires are good. check their age however, if they are very old they tend to de-laminate, so keep an eye on them.

lower profile tires noticeably improve the handling and braking, well worth the up grade when you need new tire. you already have alloy wheels, so half the problem is gone. the factory steel wheels are noticeably flexible and the alloy wheels by themselves are a big improvement over the steel wheels.
'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)
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