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Heh.. Bought the 1990 Tercel.

E

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Talked them down to $825(Was $950).

New timing belt, water pump, clutch...

It's the 5 speed. Newish tapedeck in it. Came with DEQ slip.. Tags are expired, but with the DEQ slip it will be easy to get them renewed, will do that tomorrow as I don't have to work.

Some very light damage to the right rear quarter panel.. looks like a parking lot bump or something. Interior is pretty nice, just some minor seat damage barely visable on the side.

The only real problem appears to be that the choke is sticking closed. At least, that is what the mechanic told me.. and it appears to be the case, although I'm not familiar enough with it to know for sure. It opens up when you move the throttle.. I'm not sure how the carburetor is setup. If it is sticking, that will kill my MPG, so I'll want to get that fixed ASAP... Does seem to be running rich.

Needs an air cleaner.. and I'll pick up the Haynes service manual while I'm there.

Hopefully it was a good "investment". Pics momentarily..

Edit: Has decent tires on it too.. as in, not bald and in need of replacement.

Pics..

pic

Needs a good vacuuming...

pic

pic

Rear seats..... for a midget.

Can see the minor damage

1.5L of carbureted, gas sipping goodness! I bet you all can feel the power from here. 😉 lol

Hopefully she serves me well....
 
It looks to me like that's a replacement motor....just from the writing on the valve cover. Doesn't really matter I suppose.
 
Wow... R-series -- the original plates. You rarely see pine tree plates that old anymore.

Looks like a good investment. I don't think it would have passed the HC test at the DEQ if the choke was sticking.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
Wow... R-series -- the original plates. You rarely see pine tree plates that old anymore.

Looks like a good investment. I don't think it would have passed the HC test at the DEQ if the choke was sticking.
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Yeah, I talked to him again.. he said that it opens up fine when it warms up. 😕 I don't really know what he meant now.

Originally posted by: NutBucket
It looks to me like that's a replacement motor....just from the writing on the valve cover. Doesn't really matter I suppose.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it is. I forgot to ask how many miles were on the engine. The original owner blew the engine, and through a big divorce SNAFU with his wife.. the guy that owns the place I went to (Mt. Scott Motors for the locals, nice people) ended up with their cars. This was one of them.

Been driving it around a bit.. No strange noises or anything. It has about as much power as a slug, but nothing a quick downshift can't fix. I think it will suite me well.

Now maybe I can put some of the money I save on gas towards hopping my truck up some more. 😀 😉
 
I just sold my good ol' 92 corolla for $1300.
Still ran like a champ from all those abuse it went through 😀
 
That body damage only looks like a small dent. I have about 2 - 3 dents pulled a year. I have a local guy who does them cheap for me because Ive taken cars to him since '98. That looks like $100 dent. Although I would probably pay $65-75.

Otherwise, if I were going to attack four things first to maximize gas mileage:

1) oil / filter change
2) change spark plugs
3) change air and fuel filters
4) check tire pressures and have wheels aligned if you spot abnormal wear

5) enjoy! 🙂
 
Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
That body damage only looks like a small dent. I have about 2 - 3 dents pulled a year. I have a local guy who does them cheap for me because Ive taken cars to him since '98. That looks like $100 dent. Although I would probably pay $65-75.

Otherwise, if I were going to attack four things first to maximize gas mileage:

1) oil / filter change
2) change spark plugs
3) change air and fuel filters
4) check tire pressures and have wheels aligned if you spot abnormal wear

5) enjoy! 🙂
Click to expand...
🙂

Oil and filter is fresh, I assume the plugs are too.. will ask though. Just changed the air filter, fuel filter looks easy as pie. Will check the tire pressure....

 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Can't believe toyota was still running carbs in 1990.
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Yeah, it is a little strange eh?

There are EFI versions of the same engine... I wasn't so lucky. Ah well.
 
Originally posted by: Eli
Been driving it around a bit.. No strange noises or anything. It has about as much power as a slug, but nothing a quick downshift can't fix.
Click to expand...

N2O would work too 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Xyclone
Holy sh!t that car is ugly!

😛
Click to expand...
Oh c'mon, there are plenty of uglier cars.. lol

Just looks like a regualr econobox.

 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
How did you find it?

Craigslist? Oregonian? Vehix? Cars? AutoTrader?
Click to expand...
We had just looked at a car that we found in the Oregonian, but turned it down... and were still in "Car Buying mode"... Just driving around slowy, looking at all the cars around that were for sale. Spotted it in their lot. That was Saturday evening; they had already closed.. and were closed on Sunday. Went to look at it today after work, and decided to pick it up.
 
Looks almost exactly like what you needed Eli.

Easy on the wallet. Easy on fuel. Easy on insurance. Easy on maintenance I hope, or at least cheap parts and easy to work on. Who cares if it's fugly or has a few dings. It's a point A to point B car and IMO it actually looks pretty decent for its age.
 
Originally posted by: Bullhonkie
Looks almost exactly like what you needed Eli.

Easy on the wallet. Easy on fuel. Easy on insurance. Easy on maintenance I hope, or at least cheap parts and easy to work on. Who cares if it's fugly or has a few dings. It's a point A to point B car and IMO it actually looks pretty decent for its age.
Click to expand...
Yep, I'm pretty happy.. My only gripe is that it doesen't have A/C.. Would have been nice... Ah well, our summers aren't that bad.. I suppose rolling the windows down will suffice.

As long as it turns out to be reliable, it's all good. That's my main concern.
 
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