[md303]

I'd like to introduce my daily-driver, a 1984 Camry DLX 5-speed with 173k miles. I purchased it from the original owner 3 years/30,000 miles ago. It has Collector Vehicle plates with 5-year emissions test interval. This is the most cost effective car I have ever owned! As of today, my total cost of ownership including purchase of vehicle, liability insurance, fuel (I get 32-38 mpg), maintenance and repairs, tax/tags, everything: $3000, or $0.10/mile and only getting cheaper!

Factory "red" paint (copper), clear coat gone on roof, starting to go on hood and trunk.
Beige and brown/tan interior, seats reupholstered 40k miles ago.
Engine rebuilt with all factory parts 40k miles ago.

Mods:
Subaru hubcaps, old broken CD player.

New parts installed April 2011 (keeping good old parts as spares):
Front and rear shocks, front bearing plates, front LCA ball joints, front wheel bearings, CV axles, clutch kit, clutch master and slave cylinders, front and rear engine roll stops, front and rear brake hydraulics/pads/rotors/drums/hardware, new A/C blows ice cold and have spare blower motor, exhaust system replaced from cat back, new igniter and coil, cap/rotor/wires/plugs, O2 sensor plus 2 spares, fuel filter, all-season tires on 14" steel wheels, lightly used studded snow tires on stock 13" wheels.

The bad:
Some rust on rear quarter panels and driver side rocker panel.
Minor power steering pump leak.
Minor play in tie rod ends.
Steering wheel wobbles >70 mph and during braking.
Carpet is nasty.
Distributor advanced as far as it can go to get correct timing at fast idle???????????? WTF, I have had to re-adjust the timing several times to keep it correct, can't adjust any further!

With only 173k miles on the chassis and transmission and much of the car being mechanically new, I would not be surprised if it goes another 27 years. I LOVE this car

 

[chevee2]

Trevor
1986 LE
188K miles
5-spd 2SE 4-cyl

great little car - funny how todays automakers are advertising 30+ mpg like we should be impressed. These cars were doing it 25+ yrs ago.

Just trying to make it live again after it died on a Monday going into work a few weeks back...

 

[Camry84]

Name: Dave
1984
2.0 DLX
Stock
Fog Lights and cup holder (always end up spilling my coffee in this car)

176000 miles, virtually no rust (little in engine compartment under battery)
Brown/ Tan interior, original upholstery in good shape.

Idle speed problem and some flat spots during acceleration (working on that).
Recently cleaned many engine components and tuned it up.

All in all a great, comfortable car that's still in great shape.

 

[strider07]

I've got a 1985 Camry with just over 108,000 miles on it. 2SELC engine in it, just replaced the heads and gaskets in the engine along with the radiator and water pump. I haven't modified it much but I've almost caught up on all the maintenance it needed from being neglected for quite a while, save small things like some sun-damaged interior trim. It's light blue (just a hint of grey) with a matching blue interior. I've added an aftermarket Pioneer Mosfet stereo and some cheap speakers, put new tires on it and changed out all the fluids since I bought it (a couple months back but it sat in the driveway after the head gasket went - won't be doing business with that used car dealer in the future) and it's driving pretty well. I love the thing to pieces and it gets surprisingly great gas mileage for such an old car. I just put a new tail light on last weekend since my old one was broken, and aside from a paintjob and suspension overhaul it needs it's behaving pretty well. I'll get a picture of it with the new parts on as soon as I get a chance. Still have the old blue california plates, too.

Distributor advanced as far as it can go to get correct timing at fast idle???????????? WTF, I have had to re-adjust the timing several times to keep it correct, can't adjust any further!

Mine's idling a little rough as well, not sure if it's a timing issue or not but the BVSV valve I broke and temporarily bypassed ($90 for a new one from Autozone? Can you believe it?) could be part of the problem. :lol:

 

[Bee-Rad]

My mom bought a 1985 Camry back in 2004 when I was 12 or so for I believe $400. It was a real used up car, had an awful exhaust leak, and had a real dirty interior and exterior.

Many years later did I realize it was an extremely rare combo I have yet to come across again.

It was an tan LE hatchback, with power windows, moonroof, locks, alloys, and the digital cluster.

I remember taking a marker and drawing the Toyota logo on the front part of the hood and the centers of the wheels to make it look more "modern." It was a pretty good car until the starter or something died for the last time which is, i believe, why my mom left it. It was our first car with working AC, surprisingly. I'd like to find a clean example of one again someday.

 

[SystemEng]

Name: Robert
Year: 1986
Trim Level: LE 4-door Sedan 2.0 gas
Major Mods: NONE
Bought four years ago with 47,000 miles on it. Paid $1,000. Perfect condition. Garage kept, not driven for 15 years. Drained all fluids, changed brakes, lubed, and changed tires. Now has 89,000 miles.
Side swiped by driver with no insurance in 2013. Minor body damage passenger side. Insurance totaled car for $2,750 due to low mileage, gave me the car back for free, and I have $1,750 in cash for gas and repairs.
I call this my lucky car.

 

[Kingdom934]

Name: Robert
Year: 1986
Trim Level: LE 4-door Sedan 2.0 gas
Major Mods: NONE
Bought four years ago with 47,000 miles on it. Paid $1,000. Perfect condition. Garage kept, not driven for 15 years. Drained all fluids, changed brakes, lubed, and changed tires. Now has 89,000 miles.
Side swiped by driver with no insurance in 2013. Minor body damage passenger side. Insurance totaled car for $2,750 due to low mileage, gave me the car back for free, and I have $1,750 in cash for gas and repairs.
I call this my lucky car.

Wish I could find a Gen1 LE in garage condition. Mines still run but is a rust bucket !

 

[Timpy311]

Name Tim
year 1985 2selc 5spd.
trim level I believe is the dx
Current mods none bone stock original
future mods just normal replacements on her she starts fine runs like a champ and still kicking at 423xxx bought it from a old lady who owned it for 23 years but as my daily driver her mileage is only going to climb

 

[Crown38]

Gen 1 owner

Thomas Crown (Camry means crown in Japanese)
Year: 1985
Trim: dlx
2.0 5 speed
Mods: cold air intake, 17" wheel upgrade, stereo upgrade, headlight upgrade to led, along with fog light conversion, front lower bumper valance.

I am the second of owner of the car, which had 68,000 miles when I bought it for 200$ about 12 years ago. It had some passenger side rear quarter damage from original owner that I had to hunt down a donor car for. So that got replaced. The 17" wheels are stock wheels from a Scion tC that I custom painted. (I am a automotive painter btw) 215/40/17 size tires. Fenders and quarters did get rolled to eliminate rubbing, even more so when I put some king lowering springs on her. Has had the original paint (4d2) on it. But the clear is finally starting to show its age, so I have been getting her ready for a respray in the next week or two. Hands down has been the best car I have had the pleasure of owning and don't plan on ever getting rid of her. I plan to do a 3sge swap in her, eventually. No rush though, as the 2se is still strong as can be. It's funny how many times newer Camry owners that see the Camry badge on the back and the antique tag and ask what year it is , and are amazed that it is still on the road.

 

[86ers]

1986 Camry LE
278 k
Put 15 inch wheels 195 65 15
Would like to go 134 AC as compressor seized up. Currently troubleshooting PS leak. Have replaced radiator, all struts, gas tank, brake lines...etc....has been a MN car for at least 10 years, but underside and car is fairly clean. One mid I did was cut away some of the front wheel well, for the rims offset put wheels out a bit further, looks cool, but goal was for clearance.

 

[dutchess]

Alan B NYC
86 Camry LE 2.0 Power everything
Auto
91,000
Piaa headlights and a Kenwood CD player,
Only car I own, move it from side to side daily for 6 months a year and tow it south for the winter where I use it daily.

 

[Masterbosch]

1984 Toyota Camry ebrahem ozturk dlx manual 2.0 all black color we have the car since 1986 imported from USA at 30k miles since then we have it 228k miles runs good but recently oil is leaking from gaskets gonna get the engine rebuild now.parts I am installing now

Front coilovers backs were taking by TSA at airport . Full JBL surround sound 205 40r16 steel wheels led headlights. Have bunch of other stuff but at the moment I take the car apart for interior door panels to be carbon fiber and insert the components speakers for the door JBL gto609c 2 pair for the doors JBL s31224 sub and jbl t595 6x9 speakers 3 JBL amps 35 farad capacitor voodoo.all led lights. 3m nano ceramic window tint all around cm30% cm%70 at front windshield. Gonna do all interior carbonfiber dash and panels.

 

[Masterbosch]

1984 Toyota Camry ebrahem ozturk dlx manual 2.0 all black color we have the car since 1986 imported from USA at 30k miles since then we have it 228k miles runs good but recently oil is leaking from gaskets gonna get the engine rebuild now.parts I am installing now View attachment 281027 Front coilovers backs were taking by TSA at airport . Full JBL surround sound 205 40r16 steel wheels led headlights. Have bunch of other stuff but at the moment I take the car apart for interior door panels to be carbon fiber and insert the components speakers for the door JBL gto609c 2 pair for the doors JBL s31224 sub and jbl t595 6x9 speakers 3 JBL amps 35 farad capacitor voodoo.all led lights. 3m nano ceramic window tint all around cm30% cm%70 at front windshield. Gonna do all interior carbonfiber dash and panels. View attachment 281026

 

[Masterbosch]

Have momo steering wheel but had to take it of because of wouldnt pass inspection but will be back on in a couple months

 

[OldSchoolCamryLE]

Hey guys!
im steven, and I just bought a low miles 1985 Camry sedan LE, sunroof, digital dash in near perfect condition for 500$!
only mods so far have been de-badging the front grill, blacking out grill and headlight bezels.
Ordered 13" basset racing wheels, and some 24" mud tires haha. Going to make this into the baddest gen 1 camry on mud tires there is.
Also, anyone know how to fix the digital dash turning off when headlights are on?

 

[gkoornhof]

Am I the only one with an 86 with the stock luggage rack/spoiler on the trunk? I've never seen another camry with one..... which kind of sucks because part of it broke recently and I know it'll be impossible to find another one.

One of these appears in the series Dopesick on Disney+