| Owner: |
Handsome Jack |
| Snot rocket: |
1995 Toyota Tercel DX |
| Displacement: |
1.5 L |
| Fuel type: |
gasoline |
| Transmission: |
manual |
| Curb weight: |
2005 lbs |
| Coefficient of drag: |
0 |
| Frontal area: |
0 sq.ft. |
| Instrumentation: |
|
| Description: |
I purchased this rare gem with 159,XXX miles on it for $750. I wanted a fuel efficient backup vehicle as my other one is a Ford E250 extended cargo van.
Repairs/Maintenance done so far:
1) New passenger side brake caliper, rotor resurfaced, and new pads on both sides.
2) New Monroe struts driver and passenger side rear.
3) Acquired junk yard rims and am running slightly used snow tires up front and all seasons in back.
4) Rustoleum Hunter Green paint job.
5) Replaced dome light bulb.
6) Removed air box and installed washable cone air filter.
7) New battery post clamps.
8) New scissor jack.
around $500 in parts so far (including everything), so I currently have a total of $1,250 into the car. |
| Build Thread: |
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| Current Mods: |
1) A/C pump, accumulator, and condenser completely removed, (trinary switch wire grounded to keep the fans from running as a result).
2) manual steering conversion, power steering pump/lines removed.
3) Removed both wideshield wipers, motor, and control arms, then liberally coated the windshield with rain-x. After extensive testing in heavy rain I feel very comfortable using rain-x instead of wipers. I actually tossed all the wiper apparatus in the garbage, no going back baby! At about 40mph the wind starts blowing the rain right off the windshield, it happens even more quickly as the speed increases. Also, the heavier the rain the more quickly the droplets pool together and exit the windshield. The most difficult time to drive wiper-less is in a light misting rain, at night, at low speed, with the headlights of oncoming traffic shining through the windshield. Even so, it is not that hard to deal with and I do not regret removing wipers. Another bonus is that the parking meter police have nowhere to tuck tickets now that the wipers are removed!
4) 12” pizza pan hubcaps from Walmart (under $1 each). Plus 3/4” valve stem extenders.
5) removed both side view mirrors and installed driver’s side fish eye mirror inside the car.
6) I lucked out that 1995 Toyota Tercel's were equipped with a UBDII port. I plugged in a wifi code reader from Amazon (under $20) and downloaded the OBD Fusion app to my iphone ($10). Fuel economy feed back is the most helpful mod of all! It is teaching me how to drive much more efficiently.
7) Removed part of the air intake plumbing so it draws from the engine compartment. Kind of a simplified warm air intake, probably do something better later.
8) Recently blocked off the upper grill completely and 2/3 of the lower grill with aluminum sheeting. The air conditioning condenser was in front of the radiator, so now that it’s removed the air should flow much more freely.
9) Removed back seats... I've removed a fair amount of weight from the car now with the stuff from the engine compartment and all. I would like to get it on a scale and see exactly how much lighter it is than stock.
10) Tires over pressure to 50psi, tires rated to 44psi max 
11) Rear wheel skirts
12) front wheel fairings
|
| Planned Mods: |
1) stick on electric oil pan heater
2) Air dam, tire deflectors, splitter
3) side skirts
4) small kammback on trunk lid? |
|
| Official Fuel Economy Ratings |
| EPA city |
27 mpg(US) |
| EPA highway |
35 mpg(US) |
| EPA combined |
30 mpg(US) |
| Actual Fuel Economy Performance
|
| Lifetime |
44.77 mpg(US) |
| Last 3 tanks |
44.9 mpg(US) |
| 90 days |
44.77 mpg(US) |
View Fuel Log
Last updated: Dec 05, 2017 |
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