Toyota Tercel 4x4

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Mon 20 May 2002 15:03
Toyota Tercel 4x4 - Matt
Bought one of these for £80 from the car supermarket I used to work at-it was a part-ex. No MOT/TAX but has given 9 months of hassel free tough off-roading on our farm and I reckon I've been places in it that would make a Landie get scared (low centre of gravity means steeper inclines etc etc./light body and engine). Electric sunroof great for killing vermin from too! Abuse expected for that remark...How can I cheaply increase the power from the 1.5ltr petrol lump?
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Mon 20 May 2002 15:33
Toyota Tercel 4x4 - Mark (RLBS)
tell me more...

Better than a Landrover ? Is that Freelander or real Landrover ?

And why is it so good ?
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Mon 20 May 2002 15:42
Toyota Tercel 4x4 - Matt
OK-It cost me £80 which, I know doesn't make it a good car but here we go.

1) You can change into or out of four wheel drive at and stage of motoring ie. at almost any speed or drive-train loading.

2) Low C of G means banks and inclines are tackled with more comfort and less worry than in a car where the engine is much higher off the ground (ie. Landrover anything).

3) I managed to traverse a sticky slope with ease (using the normal road tyres) when my fathers new Disco on BFG All-terrains was all over the shop and being driven competently.

4)Ground clearance, albeit not quite LR league is preety good and I haven't grounded out yet.

5) Toytota reliability crushes that of any landrover I've experienced-Dad's aforementioned Disco has been back to the dealer for minor faults nearly 10 times this year and cost over 200 times as much as the Tercel.

6) on the road (or tarmac on the farm) the Tercel is nippy, has great brakes and returns good MPG.

7) The only real disadvantage I can muster is that it is possibly the ugliest car to ever grace our farm...
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Mon 20 May 2002 19:21
Toyota Tercel 4x4 - Harmattan
Matt

I've long been an admirer of the Tercel 4x4 since borrowing one for a week when they first came out. That included trying it out on sand and later on a muddy bit of woodland where it didn't get bogged down although I didn't overdo it.

I have my eye on a good one nearby if it ever comes up for sale but generally it is the £100 no MOT variety that seem to be around.

For extra performance it looks like the only possibilities are a K & N filter and maybe uprated spark plugs. You need the E-2690 filter for 1984-86 models and E-9106 for 86 on. The bolt-on K & N for the Tercel 1.5 and 1.3 is the 56-9138.

The 4x4 Tercel Page is a useful US site. Try www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/4989/perflinks....m and take it from there.

David
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Tue 21 May 2002 11:01
Toyota Tercel 4x4 - Matt
Helpful site-thanks. Ill be in touch when/if we replace ours with another one! How easy do you reckon it would be to do a turbo-diesel conversion-old nissan/isuzu diesel-on the Tercel. Hoping to run it on red-diesel (19p/ltr) as it is a farm car.
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Thu 8 Apr 2004 09:42
Toyota Tercel 4x4 - Jon Dalton
Hello. Please visit www.tercel4wd.com for information about this car. There are options for more power from the original engine, mostly carbs, cams and exhaust. The diesel engine is tricky because the bell housing is different.
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