'93 Camry V6 LE- What would YOU do?

[camry6]

Hey there TNers, I am trying to decide what to do about my 1993 Camry V6 LE. It was my first car, bought it in 2001 from my (now) father in-law. It had 258,000 kms (161,000 miles). This car has served me well and still is fantastic! It was my main transportation up until March 2009 (398,000 kms {249,000 miles}) when I bought a 2006 Lexus ES 330 with 78,000 kms (48,000 miles), which my wife has claimed possession of and uses everyday for work. The Camry then became my secondary vehicle which I used mostly on weekends. (I have a company vehicle for work). Last September (2010) I bought a Lexus GS 430 as well. The GS which I use mainly on weekends, has now replaced the Camry as the secondary vehicle. I had no need to displace the Camry, but I had to have a GS 430. Now the Camry is a third vehicle which I use to pull a utility trailer. I am also installing a hitch on my GS.........yea, yea I know, a hitch don't belong on a GS!......that's besides the point. This will mean that I will then pull my utility trailer with the GS. This leaves only a small share of vehicular duty for my Camry to fill -Winter vehicle. I really don't want to drive my GS, even though occasionally, in the salt, sand and snow here in eastern Canada. I recently had it Krown rust proofed and have installed four snow tires for the time being. My Camry is currently being loaned to my brother who is visiting from away from last September until the end of January. At the end of January the Camry will be coming home. This leaves me with a decision to make.

Here is a list of what needs to be done with it to get it back in top notch condition:
1. Complete paint job (I can get a real good deal from a buddy if I put in some sweat equity)
2. The transmission is shifting gears like a hammer and it would be nice to replace it (I have a good used tranny in my parts bin)
3. The windshield is cracked (I have one of those from another parts car)
4. The engine needs valve adjustment, frost plugs replaced and is burning/leaking a little more oil than it normally did, about 2 liters (or quarts) every 5000 kms (3000 miles). I have a better engine that needs a complete gasket job (has blown head gasket anyway) which I already have the complete gasket kit for.

This will consume a lot of time, but in the end I can use it comfortably for a few more years. I still love my Camry. It has NEVER left me stranded. The car has earned my respect. I love telling people how many miles are on it and that it is virtually all original. I always get a WTF?? SERIOUSLY!? LOL!

This leads me to list the reasons why I should keep the old girl running:
1. BRAGGING rights! LOL
2. I think I am too attached to the darn thing!.......seriously!
3. I always said that I wanted to see her through to 500,000 kms (312,000 miles) I am so close that I can't seem to quit now.
4. I can use it during the winter and keep my GS out of the nasty winter conditions.
5. The car is a blast to drive, there is just something so great about the way it feels.
6. I can do ALL of the work myself.
7. Money is not an issue.
8. It goes like somethin' sick! (Thanks much to my tinkering around over the years and miles!)

Here are the reasons why I shouldn't:

1. The wife tells me that it's time to retire the Camry (I know that we ultimately don't need 3 cars!)
2. To do the things I listed above will take a lot of time (I have a full time job)

So that is pretty well where I sit. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks for reading.

[JohnGD]

Being able to work on the car would be fun. However, if you don't have time and the wife doesn't want to see it, then get rid of it. And spend your time doing things like ATF changes and other maintenance work on the remaining cars.

[Chris Crash]

Personally, I love project cars. But they're only fun when your daily driver's are in working order too...

It sucks when your DD breaks down and you have to drive your nasty project car around town!

I would do it.
1) If you can get a good deal for paint, do it.
2) Trans replacement = piece of cake!
3) I don't know how hard it is to replace a windshield, but you're already half way there by having one ready!
4) I would re-work your current engine, valve job, freeze plugs, rings if you feel so compelled to tear it apart. Actually, thinking about it, I'd rather replace the HG on the other engine and use that...

Myself, I would pull the engine/trans out that way you can swap the engine and trans together after re-working the engine. Much easier that way.

[camry6]

bump

[Mister_Perkins]

keep it. These things will last a long time. Its easy to swap the windshield out too. All you need is some alcohol and 3M Window Epoxy (10-15.00 USD) and a window scraper. You will also need to purchase a window clip kit, which your local Windshield store can purchase for you .. usually 5-10.00 USD. Scrape the old window epoxy off, use alcohol to clean where the epoxy was, and more than likely clean up the rust along the top of the windshield Use Por-15 for the rust converter, and prime / seal it. You might as well paint the windshield surrounding once you get the rust repaired and the old epoxy removed whatever color you will be painting the car.

Helpful hint :

Make sure the Epoxy is warm. Cold Epoxy doesn't like to push very easily.

[Silent Runner]

Thats tough, an old car that you really like but you really have no need for it anymore.. (no smilie for sad). It's probably time to pass it along, hopefully to someone else who will apreciate it for a little while, or maybe a crazy person that will invest some time and money in it. Its kind of sad nowadays, but very few cars that have been built as everyday transportation since the early 70's have been appreciated both intrinsically and for their significance to the maturing of car companies, and the industry as a whole. Some attention has been paid by enthusiasts to the really high peformance, or limited specialty cars that emerged after that time, but little else. The 92 Camry and it sexy sibling the, 92 Lexus ES-300, were ground breaking cars for Toyota and the industry as a whole. They took the family car segment and near luxury, entry one to a whole new level in the industry. I remember, I was there as a car enthusiast. These cars made GM, Ford, and Chrysler sick with worry. They were so much better than anything the domestics were producing at the time, that articles were talking about GM engineers taking apart the cars in there research facilities and being simply dumbfounded and amazed by their quality and attention to detail. These cars deserve to be preserved, restored, and resto-moded like many really great cars of the past, but they likely will not. Todays culture just doesn't look at the past like it used to.

I say keep it!

[youngfarang]

@ Silent Runner: I really like what you have to say about what these cars meant to Toyota and it's competitors at the time they came out. The most impressive thing about the 3rd gen. Camry's is their build quality.


*** If money is not an issue and you still love the car, keep it.

[camry6]

Thank you all for your input! I have been thinking this over a lot. Last night I came across two links posted by LynchburgCSI. It was the two from mr2wiki.com and mr2.com. Now I feel that I have to keep my 3VZ-FE going, and furthermore, I'm thinking if I have to do head gaskets on a better engine anyway......why not do the port and polish on it. Perhaps do the injector up-grade, I already have a 255lph high flow fuel pump and up-sized fuel lines to support them. I did the timing advance on my own 3 years ago, I figured it was making around 200 horse power and now I pretty much know for sure. Fabricate a "Y" pipe, no problem (HAS to be better than the factory "T" pipe). Remove the catalytic converter......easy! I deleted the EGR years ago! I'm starting to see a project in my future. The car can be down as long as needed to complete the work so there is no rush. No rush means I can DO IT RIGHT!.........I'm inspired...........