1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

All of the above

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by TacomaWarrior11, Jul 29, 2012.

  1. Jul 29, 2012 at 10:59 AM
    #1
    TacomaWarrior11

    TacomaWarrior11 [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2012
    Member:
    #83590
    Messages:
    9
    Gender:
    Male
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    04 Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner Extended Cab
    Bull Bar Grill Protector, Aftermarket Stereo and Speakers, Tool Box, Bed Liner, Tires
    [FONT=&quot]So, I have read a lot of these threads but I thought my topic(s) were so broad that I might draw a bigger crowd/responses for everything. I am obviously new to the forum and you guys are awesome. The only problem is that I am broke as a joke (first year out of college…student loans to pay, found out about insurance :/ ) anyways, I have a 2004 Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner 2-door Ext. Cab. A lot of things I want to do is the interior but there is some exterior. Here is everything I have done to it before you read the rest in case it’s useful. The only things I have added to the vehicle are: aftermarket stereo and speaks, spray bed liner, tool box, step sides, bull bar, K&N filter, new tires. I will be driving this beautiful machine until the day she passes to Taco Heaven so I want to restore her beauty plus some. Here’s everything I want to do and any help or advice I would greatly appreciate (Just remember I want to do all these things but I understand it takes money so I wont be able to do it all right away). Thanks in advance [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]1. Obvious first: Gas Mileage[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I forgot to mention this is a 4-cyl 2.4 auto, but I have seen things about “chips” that are supposed to help, and I also saw someone post about the filter so is K&N the way to go?[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]2. Carpet replacement[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I want to replace the carpet on the floor as well as the carpet on the door panels. I have seen full replacements for around 150.00 online. I want to go with a charcoal color. (I am trying to turn the interior black/silver or grey. I think that’s pretty cool. [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]3. Stereo[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I have a new Kenwood that I just installed for Bluetooth and I am about to order two Polk Audio speakers for the front doors (size anyone?) but the two in the back are Xfinity speakers and they still sound great so I am going to leave them alone for now. What I would like to do is add a sub but the only problem is space. I’d like to keep my seats in the back and the room so I figured that would probably mean I’d have to make a custom box (which I know absolutely nothing about the size vs. sound etc.). I saw a guy put one under his passenger seat in the back where the “hidden” compartment used to be. It looked pretty cool. This is a big one for me so any help would be great.[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]4. PLASTICS[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]This is a pet peeve I have had for a while now. The plastic part at the bottom of the doorframe is beat to heck. The plastics along the sides of the seats are horrible. The plastic cup holder around the gearshift is beat. Everything needs to be replaced. I have seen kits that are metal and would look great but they are for the dash only. I have also seen dash “covers” but it’s still not including a lot of the things I need. The only other way I know to do anything is to order each part separately through Toyota and that can get very pricy. [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]5. Head Lights/Tail Lights/Speedometer[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]So I saw some headlights that were awesome. They were “black’d” out but I do not know the legal requirements on those things but they would look awesome, same with the taillights. Then I’d also like to replace the clear plastic in front of the speedometer and put a new “reader?” (Sorry don’t know what that is actually called) but the only one I have seen is a chrome finish that looks like it would be hard to read and has things on it my truck doesn’t have, for instance the 2nd Generation has the gear placement to the right of the MPG gauge, my truck doesn’t have that. [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]6. Tires and Grille Guard[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I have standard sport tires on it right now that are about worn out. Part of me would like to see more of an off-road tire on it but I do not want to sacrifice MPG just for it to look good. Plus I am not off-road as much as I used to be, I would say a close average might be 3-5 times a month so a full-blown Mud King would be hard to justify. Also for the grille I need to replace the bull bar I have because I “bumped” someone a while back and it took most of the hit. But now I see the importance in it because even the cop said if I didn’t have that then I probably would have totaled it. But I was thinking about upgrading to a full brush guard.[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]7. Exhaust[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]So my current exhaust pipe is rusty and orange and I always wanted to do something with the exhaust but let’s face it, there’s no point in putting an exhaust that sounds like a train on a Taco. I’d kind of feel dumb coming down the road and people expecting a jacked up Titan to be coming down the road and they see a 2wd Taco instead. [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]As you can tell I have a lot of work to do. I’d just like to get some input on things from y’all since y’all might have done most of these things and know the pro’s/con’s. Plus, all of the aftermarket stuff I see online is the same things over and over so I am not sure I am even looking in the right place. They also never show what it would look like in MY truck, they always show a 2nd Gen instead. Any help I appreciate. Thanks guys[/FONT]
     
  2. Jul 30, 2012 at 8:33 PM
    #2
    taco terror

    taco terror 1st gen = best gen

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    Member:
    #78817
    Messages:
    7,103
    Gender:
    Male
    North Carolina
    Vehicle:
    1996 Black Tacoma, 3.4L
    4.56 ECGS regear, Wheelers 6 leaf pack, Eibach coils, Bilstein 5100s, AR Baja wheels, 33 BFG ATs, Line-x
    1.) chips will not do squat, DON'T waste your money on a chip. We don't drive high performance vehicles with chips that limit power, a chip would do nothing. A deckplate mod would give you a lot of the gains that you get with a whole intake system from K&N, and save you over $200! I bought the K&N though, I didn't know about the deckplate thing.

    3.) Search in the audio section. Plenty of people have made sub boxes, and you will find the speaker sizes in there. You have to worry about diameter AND depth.

    4.) local junkyards if there are any, ebay, craigslist, whatever. You could "plastidip" the thing at the bottom of the door frame, that would make it black though. Just keep an eye out for stuff to turn up, like a wrecked 4runner or Tacoma to get those parts off of.

    5.) You can get smoked headlights and tail lights, or you can black them out. You would need to find out if its legal with your local state laws. Plenty of people on here have blacked out there lights, or bought smoked lights.
    Our trucks don't have wiring for the gear thing in the instrument panel.

    6.)You could get all-terrains, tires cost a lot of money so don't buy something you don't need.

    7.) You could always buy just a chrome tip to go on. That wouldn't affect your sound and would take away the ugly rust. Or if you want an exhaust, get something that suits you. Plenty of people on here have all different kinds of exhaust systems. I have a Flowmaster 50 dual out, and I like it. That might be loud for you, I don't know.




    Search this forum and you will find answers and write-ups for most, if not all of your questions. There are forums dedicated to things like audio, lighting, etc. and you can use the search feature in the top right of the screen.
    Hope I helped a little!
     
    This site contains affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
    #2
  3. Jul 30, 2012 at 8:41 PM
    #3
    HomerTaco

    HomerTaco also HomerTaco Vendor

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2010
    Member:
    #34129
    Messages:
    45,760
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    HomerTaco
    HomerTaco
    Vehicle:
    HomerTaco
    HomerTaco ...................................................................................................................................................... Core-Hurst short throw shifter & T-handle / Carbon Fiber Interior / custom console light / De-badged / leather interior / Heated Front seats / Red Line Hood Struts / Painted speaker grills /one-off TRD Satoshi Grill with 12-15 front-end swap/ Pioneer AVIC-X920BT HU / Scangauge II / Black LED Tails / Dash Mount for iPad mini / Safari Snorkel / Auto-pilot mode / Leer 100XQ Cap / 4x Innovations sliders / Rear Diff Breather Mod / front windows tinted to 35% / Brute Force Fab Hybrid Front Bumper / BAMF Rear Diff Skid / Budbuilt Skids / CBI Trail Master 2.0 rear hybrid bumper / Fox rr coils/ TC UCA's/ TC spindle gussets/ TC Cam Tab gussets / Dakar leafs / Defined Engineering shackles / All pro U bolt flip / Timbren Rear Bumpstops / BAMF LCA skids / Exhaust re-route / Fog Light anytime Mod / LowRange Off Road extended rear brake lines / ATO Shackle Flip / sectioned Bushwhacker flares / re-geared to 4.56 / ARB Front & Rear Locking Diff / ARB CKMA12 compressor / PrInSu full rack system / 1" body lift / Inchworm 4.7 crawlbox / twin stick FJ t-case / Davez off-road triple-stick kit/
    lol...

    welcome! :wave:
     
  4. Jul 30, 2012 at 8:44 PM
    #4
    Madjik_Man

    Madjik_Man The Rembrandt of Rattle Can

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2009
    Member:
    #26893
    Messages:
    19,148
    Gender:
    Male
    Colorado Front Range
    Vehicle:
    1998 Ext Cab 3.4 4x4 TRD 5MT, 2004 DC 3.4 4x4 TRD
    Post #2 speaks a lot to all your questions so I'll just speak to the obvious.

    A lot of the things you want to do are purely aesthetics. Which, don't get me wrong, is a nice goal to have. We all cherish our trucks.

    But you're "broke as a joke" and have more debts than income right now. Correct? I say hold off on everything but the tires. Having beat tires is dangerous. Spend the cash on a nice set of tires that suit your needs/driving and start saving money.

    I'll also speak to the "grille guard." Take yours off and save up a bit more money and get an off road bumper. Grille guards are typically damage multipliers and not savers - like the cop told you it is.

    That's my opinion.
     
  5. Jul 30, 2012 at 8:49 PM
    #5
    austinramsay

    austinramsay Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2012
    Member:
    #76345
    Messages:
    1,405
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Austin
    Yuma, Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2001 Tacoma TRD Doublecab
    Welcome! :wave: Youll have fun on here :)
     
  6. Aug 5, 2012 at 9:37 AM
    #6
    TacomaWarrior11

    TacomaWarrior11 [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2012
    Member:
    #83590
    Messages:
    9
    Gender:
    Male
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    04 Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner Extended Cab
    Bull Bar Grill Protector, Aftermarket Stereo and Speakers, Tool Box, Bed Liner, Tires
    Wow…thanks guys, figured it would take forever to get an honest response since you guys have probably answered most of these 1000x’s.

    Taco Terror, I appreciate the quick and in-depth response. I didn’t even think about junkyards. There is one about 10 min from my house and the guy said he had some Toyota’s out there and one day when I had some time he would charge me 20$ and would let me go out there and whatever I found out there was MINE. I thought it sounded to good to be true but he let me look from the main gate and I saw one 1st gen Taco (RIP) and three 1st gen 4-Runners. It looked like there might have been a Camry or two out there but I don’t know if I could use anything from them. (OH big part I forgot, he said ANYTHING except tires, rims, and engine parts) He was just helping me with the ascetic’s parts. Just seeing if you knew anything the car to truck switch. I think I am going to go your route though. I checked the thread on the tires and wear and they need to be the first, I can doll it up later. Then maybe try and tackle the chrome tip. Thanks man.

    Idaholandho, Lol sorry my thread gives you vertigo. Weird a message on a computer can cause an inner ear disorder haha. Appreciate it though.

    Madjik_Man, Ah…I wouldn’t say completely broke as a joke, I have some money put back. I just don’t have enough to blow a couple of K’s and not think twice. I just have to have my safety net money (miscellaneous crap) and a few extra bucks here and there so I can start on it but not car “Pimp My Ride” style in one day (awful show). I have been checking out some off-road bumpers and there are some pretty sweet ones I think I might invest in. Thanks for the response bud.

    I am going to start a new thread though with a problem I am having but it has nothing to do with any of this so I wont waste anyone's time. Thanks again guys
     
  7. Aug 5, 2012 at 2:01 PM
    #7
    Ecnerwal

    Ecnerwal Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Member:
    #83039
    Messages:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    NW Mass
    Vehicle:
    '02 4x4 2.7 A/T Ext Cab
    gradually replacing the bumper with hairy bondo ;-)
    MPG - sensible tires, drive easy, don't go too fast. Ignore "chips". Pay attention to cleaning the MAF and having your O2 sensors all happy. Change the oil and transmission fluid (change, not "flush"). Check tire pressure religiously. Track miles and fuel used.

    The K&N will pass dirt. that means you have to clean the MAF more often and is not good for your engine longevity, so I'd suggest selling it and going back to stock, but you do what you like.

    Audio - pull the larger access door, see what size speaker you can fit, do it, if you must.

    Plastics, carpets - junkyard, low mileage totaled junker with an intact cab.

    Lights - great way to waste money is to modify your lights and fail inspection and have to replace with unmodified ones to pass. Even better is to get a ticket for them being modified. Leave them alone.

    Tires - it's a 2wd on-road truck and you are concerned with MPG. All-season steel belted radials at stock size FTW.

    Brush guard = heavy = hauling weight all the time = MPG loss. Same with plate bumper. Stop running into other people, it's way cheaper.

    Exhaust - Bosal north america 295-177 - $126 delivered, two flange bolts, the rear oxygen sensor (go put penetrant on it now) just like stock, all pre-welded and pre-bent.

    Mostly, I'm with Madjik - most of this is non-essentials at odds with your described position of not so much money. Put the money away, pay down those loans, don't stress about the color of your carpet, et al. It's just a truck, it's not a codpiece.
     

Products Discussed in

To Top