Oh, I'm the Lurker of Power! A few of the other guys always answer the good questions before I can get to them, but I check out this place regularly.
Daily drivers!
- Thread starter 89niner
- Start date
Currently, I'm using my '86 4Runner as a DD. It has a 1990 7MGE inside it. Running 33" tires with 4.56 gears. Been all the way up to Revelstoke, BC, Canada. Then all the way down to the Desert Southwest. Right now she's parked while I attempt to adjust the valves.
Now, I'm back to driving my '92 Subaru Loyale. Purchased for $700, it's left me stranded twice in four years. First with a bad accessory belt. Second with the ORIGINAL timing belt after 220,000 miles. Compression is low, and I'm pretty sure that the HG is going out. But it just doesn't give up!
suprunner;1832411 said:
I'm diggin the 4runner! a guy i work with daily drives his late 80's runner with a 7mge, its for sale on seattle craigslist. Oh jeeze a suby lol my loyale left me stranded 4 times lol bad timing belts, bad tensioner, bad idler sprocket, blown engine lol but surprisingly made it 80 miles with with a semi flat tire(long story) paid $200s for the car + $125 for parts car, cant put the loyale down too bad though with out it i wouldnt have the supra. oh and the heads warp very easily on the 1.8s just my .02
Anybody had experience with TDI VW's? I'm debating trading my 17MPG POS truck for an econobox and the TDI Golf/Jetta has my eye. 50mpg would save me ~$130 every month on gas alone and that could go towards the Supra and home buying...
suprarx7nut;1833462 said:
I've heard good things about them. Ask Kai - the things are ubiquitous over there in EU.
89niner;1833407 said:
Well, I plan on purchasing a GL (the cool ones with adjustable suspension, and Dual Range transfer cases..) then popping in an EJ22 2.2 Liter motor. I'd like to figure out how I can get a MLS head gasket for it before I start driving. . . I just love the little wagons. I mainly love the Japanese quality that came with these older or higher-end cars.. OLD Subarus, Land Cruisers, 4Runners, Supras... Every time I sit in one, I notice the difference in Engineering.
I've also heard good things. If I were needing something of the sort, I'd certainly look into them. In fact, if I ever need something to haul stuff in, a diesel powered wagon would be awesome. I've secretly thought that converting the Mk3 would make for an ugly, if useful, sports-wagon.suprarx7nut;1833462 said:
As for the TDI thing, I dunno how difficult they are to work on, but they may be one of those Corolla/Miata type vehicles that were overbuilt and rarely need much work... Kai (like Mike said) is definitely your go-to on this.
The dollar was a lot stronger back in the 80's versus the yen, hence we could have very nice vehicles for reasonable prices. If they still built them as nice as they did then, your average mid-level Japanese car would cost 40k... oh wait, they do.suprunner;1833478 said:
Supracentral;1833463 said:
te72;1833784 said:I've also heard good things. If I were needing something of the sort, I'd certainly look into them. In fact, if I ever need something to haul stuff in, a diesel powered wagon would be awesome. I've secretly thought that converting the Mk3 would make for an ugly, if useful, sports-wagon.
As for the TDI thing, I dunno how difficult they are to work on, but they may be one of those Corolla/Miata type vehicles that were overbuilt and rarely need much work... Kai (like Mike said) is definitely your go-to on this.
I may have to go test drive a few. Seems most people have good things to say.
Another one that's caught my eye is the civic hx. Lean burn engine, 40+ Mpg, good handling, incredibly light driving characteristics. You can shift, brake, clutch and gas it all with your pinky. Certainly a far cry from my brute force controls on the truck...
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Here we have lots of VW's. Espacialy tdi. It's the most popular people carier. As for maintainence. Working on the engine is definately more work and small things that on 7m. Also it's very sensitive to fuel. Dodgy fuel equals to pump,injector failure and repairing or replacing those parts costs a fortune. Dunno hows everything in states, but here diesel is loosing it's atractivnes. Because diesel and fuel prices are almost the same. Although you get a better mileage with a diesel it's more expensive to maintain.
All the European imports share the same problem in North America... parts cost is horrendous. Worse than Japanese imports by a fair bit.
I've been daily driving my 87 turbo going on 8 years. In over 100k she's been very good to me and currently runs 12psi daily with only the aid of CompCams valve springs and a Greddy timing belt.
Of course it's all in the maintenance. She's been down a total of maybe 3 or 4 months in the 8 years I've had her. Mostly right at the beginning when I was having someone else do the BHG job. When I did it myself she was only down a week while I worked 40 hours and came home to work on her nightly.
I've been contemplating a daily lately though since gas is hitting $4/gallon and with the 15% ethanol I'm only getting ~20 mpg.
Of course it's all in the maintenance. She's been down a total of maybe 3 or 4 months in the 8 years I've had her. Mostly right at the beginning when I was having someone else do the BHG job. When I did it myself she was only down a week while I worked 40 hours and came home to work on her nightly.
I've been contemplating a daily lately though since gas is hitting $4/gallon and with the 15% ethanol I'm only getting ~20 mpg.
In the world of 'econobox' imports, including the wannabe hotrods like Civic Si, I prefer the VW turbocharged models. I was just watching Motorweek on the tube, and the current Golf/Rabbit/GTI whatever you want to call it model ran 14.0 @ 100. With non drivers, driving. The TDI does get much better fuel econmy than other gas models, and will approach 50 mpg with cruise control at a reasonable speed. The TDI has good torque, which you will find if you go for a test drive.
