Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

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lannvouivre
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Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

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Powertrain and Drivetrain
1.5L 3A-C engine (the A family is the predecessor to ZZ family; 3rd A engine; Carburetted)
5-speed manual transmission with 4WD

Mods
32/36 DGEV Weber carb (kit k740)
Blocked off EGR and California pipes
0.5mm oversized pistons
Fancy engine paint based on Toyota's current WRC livery used on their rally Yaris
1ZZ crank pulley bolt
Exedy clutch kit

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Derf
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by Derf »

Looks clean. See the struts are out, planning any other upgrades, or just easier to work on, with the front drive line dropped down.
2005 #10,524 Neptune Vibe "Bandit" Auto, Moon & Tunes 235k :D
1991 Pontiac Bonneville 3.8L "Granny's Whip" 142k (33nd Anniversary :o )
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vibrologist
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by vibrologist »

Impressive work!
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'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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vibenvy
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by vibenvy »

Awesome! I must get a picture of the local one I mentioned on FB!
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
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ColonelPanic
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by ColonelPanic »

Found this during a recent falling into the Retro Review youtube rabbit hole, figured I would share... :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNKAGRHJi7Y
03 Vibe base. Born 10/14/2002 06:07 AM
Auto, Moon & Tunes, power package. 143k
Neptune/dying clearcoat/primer grey. :lol:

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lannvouivre
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

It's getting a lift. I'm going to have to have pipe welded on to extend the All-trac strut housings because they're too short for the MR2 inserts that supposedly work. They use a funny system where you replace a shock cartridge instead of the entire thing.

Thunderbird shocks in the rear, Nissan Pathfinder springs in back, and Corolla All-trac struts and springs in front.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
lannvouivre
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

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So beautiful! But now obscured by rubber protectors.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
lannvouivre
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

Got it running after hours of electrical diag. These things have this stupid box that's tired to the main stud on the alternator. Had to figure out how it hooked up basically with no help (I showed some pictures to someone, but my phone is a potato and he did not recognize the part).

Let me tell you. It snorts like a pig rooting for food right now, without the exhaust bolted to the manifold. Runs pretty well, but I need to adjust ignition timing and tune the carburetor (always a favorite task next to an unbearably noisy engine). I haven't even touched a distributor with the engine running since the red Tercel shocked me across the forearm, so I feel a bit of anxiety for my impending misery.

Oh, and the stupid thermostat housing WON'T STOP LEAKING. Gonna have to hit it with a hammer until it learns some respect.
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ImUrOBGYN
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by ImUrOBGYN »

Will you tune it with the exhaust bolted on? I've found you get a better tune with everything on it as normal.

Oh, and teach that damn thermo housing a lesson!!!

If the hammer doesn't work, I've found grinding/sanding the housings where they touch just enough to get rid of any warp worked for me once before.
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best
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handmedown03
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by handmedown03 »

lannvouivre wrote:Image
So beautiful! But now obscured by rubber protectors.
Those are the sweetest battery cable I have ever seen! Where to get some?
Thermostat housing. Lay a piece of 180 grit and up on a flat surface and drag the housing flat surface across until you see a uniform scratch surface or throw away the gasket and use Black rtv. If you have one, you can also use a belt sander. Mount it in a vise with the sandpaper side up and holding the housing assembly as flat as possible touch it to the belt until you get a uniform scratch surface. Be careful.
Easiest way to avoid getting shocked is get a helper and have them turn the distributor. Works every time.
Like your project. Nice engine details. Like to see the face of the Mustang owner that gets spanked by a Tercel! You can tell them Tercel means "mouse with heart of lion" in Japanese.
lannvouivre
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

Nah, the Tercel can't even spank a bus. 0-60 in 16 sec back when they came out.

I instead caked the gasket in fresh RTV and that seems to have done the trick.

Today I plan to fill the transmission and differentials, bolt on the driveline, torque the axle nuts, bleed the front brakes, and go on a test drive to warm it up enough to tune the carb and distributor.

Terminals: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Straight-B ... 00GYRJV9E/
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
handmedown03
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by handmedown03 »

Only $12.68 with prime shipping. Gonna get those coming.
lannvouivre
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

Fixed the camber issues up front with some "shims" (washers) that make the all-trac struts fit the narrower Tercel steering knuckle brackets. The Tercel can now sit on the curb!
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ImUrOBGYN
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by ImUrOBGYN »

Awesome. I dig the last pic w/both cars.
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best
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ImUrOBGYN
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by ImUrOBGYN »

Haven't even watched it myself, yet. The one in the vid is also an AWD model. Still, kinda relevant and thought you might be interested if you haven't seen it already.

https://youtu.be/eNKAGRHJi7Y
I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best
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lannvouivre
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Re: Zach's 1985 Toyota Tercel SR5 (white, 5-speed manual)

Post by lannvouivre »

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Piggy looks kinda good with new wheels even though the sidewall is a bit narrow looking with that much lift. I couldn't take a picture from the other side because Mom always parks really close when I need to work on it, like she has some kind of premonition whenever I need to do anything with ANY car.
"If you don't love me at my diddliest, you don't deserve me at my doodliest." - User ktluvscricket of reddit
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