When we purchased this 1984 Tercel for $1k back in 2011 I made a thread on FinalGear entitled “Restoration. How hard can it be?” Unfortunately Richard Hammond wasn’t nearby to shout “Don’t say that!” Still, even though the restoration isn’t anywhere near finished we have made some progress.
Only for it to be killed by entropy.
For example, the pic you see above is the one a less-reputable used car dealer would use to frontline an ad (or the one a writer would use to make a point). A cab driver had its way with the other side, because of course it did.

Before we get to that though, Allow me to introduce you to the car itself. It’s a Brown car appreciation society approved 1984 Tercel with 267 thousand something-or-other miles under its belt. Originally it was bought and registered in New York before making its way to Honduras in 1995. At some point after that it was involved in a nasty crash, was hastily mended and then forgotten about after which we picked it up. To say that it was in bad shape would be putting it mildly.
With little money to spare we’ve been fixing it at about the same rate as your average bureaucracy fixes things. A little central locking here, a little primer there. And all the while serving as my mother’s daily driver. She loves the fact that it’s a small wagon with the correct number of pedals. Thanks to some awesome friends from Canada, the US and Australia we’ve been able to source some parts that would be extremely hard to find otherwise, like interior trim pieces, wire harnesses and indicators. speaking of which, that taxi driver.

I think I’m not exaggerating when I say that the average Honduran driver could go head to head with drivers from Mumbai and Beijing for the title of worst drivers in the world and tie for second place while being pummeled by Moscow drivers. That gash you see was created by an inattentive cab driver opening the door to get out of his car, which was parked in the middle of the road. Not only broke the indicator and headlight ring so generously found  and sent by one of my aforementioned benefactors (Sorry BCS) but it somehow manage to conk out the passenger door lock, so the keyfob does nothing. It also left some nasty gashes on the fender that actually prevented the door from opening for a while. It’s due for a new battery as the current one has mostly succumbed to electrical gremlins. But like any Toyota from around this time, it just keeps on going no matter how much we throw at it.
Now to find a new indicator and headlight ring….As it turns out, it’s really hard.