Drove a 40th today -- (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Mar 28, 2003
Threads
220
Messages
2,028
I found a guy selling a 40th today -- so I called him up and gave it a test drive.

It had 110K on it, in very good shape, asking $15.4 for it --

-- something was wrong though -- I'm not sure what it was, but it didn't seem as tight as my '94 -- the steering was lethargic, as was the suspension and acceleration -- my Dad even agreed --

-- this vehicle had all the mall-gear on it, too, including the bull-bar, running boards and luggage rack --

-- I also wasn't a fan of the interior -- the "less is more" mantra definitely wasn't there, with a lot of stuff I didn't care for --

-- just my HO, of course, but I've finally got the bug out of my system to try out different 80s (for a bit) -- this one was RUSTING inside the "T" logo on the back hatch -- odd -- !!

I DID test drive a 2000 S2000 yesterday -- 2L, 240 HP with a 9K redline -- that made my DAY -- or WEEK --

-- okay -- enough rambling, just thought I'd mention that 80s don't at all uniformly drive the same, and it's worth getting one that fits your driving expectations --

eric
 
[quote author=erics_bruiser link=board=2;threadid=8177;start=msg69182#msg69182 date=1070146796]
this one was RUSTING inside the "T" logo on the back hatch -- odd -- !!
[/quote]


Not so odd :(. This seems to be the one chink in the trucks body armour. I talked with the guys at Cruiser solutions and they have seem several cases. Their theory is that during thr factory prep of the hatch it didn't get up inside as well as it should have.
 
Eric, go drive a Nissan 350Z, I bought one for my wife last month. They are real fun to drive.
 
Rust-prone areas on 80's? (rear hatch is one)

Sorry to highjack the thread to 'rust', but: I agree with landtank that it isn't odd (I've seen rust on some part of the upper rear hatch of maybe 4-5 of the dozen or so 80's I looked at in Midwest-- including mine :'( ), but not sure I agree with the 'bad factory prep' theory. Reason: I've also noticed that there is rust on the hatch release handle and rust streaks down the release handle attachment bolts, which I take to mean water is draining from there. Which I further take to mean the drainage system inside/around the rear hatch has failed (or was bad from the get-go).

I tried using a hose to run water around mine, but haven't yet figured out where the water is coming from and going to. Next step may be to buy a damaged junkyard one and do a little post-mortem.

Any (positive) repair or prevention experiences out there? In my searches on this, I turned up a reference to rust-prone areas on the 80's in 80scool (which I don't think mentioned it), and one other place which did mention the rear hatch, but gave no more explanation.

Kenton

[quote author=landtank link=board=2;threadid=8177;start=msg69185#msg69185 date=1070148370]
Not so odd :(. This seems to be the one chink in the trucks body armour. I talked with the guys at Cruiser solutions and they have seem several cases. Their theory is that during thr factory prep of the hatch it didn't get up inside as well as it should have.
[/quote]
 
I attributed the rusty door handle to just driving. Rain will swirl around back there in the vacuum. My wifes 4Runner had that handle replaced from rusting solid. The hatch on her truck is rust free other than that.
 
My 40th seems a little less peppy than my wife's '97, perhaps 'cause I cleaned the intake on hers and not mine (yet). Otherwise they drive basically the same. Yeah, I wish she had the 40th, but I wanted the lockers and they're too much work for me to swap. The two-tone leather and climate control are the only internal differences, and only the climate control still bugs me. Both have around 125k. I can't imagine the one you looked at had a lot more wear on the suspension, steering, etc. unless someone like Junk owned it. I'm suspect my wife's 80 wasn't maintained carefully, and I know mine was, yet little difference in aging.
 
did all 40th come with lockers? what about the other special run ("CE"?)
E
 
[quote author=e9999 link=board=2;threadid=8177;start=msg69341#msg69341 date=1070213432]
did all 40th come with lockers? what about the other special run ("CE"?)
E
[/quote]

No. My beater 40th has the bung arb lockers. In retrospect, I should have bought one with elockes.
 
[quote author=Junk link=board=2;threadid=8177;start=msg69472#msg69472 date=1070244839]
yeah, but only your's has the skid marks in the cargo area. :flipoff2: :D :D :D
[/quote]

thank God I've got the old-school dark-brown interior in my 80 --

-- in my Civic, we ripped out the carpeting and sprayed undercoating in the interior of it -- the smell of urine and vomit was horrible -- now it's easily cleaned and looks like an iron-works -- !!

e
 
Rust-prone areas on 80's? (rear hatch is one)

[quote author=kenton link=board=2;threadid=8177;start=msg69263#msg69263 date=1070171820]
Sorry to highjack the thread to 'rust', but: I agree with landtank that it isn't odd (I've seen rust on some part of the upper rear hatch of maybe 4-5 of the dozen or so 80's I looked at in Midwest-- including mine :'( ), but not sure I agree with the 'bad factory prep' theory. ...
Any (positive) repair or prevention experiences out there?
[/quote]

Kenton:

Rust on rear upper hatch seem to be the usual spot, often with two spots forming on the bottom part of the hatch window on the right and left sides. From prior discussions, I think that the main problem is moisture combined with salt/anti-icing stuff + windshield cleaner, etc causing problems.

I've had a few quotes to fix:

(1) Refinish hatch (grind out spots, remove window, repaint, ect) for C$700. I would likely add Toyota window gasket as I doubt most shops would use the right stuff

(2) Replace hatch with new IIRC C$2,000 (may have been less)

(3) Buy used hatch and repaint as needed US$500 + Shipping + Repaint if needed.

Dealers and autobody shops (based on my experience) will not warranty rust repairs. If you want this you need to go to (2) or (3) assuming no rust.

Cheers, Hugh
 
rust on rear hatch

Hmmm good point. I'll have to try an experiment-- tape over the handle on a rainy trip, to prevent 'back-swirl', and see if it still gets wet.

However, that handle isn't the only part of the rear hatch that was/is rusty on the 80's I looked at (and own): the bottom edge of the upper hatch is almost always rusty. The other areas that often rust are around the rear window seal (especially the bottom edge), and around the lock and the toyota symbol. The hinge on the lower hatch also gets stiff and needs lubrication often. Those aren't due to back-swirl, at least I don't think so. I'll have to look closer, see if the rust is from the 'inside-out' or 'outside-in'.

Kenton

[quote author=landtank link=board=2;threadid=8177;start=msg69299#msg69299 date=1070202468]
I attributed the rusty door handle to just driving. Rain will swirl around back there in the vacuum. My wifes 4Runner had that handle replaced from rusting solid. The hatch on her truck is rust free other than that.
[/quote]
 
Mine is a 95 and no sign of rust anywhere and rear hatch is perfect. Where do you guys live. Must have a lot of salt.
 
any salt is too much :D

in wyoming the sun melts the snow off the roads, sometimes icy for a few days.
Dont see any sort of rust for the most part out here, not like Minnesota and such.
 
what's the capital of wyoming?

is there work out there? salt-free roads is a big incentive for me to go audi -- that, and open roads and no JAPs --

-- eric
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom