Hip to be Square! (boring 80s box inside)

I recently replaced our '05 Civic with this '86 Camry I inherited from a relative.

13" wheels are lame, so dad dug my old neon r/t wheels out of the garage and stuck them on there.

We took delivery on Thursday and had to drive the car home from my brother's in Columbus OH. I was disappointed to find out that the cassette player didn't like my adapter, so the 1986 bilboard hot 100 collection that the mp3 player was loaded with wouldn't play.

My main gripes are with the shifter and the suspension. This is where i'm going to turn to GRM. I'd really like to install a stiffer front swaybar. I'd imagine nobody makes one anymore, and that i'm looking at figuring something out on my own. I'm thinking i'll look for a 87-91 camry in the junkyard and see if that is any bigger, anyone have any other ides for a junkyard swaybar upgrade? Thanks for looking1

05 civic to an 86 camry is quite the jump, congrats though. Plans to boost?

JtspellS wrote: Plans to boost?

My Miata? Yes, I do plan to turbo it.

My main gripes are with the shifter and the suspension. This is where i'm going to turn to GRM. I'd really like to install a massive rear swaybar. I'd imagine nobody makes one, so I'm going to make my own out of two stacked pieces of re-bar and some home-fabbed brackets.

Fixed for awesome.

Looks like plenty of room in the engine bay for an LSx.

Andrew

MCarp22 wrote:

JtspellS wrote: Plans to boost?

My Miata? Yes, I do plan to turbo it.

What you dont like boost indused torquesteer?

for sway bars... if you can find another in a junk yard just snag off it and the hardware... and stack the bars... i've known people to just use worm gear hose clamps to hold them to each other... or go all out like the turbo brick guys do... (1st bit is on the rears you are looking at the front sway portion...) http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=9587

for shifting... it prob uses about identical shift linkage as the FWD based 4a cars did of the time... it's very likely the rubber in the shift linkage is trash and the brass slider nut is well worn...

for the rubber portion there is a company that sells brass inserts http://www.speed-source.net/products/shifter_cable.htm I found that they where the perfect size to be replaced with bearings from inline/skate board skates... pop them in, put some spacer washers to get them to stack to the right height and larger washers on either side of the hole bit and lock in with the lock key thingie... cheap and effective...

for the brass nut (pic stolen from http://www.marcmedina.com/6speed.html and slightly edited) there is a square brass nut on the bottom side of the Lish shaped portion that slides in the opening under it... the nut gets worn... pop the rubber top off and unbolt, rotate the nut so the worn edges aren't rubbing any longer, put back together. (pic is in an mr2 so it will be on the other side of the trans... but same basic design) From Drop Box

awesome old school toyota man :)

Love it. Wheels look perfect.

I have an 87 camry, the rear bar goes under the gas tank, it has plastic end links. So have fun with that.

My 87 is pretty neutral but it has stiff shocks in the rear, still scrapes the mirrors in turns.

I'm super jealous.

Also on the 87 the front sway is a member to the suspension creating the front link to the suspension, not sure how you would upgrade the front without some serious engineering if the older generation is the same.

donalson wrote: awesome old school toyota man :)

Thanks for the info! My main gripe is mostly that the fore / aft shifter throws are 4 miles long. I figure you can probably modify the linkage somewhere to make it shorter.

daytonaer wrote: Also on the 87 the front sway is a member to the suspension creating the front link to the suspension, not sure how you would upgrade the front without some serious engineering if the older generation is the same.

I peeked under the car tonight and confirmed that. Kinda sucks since it really needs some more front roll stiffness. the bushings looked like they might accept universal urethane bushing/brackets, so that would at least help the bar be more active without changing it.

Oh! wait, you said you have a V20, could you measure how thick the front bar is for me sometime?

I was just talking to my girlfriend about old Camrys. I had a friend whose parents had an early 90s one (next generation up, I think) with a car phone, one of those big handsets that replaced the center console, which we thought was the coolest thing at the time. We'd sneak the handset into the backseat whlie she was driving and my friend would hit random numbers and prank call them.

"Who is this? Where are you?"

"We're by a tree. Ooh, now we're passing K Mart!"

Damned meddling kids

wow.. back then, prank calling on a cell phone could get expensive.

Are 80's camry's just as souless as the new ones?

looks good with the new rims.

very nice and clean! 80s Toyotas I can appreciate. And since you mention some Huey Lewis I have to bust out a line from one of my all time favorite movies: "Yes it is! In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself. "

I am jealous.

Someone a year or so back had one of these that was kindof rat-rodded out, swapped with a 5sfe and boosted. It was amazing.

As for the shifter, try cutting some off the top half, and welding in some on the bottom half. Should drastically reduce your throws.

Nice upgrade from the Civic.

Those R/T wheels look great on it, too.

DirtyBird222 wrote: very nice and clean! 80s Toyotas I can appreciate. And since you mention some Huey Lewis I have to bust out a line from one of my all time favorite movies: "Yes it is! In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself. "

Follow that with, "Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums.Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism.Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite."

Total chick magnet, I am insanely jealous.

Cool.

Dad worked as a manager at a Toyota store in those days; one of his demos was a 5-door Camry Turbo-Diesel with a 5-speed. Nice to see one in good shape still--they are long gone 'round these parts.

Per Schroeder wrote:

DirtyBird222 wrote: very nice and clean! 80s Toyotas I can appreciate. And since you mention some Huey Lewis I have to bust out a line from one of my all time favorite movies: "Yes it is! In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself. "

Follow that with, "Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums.Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism.Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite."

Sabrina, don't just stare at it. Eat it.

"I recently replaced our '05 Civic with this '86 Camry.."- Classic

I wish I had a time machine... it would be programmed to the 80's.

16vCorey wrote: Sabrina, don't just stare at it. Eat it.

Best line in the movie.

I realized AFTER I cut and pasted the quote that there was still that 'stuff' in there. deletedeletedeletedelete. Family board here!

Now I've got Huey Lewis stuck my head. Someone must pay for these atrocities.

for shorter throw... cut the tab off of the shifter and move it up (weld it back on) and it will shorten the throw a bit... thats basicly hat the TuRD short shift kits did for the mr2... makes for a shorter throw but keeps the shaft length the same.

a boosted 5sfe would be awesome :)