The Expo Golf Cart

I bought my Tacoma in April of 2013 and found TW while looking for info on how to replace the broken e-cable that came with it. After months of lurking I finally joined up. Looking through some of the awesome builds on here, I decided that it was my turn.

What she looks like today

(10/02/19)


(7/7/18)


(4/22/18)


(2/24/18)


(7/29/17)


(6/3/17)


(4/1/17)


(12/18/16)


(08/11/15)




Upgrades:

Outside:
-ARB bumper
-Camper shell, rattle canned black (Clear coat just about gone)
-OME suspension (881’s with 5mm spacer 882's & Dakars with D6XL's)
- 255/55R16 BFG KM2's, 25575R16 Cooper S/T Maxx's 295/70R17Cooper SST Pro
-RAT skids, full set (3)
-ENGO 10K synth winch
-BAMF DOM sliders with kick out
-4Crawler Offroad 1" body lift
-Flowmaster 50 series Delta Flow muffler
-Marlin Crawler U-bolt flip kit
-Boxed rear frame
-Front end cap mod with added crossmember
-Hella 700FF's with the 55W HID mod
-BAMF IFS skids
-Marlin Crawler 1,200 lb clutch
-Front Range Twin-Stick
-home made DOM rear bumper with dual swingouts (still needs some work)
-ARB front and rear lockers (RD90

$1,091 RD129 Air Locking Differential

RD129)
-regeared to 4.88's (Sierra rear & Nitro front)
-fog light 3x3 cubes
-rock lights
-back up lights
-Barnes4x4 rear diff guard
-pin stripes galore

Inside:
-Upgraded stereo
-Ultra gauge
-CB
-Bench to 04 bucket seat swap then 04 bucket to VW Jetta Trek Recaro seat swap then back to 04 buckets with Wet Okole seat covers
-in-cab winch controls
-hitchhikers puke (yep, happened)

Before owning this truck, I had a standard cab Dodge Ram and loved the short wheel base, so that was on the list when I started looking for a Taco to trade up to. After four months of searching I finally found her; a stock 2004 black standard cab, with a manual 2.7 and 4x4, with only 40,916 miles. I almost bought a gen 2 but decided that I liked the older body style more. The only upgrade the previous owner had done was put some shitty Westin tube steps on and added the camper shell, the shell was green so I rattle canned it black to match. I also found a super cheap ARB bumper on a local classified and quickly swooped it up.

I have never been great at remembering to take pictures and so this was the first pic that I took of her. I’ll try to be better at documenting in the future.

 

Nice looking truck man! Love the canopy.

 

thanks, I would trade it for yours. That's the one I want

 

Finally got enough time to install the OME kit that has been sitting around tripping me for a month. Took me way more time than I thought it would, but its on and rides like a dream. I ended up with Light Racing UCA’s, Dakar’s, 881’s with a 5mm spacer and nitro sports at all four corners. Now I’m going to have to get some bigger tires…

Here are all the goodies that I started with



A little slicing and dicing was called for




This upper ball joint became the bane of my existence, it was about this time I started cracking beers. Helps with the hammer from what I’m told…



The funnest part of the job



All the left over crap



Finished product




Better pics when I get a chance.

 

Got some new tires today, and took some pics up above the smog

 

Sweet truck! Also, what cap is that, I like the step up on it

 

1st. gen regular cabs are the best looking Tacomas, and yours is one of the best looking examples of the best looking Tacoma. I'd like to know your MPG before and after the lift/255s when you've gone through a few tanks of gas.

 

Thanks, the cap is made by Mirage. I don't think they make them anymore, I think they only make enclosed trailers now. I have seen them for sale locally a few times for around 200-400 bucks.

1st gen reg cabs are my favorite too, thanks for the complement on mine. I was getting 18-22 MPG before the lift/tires, I'm also interested in how much it will go down, I'll report after a few tanks.

 

Quote That! I love my 1st Gen Single Cab! Nice looking Rig.


Here is mine

 

Nice looking rig yourself, are those Light Forces behind your grill?

 

Hella 500's with a simple little bracket I made behind a Grill Craft.

 

Went on a mini expo last weekend with a couple of friends to test out the new suspension and tires. Two nights and three days of dirt/mud/snow covered roads, stayed at Gandy hot springs the first night and Baker hot springs the second. Both nights were super cold but a dip in the hot springs made them worth it. I took my old 35mm camera along (its been 15+ years since I last used it) and tried to figure out what all the switches and nobs do, sadly my camera skills suck and only one or two of the photos turned out. So…not too many pics where taken. Anyway, here’s a small report.

The route we took west of Utah Lake out to the Utah/Nevada border.


The first day we took the old pony express road to Fish Springs Wildlife Refuge, the road was fine until right after the refuge, and then it became a slow traverse of mud and snow.



We finally got to Gandy Hot Springs right as the sun was setting and set up camp in the dark.


The water at the spring maintains a temperature of 80-85 degrees, so while not hot it felt real nice as the temp outside was only in the high teens. There is a cave at the springs that goes pretty far back into the mountain, I was only able to go back about 20 feet as I didn’t have the waterproof flashlight required to see in the next underwater room, I’ll bring one next time.



From Gandy we took another mud/snow-covered road East, but after a few miles it dried out and we made great time to camp two, Baker Hot Springs.


These springs were much nicer and pretty close to Delta Utah so locals come and go non-stop, it made for a fun night of meeting/drinking with new people. The temp in each concrete tub can be controlled by blocking the water from either the cold or hot sources. The Hot stream within elbows length is around 126 degrees so watch where you put your arm. The night got down into the single digits and I woke up to a frozen tent and landscape, made for some cool pics.



After another dip in the springs and a little exploring around the source of the hot water, we packed up and headed home.

The only 35mm pics that look kind of ok.




What I have taken from this trip truck related is that I definitely need to add the AAL from OME (D6XL). All the extra weight in my bed brang it down about 4 inches, I had a definite bro lean going on. I need to add bigger bump stops, bottomed out the rear shocks once that I know of, not a fun feeling. I also need to look into doing the Tundra caliper swap, all that extra weight sure made my stock breaks feel a tad inefficient. All in all it was a pretty fun trip, the new suspension handled great (minus the afore mentioned issues) and the new tires had no troubles on any of the surfaces that I drove.

 

Looks like a fun trip! Also, i don't know what kind of bump-stops you want but if your looking for something bolt on then wheelers seems to be pretty good

 

I've been looking at those. I'll probably put them on when I add the D6XL, get it all buttoned up at once.

 

Received this package a few days ago from Ryno All Terrain Products (isu2014).



So over the weekend I added a few coats of paint to them.



And today I hefted these 3/16" bastards into place and bolted them on. Would have been a lot easier if I had an extra set of hands but my knees worked ok, got to keep that core strong right?



Oh, and this happened the other day too.

 

All the added weight of the skids and bumper was a little too much for the 881’s so I decided to switch them out with the 882’s. I also added a D6XL AAL to the Dakar packs.



882’s vs 881’s same spring rate (88.0 N/mm), 20mm more height (395 vs 375mm).



More fun with the coil compressor.



I also chopped the exhaust off after the rear end.



How she looks now.

 

I have been slacking on updating this build...

installed my CB with a small disconnect to the hand-held system.



Got a winch



And Fucked around here and there...

 

Really digging the truck and definitely jealous of the 255's!

 

Thanks man and damn, you got quite the deal on yours.