Tercel 4WD

[aflineman]

Edit and update: I bought it a few days after this first post.

Anyone have a Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon? I am looking at a 1984 base model for a commuter, and to drive around the woods. Car is in good shape, and had had a fairly complete and recent restoration done on it (It actually has quite a bit less mileage than the Corolla). I have a 1999 Corolla that I drive now (and love it), but the Wife REALLY wants her car back. Where I am working really requires 4WD for the winters. Quite a bit of snow and ice. I have my truck, but the mileage is terrible. This Tercel seems to be just about as bone simple as my Mustang is. Which is a plus in my book. Wife's Corolla have computers, power everything, and is not really the easiest thing to work on. I know a 4WD Tercel is NOT a 4x4 truck, but I don't really go bamming through the trails much anyway. If I really want to, I have my truck for that. Just need a back and forth and get into the woods car; that gets good mileage. I don't have to have a speed demon. Just needs to get me there in a timely manner.
Thanks in advance.

Car under consideration:
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[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

I had a 80' somethin' Tercel...Now I wish I would'n't have traded it for that camaro which is also gone.

[aflineman]

She came home with me yesterday, and the Wife is not even close to being jealous. )
Had an issue with the high beams, which the seller fixed (and gave me intermittent wipers at the same time). We got to talking, and I mentioned that I was going to teach my Son how to drive a clutch with this car, and I was glad it had a new clutch in it (which it does). He said; "Just a minute", and went back into his shot. When he returned from rummaging around, he handed me a brand new clutch and flywheel. He said that he was saving them for his mom's car, but figured that I might need them sooner than she would.
She will do 65 easy on the freeway, and got 29mpg driving home. We shall see how she does with a full tank of new gas. Probably get better mileage at 55, so that may be an option. (Although it will add about 20min to my commute).
All in all, the car is in better shape than I expected. Once we got the highbeams fixed, the only things that do not work is the back-up light and the lighter/12v accessory port.

[2dumb2kwit]

A 29 mpg 4X4...........you can't beat that with a stick!
Good job! I like it.

[crashdive123]

Nice find. Ya gonna paint it woodland green camo?

[Justin Case]

And MONSTER mudders !

[aflineman]

Nice find. Ya gonna paint it woodland green camo?

Maybe more like my truck is. (Old photo from when I was stationed in Vegas).

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[aflineman]

A 29 mpg 4X4...........you can't beat that with a stick!
Good job! I like it.

They are actually supposed to get 35 on the freeway with this gearing. A family friend has one and gets this consistently with his. He does only do 55mph though. I may try that, going to work. But I probably do 65mph at the end of the week. I like getting home to the family just that much sooner.

[aflineman]

Took it out today, got into the mud and snow. She went until she was pushing a good pile of snow with her bumper. She climbs hills great. She won't go everywhere, but sure surprised me what she would do. Kind of one of those car that I wonder why they don't make or import anymore. There is an AWD Corolla that is made for the third world, but not for the US. This car seems much more capable that a Subaru of a similar class.

[aflineman]

Small 4 month(ish) update.
I am really happy with this car so far. Just changed the rear axle bearings and quieted it down quite a bit. Passenger side had been changed before I bought it (found that out after I got into it). Driver's side was starting to go. Howling more and more over time. No pictures (didn't think to take them), but job was straight forward. Pretty much the same task as changing them out on my '65 Mustang.
Need to do the rear brake shoes and a wheel cylinder soon. Probably in the next few weekends.
All in all, I am really happy with this car. Still getting 27 to 29 MPG. Hind sight, I may have been happier with a 4door Suzuki Sidekick, but it is hard to say. This thing is just so easy to work on. NO computer, but does have an automatic fuel adjustment for altitude (basically a controlled vacuum leak). Once I really looked at the vacuum lines, the system is very simple. I could go with a Weber carburetor for further simplicity, but I would lose the automatic altitude adjustment.
Only really bad thing is the gas tank is small. It is only about 10 or 11 gallons (even the manual contradicts itself on this). Makes a long trip into the brush shorter than I like. I have always driven out of the top side of a gas tank, and get nervous when below 1/2 of a tank.

[Winter]

Good for you bro. I have a car very similar, an 87 nissan stanza, but it's FWD. I love it when it runs reliably and burns alot less gas then my Suburban.

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Great visabilty, lots of gear capacity, draws very little attention, and goes most anywhere.

[your_comforting_company]

I have a '80 tercel (not 4wd) but it's great on gas, cheap and easy to work on. I say GO FOR IT! I loved mine when I was driving it down "the road that never ends" 4 miles through the woods with a john boat strapped to the roof. Parked it 'cause I needed a truck to haul ladders and whatnot, but I still own it. Just needs a little TLC to get back on the road. I think it's about to become my oldest boy's ride. He is gonna help get it fixed up and painted. Cheap ride to and from whatever job he decides to get, and cheap to fix (always a winner in my book).

[aflineman]

Well, I cracked a piston in it a couple of weeks ago and had to do a quick and dirty rebuild the engine. (Lower engine kit w/pistons). Cylinders and everything else were all in spec and looked good. Just installed new pistons, rings, rods, rod bearings, an main bearings. Head only has about 30K on it, so I did not work on it (other than verifying that everything is still in spec.
Guess I can't really complain though. She did not leave me stranded. Just started running a little rough, and had a mystery "tick".

[Rick]

I've had a mystery tick for years. Sure hope my wife doesn't decide to put a lower engine kit in me.

That's not too shabby for a 27 year old car.

[aflineman]

I've had a mystery tick for years. Sure hope my wife doesn't decide to put a lower engine kit in me.

That's not too shabby for a 27 year old car.

The really bad thing is my '65 Mustang (which I have been driving to work while this was down) had to be towed 125 miles home on Thursday. I have not had a chance to figure out what is wrong with it yet. Might be bad fuel, as it started acting up just after a fill-up. Might also be something in the ignition system (I am leaning toward the coil). We shall see next weekend, after I get home from work. It does also have a "tick" in it, but I put it there. Changed the fuel pump/filter to an old one that I keep in the trunk. Works, but makes the engine sound like a rod is knocking.

[Rick]

You can lean toward the coil, just don't touch it. I hope for your sake it's just the fuel and nothing more serious.

[aflineman]

Picked up a beat to heck 1984 SR5 yesterday for $200. Has 382K miles on it. Belonged to a cousin of my Wife. Did not know it was an SR5 when I bought it, and I thought it was an auto. Turns out it has a very tight six speed transmission and an engine with VERY good compression (190 psi in all cylinders, which is very close to new). Come to find out, there is only about 50k miles on engine and the transmission. Also has all of the SR5 Air Conditioning stuff, to include the economizer stuff (some electronics under the dash, and airbox mods). Even has a completely rust free trunk lid (though the rest of the body is pretty hashed). I now have all of the SR5 instrument stuff swapped into my "old" car (Tach, inclinometer, plus some other misc parts). Seats will be next (very comfortable upgrade).
Turns out the engine is a good thing. As I was checking the compression on the "new" car, I figured that I would check it on the "old" Tercel. The quick and dirty rebuild that I did only lasted about 20K or so; compression is only 90, 90, 90, 60.
I will probably swap it out next weekend, after I get a gasket set, timing belt, and clutch alignment tool (got them on order now). Figure that I will swap that stuff out while I have the engine on the stand. Not sure if I will do the transmission at the same time, or not. Depends upon what I find.
I think my old High School buddy and I are getting pretty good at these now. Learned a few lessons on the last one that should make this one go easier (at least that is my hope).
All in all though, I still love this little car. Should get even better mileage with this other engine, and got a bunch of other spare parts now. Plus the SR5 seats, tach, AC, and inclinometer.
Also just found out that the money for the "new" car came from my MIL. She says that she never knows what to get me for Christmas and my Birthday, so she got me both presents early this year.
All in all, even though I have some more work ahead of me, I think that I had a winning day yesterday.

Can't really complain about the car much really. Still have much less into than I would have into a new car. I put easily over 500 miles a week on this one, and many weeks MUCH more miles than that. Only thing I lack is a cruise control. That would be a nice thing to have.

[Rick]

Some days you're the monkey. I like it when it works out like that. Good luck on the change out!

[aflineman]

Wow, that was a task. In two days we pulled two engines, and resealed/reinstalled one. This fresher engine sure brings out how worn the old drivetrain is. I was planning on posting up some photos, but we got to busy to take many photos.

[aflineman]

Well, a bit of a hitch. Darn "new" engine overheated and the oil pressure light kept flickering, so I had to limp it home (luckily I was not to far up the road yet). I was thinking thermostat at first, but that was not it. Got back home this weekend, and finally took a good look at it. Did a complete coolant flush (the one where you run it 6 hours), then flushed the system until it ran clear. Ran it and flushed it a couple more times. Also installed a new radiator cap. She climbs the hills now, and does not raise above the middle of the gauge.
Oil pressure light was a sender going bad. Ran an oil pressure gauge while I was doing the 6 hour coolant flush/drive, and all was within the norm. Replaced the oil sending unit. The old one would not come on until you had over 20 psi. One day I will have to see about permanently mounting a real oil pressure gauge in this thing.
Looks like she is ready for a few more months of 500+ miles a week.