Hey guys! I recently bought a '93 Tercel DX with 114,000 miles on it and was hoping you guys could answer some questions for me. First, I have to say I am NOT mechanically inclined, and so I won't be touching the engine myself at all. I know that these models are known for smoking/blowing oil, which mine is doing - mostly on cold starts, but I've also noticed it quite a bit while idling. I know these aren't the greatest cars, but I really like it and decided I'm going to try to keep it for at least the next 2-3 years. So, I'm guessing these are my options: either having the valves/seals re-done if I can do that for under a grand, or getting a new/rebuild engine, preferably a better one, for under two grand, but I have no idea what would fit.
Also, I'm thinking about painting it black. I don't need it to be showroom perfect, so this seems like something I can do myself. I'm guessing I just need to sand the current paint off, prime it, tape off anything i don't want painted, paint a few coats of black, and then a few coats of clearcoat. I'm not sure about how to actually do the painting, and where to get the paint.
And finally, this is actually something I've already done, but just felt like sharing. The car came with the stock stereo and speaker, which just baffled me for a 13 year old car. So obviously, I had to replace those. The head unit went in beautifully, but not so for the front speakers. I wanted something bigger then the stock 4" speakers and crutchfield.com said the 6.5" speakers would fit, but I'd have to drill new holes in the mount. This was not the case... :P I had to take off the stock grills, get some
1/4" wood squares to cover the old holes in the back of the panels, cut holes in those wood pieces the size of the speaker cones, and then mount the speakers to the newly reinforced area. While I'm happy with the result, what a pain in the ass! Although I'm sure those of you who mod your cars are used to this.Anyway, any help with the engine or paint would be appreciated. If you want you can check out some pics from they ebay page where I got it from. Yeah, I'm sure I overpaid and the wheels are awful, but I needed something quick.