1992 Toyota Camry 2.2GL (Pt 3)
At this scenic point in my journey back to Norfolk I will cut the story short to say it got me home without any drama whatsoever. Given what could have happened, not least in buying an old car unseen let alone a damaged one, I was very pleased (and relieved).
The damage certainly doesn’t seem to have affected anything structural or mechanical, it drove straight as a die and with a very, very solid feel (arguably less rattles than my 1997 Camry). The engine ran beautifully, slightly rortier than in the later car (maybe that has more soundproofing?) and with a very ‘free’ feel to it. Once I’d got the tyre pressures up to what they should be the ride, handling and braking was exactly as I’d expect, very composed and giving the confidence to hustle the car along nicely. I deliberately chose a cross-country route through The Cotswolds to investigate this. Clutch bites quite high with a soft feel, just like the others I’ve had, and the gearchange is slick. Cruised very nicely on the dual-carriageways nearer home.
In summary well worth the effort. I’m now in something of a dilemma, as once sorted it’ll be perfectly good enough to use every day. But I already have one car to do that with, plus the old Datsun. My ultimate aim is to have a Camry V6 of some sort, but that would be too thirsty for use all year round. And I like the later Sport.
I think the answer is sell the Sport, keep this new Camry and the Datsun and buy a V6, preferably an estate so it does something different to the others. Or buy one of the rare V6 Sports, a couple of which have just come up for sale...
1992 Toyota Camry 2.2GL (Pt 3)
At this scenic point in my journey back to Norfolk I will cut the story short to say it got me home without any drama whatsoever. Given what could have happened, not least in buying an old car unseen let alone a damaged one, I was very pleased (and relieved).
The damage certainly doesn’t seem to have affected anything structural or mechanical, it drove straight as a die and with a very, very solid feel (arguably less rattles than my 1997 Camry). The engine ran beautifully, slightly rortier than in the later car (maybe that has more soundproofing?) and with a very ‘free’ feel to it. Once I’d got the tyre pressures up to what they should be the ride, handling and braking was exactly as I’d expect, very composed and giving the confidence to hustle the car along nicely. I deliberately chose a cross-country route through The Cotswolds to investigate this. Clutch bites quite high with a soft feel, just like the others I’ve had, and the gearchange is slick. Cruised very nicely on the dual-carriageways nearer home.
In summary well worth the effort. I’m now in something of a dilemma, as once sorted it’ll be perfectly good enough to use every day. But I already have one car to do that with, plus the old Datsun. My ultimate aim is to have a Camry V6 of some sort, but that would be too thirsty for use all year round. And I like the later Sport.
I think the answer is sell the Sport, keep this new Camry and the Datsun and buy a V6, preferably an estate so it does something different to the others. Or buy one of the rare V6 Sports, a couple of which have just come up for sale...