From the atmospheric pressure and faulty carburetor adjustment division of Tool of the Week comes the large dial vacuum gauge. As the Starlet was going through its bi-annual carburetor meltdown, the time was right to bust out the vacuum gauge to see what was going on. Spark was there for sure. There was plenty of air. That left fuel and fuel delivery as suspects. This … [Read more...]
Surf Punk Toyota Hilux Truck
One of the great mysteries of modern motoring is why anyone would need a pickup truck the size of an Iowa or Yamato class battleship to carry around a circular saw and 20-foot extension cord. Marketing powers tell us that we desire a truck so heavy-duty that a guy with a bucket loader can drop boulders into the bed with such force that the pickup truck will bounce off the … [Read more...]
No recalls for 1982 Toyota Starlet!
It might need a few new valve springs. The input shaft bearing in the transmission is whining a little. There's a wobble or two here or there. One of the camshaft lobes may be in trouble. Clunks? Plenty. We're really hoping the clutch cable doesn't finally give out either. The good news is that even with 230-plus thousand miles on the original 4K-C engine - there are no recalls … [Read more...]
Rescue Tape saves Heater Hose
Miracle liquids and magic pastes are usually sources of great skepticism for us here at Clunkbucket. While there are some things that might work, there are a lot more that don't. When the folks from Rescue Tape handed us a roll of this promising tape-like stuff at the big SEMA Show last year, we already had a test for it in mind. One of heater bypass hoses in the Starlet had … [Read more...]
Economy Seat Covers
The dry climate and salt free roads of California are kind to older cars like the Starlet. The same warm California sun has detrimental effects on vinyl interiors. Throw in twenty plus years of sitting and sunbathing, and it's a good bet that even the rich Corinthian leather in those 1981 Cordoba seats has seen better days. Drivers seats take the biggest beating. While the foam … [Read more...]