97 tercel mpg quest
 

I had a 96 tercel with a 3speed auto (Ter1) and I liked the car because it got great gas millage. I am used to driving my 94 3000gt (24mpg driving easy). So the ter1 was great driving my 50mil trip for work after changing my driving habits and putting it in neutral going down hills (probably not that good for trans ) I was getting 38mpg per tank. I only payed $900 for the car and a little bit of time cleaning it up.a few months ago I let my wife drive it to work and she crashed it and totalled it. Anyway I just bought a 97 tercel (ter2 ) with a 5speed even better MPG for $550 Ya I know I find great deals and this car is going to be my new MPG quest. I will post pic of both cars later

This is ter1 96 3speed paid $900
Beforhttp://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1373949144

After
http://pbr1276.photobucket.com/album...g?t=1373948670

This is ter2 the 97 5speed that I paid $550
http://i1276.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9b87fb28.jpg

Good luck! I did buy new for my work car, but I like the idea of getting a super-cheap eco-beater.

My parents had a 96 4spd, same final dr ratio as the 5 spd. Got 40mpg highway regularly.

The reason the car was $550 was because it had a blown Headgasket. Good thing I'm a mechanic and I can do the job for under $200 with new waterpump full gasket set shaved head (higher compression=better MPG) and timing belt . When I get it running I'm going to do a zero MPG witch means what I get with the car with out mods just good driving and proper maintenance. Then I will start with the mods and add ones I have a list that I want to do

I will post MPG gains
Warm air intake
Synthetic motor oil
full Belly pan
Drag wing on trunk
Wing off window (forgot the name camback?)
Grill block top and bottom
Raised Hood
Pre mud flaps (forgot name)

Any thing else that you guys have found that helps out

Also Im going to see how much MPG I gain from tricks like acetone .
And what MPG I get from gas after I take the MPG robbing ethonal out. Easy to do.

Welcome to the site. The Tercel is a darn good efficient car, and reliable too. Good luck with it.

I have the ter2 running I have to get it smogged and I will start my quest. Any other mods that you guys think I should try out

Air up the tires and do an upper grill block for sure. Those are good first mods.

I need to get it smoged

Power steering delete?
Airdam?
Lower the car ...
Altenator delete?
Ac delete?
Most importantly... Adjust the nut behind the wheel.

Well I'm going to just take the belt off for the ac and power steering. Adjust what nut behind the tire

I was wondering how people wire up the altanoter shut off when u have a deep cycle battery

Adjusting the nut behind the wheel = you, the driver :)

Another key to getting great results is modifying your driving style, and monitoring your progress with a fuel economy gauge. Get yourself a ScanGauge or Ultragauge - they make a world of difference from the instant & resettable trip feedback. Also they're a way to measure the impact your mods are having (or not).

Sounds like you're ready for a fun project.

Here is my post on the alternator delete I did on my 97 Paseo (virtually the same car as yours). You might get lucky and the wire colors even match...

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post109942

Just filled up at 432 miles and put in 10.1 gallons so divided is 42.77 MPG per tank (on ampm gas) that's with the ac and power steering belt off. I don't have a scan guage but u do run my blue tooth obd2 scanner with the torque app for my phone and I love it I'm shure it's not 100% but close enuf for me . With this tank I cut the muffler off it was hanging /drawing because a broken hanger. It not that loud sounds like u have a fartcan on it but I wonder if I will get better MPG with this tank with out a muffler on chevron gas.

I put a 1nzfxe in my mr2 and bumped it up to 37mpg with a 1nzfe computer. 1nzfe=echo motor. Looks like a good fit for any toyota that previously had an A or E engine.

Sounds like a cool project. Do you have a thread here that goes through any of it?

My post count was too low, so now that it's above 5, I can put something up.

I live in cali, land of the opressive smog laws, chances are that I would have a headache if I were to swap in a 1nzfxe into my car.

Ter-power's tag says he's in Perris. Only Perris I see is in California. Gotta keep it stock.

Hey, T-P, maybe you could shop around for a pre-76 Starlet. Those are pretty thin on the ground even in Cali though, so maybe a pre-76 Honda? You'll have more luck there.

Meanwhile, 42+ is damned good, especially for an initial investment south of $600. Start a garage page on your beatermobile.