Creamy - The 1986 Toyota Tercel Hatchback

My friend has just acquired his fourth Tercel. It's a 1986 two door hatchback named "Creamy" for its color. The engine is Toyota's 1452 cc 3AC. This particular Tercel is a four-speed with a vinyl floor. The engine ran poorly, so it has been replaced with Hornbeam's engine until we find a way to put a 4AGE in the engine bay.

We have retrofitted the entire rear suspension and brakes from a Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S. The struts, springs, arms and anti-roll bar were picked up at a junkyard along with the rear disc brakes. All of the parts are a direct bolt-in, except for the anti-roll bar which will require some fabrication or modification of the end links. The springs are stiffer and the struts that came with them were KYB GR-2s. The rear ride height is about an inch lower now. Our goal is a daily driver that can be autocrossed on weekends.

We also added the front anti-roll bar from a 4WD Tercel Wagon. It's one millimeter thicker.

The stock, complicated shifter has been replaced with a Honda CRX shifter. Cutting and welding was required to connect the linkage and use the upper part of the original stick. We have some binding issues to sort out, but at least the excessive slop of the stock shift linkage is gone.

We were unable to use the vented FX16 front brakes. The thicker rotor almost rubs on the tie rod end and the caliper bracket won't line up right either. You would have to use a spacer between the rotor and the hub, or find a rotor with a different offset. We are just going to stick with the solid rotors for now.

Creamy's engine is going back in Hornbeam. This is the end of Creamy.