Hello,
   I'm a brand new registered user and I asked this question a while back but did not get the replies that I wanted, so I'll ask again:

If you fully remember the older back issues of FOUR WHEELER from the early 80's to the late 80's, or if you have all issues in stock:

Please let me know, ASAP, the following:

- What other issues besides the February 1983 issue
 showed the Toyota Tercel 4wd Wagon for road tests,
 DOWNEY Off-Road ads, in any pictures, anything.

- If there was an issue a while back from 1985 or 1986
 that showed the Tercel 4wd wagon in any DOWNEY ads
 showing headers, Mikuni carbs, exhaust, etc. for the
 3A-C engines and maybe suspension products as well

Please tell me if there is any way I could still aquire these products, since I own a 1987 DLX wagon and would like to beef up its performance.

I also love the 80's and 70's issues better, in a way, than the modern issues because they take me back to the year I was born. They are also highly collectible, that's also why.


THANKS EVERYONE FOR TRYING TO SATISFY MY NEEDS AS BEST AS POSSIBLE.      

Boy, this is not an easy question to answer.

A lot of the old induction and suspension components for your Tercel aren't being made anymore (though you could always poke around Craigslist and eBay, and maybe get lucky finding an old NOS part laying around somewhere), but there are some products still around for it, most of which are universal applications for the Toyota 3-series engines. Import Performance Parts sells a complete engine rebuild kit complete with Ross/Wiseco forged pistons (any compression), main and rod bearings, timing belt, thrust washers, etc. Flowtech has headers, and Flowmaster and Borla have complete exhaust systems. K&N has a cold-air intake, and EBC has replacement brake pads. I couldn't find anyone who makes a performance carburetor for this engine anymore, but as this particular vehicle/engine is a little bit outside my usual level of expertise, someone more knowledgeable out there may know of a source.

Again, you'll have to contact the individual manufacturers to see if these parts do in fact apply to your Tercel, but it would appear that there are still a few aftermarket options available to you. This should at least get you started in the right direction.  

Thank you Doug for your answer. But if you or any other people have any more answers for me on this, please let me know ASAP. Thanks again.  

you can get a webber 32/36DGVE carb for $400.00  

geez....
musta been getting bored back then to, now yer messing with an evo!  

is Downey not around anymore??? I bought a cam and stuff from them about 10 years ago for a 22Re in a yota wheeler. I'd be sad to think they're gone.  

There's a good reason you're not finding the answers you want: the Downey Tercel parts were never fully put into production. Downey developed the components as part of a package that was to be offered through Toyota, and at the last minute, Toyota bowed to the demands of their lawyers and pulled the plug on the project. Brochures had been printed, magazine announcements had been made, but in reality, most of the parts were never made available. Downey has no specs or blueprints left in their files, and many have tried. It's unfortunate that the Skiwagons project failed; they tried to reproduce the prototype parts, but never quite got there.

You're dealing with a great car, but one that has very specific limitations in it's design. Raising the rear end is easy, has been done many times, so there's no new ground to break. Unfortunately, you're limited to about 2 inches of true lift in the front end, and even that modest lift will require fabrication, and will affect the geometry. You can't do a subframe lift (ala Subaru), so you're left with fabricating strut spacers and having springs custom would. BTW, you can have the springs done, front or rear, for about $200 a pair. Anything beyond a 2" lift will result in CV failure in the hundreds of miles, if not less.

The next thing that'll knock you out of the water is gearing. One of the failures in the initial testing was the combination of the tall factory gearing with the taller 14" tires. There are no aftermarket gear sets available for the Tercel, and 62hp makes for some anemic wheeling even spinning the stock 175/70/13s. You can buy a suitable set of 14" or even 15" steel wheels at almost any junkyard (or Toyota dealership, you'd be surprised how cheap you can find a set of Scion Xa or Xb takeoffs), but you'll have a drastic loss of acceleration.

As for power mods, you're not going to get anywhere with a Mikuni. You'll be trying to reinvent the wheel, and you'll end up spending more money to go that route than with a Weber, with no better results. You can buy a DGEV conversion kit for $289 (racetep). Make sure you order the short air cleaner, and don't bother with the linkage that comes with it. Instead, use the bellcrank from a 1988-89 carbed Corolla (I did a lot of research to find the right geometry), and space it out on the shaft as far as it'll go with a couple of washers. Install the carb with the phenolic spacer removed (you'll have to use shorter studs, find 4 EGR studs). Then drill the mounting holes in the cable bracket to 1/2", and mount it (using 2 of the old carb studs), spaced so the cable runs at an even plane with the top of the bellcrank. Make sure the bracket is pushed as close to the carb as possible, and when you're done, you'll be able to mount the cable without cutting the end off, and with the proper geometry to allow better than stock feel and full travel. You don't get any of that with the Redline linkage. You'll also need to use a return spring, but that can come from the junkyard as well.

The vacuum, PCV, and EGR systems are up to you. You can gut most of the vacuum system (it's amazing how many of the vacuum lines are just involved in the stock carb), and if you don't have to pass a visual test, I'd ditch the entire EGR system as well. Run your crankcase vent tube to the fitting under the air filter, and run a vacuum fitting from the stock EGR valve location for the PCV.

BTW, there's another great power mod that's cheap. Delta Cams will do a custom regrind to your specs for $69 plus shipping. Just call them up, tell them what you want from the car, and they'll find the right grind for you. Combine all this with a 4AC engine, and you'll have quite a bit more grunt under the old Terc.

I have 363k miles on my own Tercel wagon, and it currently gets 37mpg highway on regular gas. I've used it to tow 3 popup campers a total of about 2500 miles this year. In the past couple of years I've also towed 3 Tercel parts cars home, as well as my wife's 96 Corolla, and my son's 95 Probe. Within the next couple of weeks I'll be towing another 86 Tercel about 450 miles with it. My secret? I never get in a hurry, and I listen to what the car tells me. In over 200k miles of driving, it's left me stranded with a mechanical failure exactly once, when the timing belt broke earlier this year.  

Do you know what magazines the announcements were made in, i.e. names of the magazines and their publishing date, i.e. month and year of publishing? Thank you. I like that you, too, have a Tercel Wagon. I understand that the February 1983 issue of Four Wheeler road-tested this car. If possible, I would like to see the blueprints of the project with the use of Mikuni carbs and 3AC headers.

Thank you for this information. I will probably find it really useful.

If I don't get that Weber, then I might convert it to fuel injection using a Suzuki Swift ('89-'94) TBI unit, wiring harness, etc.

As I understand it, there is a guy on Cardomain.com who heavily modded his 3AC engine and got 182 horses out of it in the long run:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/708655

and of course, a dude from the land down under with a supercharged 4AC engine:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2040821  

Downey is still around: http://www.downeyoff-road.com/.  

But if anybody has any other input, please post soon. Thank you all for your input and it helps! I have the same question on the website forums for Off-Road magazine and 4 Wheel and Off-Road magazine too. So you can post your answers there as well. Thank you.