I GOT MY FIRST TOYOTA!!!! Also some questions.

OK let me start by saying i am sorry i don't have pictures and i should have some up, m y cam. batt. is charging and takes all day. the following is a boring story skip if you dont want to read:

Story:
i searched crazedlist.org and craigslist.org and autotrader.com for 4 months. and in Atlanta georgia if you list a tacoma EXT. cab 4x4 with under 100,000 miles it will sell the day you post it. Unfortunatly for me my dad could not move that fast. I am 17 i saved up every bit of money i had for 9 years to get my first truck (or car what ever) i had a budget of 7500 dollars and that small in my area for a toyota tacoma. Me and dad went to see about 6 trucks in the georgia state area they were all junk, noy taken care of lifter noise smoking, the owners lied on the phone. So i found this truck (my truck now) in NC and told my dad it was a 1997 toyota tacoma EXT. cab 4 banger with only 85000 MILES ON IT HOLY CRAP. so after talking on the phone my dad was very ready to go pay cash then we found out it was a 7 and half HOURS ONE WAY to we he lived (thats what it took us doing 85mph the whole way). Well already long story short we started to drive out to get the truck, go there bought it within 30 minutes of driving, It was clean. Then we desided to do the speed limit and the way back and combined with getting lost it took us 9 and half hours to get back, we did this all in one day remeber. combined we only made 3 stops the whole time.

End story now questions:

UPDATE: just finished deckplate mod OMG best mod ever! so the flowmaster is just going to take the difference away if i remember. so any ideas on the exhaust now?

WHAT THE HELL IT HAS NO TAC. can some one tell me why there is no tac on a my manuel tacoma. so how would i go about installing a tac? (if it makes a difference its an SRS model with the crank'em jank'em windows.)

Sound: see the update part above. auhh this thing sounds like my girlfriends prius. i dont want to spend a lot of money on this but i would like her to be a little noisy if you know what i mean. i just want to change out the muffler right now, noting else i hoping that way i still meet emmissions. i was thinking like the flowmaster super 40 of original 40 ( whats the difference?) i hate the glasspacks and cherry bomb tpye sound.

lift: i just want a little lift around 3-6 inches again i dont need to go nuts i just want it a little higher make it look more like a man truck. I again am looking for an cheaper way to do this. i think a body lift would be fine.

Tires: i need new tires to go with my lift (the tires on it a old and need to be replaced) i would like some taller and slightly wider tires than stock. all terian tires ofcorse.

other free random or popular mods i should now about?

thats all i can really think about right now guys.

Thanks for all the help in advance
Wolfgang

 

Congrats on the new vehicle...older models probably don't have tac's just like older model civic's...couldn't tell you how to install one but I if you went to your local auto parts store I'm sure they could point you in the right direction...post some pics when you can...again congrats.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHxIv0N_ljg

 

updated my original post and added in pictures.

 

Does it have 85,000 miles (like you wrote initially), or 188,000 miles (like you said in the video)?

Either way, it's a nice looking truck. And since you've been saving up for more than half your life...it will probably mean a lot to you, more than a lot of people who just have it given to them without working for it.

A tach will be very simple to install. Aftermarket tachometers are very common and usually very easy to install--basically, three or four wires.

 

my 98 frontier 5 speed didnt have a tack either. no biggie just listen to it

 

Body lifts are horrible! All they do is make the truck appear to be higher. All the suspension will still be down below just like it has always been.
A few things to think about before you do a lift and bigger tires

#1 With any lift you add Wind resistance, which in turn leads to a sluggish truck and less MPG. Body lifts also cause horrible rides in the cab. You loose the cushion of the rubber and replace them with plastic.

#2 With bigger tires you add mechanical, wind, and weight resistance which will lead to horrible mpg and a very sluggish truck. The bigger the tire, the worse this will be.

#3 Wider tires will lead to pre-mature bearing failure if you do not correct the backspacing. (You will need new rims if you go too wide)

You can compensate number 1 with a suspension lift instead of a body lift.
You can compensate number 2 with a new gear ratio in the diffs (expensive addition to the tire install price), or just go up one size (which you will still see a difference in performance).
You can compensate number 3 with the correct rims (Also an expensive addition to the tire install price) Or just go out one size.

 

to the tach question . yeah you can buy a aftermarket tach from autozone or somewhere equivelent. congrats on your first tacoma

 

the truck has 88,000 on it i was wrong in my post and video

Ok i have found a good 3" suspension lift for about 380 and comes with new rear shocks. The tac, is that something i could do myself or is that something i need a pro to install. the tire size i know i should keep small so what is a good small size (smallest while still looking good like they fit) ?.

I just finished the deckplate mod and i know that a flowmaster would undo all the improvements that i got from the deckplate. so what kind of muffler would still have a good loud sound and help with performance.

Thanks for all the kind words and the help
Wolfgang

 

I've installed a Tack before...years ago. Very simple to do...and I'm slow when it comes to mechanical. Just make sure to open it and check that it comes with all the mounting hardware and complete instructions before leaving the store.

As for the rest there is plenty of good advice and help on this site!

Good luck and congrats!

 

Congrats on the Taco!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a Scanguage work?

 

Welcome dude, nice truck, where in Atlanta are ya?

 

Please get rid of the door buzzer!

 

the older models like my grandpa's taco that i think is a 95?? (has 285,000 miles on it all from offroading since it's a registered farm truck) don't have tacs you just have to listen. But i have a flowmaster original 40 and it sounds really nice on the 4 bangers not really ricey and don't go too big on the tires it will kill your gas mileage. I had a 98 reg cab taco with the 2.7 and it had big bfg all terrains on it and i only averaged only about 18.5 mpg which is terrible and now i have a 04 ext cab taco with the same engine and i average 22.5 mpg. The lifts can hurt you too, all these things look good but you have to think about it in the long run. But you can go to your local best buy or stereo shop and you can get some pretty good sounding speakers without an amp for about 80 bucks a piece.I'm only 18 but i plan to keep this truck all the way through my time at WVU and don't want to do anything to it that i'll regret in the long run....just hoping it doesn't get caught in a couch fire or a riot when we man handle pitt at everything this year haha

 

Tachometers have always been offered on Tacomas, but they were not standard on certain base models.

To the OP: You can add an aftermarket tach cheaper than you can retrofit a 1995.5 - 1997 cable-driven cluster with a factory tach.

 

Sorry guys I have out of town.

--- I have decided to not do a lift since I have a heavy foot anyway and i am paying for my own gas with no "real job"

---I think the 31's will do just fine for me

--- I live in Sandy Springs GA

---I am very mechanically inclined and I guess I will just go with an after market tac if I could just find a place to put it. My dad wants me to replace the whole dash (crazy)

--- i have no door buzzer it is an srs model...as basic as you can possible get

my only concern is i just finished the deck plate mod and was originally planning on adding a flow master 40 or super 40 (what’s the difference) but I read somewhere that adding the flow master since its really just for sound takes away all the gains from the deck plate mod. Another note on that, I only want to change out the muffler so I can still meet the emission standard (I would think just changing out the muffler would not do very much to change emissions) other than that I am very happy with the truck and can not wait to learn more about these little things.