Old Car Running Again?

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Upon a closer look, this car may not be good enough to drive.
One of the power windows stopped working years ago, and is held up with duct tape.
The rubber gasket material around the front and back glass is falling off.
The wheels are sunk into the ground about 4"... probably some serious rust on the wheels and brake components down there.
The paint has come off the hood and it has some rust. From a distance I thought it was just patches of mold and mildew, but there's rust also.

On the other hand, if this car's future is to be towed off to the scrap yard anyway, what's the harm in just siphoning the tank, checking the engine oil, sticking a borrowed battery in it, giving it 5 gallons of fresh fuel, and trying to start it? I'm curious to see if it would start and run again.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

I'm not a mechanic but I have experience selling and owning Camrys. The one in the pic is the same body style as the 94 I got from my mom in 06. If it's been parked a while it most likely needs a fuel pump. The good part of that is it's an easy job . There's an access plate under the back seat on the driver's side. The 4 cylinder model is the best for reliability. But little things go wrong like the fuel door pops off and the outer door handles break . But they're cheap enough on eBay.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

Upon a closer look, this car may not be good enough to drive.
One of the power windows stopped working years ago, and is held up with duct tape.
The rubber gasket material around the front and back glass is falling off.
The wheels are sunk into the ground about 4"... probably some serious rust on the wheels and brake components down there.
The paint has come off the hood and it has some rust. From a distance I thought it was just patches of mold and mildew, but there's rust also.

On the other hand, if this car's future is to be towed off to the scrap yard anyway, what's the harm in just siphoning the tank, checking the engine oil, sticking a borrowed battery in it, giving it 5 gallons of fresh fuel, and trying to start it? I'm curious to see if it would start and run again.

I would definitely go that route with the siphon hose new battery and a few gallons of 93 octane. If that car is the plain old LE 4 cylinder model then it will run again with a little effort and some new parts. The 94 we had got to a point where it wouldn't come out of park. But there's a time square plastic plate beside the shifter that you can pry out and push a key or flathead screwdriver down into and activate the shift over ride button.
The paint faded out on mine too. I believe it was from inferior clear coat. And obviously the sun and weather is harder on darker colors. That's why our current Kia Soul is Kenmore white. The tires should be 15"s which are cheap enough at Walmart/Sam's. The wheels should be a 5x4.5" lug pattern which is probably the most common pattern. So if you needed wheels which I'm sure you don't there are tons of options. You should be able to source a window motor, regulator and switch at any junk yard or on eBay Motors. In fact if you need a fuel pump that's the cheapest place to get one.
I want to see this car running again. I hate to see a potentially good car go to waste. I've crushed more than my share of vehicles since 2010 but they were all way too far gone to repair. I'm no Toyota queer but I'll be the first to admit they're half a million miles vehicles.

 

[Gimli2]

I haven’t read all the posts in this rhread, but the couple that I have read are proposing drastic measures to get the car running. It’s a 95 Camry, for crumping out loud... I vote that you pull the spark plugs and the fuel pump relay and see if you can get it to turn over. Even if everything seems like it wants to run, you are going to do some good math...by the time you replace tires, belts, hoses and everything else that needs to be replaces after 6 years of sitting it might not be worth it...and that’s not even planning for unexpected expenses.

 

[gh1950]

On the other hand, if this car's future is to be towed off to the scrap yard anyway, what's the harm in just siphoning the tank, checking the engine oil, sticking a borrowed battery in it, giving it 5 gallons of fresh fuel, and trying to start it? I'm curious to see if it would start and run again.

No harm. I wouldn't waste 5 gallons of good gas. 1 would do it.

 

[8675309]

car needs 6 things to run..
fuel,air,spark,timing,exhaust,and compression
they used to teach that at tech school

 

[roundhouse]

Meh
It’s a Toyota
It will Probabaly crank right up just like it is