I aquired my 4th Tercel...

Against all reasonable judgement...

Picked up this 4dr for $175.  Ive always wanted a 4dr to build.  Unfortunately this thing is a bit crustier then it was in pictures but appears pretty solid.

However EVERYthing will have to be serviced, replaced and or cleaned.

I wanted to make a traditional hotrod (in tercel world) put in a really solid 1st gen 5efe in it with a standalone then eventually boost (because duh that's what i do).   Keep it stock appearing but have 150-200wheel.  But now Im thinking of just make it decent and sell for profit.

Meanwhile I still have to get my 2nd tercel (the pink one with a 1nz swap) back on the road and my 1uz swapped Malibu needs some love...

Odd question, but how "easy" is it for a 4AGE to be tossed into these? Don't they also use the C-series manual trans?

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Not odd at all.  Semi-common swap.  Im not 100% on whats involved...but I do know the frame needs to be notched.

Id love to do a 2gr V6 but that's big money I dont have

On one hand, anything that runs is worth more than $175.  On the other hand, and I speak as a five time Chevette owner, I have driven a Tercel and do not understand why you would buy a second.  (or third...)

In reply to jwagner :

You didnt drive one correctly then :p

In reply to malibuguy :

Being a corolla guy, I totally get tercels and would probably own several. If you know, not for corollas. I still want one. 

In reply to Mndsm :

Ive owned one corolla.  I would love to own more but I love the rotation of the beam rear-end of a Tercel...and well I can get em cheaper lol.

A boosted tercel is alottttt of fun. The best thing is seeing other peoples reactions. They are like "IS THAT A TERCEL"???? "DID I JUST GET BEAT BY A TERCEL"?? 

In reply to mycars12 :

I’ve run mid 14’s at 98mph in a tercel.

When you win its glory, when you loose no one gets to brag about beating a tercel.

Mr Malibu, you should mircrosquirt this one. 

malibuguy said:

In reply to Mndsm :

Ive owned one corolla.  I would love to own more but I love the rotation of the beam rear-end of a Tercel...and well I can get em cheaper lol.

 

True story. Ae101 corollas are thin in the ground and most have been uh....modified. poorly. 

1SlowVW said:

In reply to mycars12 :

I’ve run mid 14’s at 98mph in a tercel.

When you win its glory, when you loose no one gets to brag about beating a tercel.

 

Mr Malibu, you should mircrosquirt this one. 

That fastest my 1st one went was 14.3s on worn out nt01s with a 2.00 60f.  Car was all short track no top half.  Only did 95mph

Wanted to revive this a bit 

The 4dr has been just sitting.  I was starting it up and letting it run every once in a while but then it stopped running.  

Dove into that a couple weeks ago and had some crusty fuel pump wiring that resulted in a blown fuse.  

Plans for the car are still up in the air...i originally was thinking and still thinking of a traditional build with a lean towards ultimate daily driver.

Then I keep thinking do a JTCC inspired build and re-imagine it like if they had a 1500cc class.

Also I have had a a very long dream of building a 4dr and making it a "Lexus DX150"  which of course...never existed or was made...but what if... ?

But with the success of the 1nz swap in Floyd I am likely leaning towards that for this car.  We shall see.

Well a couple weeks back I had the 4dr hauled to the shop to steal the thick-rod bottem end to put into a turbo Paseo convertible I am building for a friend.

So now its at the shop and plans are boiling for a 2024 build...which means slowly gathering things this year.

I am definitely putting a 1nz in it since I already have a spare one.  Likely with aftermarket rods and cams.  I dunno if I want to get pistons.  I still want to use 87octane.  I have another standalone SpeedyEFI ecu for this build.

My goal is to strip it and cage it with proper safety gear and get back out to a road course stuff.  Get back into HPDE and then try for other things like Time Attack or even try a hill climb.

I wont be chasing competitiveness (at least initially)...I want to build a car I want to have fun with on a racetrack and get seat time.

Dang it, I don't even have my first Tercel.

I have to say that Tercel cleaned up very nicely! Kinda got a bmw1600 or ford cortina vibe going on...

"Damn, that Tercel looks amazing" isn't something I thought I'd ever say to myself, but here we are lol

Agent98 said:

I have to say that Tercel cleaned up very nicely! Kinda got a bmw1600 or ford cortina vibe going on...

It did!  The interior was nearly brown when I first got it and it looks nearly knew after some scrubbing bubbles and pressure washing.  Outside is pretty good given the age/mileage.  Ive only washed it 2wice since getting it.

Decided to get started taking baby steps to make some progress on this.

Today I had a gap in the action in the shop so I pulled it in, drilled out and removed the motor mounting tabs.  I installed new standard replacement torque and transmission mounts.  Removed the harness and also I had to hammer off the LR drum because it rusted nearly solid.  So now it rolls nicely again.

I know my plans have jumped around with this car, but the current plan is 1nz with an echo c150 and just get it running on my spare SpeedyEFI ecu.  Then when things settle down maybe set it up as autoX car #2 instead of my Yaris and move that to #3 lol