Camrys are now cool, OK?

"davedave1111" (davedave1111) 01/24/2015 at 15:00 • Filed to: None

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It's a bit weird, because Camrys have always been much rarer here than in the US, and this is one of only about 50 left in the country. Possibly one of the best remaining.

Just picked it up and drove 100+ miles home without any rattles, funny noises, odd steering, etc. A well documented 60k miles in 25 years, so the engine's barely broken in. Oh, and it just had a full service, new wheels, and new tyres - worth about as much as I paid for it in total.

One oddity, though. When I first got in, it took much longer than I was expecting to warm up properly - 50 miles or so of ~50-60mph average. I was starting to wonder if the thermostat was stuck, but then it warmed up properly (going by the temp gauge). I didn't stop, or even touch the brakes, for almost all of the trip home. When I did stop, after getting back into London - 50 miles on the motorway at (ahem) 70mph - I noticed it pissing coolant from roundabout where the rad is and went 'oh shit'. Came out of the shop I stopped to go into, and realised that only maybe half a pint of coolant had come out. Underbonnet inspection seemed to show that it had dribbled from the overflow.

Does anyone think it's possible that the coolant was over-filled to start with, so as it expanded dribbled out, causing the slow warmup, and then due to the constant high speed it somehow pooled in the engine bay somewhere and all came out when I stopped?

GhostZ > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 15:06

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The only thing that made pre-2000s Camry's lame was the fact that there were so many of them. I hate to say it, but they're definitely becoming fond classics. I have a feeling that they will age, eventually, like the original VW Beetle, with them eventually becoming outdated but still loved for their quirky, cheap reliability when at one time they were considered boring workhorses.

One of the many many problems with the current Camry is that Toyota seems to be trying to force that 'quirky' image and endear their cars to people that, for the most part, don't give a fuck.

Cé hé sin > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 15:11

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That Camry's 25 years old?? Where has the time gone? Them again I haven't seen that model in years and the one after it is almost gone as well.

Is that a petrol one?

davedave1111 > GhostZ 01/24/2015 at 15:23

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"I hate to say it, but they're definitely becoming fond classics."

Heh, the seller actually runs a classic car dealership. Some beautiful metal in there. He and I were both a bit skeptical about whether it's a classic, or whether it ever will be. Great piece of engineering, but it's not really desirable in any non-pragmatic way.

It's impressively quiet and reasonably comfortable, not to mention having enough engine to do the job whilst still being pretty economical - but it's about as exciting as driving a sofa.

davedave1111 > Cé hé sin 01/24/2015 at 15:28

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Yeah, 2.0 petrol. Seems to be a typically good engine, because it gives the car enough power and torque to do fine, doesn't use much fuel, and has typical Toyota build-quality from the period.

Realising it's a quarter of a century old does funny things to my head too. I can't think of the last time I saw any of that generation of Toyota on the road - and the others were much more common here than Camrys.

Steve in Manhattan > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 15:38

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I had an '88 wagon, 5M, and it was decent to drive, reliable, and largely without flaws. I sold it right before I went to law school, and the first caller took it sight unseen, and paid in cash. Very desirable. Probably still plying the roads of Maryland.

BJ > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 15:40

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I'm no mechanic, but I'd replace the thermostat right away (slow warm up is suspicious) and then have the system flushed and refilled correctly.

You bought an awesome car. Classic styling and great reliability.

davedave1111 > BJ 01/24/2015 at 15:44

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Thermostat was my first thought, but then it warmed up eventually. Maybe a sticky thermostat, but maybe not.

Since dumping hot water is a much more efficient way of getting rid of heat than using a radiator, that's what made me wonder about whether maybe it was just overfilled a bit - that and it warming up after a while. I'll have to check tomorrow once it's cooled down and see if there's any coolant missing.

Klaus Schmoll > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 15:57

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Is that what I'm afraid it is, or hopefully just some weird reflections? In this light it looks like the rear fender and door have been resprayed.

Apart from that, cool car sitting on even cooler wheels! I can't remember when I last saw one of this gen. They weren't that common to start with and now seem to have disappeared completely.

davedave1111 > Klaus Schmoll 01/24/2015 at 16:12

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I think it's just a bad photo, but I haven't really had a good look yet.

In this one, it looks like it has a really cool fade from front to back ;)

I'm not quite sure about the wheels, myself. They're at least fairly subtle, but I might see if I can sell them and put it back on steelies. Depends what I get offered, but it has brand new cheap tyres, which is the worst of both worlds in my book: no reason to replace them, and not good enough to want to keep. If I can sell the wheels with the tyres for what they're worth, I should get enough for a set of steelies, wheel trims, and really good tyres instead - and possibly still have about half the price of the car left over :)

"They weren't that common to start with and now seem to have disappeared completely."

To be fair, they weren't ever very noticeable ;)

Klaus Schmoll > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 16:22

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"To be fair, they weren't ever very noticeable ;)" To car guys they were!

And yes, there is rust on the wheel arches, this is what I wanted to point out in the first place. The shade in the paint was only my second impression. Should have made that clear.

What are your plans for it? Drive it as a cheap DD, or put it back to former glory to keep for longer?

davedave1111 > Klaus Schmoll 01/24/2015 at 16:44

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Yeah, it has a touch of tinworm round about the ears. Nothing serious, though. Once I've had a chance to poke around a bit and take some pictures, I'll ask for some advice here on what to do. If it'll need anything major, might as well leave it until it gets worse first. If I can just clean it off without any welding or panel replacement, then paint, that would be nice.

This is the worst wheel-arch:

And this side I'm pretty certain can just be cleaned up and painted:

"Drive it as a cheap DD, or put it back to former glory to keep for longer?"

It really doesn't have anything much to put back to a former state - it's practically pristine, apart from the rust and a few little parking scrapes. The plan is to use it as my regular car - not really a dd, most days I don't drive at all - so I can take the BMW off the road and fix it properly. The insurance is ultra-cheap - at least they think it's a classic :)

PardonMyFlemish16 > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 16:53

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My dad had one of these when they were new. An All Trac 5 speed model (maybe the rarest version ever). My pick of the litter was the 90-91 V6 with those gorgeous flat face wheels.

Sadly though, the 1990-93 Accord pretty much blasted thing's culo to kingdom come, offering the power and performance of this thing's V6 with it's 2.2L 4, better looks, better handling, better build quality etc. etc. Still a fun trip down memory lane though. For about 30 minutes I wanted to stuff one of these with a same year Celica All-Trac motor and drivetrain but then I woke up.

davedave1111 > PardonMyFlemish16 01/24/2015 at 17:35

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I just discovered there was an AWD version when I checked howmanyleft.co.uk tonight. That would be nice on mine. So would the V6, although to be fair the 2 litre I4 has plenty of poke for the kind of car it is.

Just wondering, did you guys get a different Accord to us at that time? I thought the Camry's a size up?

GhostZ > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 18:48

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I think it really depends on what you mean by classic. To someone who grew up in suburban grunge garage band life, the 80s Camry or Accord "mom's reliable beater" is very much a part of that culture.

davedave1111 > GhostZ 01/24/2015 at 19:03

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Yeah, you can argue 'classic' any way you like. To me, though, a classic has to be desirable on an emotional level - and not just by association. This provokes admiration more than lust.

It's hard to get excited about something so staid to drive.

PardonMyFlemish16 > davedave1111 01/24/2015 at 19:27

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The 90-93 Accord was global. I think the 92-96 Camry was global as well though it went under different names.

I drove a 91 a few years back... from what I remember it was like, dangerously slow. Maybe the manual wakes it up.

davedave1111 > PardonMyFlemish16 01/25/2015 at 07:25

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Yeah, I thought they were global - so aren't they different sizes? I was under the impression the Accord's direct competitor from Toyota was the Carina/Carina E, not the Camry - in this country, natch.

I don't believe in 'dangerously slow'. Only 'badly driven'. As it happens, by European standards the 2.0 Camry is reasonably rapid - a smidge quicker to 60 than most cars on the road a about 9 seconds. You guys have very different ideas, though.

PardonMyFlemish16 > davedave1111 01/25/2015 at 10:34

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In the US the Camry and Accord have always been direct competitors. The Camry you have was our Camry as well.

Everything is relative, I guess. My wife's car does 0-60 in probably just under 9 seconds and feels fine. The Camry I drove felt like it did 0-60 in about 11-12 seconds. It was admittedly at the end of its life and fully loaded up with friends with A/C on in the summer. So it probably wasn't a fair comparison. My 93 EX Accord probably hit 0-60 in about 7 seconds when I was done with it.

davedave1111 > PardonMyFlemish16 01/25/2015 at 10:46

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I'm aware they're considered competitors, just not sure why. Wiki says they're the same length, so maybe I just thought the Accord is a bit smaller than it really is.

You're right that it's all relative. Our sliproads are generally much better than yours, so it's not at all uncommon to find cars with 15+ second 0-60 times. I had one for my first car, in fact :)

0-60 in about 9 seconds, with fairly long gearing, translates to eminently respectable highway performance.

TommyTwoTimes > davedave1111 12/15/2015 at 20:08

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It warmed up eventually because even with the thermostat stuck completely open, the engine will produce enough heat to slowly raise the temperature to near-normal operating range. Its still a very good idea to fix it, because it is likely that the oil isn’t getting up to normal temperature nearly as fast as it should, thus being a bit thicker and slower than optimum. Its a super cheap fix, too.

TommyTwoTimes > TommyTwoTimes 12/15/2015 at 20:10

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So I just noticed the date of that last post... my bad...

davedave1111 > TommyTwoTimes 12/16/2015 at 14:09

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“So I just noticed the date of that last post... my bad...”

I’m not going shoot you for trying to be helpful :)

As it happens, my best guess after a year is still the original diagnosis - that, or a thermostat that was stuck because the car had sat for a while, but which cleared itself after a bit of a run. It heats up remarkably quickly, then sits rock-solid on the mid-point of the gauge even in stationary traffic on a hot day - or at low revs and highish speed on a cold day.