My middle son and I went to a car show in nearby Calgary that had all the usual suspect cars as well as a few more exotic finds but one of the most interesting, to us, was this rather modest in origin Toyota. We are both rather fond of this era of Tercels after the ownership of our “Hamborghini” model so we spotted this one from a decent distance away. As it drove by we noticed it had some interesting box flares at the rear hinting that it was not your average Tercel. It turned out to have a secret in the back.
The rear view showed showed some non-stock suspension as well as five rather than four bolt wheels. It had to be a mid engine swap but what one? We hoped the owner would park somewhere along the road at this rather casual come and go show so we would get a closer look.
As luck would have it the car did park nearby with the friendly and enthusiastic owner ready to answer our questions.
The question of what engine might have been swapped in was quickly answered as a supercharged 3.8L V6 out of some sort of front wheel drive Buick sourced entirely from the pick and pull junkyard. The build had used the whole front (now rear) subframe and welded into the car. He mentioned this engine was a fairly early example and could have its power boosted by utilizing some later parts. Not that I imagine this car needs more power.
The interior is pretty standard Tercel at this point minus the Buick shifter and a lack of a rear seat.
The fender flares came about as he measured the distance between the wheels of the donor Buick on the inside of the rim and an assistant measured the Tercel on the outside of the rim. He mentioned he was a body-man by trade so whipped up these box flares by moving the stock bodywork out a few inches on either side to solve the track width mismatch.
The car was definitely still a work in progress but all the work done so far appeared to be completed to a high standard. He mentioned a firewall, exhaust work as the next steps.
As illustrated in the video above the starting procedure is kicked off from outside the car at the rear for now.
The owner did show us under the hood which he had placed some extra weigh in to help balance the car with the absence of the stock engine.
The MR2 is Toyota’s most well known mid engine performance machine which reputably got its name from either “mid-ship run-about 2-seater” or “mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seater”. This Tercel/Buick hybrid is likely faster in a straight line than quite a few of the productions MR2s. Arguably, this Tercel could be similarly named or perhaps “mid-ship (ex)economy 2-seater” or Toyota ME2. Or maybe not as it is definitely one unique creation. Regardless, this was a low buck, high fun project that we were fortunate to be able to see up close and met its passionate owner/builder.
From the title, I was expecting an MR2 rear subframe with a Camry V6. I’ve seen folks put various Toyota V6 into MR2.
But this… totally unexpected! I’m always in awe of people who have a vision and a dream and the wherewithal to make it happen, no matter how bizarre.
My first thought was a Camry V6 as well.
Gotta admire the amount of work done, looks like the first 90% is complete. Interesting way of dealing with the increased rear track, that’s for sure.
All he needs to do is complete the second 90% of the job, and yeah I’d get right on that firewall.
And at the Bowness car wash too! I don’t know why but I’ve always found that very amusing in a Bill & Ted sort of way. Bowness Dude!
Bowness is actually a very interesting place all on its own. It used to a be a small town that was absorbed by the city Calgary many decades ago. Despite this is still has a small town style main street. The houses consist of everything from mansions to row housing.
A friend of mine lives in Bo’Ness, Scotland. A very scenic town but a mid-engined Tercel would be a VERY unusual sighting there.
It’s smart of this guy to start with a Toyota Tercel, it’ll be reliable and last him for a long time while offering good resale value and demand.
Very impressive, and a great way to make use of three ingredients he apparently had available – the Tercel, a Supercharged 3800 and a long Canadian winter.
Surely your first paragraph was typed in jest? Lol
I’m disappointed; he removed the original front engine. I was hoping for a 4WD Tercel, with the option to switch to either drive train, or both, according to the need and desire.
He was apparently able to sell it off to fund the V6 purchase but yes a 4WD option would have been fun.
So many car shows in Calgary and area this summer. Made my head spin as to which one I would go to.
I have to give two thumbs up to the Tercel owner for creating this little Tiger. And what a nice job up to this point. I hope he’s shown the car at some Japanese car shows.
Now that is what I call a heater for winter!
Whether I’D do it or not, I APPRECIATE the kind of ingenuity that went into that Tercel. Bet it’s a blast to drive!
I’d feel very vulnerable, driving that with no firewall. I’m surprised it’s legal – or did he just bring it out as a work in progress for the show?
I’d probably also be deaf, with an exposed V6 behind my right ear.
By the way, how’s the Austin project going?
What happens in Alberta is you generally only have to get a safety inspection on an older car when you first register it. So it he did so before the engine swap there is no one to declare it unsafe/not legal. But it is a work in progress he was showing and he planned an engine cover.
The Austin is moving along slowly. I did the broad strokes out the bodywork previously but I am refining it all over the summer. It is boring and time consuming work but best done with warmer weather as filler and primer don’t work well in an unheated garage over the winter. Hopefully onto front suspension soon.
Thanks. Alberta sounds cool. Here in my state of Victoria, Australia there are no roadworthy inspections unless you sell the car, in which case they can be ridiculously strict. But the police can pull you over any time for a random roadworthy check if they have reason to suspect your vehicle is unsafe or illegal. Or even if it’s just old.
Some Austin guys I showed your articles to are keenly watching. They’re intrigued someone would make a Somerset coupe, and impressed by your bodywork skills.
Always wanted to build something like this. There is the Ford Fiesta Shoguns that someone built, Jay Leno has one. I had a 91 Ford Probe that could have used a SHO power train in place of the back seat.
I like unexpected cars like this, I talked with a guy at a Hillman event he had an Avenger on fat tyres I enquired whether the engine was hotted up, nar its pretty stock was the reply then he opened the bonnet yeah stock Lexus V8!