03 I Wish I Was Done With College "Build"

So obviously I'm new to the forum and don't know many of you, I've always been a forum lurker but I've finally decided to pull the trigger, join and make a thread. Feel free to make rag on my ideas/truck I have some pretty thick skin lol.

So here it is, 2003 Tacoma, 101k, 4cyl, 5spd, 265/75/16 tires, and plenty of rock chips.

I am in college at The University of Akron for Construction Engineering and have been working the last three years of school to scrape up a few pennies and get back to my roots and get a 4x4. I totaled my Jeep Cherokee right after I graduated highschool



Then shortly after I got a Ford Contour So after two years of the Contour I picked this piece up.




Bench Seats can go to hell.


So first thing first, my headlights they were quite foggy

So I polished the best I could without sanding them to try to keep the UV coating intact.

Heres a Picture of the engine bay while I'm at it


So I have a good bit of experience in Plasti-dipping things, my roomates are into "stanced" cars and we have Plasti-dipped entire cars multiple times, with spray cans and then an actual Plasti-dip gun and quite a few little odds and ends pieces, so needless to say I felt up to the challenge of dipping my bumpers and grill that were in need of attention.


Taped off and ready to go, so I got to work


I think it turned out pretty good for two cans of Plasti-dip and 3 hours


And that leads me to where I am at now, Sorry if this got a little to picture intensive but I've always thought the more pictures the better.

Future:
I currently have wheels, probably something like rock crawlers for now, at the top of my list along with bud deflectors and window guards so I stop adding rock chips to my hood. And I'm looking at window tint, just not sure what percent I want to run just yet. A toolbox for under my tonneau cover and a few small thing are also in my plans. A set of bucket seats as well as power windows and locks would be nice but aren't a necessity. I have the money, barely, I'm just taking my time to make sure all of this is what I want. Links to any threads that you think I might be interested in are appreciated, sorry if I bored anyone.

Thanks

 

The bumper looks way better and the headlights too! subbed here

 

Thanks Man! I like the way it turned out, too bad Plasti-Dip seems to have such a bad reputation on all the forums.

 

Welcome and congrats on the Taco purchase from a UA alum.

 

Thanks! What did you go to UA for? Surely it wasn't the women hahaha

 

I spent my freshmen year at Miami University. Women for days there my friend. Got that out of my system. Never lived on campus at Akron so I wouldn't know LOL. A BS in Business management and organizational supervision is what I came out with. Don't really even use it in my career. Good luck with the build.

 

LOL you didnt miss anything in Akron. I saw you were a project manager which basically what my major is for, do you work in the construction industry?

 

Yep -- underground tunneling and utility construction.

 

So with my internship ending Friday and not having anything 100% lined up to work starting next monday, I'm holding off and gathering more pictures in my head of what I want this truck to look like.

Ive changed my mind about being a cheapass with my wheels and i think I want Mickey Thompson Classic 3's... I have a slight thing for Mickey Thompson wheels
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mtt-90000001792/overview/


So that with lugs will cost around $575-$600 depending on lug nuts.

Then I got a quote to Linex my bed for $430 which I feel is a decent price.

Then since every rock from Colorado to Ohio has chipped the front of my hood I want to keep a few specks of paint left on the front so I want to get a bug deflector and a set of window vents since its a monsoon inside my truck if I crack the window and its raining. All that should cost me around $100

Also I have an idea to get a 36" job chest and cut it down and re-weld it to fit in my bed under my tonneau cover but those are insanely expensive so I'm searching for a used one that someone is scrapping. You would think that would be easy to find working for a demolition company but so far all of our stuff is WAY too big.

$611 Jobsite Chest, 36" W x 19" D x 16" H, Tan

http://www.amazon.com/Knaack-36XXX-Jobmaster-Jobsite-Storage/dp/B00004TZNN


And then based on the dimensions I have found online, I plan on making swingcases like the ones that Undercover makes.


As far as I understand their swingcasesonly fit the 2nd gen taco's but a 20mm ammo can should fit right under our our bedrails and isn't any wider that the wheel wells, so I'm currently drawing up ideas for mounts for those in our beds.


And of course im still looking for a set of bucket seats! I'm a big Subaru fan and I'm tossing around the idea of xt/wrx seats like 45acp and Madjik Man have done.

All suggestions/jokes/sarcastic remarks would be appreciated!

 

So over the past few days I've been screwing around with my taco. Mainly because our internet has been out and I haven't been able to get on here
First thing was a craigslist find on a skidplate. Its a SkidRow Offroad skid plate that cost's over 300 bucks brand new and I talked the guy down to 40, so I'm gonna take that one as a win although it needed some new paint.

Here's the beginning product ( dont mind our ragged old broken pong table):



After a few coats of the old rattle can:



Bolting it on took a bit of persuasion, I did it by myself so it was a pain in the ass to hold up and keep aligned on the truck. And it was also a pain to slide under the truck with my mudflaps on that I've been meaning to take off, so off they went.I started by loosely mounting the front bolts. Then when I got to the rear mounts it was about a quarter inch too short on both sides, I had tto get a little creative with our floor jack and it a little persuasion using the pressure from the jack and the hole for the oil filter. I got a little scratch in the paint but I plan on getting a few more anyway . All in all it ended up pretty nice if I don't say so myself.



And then after doing that the other day, I got to take an acoustics engineer to a Chrysler Plant that we are tearing down in Twinsburg Ohio. Not many people realize how big the facilities are so I decided to take the taco offroad and take her through some trenches we have dug out for drainage. Not once did I put it in 4wd and the old girl did just fine. Of course I had to snap a few pics.

 

I've been looking at light bars for the front of my Taco. I want to run one between my headlights but I can't decide if Amazon LED light bars are any good. I think it's insane for a 500+ dollar light bar. Has anyone bought or know someone who bought an Amazon LED Bar? My biggest worry is waterproofing and the cold here in Ohio

 

For the LED light bars ask YotaOverAll I know he has a cheaper one on his truck he likes.

 

Thanks man!

 

So I went a little hog wild this past week and decided to nut up and buy some stuff...




I said screw it and also picked up a bug deflectors on window guards this week. As well as a stereo adaptor and wiring harness, I might try to make a little write up about it since I can't find one on here. Pictures will be coming very soon..

 

So its finally done, I want to thank Summit Racing for amazingly fast and painless service when ordering my wheels and lug nuts. I ordered everything late on a Tuesday night and recieved my lug nuts Wednesday afternoon, Thursday I had 3 of the wheels waiting beside my garage and Friday I had the fourth( had to be shipped from Georgia instead of Akron).

Wheels:
Mickey Thompson Classic 3
16x8 6x5.5 with 4.5" Backspacing
Lugnuts:
Summit Racing M12x1.5 Spline Drive Lugs.
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After test fitting my wheels to check for clearance issues, I took it all down to the tire shop to have some free 265/75/16 General Grabber HTS tires mounted on these wheels. I want to save my old tires for winter and get new 32x11.50 tires in the spring as well as a minimal lift.



After the jackass kids struggled to get the front wheels on(they are a little tricky for some odd reason) I was finally set to go.

WARNING: These pictures pretty much suck. I need to figure out how to focus my phone camera so the wheels can be seen better.








And of course one last picture that I over edited on Instagram.
P.S.- If you have Instagram follow me @Tacolema_ I'd like to follow some people from the forums, I can keep up with Instagram alot more than the forums.



So far, no fitment issues, I just hate how bouncy my ride has become with the tires. Not much of a "build" but my patience to hold off on major suspension and tire modifications is slowly wearing away. Sadly my pockets aren't deep enough right now to allow me to start pulling triggers on lifts and tires. Donations are currently being accepted LOL.