'04 Impluse Red Build...S.L.O.W...

As the title states, this build thread is going to be a very slow, sometimes even painfully slow. I'm still going to school for nursing so between school, family, friends, my girlfriend, and my truck...there's a lot going on. My gal knows my passion for cars and music. So...she's kind of lenient when it comes to me adding this, or fixing that, or painting these. In the end, this is my truck. It is a reflection of me. Though not a completed project, I would like all of YOU to take a ride with me. Like I said, and as most of you know, this is going to be a slow process. When I first joined and browsed all these builds, I was taken back. I said to myself, "These guys threw a bunch of money at these trucks and they're gorgeous." Then today, February, 23, 2014 at 10:30 AM...I realized...it takes time. Things don't always work out, stuff comes up, and you have to adjust accordingly. Without any further adieus...HERE is my beauty as she sat a few hours ago, a 2004 Toyota Tacoma TRD Prerunner DoubleCab...Impulse Red:



Yes it needs paint, but we just got finished welding everything and mounting the bumper at around 5:30...ish today? The lights need to be adjusted when everything is hooked up and ready to go, but this thing is brutally strong. After I left, I took it home to show my girlfriend and I stood and jumped on the bumper. I'm a big guy and hesitated a little at first. But I bounced and jumped and it didn't so much as budge or bounce at all. I am very pleased with the guys at Fabricated Trucks Worldwide. Brad(Emtmeyer here on TW) and Brandon(BMiller421 here on TW) are real straight arrows. They also happen to have a pair of badass trucks. Both long travel, white, and all the custom fabricated by Fabricated Trucks Worldwide...their home(for now) business. They're beyond generous with their skills and knowledge and are pretty damn cool to talk to. Anyways, if you're interested in body armor, skid plates, bed racks, sliders, light bars, BUMPERS, or anything that needs a weld...whether it be aluminum or different kinds of steel, these guys know what they're doing and do it for a ridiculous price. When I say ridiculous...I mean that their prices cannot and WILL not be beat. If you want to know more about Fabricated Trucks Worldwide here is their personal contact information:
Brad: (661) 300-0087
Brandon: (661) 805-6719

They do have families and jobs so pretty much the business hours are between 10:00AM and 5:00PM. Like I said, these guys are awesome to deal with and will work with you to make sure whatever you want is exactly what you want. I'm still taken back by the crazy work they did with my bumper. The rear will be done in the next few weeks, due to all of our crazy schedules.

Here are more pictures from today and my bumper:

Got the front end taken off and jacked it up to get a better look at things




Brad and Brandon grinding away at some light tabs


Checking for levelness


Bent the main tube and checked for levelness, again!


Cut the end pieces off and prepping to tack weld the main supports to the mounting points on the original bumper bar


Left support done and tacking the right support


I didn't get anymore pictures after the main supports because we just pushed through and knocked it out. But here are a few more pictures of the bumper. I'll get pictures of the light tabs and the supports tomorrow after work.





I also did a projector retrofit about a month ago. They are awesome and I am more than pleased with the outcome. Since then, I've done the same retrofit to my dad's Crown Victoria. A little more modification than needed, but with time and effort, I did it. And boy, is that car one of a kind now. The light output on my truck trumps most newer cars with HID projectors. The cutoff, the even spread of light, and the distance is just insane. Here's the link to the build thread. I will warn you it is lengthy and picture heavy.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/310539-2004-tacoma-projector-retrofit.html
I took my time, as it was my first retrofit. In the end, it proved to be a good write up. Not to toot my own horn, but my girlfriend read it and even she said that she could've done a retrofit by reading my build.

As of right now, I'm just waiting for a free weekend to install my Dakar springs in the back with a D6XL aal in it for that extra oomph. New u-bolts, bushings, and shocks as well. Seems like a good father-son weekend. Just gotta figure out when that'll be. Oh, I've also hit the wheels with 3-4 coats, I don't remember, with Rustoleum satin black. Used the deck or cards trick after washing the wheel and surrounding tire with a scrub brush. No sanding, no prepping. Just let the wheels dry in the sun then hit them straight with coats of paint 5-10 minutes apart. I guess it helped that I live in Bakersfield and it was a nice sunny day, no breeze. Mounted them after they baked in the sun for a few hours. Drove them the next day. No drips, runs, or uneven paint. Stay tuned!!!

Light tabs on my bumper, there is 4 for now, 2 for an LED bar and 2 for other lights:


Original mounting point for the curved bumper push bar thing:


Side supports where the original bumper was mounted:


Let there be LIGHT!



I do have my front bumper and valance completely attached, turn signal housings, behind-bumper bar thing, and wiring for the turn signals if anyone is wants them. Maybe for a small price, maybe for trade...? I will have the rear bumper off soon enough. I'll let you guys know. It's off a 2001-2004 Tacoma if that makes a difference in mounting it on your truck. Oh, the bumper is faded in some parts, but that can easily be masked off and painted.

 

im guessing the lights under your headlights are blinkers? just drilled a few holes and wired to the existing harness?

 

Yup, I'm looking for the video right now. Can't seem to find it. They're quite bright. 5 on each side. Mounted to the removable piece just below the headlight. Wired right to the turn signal harness. I swapped out relays behind the fuse panel in the cabin and everything runs smoothly, no hyperflash

 

Plasti-dipped my wheels while I wait for a good set of tires to come my way for the stock 16's. Also painted the front bumper satin along with whatever was red and visible in front. Ditched the Hella's and added a 13" flood with amber covers and a 32" combo on top of that. TONS of light.

 

Got a flag whip yesterday and gonna be heading out to Oceano today.

 

Why did you attach the bumper to the stock sheet metal frame? One hit and it may rip right off. Also, how come the corners stick out so far? Couldn't bend the tube to follow the contours of the body anymore?

 

It's just a "for now" bumper. If I want more rigidity/strength I'll work on something down the line. I wanted something simple that went the direction I wanted for the future. As for the wideness of it all, if I do decide to keep this bumper and make it stronger it's already there. It's wide because I plan on getting some fiberglass or completely take off the fenders depending on how dedicated I want my truck to be.

 

The bumper isn't as wide as the picture looks, it's even with the black fender flares. The stock sheet metal and frame is stronger than you'd think, fully boxed front horns and 1/4" plate is damn strong, also enough to absorb a big impact, completely rigid equals transfer of energy to the passengers which is bad.

 

Got more work done on my truck. All thanks to Brad and Brandon over at FTW. Finished my rear bumper. Pic wh*re!!!!

Getting ready to tack on the mounts


Fitting for gaps, levelness, and clearance


Finished with ridiculous tabs for the license plate


Clean...and simple. Just how I wanted


Tabs for the license plate

 

.......definitely creeped on you on the 178 last night....

 

Back to stock...for now...