Reached 200,000

One of my better buys. 94 Corolla 1.8 auto. Bought from a buddy in January of 03 for $1000 with 167,000 miles and a stuck caliper. Fixed that and put in a new passenger side axle. He is clueless when it comes to preventative maintenence. Oil consumption was a quart in 600 miles. Now it's about 1,800 or so. Still get 33 mpg driving

70/75mph. Everything (AC included) still works. These really are great, durable little cars.

Brian

Reply to
Brian
Loading thread data ...

That they are,..and its auto-trans was fine as well!. I bought an old manual '76 Corona for $500 once. The thing had been handed down to some folks who didn't know anything about cars except to add water (not coolant) and oil. I did 40,000 miles in it, then gave it away to a soul who did another 25,000 in quick time. By then it was 25 yo and it had 150,000 mostly urban miles and the engine (18R) was puffing smoke on start-up plus its cam/auxilary chain was rattling something fierce,..but the transmission/diff/ brakes/steering were fine. Rust had crept into the sills and the rear tailgate (it was a station-wagon) had fatique cracks. The whole body rattled like an old Landcruiser.

The front-end on that model was the last double-wishbone type before Toyota went to Macpherson strut. It was built like a tank, not requiring any re-bushing,..in fact the bushes were larger than used in most 6/8 cyl vehicles,....simply amazing.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

'77 longbed SR5 pickup truck still running great. 5 spd. factory A/C still works (rebuilt compressor and replaced hose). Who knows how many times odometer flipped over at 99,999 miles. Also paid $500, and combat rust. Everythng works and runs flawlessly. Even came with a camper shell (still there). Of course, for the first few years, was repairing something new everytime I drove it, but now it seems to be just fine in all areas. Last time I had the Camry in for alignment, the shuttle service driver offered to buy it on the spot, but it's not for sale. Just finished repainting it again, with the same gallon of paint (thinned somewhat to compensate) I used 12 yrs. ago, and it actually looks quite good, right down to the old style "T" emblem on the grille. So my '94 Camry is almost 20 years newer. Truck passed Calif. smog few months ago, too - no problems.

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus
1997 Camry Le just turned 180,000 miles. Only thing that has ever failed was the power steering rack leaked and had to be replaced.
Reply to
ROBMURR

Toyota

The light trucks are very popular here as well. I'm out in the sticks here where there used to be many unsealed roads, the Corona had spent most of its life on dirt roads hence the fatique cracks around the window-frames etc.

I get the impression those Hi-lux's and the like only get retired when they have been in a stack!

Did you use acrylic? How many coats is necessary (as in full coats)?

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

This is going to be off topic for Camry. When I first purchased the truck, it had been parked near the beach, and rust had set in to the hood and roof. We spent a week sanding and filling, then removed the camper shell and masked everything. I went to a big paint store and rented a sprayer unit. They supplied "Spectra-Tone, Indus-Tron, Heavy Duty Enamel, Hi Gloss Finish, Industrial and Commercial Use" in Signal Green. All I can really read on the back of the can between paint drips is "alkyd resin chemistry" , clean up with paint thinner, coverage 450-500 sf per gallon, and prep instructions for new wood, new galvanized metal, new aluminum, steel or iron, new concrete floors, and old work. Applied by brush, roller or spray. After the first time I used the best angled 3" brush I could buy. I think of it like painting a fork lift - primarily to preserve the metal, but over smooth metal, it actually came out quite good. Last time I used "Buffalo Milke" spray on and wipe off car wax because it leaves no residue, and to help the paint resist oxidation longer. Amazing, the hood actually has a shine to it. Used Rustoleum rusty metal primer and aluminum top coat applied very carefully with the same brush on the wheels. Really not bad at all, looks pretty sharp. Very makeshift repair at the side panel. Lawn sprinklers hit it every morning, and a section rusted through the double side wall. Was contemplating cutting out and replacing new sheet metal, but wound up vigorously wire brushing all loose material, then filling with Dow 20 year "best" silicone caulking - works for swimming pool grout, so why not. Fills and also acts as an adhesive. Then top coated with Dow silicone sealer paintable. Was only going to do that one spot, but once I got started painting, and it looked so much better, wound up doing it all. Only took around an hour. Definitely not your high end paint job, but then apart from labor, with materials on hand, cost was zero.

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus

they

Thanx for the info and tips Daniel. Experience is a priceless teacher,..or something close! The right paint does produce a wholey acceptable finish from a brush. Acrylic is not one I suspect :-)

I used 'Builder's Bog' ('bog' is slang for filling epoxy here) to repair sill rust-damage in the Corona. Worked fine. It didn't go as hard as normal automotive stuff on drying,..but that was the only difference I noticed.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

OOF! What a terrible thing to do to a car (or truck, as the case may be...)

Actually, an old technology for automotive paint *is* alkyd enamel, and can be picked up anywhere BASF (R&M) auto paints are sold. But brushing?! then filling with Dow 20 year "best" silicone caulking -

OK...Generic paint, swimming pool grout, wire brushing...

Could you please POST a pic of this thing? Now I'm curious...

Reply to
HachiRoku

Re: "From: snipped-for-privacy@msn.com (Brian) One of my better buys. 94 Corolla 1.8 auto. Bought from a buddy in January of 03 for $1000 with 167,000 miles and a stuck caliper. Fixed that and put in a new passenger side axle. He is clueless when it comes to preventative maintenence. Oil consumption was a quart in 600 miles. Now it's about 1,800 or so."

--------------------------------------------------------------- So how did you improve oil consumption ?Valve seals" Rings? some magic potion? Brian,,,,,from Berkeley

Reply to
Brian Orion

formatting link

(actually my paint look better than this)

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus

I noticed the tar-like (in color and odor) oil before I bought it. But for $1000 it was still worth it to me. I did a couple oil changes about 100 miles apart initially, then again a couple more at 500. Now I go about 4/5000. And a diy tune-up. First of all, an engine cleaning. Plugs, wires, cap, filters, etc. A timing belt. The main thing is I take care of it. I actually change the oil now where the other guy may have just added oil all the time and never changed it or the filter. Cars will run a long time if properly maintained.

Brian

Reply to
Brian

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.