Hi everybody,

I'm Jed from Melbourne Australia.
We're nearing the 150 members worldwide mark (last count = 144)

Thought it might be a good idea for members to introduce themselves, tell everybody where you're from, a little bit about yourself what you like to do.

Also little bit about your car/s, what you love about them, any modifications you've made OR are planning to make & how long you've had it etc.

Cheers!  

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..I work in building maintenance, never been into cars (...until I bought this one! ) but I love driving.
Love snow, hiking fishing etc etc THE GREAT OUT DOORS!!

The alltrac was the first car I actually purposefully chose. That was 4 years ago.

I wanted something medium sized, tough, good for daily driving & bush tracks, camping etc. But still well suited to the street as well...

I bought my alltrac wagon & have never looked back.
Very fun, reliable, economical & versatile car to drive.

I love how much torque 3rd gear has when driving on the street.

Aiming to build a strong all-round alltrac wagon with supercharged engine, raised suspension & full SR5 trims.

Own one & a half 4AGZE engines including a larger sized SC14 supercharger ...still trying to find an SR5 with sunroof for sale in order to complete the ultimate build.

If I could own lots of these cars & modify them in different ways I would!  

I'm Ryan, from Florida, USA.  I do quality control at an aluminum fence manufacturer, been there for almost 4 years now.  It's great because sometimes I find car parts that I think to myself... "can I powdercoat this??"  I just ask for permission and 99% of the time, it's OK.  (For example, my rear-view mirror bracket.)

I like working on cars, something I used to do with a friend of mine like 13 years ago, then stopped for several years.  Since paying out the nose for a water pump replacement (among other related things) on my old LeBaron convertible several years ago, I decided it was time to get back into doing my own repairs.  I seem to find more stuff to fix / modify each weekend between my two cars (1994 Honda del Sol, and of course my All-Trac).

Other than that I collect some toys, and occasionally do some toy customizing.  I want to get into diorama building to make scenes for displaying my toys, but never seem to have the time...

I'm Dylan from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I'm about 3hrs north of the US border, and a 10hr drive from the west coast. 10 of the most beautiful hours of your life.

I love where I live, I've traveled all of North America and I can't find a more unique and amazing spot. Its a city of a million nestled literally with enormous mountains an hour to the west, and expansive prairies to the east. I was lucky enough to be born and raised here, in the last 10-15 years there has been an oil "boom" that has driven growth here exponentially. I grew up in an inner city neighborhood, the population was around 500,000 when I was born. Its about 1,100,000 now and I'm 27 years old. The growth of the city has made me appreciate the mountains, and how close we are to the feeling of 'escape' here. I see them every year, dozens of times a year, but for some reason the feeling is the same every time you get out and breathe the air. =D

I've tried my hand at a wide variety of occupations, I ran an extreme thrill ride for 4 years fresh out of high school which was owned by a family friend. Thats what allowed me to travel North America, I got paid to see the continent! After I had enough of that and felt the 'settle down bug' I got myself a job in a welding / machine shop. When the time came that the owner said I had to pick which one I wanted to apprentice under, I couldn't choose. I was still young and in party mode, and ended up losing that job to my own lack of effort and bad attitude. I learned a lot though, and I am still friends with the owner, luckily, they have saved me some money on my silly customizations and repairs of cars over the years. From there, I sold insurance, literally door to door. Except, I avoided homes, I sold to businesses and construction workers during the boom years it was pretty easy. Again, made great contacts but I didn't enjoy myself. Add a couple years of general construction to my job list, and I ended up getting a shoulder injury and having to move home to take care of my Grandma in the same short time period. This persuaded me to go back to school, which is where I am today; MOSTLY UNEMPLOYED student, living off savings and loving it. I work with a friend of my dad's from time to time doing general renovation contracts to keep the money flowing, and I live a pretty cheap lifestyle. My biggest expense is usually this All Trac.

I mostly hibernate in the winters, and when summer comes I love to camp, hike, bike, raft, and kayak, and I have my dog with me for about 90% of those, I just can't fit him in the kayak.. He doesn't mind rafting if its not too hot outside, though, hes a black husky so he prefers the winter. =)

Hey, how are ya? My name is thomas and i live in the south western part of the USA. Phoenx, AZ. I work at a printing/shipping facility and have been there for 4 1/2 years. born and raised here so i love the desert. just recently purchased a 1990 All-Trac sedan. yes, you read correctly, its a sedan. also have an 86 camry which gets me to work and back, so i love that damn thing. hell, its older then me and it only 170xxx miles young. not even broken in yet. lol.  im also on toyotanation forum and am relatively new to both sites.

ok - I'm officially jealous - we hardly ever see these in Australai & since I let one slip through my fingers a few months back I just start drooling every time I see one.

You should look after it allractive - as the years go buy there won't be many of these around.

Definitely worth putting some love into.

If you look in the vidz section thee's a few clips of AE95 sedans ripping it up on the dirt & in the snow...

My name is Dave, although most of you know me as Datsa.  Where does that name Datsa come from? Well, it does start with "Da" just like Dave, but it is actually a word from the Chipewyan Dene (native First Peoples that live in Saskatchewan and Manitoba), and it refers to a type of bird.  But it is also a reflection of what I do: by education and field experience, I am actually cultural and medical anthropologist with some archaeology thrown in for fun -- not the just the kind that digs up bones (paleontologist), but the kind that studies how other living people run their lives and their culture.  So what really interests me is in people who live mobile and itinerant lives, such as First Peoples (the last remnants of hunter-gatherers in North America), the homeless, rail riders and modern-day hobos, day laborers, migrant farm workers, South Pacific Islanders,  and others, etc.

I also have a medical background, having worked as a surgical/medical assistant/phlebotomist for the University of  California medical system for 9 years.  In addition, I have started and run free health clinics in the United States and, currently, rural and urban Mexico.   I take my All-Trac to Mexico every few months to run a free clinic.  The other times I fly into Mexico with a non-profit of which I am a member and help run one of their rural free clinics.  Someday, I'd like to combine anthropology and health care into some more advanced career, so I've gone back to school at the local university to take some classes.

Prior to working in the medical field, I worked in the computer field as a systems administrator/programmer/manager to support my anthropological endeavors; it is hard to make a living when your living requires you to literally wander around with other people.          

As far as cars, I have been tinkering with cars for years, completely self-taught.  I would not say that I am a mechanic, but I like to be able to fix what I drive and since I drive to some remote places in the U.S. and Mexico with my All-Trac, it is nice to be able to fix it myself if it breaks down. I got the All-Trac precisely because I wanted a small wagon that got decent gas mileage, was sticks shift, and could fit into small parking spaces.  I've owned newer and larger cars and trucks, but this is hands-down my favorite.

I currently reside in Long Beach, California, but I may relocate within the next year depending on where graduate school takes me.

Wow Datsa - You're a walking PHD!

Sounds like you've got heaps of experience man both educational & the school of life great stuff!

....& I always thought datsa meant you secretly loved datsuns! LOL! Couldn't blame you if you did.... They made some great cars too before becoming known as Nissan (& of course went on to make some very fast tough cars)

Hi everybody, my name is Andrey, i`m from Krasnoyarsk сity siberia Russia.
My car is Toyota sprinter CARIB 1992y. AE-95 Touring Special 4A-FHE

My name is Eddy from Cooma NSW Australia

Bought my SR5 wagon new in 1990 in Melbourne.  Because I was doing lots of country driving, added a bullbar, driving lights, cruise control(which doesn't work well up hills especially around here) and converted to LPG as it was about a quarter the cost of petrol then.

Since had a Subaru Forrester but it wasn't as good in slippery conditions.

The area around here is a hot spot for wagons as Snowy Hydro which runs the Hydro-electric scheme in the mountains here had them as company vehicles in the early nineties - remember seeing then parked in the street in the company town in the mountaiins.

Mine has now done 660000km, while just about everything under the bonnet has been replaced (LPG is not friendly to the factory engine nor is water) gearbox and drivetrain is pretty much original as is interior.

Car has had a hard life, has been belted down all sorts of roads and tracks across eastern Australia at some stage, these days it gets used to collect firewood in paddocks and forest.  End up on some sort of track on at least a weekly basis, but is still going strong.  Current engine has done over 300000km.

Cheers

Quoted from JedzWagn

Wow Datsa - You're a walking PhD!

Well, not yet but perhaps in a few years.  I will probably try for a medical degree first, though. Much more useful for what I need to do.

I just got back from driving to Mexico (to run one of those free clinics)  on Sunday, and the All-Trac performed flawlessly.  The timing belt broke just days before I left, so rather than fix it myself, I went to a mechanic, who also fixed a nagging cam shaft seal leak as well.  If I had the time, I would have fixed the timing belt myself, but in the days just before the trip I was just too darn busy.

Next week, I will be flying to Sinaloa, where our non-profit has three free health clinics.  Those clinics are just too far, and maybe too dangerous, to drive to -- literally 1001 miles by car from where I live.

I also forgot to mention that I am studying biochemistry and microbiology, and while I'd like to say that I can do chemistry, real hardcore chemistry would be a stretch.

Quoted from alltractive

. just recently purchased a 1990 All-Trac sedan. yes, you read correctly, its a sedan. also have an 86 camry which gets me to work and back, so i love that damn thing. hell, its older then me and it only 170xxx miles young. not even broken in yet. lol.  im also on toyotanation forum and am relatively new to both sites.

I considered getting the sedan as well after getting the wagon, but one car All-Trac was enough.

Your paint job is similar to mine -- peeling clear coat.  Apparently there was a bad batch of burgundy paint.
I still have not painted mine -- less likely anyone will steal it while I am driving it through Baja.

Hi Eddy,

Rare to find an original owner! and 660,000 kms! I used to get up your way a bit - Perisher etc.. in my Tercel wagon, but these days I've updated to the corolla. I was thinking of getting the LPG set up on my car but the subsidy for installation has been  reduced significantly and as you know, the prices of the fuel are not going down at all. I've noticed how economical my car is on the freeway compared to the city - around town I'm on around 10L/100kms, freeway - 7L/100kms. I was also thinking of getting cruise but it seems very expensive to install as I was quoted around $650 here in Melbourne.

Great cars in the snow! I guess you got some stories. What rubber does you car have for the snow? and do you have any suspension mods?

Cheers, Matt

Hello Matt

Strangely enough the car has spent most of its life in Cowra, which isn't known for its cold weather.  (Air conditioner had plenty of use though) Prior to moving here, the car had only been in snow when I'd ventured into the mountains here in NSW or Victoria for a day trip.

These days I live at 1100 metres, so the ocassional snowfall is not unusual. As i write this the thermometer outside says -6.  Car may be difficult to start tomorrow.  The next couple of days may be interesting with snow predicted.

Theres been a few times when I've driven home with snow on the road over the past couple of years.   Likewise hit ice in the mornings.  On those really cols foggy mornings, biggest problem is the windscreen icing up as I do the 35km to work,      
heater can't cope with de-icing at 100 km/h.  It still amazes me how much ice can build up on the front of the car on the way to work sometimes.  
Best snowfall so far was 2008 when we had 50 cm of snow overnight followed by rain next day.  Couldn't go anywhere as the snow was too deep.  That afternoon, as I'm in the local SES unit. I was asked to go and inspect a garage here in town that was beginning to collapse under the weight of snow and ice and extract the car if possible.  Before I did anything I had to clear some of the snow around the front gate so that I could open it.
My front yard has a creek through it so I have a dip in my driveway.
On reversing out of the garage I engaged the centre diff lock, but the light didn't come on.  With the centre diff lock not working I almost got to the top of the dip and stopped.  Any attempt to move had me sliding back towards the creek that was filling with water.  Took me an hour to get the car to safer ground, meanwhile the council grader had come past and cleared some of the snow of the road. Drove down the driveway. turned it around on the road and put it back into the garage.
For some reason, when I test the centre diff lock it always works, but there have been a few times that I've needed it and it has not worked, you certainly notice the difference when it isn't working in slippery conditions.

As far as tyres are concerned, up until moving here it had the standard Bridgestones, now have the standard Federals, although I don't think they have as much grip in the wet. Have contemplated putting other tyres on, but even though I do get into some extreme conditions sometime, they have been OK.  
Biggest problem is not the tyres but lack of power moreso running on LPG.  Some of the slopes I drive up when I go get firewood need a runup.  Stalling would mean rolling back to the bottom and trying again, fraught with danger if you have a trailer attached.

Suspension is standard, and belting around on rough roads, its done plenty of hard work.  Original shocks replaced with gas shocks around 200000km, but managed to destroy both front gas struts within 100000km.  Current ones have done at least 300000km and they're not happy now.
When the car was new I considered raising it but thats as far as it went.  Likewise considered sump and other guards.
Have learnt though, when there is a large rock or other item on the road or track, move the car over so that the centre of the car doesn't go over it and destry the sump, gearbox of diff.  Have plenty of underfloor damage though.  

From memory my car would do 8.5-9 l/100km on petrol and 11-12 l/100km on LPG.  Pricing for LPG is all over the place though.  It costs me $40 to fillup here on LPG or $50 for the equivalent distance on petrol.  We have a Liberty Service Station 60km up the road selling LPG for almost 20 c/pl less.  Always enjoy coming back to Victoria as LPG is so much cheaper.

Talk to you soon

Keep Warm

Eddy  

Hi Eddy,

Yeah, bit of a cold snap coming your way mate. I think I will hold off on the LPG as it does not seem such a bargain anymore but maybe look at getting some heavy duty King springs front and rear. My Tercel was pretty well 50/50 weight distribution but I think the Corolla is much heavier over the front with the transverse engine/gearbox so I think my front end might be the focus.

Do you have synthetic oil in your gearbox? I did this with my Terc - Redline GL4 - and it dramatically improved the shifting. I think perhaps the linkages can get a little bit loose after a while.

Yeah, that's weird about the Diff lock not coming on. I accidentally put mine on on a straight bit of road the other day at 100kmph while fumbling for the ipod but no problems that makes me think that maybe it is not working anyway. I'm running Hankook Silicas on 14" Corolla rims right now which are wearing really well - speedo is only 3% off. Done a couple of runs from Adelaide to Melbourne recently and getting that good economy figure by staying just under 100kmph and being kind to the gas peddle. I think we are really lucky in Australia as there are so many of these cars around compared to the rest of the world. In Japan they still make AWD Corollas but sadly Toyota doesn't really do niche vehicles over here.

Cheers! Matt

Matt

Must admit that after changing to gas shock absorbers the front end was more willing to float when going over a hump in the road or being worked hard, but was less likely to go all the way - often wondered if the shock absorbers were for a standard Corolla.

Must admit that I have no idea what oil I have in the gearbox - leave that up to the mechanic.  Have been having to top up with Castrol EXP 80W 90 as it has developed leaks.  Probably replaced 5 or 6 left hand seals, last one only lasted about 20000km, but the current one has lasted longer.  Gearbox also developed a constant drip from the filler plug, tried various seals, new plug, plumbing tape, nothing seems to work, just left pools of oil everywhere it went.  Only thing that has worked is using a standard tap O ring.  Apart from this the gearbox is untouched.
Shifting has been a problem for about 400000km now, shifting up is OK but going from 4 to 3rd or 3rd to 2nd is noisy and sometimes needs some persuasion.  Discovered recently that the syncro in 3rd is so bad now that I don't need to use the clutch to shift if I can get the revs right.

Talk about being cold - normally might get 2 light snowfalls here over a winter, had 5 decent snowfalls so far and today the highway was closed for about 5 hours while they waited for it to stop snowing and clear the road.

Might have to catch up with you next time I'm in Melbourne, usually down there every school holidays for a couple of days.

All the best

Eddy