Ah, the simple things....

[splatterdog]

Two back to back jobs has shown me that replacing 2 heater hose pipes on a 98 cadillac deville takes just as long as a motor swap on a terc. Also, very crappy quality compared to the heater hose pipes on our tercs. Pop can thickness compared to toyota pipes.

The engine swap was almost pleasurable after that horrible job.

The more I see how a lot of newer cars hold up in the long run, and their upkeep costs, the more glad I am to have an old "turd".

[shonuffisthemaster]

Toyota's doing it too, have you worked on the new Yaris yet? My friend just got one and the hood is like a foot long! you need a flexi funnel to fill the brake reservoir, witch, like most of the other common maintenance items, is under the dashboard! Its designed like a minivan, why are import car designers so afraid of under hood space?

Speaking of crappy American cars though, a lady at work just bought a brand new Chrysler Sebring against my very passionate and vocal advise I even printed out some reviews and a consumer reports page that pointed out how utterly crappy they are. She just kept saying "but I like it".

[splatterdog]

Speaking of crappy American cars though, a lady at work just bought a brand new Chrysler Sebring against my very passionate and vocal advise I even printed out some reviews and a consumer reports page that pointed out how utterly crappy they are. She just kept saying "but I like it".

This is what drives engineers,lawyers,accountants to make cars that people want. Forget about making sense or being practical. You only have to spark some interest in some numbskull who can't tune out that annoying commercial.

Just look how many people can't see the near perfection in our T4WD's. My 84's last 60K(starting at 170k mind you) has been just as much or more reliable than many brand new car's first 60K. Better mileage, cheaper parts,Imax visibility(compared to newer cars). I could go on and on. Not that I have to sell it to you guys!

I can't complain too much myself though. Crappy cars put money in my pocket. I count on people to buy pattern failure cars. I'm so busy with them I NEED my Terc's, cause I never seem to get much time for my own cars. They keep going and going though.

Energizer bunny aint got nuthin on our Terc's!

[keith]

A lot of a cars reliability is with all the junk added on. Most of the vehicles I've owned, regardless of who built them have been quite reliable. Mostly I buy basic transportation, not luxo-liners. The terc was very reliable up to 306k miles and after much work, I think it would have gone into its second period of reliability had it not been for an unfortunate event.

My Saturn has actually been the most reliable car I've ever owned. Its a bare bones model SL. It does have a radio and AC, but they are standard anymore. Now my daughters 03 Corolla has exceeded the Saturn's reliability, which is pretty remarkable since the Saturn went 102k miles before its first non PM maintenance item. Her Corolla is at 105k miles, its a base model CE with an automatic transmission. The Toyota did have a couple of non PM maintenances done earlier than the Saturn, but they were only transmission oil changes as the oil was getting black. Toyota considers it a lifetime fluid, but they are wrong.

Mu wife's Honda currently has the worse record, but it has all the options, except the larger engine and the sunroof.

[Petros]

My biggest grip is there is no such thing as a small, economical 4wd anymore. the so-called "cross-overs" are big gas hogs compared to the Tercel 4wd. Most of the so-called cross-overs are bigger (and costlier) than the first SUVs sold in this country (Pathfinder, Fourrunner, etc.). Where are they going with all of it.

I drive a lot for my business, and I need the 4wd. The Tercel meets my needs perfectly. A bit more power, and sometimes a bit more room would be nice, but I love the economy. I solved the power issue with a number of engine mods I did during an engine rebuilt. So now I am mostly happy with it.

The other thing that really bothers me is all the bells and whistles and other junk they put on anything with 4wd/AWD. I do not want all that crap that adds cost and weight, and extra maintenance issues. Many of the new cars come with GPS trackers that can even be used against you in accidents or other legal matters, no thanks. I will not be buying a device on my car that can only do me harm, surenders my privacy and surrenders my legal rights.

When I read about that my first thought was I am going to keep my Tercel running for the rest of my life so I will not have pay for costly "accessories" that are against my own interests.

[ARCHINSTL]

Everything you write is certainly quite valid.
All I would want in a new edition of the T4WD would be fuel injection, door inner guard beams, air bags and rear shoulder belts - and that would be about it. The ergonomics of our cars have ALWAYS been among my favorite cars of all of my experience, at least for people 5'2" to 6'.
One would think there would be a decent market for such a simple vehicle.
Wonder if it could be done?
Tom M.
P.S. Add "no vacuum line spaghetti" to the wish list...

[splatterdog]

Archinstl - I would go as far as the rear shoulder belts. I believe our doors do have a healthy beam. Fuel infection? I don't think so. I know our carbs have a tendency to suck but, in my experience injection needs a tow truck more than carb. And not in an 80's car thank you. That period produced some of the worst carb and injection systems. Thank you weber,you have saved me a bundle... Air bags scare me too. There was a collision in front of my house a few days ago. Nothing too serious(30 zone). All injuries were air bag related. The kid was nearly knocked out and mom's going to need someone else's hands for a bit.

Blame goes all around here. Manufacturers that tell us what we need. People that suck it up. Government that requires oodles of safety equipment to protect us from ourselves. But yet we have expensive bumpers that explode into bits as soon as their 2.5 mph is exceeded and visibilty as bad as a conversion van. Engine displacement has gone up and up on most cars for the last 10 years too.

But I suppose. How often does common sense apply when it comes to cars? I've had lapses myself.







..

[ARCHINSTL]

...and visibilty as bad as a conversion van. ..

Boy, I certainly second that on visibility.
A son-in-law had one of those POS Chrysler Pacificas for a couple of years (until a cam broke, right before the POS Chrysler transmission broke - the latter also happened in their Caravan), and I refused to drive it; it was like trying to drive a MG bunker down the road.
And a neighbor's Vibe/Matrix, for crying out loud, is almost as bad - and I thought that was a pretty cool little car - until I drove it...
It seems so many cars, whether small or large, have nada for rear/peripheral visibility. So many manufacturers put that black "masking" around the C/D pillars, which are way thicker nowadays anyway.
It was easier to park my '69 VW Bus.
Tom M.

[jetswim]

...and visibilty as bad as a conversion van. ..

It was easier to park my '69 VW Bus.
Tom M.

I didn't know there was another VW bus head here in the forums! I got a 74 westie!

[ARCHINSTL]

I remember that Bus with slightly less fondness than I remember Basic Training at FLW in the Winter.
I served time in the '69 from '73 until "82, when I acquired the '83 T4WD...at which point it became a backyard toolshed until '92.
I put over 100K on it - and it ate engines every 30K or so, even in primarily suburban driving. The engine was meant for driving a Beetle and not a Barn.
The kids still laugh about how they used to stand up in the front and scrape ice from the inside of the windshield while I was driving - and how their classmates used to gibe "You can see through the sides of your Dad's car!'
We froze here in Missouri - I never could figure out how owners in the Yukon or Finland or even Germany, its Vaterland, could cope with the cold in those locales. The Beetle, by contrast ONLY, was toasty-warm.
When I got the '83 T4WD, the kids would sometimes complain because of the copious amounts of heat it delivered - and I would remind them "Don't you remember the Bus?" Odd - that '83 was warmer than my '86 is now - or maybe it's my memory....or my thinner OF skin...
But - it WAS practical hauling bicycles and kids to schools and races - during the Spring, at any rate...
And the sound when it did its annual valve burning - like a Heinkel over London.
Tom M.

[jetswim]

Yeah, not a winter vehicle. My engine would never heat up enough in our Canadian winters to even put out any heat. I used to hate driving my other 74 in the winter but it was my only wheels at the time The 1800cc pancake really moves my barn well though and I have maintained speeds of 70mph through desert heat conditions and it never overheated on me. For the longest time I stayed away from water cooled vehicles until the Tercel of course. I've driven the same engine for 11 years all over North America and only rebuilt it once. To me that's tuff. Like the Tercel I guess.....
recent photo of my bay window:

[ARCHINSTL]

Oh, that pix takes me back - well, minus the camping apparati, of course.
Funny - I actually liked driving it, save for the heating and reliability issues.
Thanks,
Tom M.