Hi...
I don't have a Tercel... yet(!) but I am looking around to buy one, there is one I'd like to see but it might sell before I can go and see it since I can't go till Saturday.. I am personally more of an Isuzu Diesel person but from what I've seen and experienced Tercels are just as awesome, well, not quite as awesome as the Isuzu P'up (83 longbed 4x4 4spd, gets about 30-36 MPG) I drive I am definitely not a mechanic, I'm an organist, so a wrench rookie is what I could be called I guess. Oh and I am 19...
I am curious, has anyone ever swapped a small diesel engine into one of these things here in the states?
welcome, halden. one member here has been working on a diesel swap for quite a while. i think the project is currently on hold but will likely be finished eventually. here's the thread.
I live nearby where you are. I do not think a deisel swap is worth the trouble, lots of things that have to change and it is getting hard enough to find good used ones as its. The 4wd transmission in the Tecel4wd is unique to this car and trying to make a desiel bolt to it will be a lot of trouble I suspect, special adapters, custom flywheel, exhaust, who knows what else.
I once owned a gas Isuzu p'up, one of the best trucks I have ever owned, I sold it when my daughter was born and could not fit a car seat between my wife and I. I regretted it later when I bought some land and started building a house, I bought a really abused toyota truck and kept having to fix it when I was trying to get a house built.
Keep looking on Craig's list, and keep your eyes open for one in back yards or that have not been driven, usually you can buy fixers real cheap. We are all here to help you work on it yourself. Also consider these cars are getting on in years and will need lots of TLC and maintenace to keep them reliable and running good. If you can do your own maintenace it is not worth owning a car this old since they will always needs some kind of maintainace. A leaky seal or bad hose, cheap to fix, but if not fixed, could lead to very costly engine damage. the older the car the more minor and major repairs it will need.
Oh I'd never do a diesel swap on a tercel, maybe one day I'd do a swap in a pup or something since it almost bolts right in once you find a diesel bell housing and a slightly shorter drive shaft.
If you thought the gasser was good you should have had a diesel! I know a guy who is just shy of 500,000 miles, changed his timing belt for the first time in August! Hasn't really had any problems with it yet in 3o years. You can beat the crap out of those things, they're good little one tonners.
I am just about to start a sort of "restoration" on the pup with my dad, it's in desperate need.
That is true, owning a car that is up there in years does have its drawbacks. Though I am learning and getting braver and braver, I've had to tare into my wiring harness a few times, take off my bed and clean the fuel lines and tank so long as I research the process I can generally g through it slowly.
There is something very appealing about older toyotas. I might have to end up waiting to buy a tercel, since I need to figure out higher education plans and what not...
I too have taken a shine to the older Toyotas, probably favoring the mid-80's models since I've had four of them and they were all good rigs. As long as the body holds up, the drivetrain and engines in most of them are bulletproof. This was the era that made Toyotas legendary for their reliability and ease of maintenance. Even the complex jobs are made easier by the engineers that anticipated long service intervals and made the wear items accessible and the non-wear items very sturdy.
I second Petros' suggestion to keep your eyes peeled, even T4's that are pretty rough looking may still be a bargain. I found mine being overgrown by bushes and covered in moss, but it wanted to run because after three years it sputtered to life on old gas and crawled out of it's den under it's own power. After doing that, despite all the issues I've had to fix, I just couldn't let it end up crushed...
but from what I've seen and experienced Tercels are just as awesome, well, not quite as awesome as the Isuzu P'up (83 longbed 4x4 4spd, gets about 30-36 MPG) I drive 
I am definitely not a mechanic, I'm an organist, so a wrench rookie is what I could be called I guess. Oh and I am 19...
