just picked up a 1984 tercel 4wd sr5

[andrewrenow]

looks pretty clean. everything works. i only paid $500 but i had to drive 400mi to get it.

[ARCHINSTL]

Welcome to the Club!
It does look nice and rustfree - how many miles on it?
I'll wager the MPG is better than the U.S.S. Limo in the background.
Does the AC work?
When it comes time - there is a good thread in the Repair Guides Forum on making new shifter boots.
Tom M.

[andrewrenow]

Welcome to the Club!
It does look nice and rustfree - how many miles on it?
I'll wager the MPG is better than the U.S.S. Limo in the background.
Does the AC work?
When it comes time - there is a good thread in the Repair Guides Forum on making new shifter boots.
Tom M.

There is almost 200k on this car. It still runs like a champ. I love toyotas. Its completely rust free. The ac does work. I cant wait to drop all my cash into this car. Im very happy with it.

[dlb]

you must be a big fan to have driven 400 miles to get it, wowee. have you owned one before? there are lots of tips here on how to make moderate improvements to these cars economically--wheel/tire upgrades, brake upgrades, head gasket mods, betting timing, etc.

looks good. love inclinometers, they're the coolest feature!

[andrewrenow]

you must be a big fan to have driven 400 miles to get it, wowee. have you owned one before? there are lots of tips here on how to make moderate improvements to these cars economically--wheel/tire upgrades, brake upgrades, head gasket mods, betting timing, etc.

looks good. love inclinometers, they're the coolest feature!

I've been looking for one for a long time. Orginally I wanted to get a civic awd but after the years went by I realized I'm a Toyota guy. I've have had lots of civics and never have I been pleased with there performance, handling, reliability, and plus lots of them don't have power steering. I also have a toyota paseo that I drove over 30,000miles last year and I love it.

I thought it was worth the drive. I never see these in my area and when I do their so molested and abused. I was at a tow auction last week and one of these sold for I think $1900 and it was a total rust bucket. The guy was crazy for paying that much.

I'm going to put 14in rims off a 2004 Prius on it. I hope it will look good. Please explain. The head gasket mod.

[danzo]

Looks like you got a great deal, welcome to the club. Strange that your a/c works, consider yourself lucky. Just about any car looks good in silver! Why Prius wheels? Not to knock them, but you have 17,000 choices of stock '80's 4 bolters available almost for free in the j-yards.

Please explain. The head gasket mod

Petros did a writeup on how to drill holes in the headgasket for better coolant flow. Unless you need to remove the head for some reason you should be OK with the stock gasket. Check the Repair Guides section for all kinds of fun projects like dlb mentioned.

Where are you located? Northern CA? Where did you go to buy the car? Need to pass emissions? If not Webers rock! I bet your mpg also beats the living buh-jesus out of your neighbor's motorhome.

[Petros]

Welcome to the list!

Great buy for such a clean Tercel4wd. Do not replace the head gasket unless you need to, and if/when you do use the precdure I developed (after many many Tercel head gasket jobs) over in the repair guilds section.

Also, when it comes time to replace the brakes, you should consider the brake up grade also over in the repair guilds section. Fairly easy bolt-up of much better brakes from other model toyota cars.

I have owned and worked on Nissans, Mazdas, Hondas, and many others (both foreign and domestic cars and trucks). Even though I think the Honda cars are excellent, usually more powerful and handle better than these Tercels, I have decided I like the Tercel4wd best. They are much easier to work on than all the others (the Hondas are one of the worst-no room to access anything!), parts are also cheaper too, and more common in the wrecking yards (sometimes the only place to find them on a car this old). So I am planning and engine swap to a fuel injected 4age, already up graded the brakes, and am planing suspension and other chassis mods to make the Tercel4wd "perfect".

[andrewrenow]

Looks like you got a great deal, welcome to the club. Strange that your a/c works, consider yourself lucky. Just about any car looks good in silver! Why Prius wheels? Not to knock them, but you have 17,000 choices of stock '80's 4 bolters available almost for free in the j-yards.

Please explain. The head gasket mod

Petros did a writeup on how to drill holes in the headgasket for better coolant flow. Unless you need to remove the head for some reason you should be OK with the stock gasket. Check the Repair Guides section for all kinds of fun projects like dlb mentioned.

Where are you located? Northern CA? Where did you go to buy the car? Need to pass emissions? If not Webers rock! I bet your mpg also beats the living buh-jesus out of your neighbor's motorhome.

i have a set of prius wheels laying in my garage already and they are rapped in almost new bridgestone potenza tires. im located in san lorenzo, CA. i bought the car from a town called selma, ca which is about 30miles past fresno which was about 400mi round trip. i do need to pass emissions i believe thats the only thing im scared about be it seems to be ok.

[andrewrenow]

Welcome to the list!

Great buy for such a clean Tercel4wd. Do not replace the head gasket unless you need to, and if/when you do use the precdure I developed (after many many Tercel head gasket jobs) over in the repair guilds section.

Also, when it comes time to replace the brakes, you should consider the brake up grade also over in the repair guilds section. Fairly easy bolt-up of much better brakes from other model toyota cars.

I have owned and worked on Nissans, Mazdas, Hondas, and many others (both foreign and domestic cars and trucks). Even though I think the Honda cars are excellent, usually more powerful and handle better than these Tercels, I have decided I like the Tercel4wd best. They are much easier to work on than all the others (the Hondas are one of the worst-no room to access anything!), parts are also cheaper too, and more common in the wrecking yards (sometimes the only place to find them on a car this old). So I am planning and engine swap to a fuel injected 4age, already up graded the brakes, and am planing suspension and other chassis mods to make the Tercel4wd "perfect".

i plan to do a full upgrade on the breaks. also i want to tint the windows. possibly get a really nice paint job and fix the body damage on the passenger side. i also want to get a cargo rack on the roof and fog lights. this is going to be my camping vehicle. first on my list is timing belt and news seals and valve cover gasket. i love this car it drives just like my paseo.

[dlb]

i've been saying this since i painted mine: don't. once you it looks really nice it really sucks when it gets dings in parking lots and starts to rust, both of which are inevitable unless you rarely drive it, store it in a garage, and park well away from everyone and everything. it's not worth the stress. i think keeping the original paint or doing a decent rattle can job is the way to go, unless you can get a $200 job at maaco or something. that's my take, anyway.

as for tinting windows, unless you've done it before i would recommend getting it done by pros. it's an agonizing job and super easy to mess up, especially on these cars since the rear windows all have a rubber seal around the inside. the only way to properly do them is to remove each window so you can get the tint all the way to the edge. all the quotes i got were around $500 and up but i got a guy i know to do an alright job for $250 or so. it's not perfect but it's miles ahead of what i could do.

sorry to sound like such a downer! i'm not, really. i'm actually really into the tinted windows. i think they make the car look much sportier and private but it is expensive or time-consuming to do it well.

[andrewrenow]

i've been saying this since i painted mine: don't. once you it looks really nice it really sucks when it gets dings in parking lots and starts to rust, both of which are inevitable unless you rarely drive it, store it in a garage, and park well away from everyone and everything. it's not worth the stress. i think keeping the original paint or doing a decent rattle can job is the way to go, unless you can get a $200 job at maaco or something. that's my take, anyway.

as for tinting windows, unless you've done it before i would recommend getting it done by pros. it's an agonizing job and super easy to mess up, especially on these cars since the rear windows all have a rubber seal around the inside. the only way to properly do them is to remove each window so you can get the tint all the way to the edge. all the quotes i got were around $500 and up but i got a guy i know to do an alright job for $250 or so. it's not perfect but it's miles ahead of what i could do.

sorry to sound like such a downer! i'm not, really. i'm actually really into the tinted windows. i think they make the car look much sportier and private but it is expensive or time-consuming to do it well.

Where fo you live? I've never paid over $100 for window tints all the way around and they always come out perfect. In Oakland, ca it seems like there is a tint shop on ever block lol. I just got my subaru done last week a d it was $80. As for paint I really want to get it done perfect I don't care if it's $2000 I love this car and want to completely restore it. Plus this is my rode trip car only. I just finished paying the registration today but daddy it didn't pass smog. I think all I have to do it adjust the timing and I should be good to go.

[Petros]

might as well put in new plugs and an air filter, was well as the timing. Might help you pass the smog. good luck.

[andrewrenow]

might as well put in new plugs and an air filter, was well as the timing. Might help you pass the smog. good luck.

I didn't even think to do that. Thanks for the info. I'm gong to get an oil change as well too.

[andrewrenow]

just added the prius rims that i had laying around. the tired look a bit small but their in alot better shape than the tires that were on before

[Petros]

Nice looking wheels, I had noticed them before and wondered if they were the same bolt pattern as the Tercel. The newer ones went to a 5 bolt wheel, I do not know why since that would add weight to the car, and presumably the 4 bolt wheel is strong enough for a light car.