My "One Wheeled Wonder" build/repair thread

So, I've had my Tacoma for a little over 4 years now. It's the best Toyota I've ever owned and have had a blast driving it. So I figured now that I'm starting to upgrade/repair some of the things that are wrong with it, I thought I should start a build thread. Not really anything hardcore but I'm sure someone will find something interesting or helpful within my build.

One of the first things I repaired on my Tacoma was the door panel arm rests that had caved in. I had access to a plastic welder so I put them back together. 3 years and still holding strong.

Before:

After:


Next up was my HID headlamp upgrade. Went with 6000k Hi/Low setup from DDM Tuning, 3 years, still going strong. Had to replaced the bulbs 1 time so far, no ballast issues yet. Now I know I'm going to get shit for putting HID's in halogen housings but whatever....







Next on the list was wheel spacers. When I bought the truck it had those crappy 1/4 wheel spacers that slide over the lug studs , so I knew they had to go. I went with Allpro 1.5 hub-centric spacers. Well worth the money.




Before:



After:




My headlamp lens' were getting pretty foggy, so I decided to get that taken care off. Used some 2000 grit sand paper and wet sanded the lenses by hand and then used buffing compound with a power buffer to shine them up. Turned out pretty good. Unfortunately, I need to do them again......Stupid Arizona sun & heat.

Before:

After:


Finally a suspension upgrade. When I bought the truck it had a crappy preload spacer 2.5in lift kit. Rode like crap and was embarrassing to boot. So after selling an extra set of worn out BFG MT/ko's I had I bought a set of Bilstien 5100's for all 4 corners. Set them at 1.75 and re-used to 1/4in top plate from the previous lift. Needless to say the ride is greatly improved. Did the alignment myself and it came out to be about as good as it gets.





Everything but the left side camber came out in the green, but it's close enough that I'm not worried about it. Drives straight down the road and the steering wheel is straight on.



Now it's time for a matching fullsize spare. Especially since I have the LSD diff. Followed another write up on here for directions. But basically bent up the locating tabs and wrapped the exhaust to prevent the tire melting.











I'm sure a few other members have dealt with the fading roof paint. But mine was really fucked. It almost appeared as if it was cut with a razor. But I know it's just the clear coat going away and then water getting underneath. So I sanded it down and primered it. Our body/paint repair tech at my work is going to spray it for me, but I did this to stop the spread of the rust.







At first it didn't seem so bad. But after a year of not patching it up this is how it ended up.



This is after I sanded it.





Now I get to drive around with a white roof. It looks terrible, but is better than rust.

 

This is from when I took my truck through a trail that was bit to tough for a prerunner and had to turn back. Still had a blast.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/arizona/235135-charlou-gap-attempt-prerunner.html

 

Sweet lookin truck man! really dig it! Love the roof too

 

My door panels have snapped as well. :/ i just said fock it. Good job repairing it though.

 

Thanks guys!!