Black 1st gen Tacoma joining the party

Hey all. I've got a black 96 (now with a 2004 front end) Taco. Gotta love these trucks. I had a 1991 Red extended cab with the 22R with mods and I knew I had to have a Tacoma as soon as I saw my friend get one with the 2.7L and just smoke me. Well my buddy got a couple DUI's and then I got his truck! lol

It was basically stock and a little beat when I got it but it was a perfect truck to start with. Now it's a completely different monster! Anyhow I've been registered for a while and thought I would chime in and say hi. Here is a pic of my rig out at Pismo here on the Central Coast of CA.

 

we need pictures of that front end.. sounds interesting lol

 

My truck is a never ending project. I'll have the hood back from being painted by Tuesday.

 

Your avitar says "4.0L Tacoma"... Do you really have the 2nd gen tacoma V6 in it?

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Thx scm22. Lots of great info around here. I got some fire under the hood now. :] It's a long story. I'll be firing it up this coming week now that my front end is done. Oh yea... some engine specs: Lexus V8, Adaptronic ECU controlled 4.0L (244 c.i.) 6 bolt main bearings, 1UZ-FE aluminum alloy block and heads aggressively ported and polished, custom everything on top of that. Manual trans behind it. Should be fun.

 

wtf dude, thats incredible! vids and pics better be coming!

 

wow way more interesting then i imagined. can i drive it??

 

Haha sorry cmack... I'll go check out your truck in a second. I have been dreaming of building a crazy Tacoma for years so I just said, "screw it... I better get started". Yeah videos will be coming for sure. This engine is going to revv like mad. I don't know if I would ever let anyone drive this thing ever. The time I have into this truck is insane. If something happened to it... there is no way to repay me at all unless the person that damages it is a girl that is super hot.

 

Yeah you can never sell a Taco once you get one. I've seen a lot of people buy newer gen Tacos and keep their old ones... or pass them on to family so they are still around. Plus you'll start putting money into it to make is better and you will never get tired of it. I knew I would never sell mine.

 

Yeah an FJ would be pretty sweet to drive around all the time. Good snowboarding truck too I bet.

 

JW how much did the front end swap cost? i've been thinking of doing that too. Is it just grill and hood or is there more that must be done? thanks -Jeff

 

I thought the fenders were the same

 

The grill will almost plug right into the older Tacoma front supports. The headlight mounting is much different but you could make them work with some effort. The fenders are the same and I didn't have to do anything to them. The hood tongue that goes into the latch when it closes is a couple inches longer on the newer hood but that is easily cut down and welded. I just cut off the whole front and made mine from scratch. The stock front end is super flimsy. I had to make a much stronger one.

The corner lights are different but they fit right in the older fenders. A pair of aftermarket ones are $60 shipped new from Ebay but if anyone has some laying around and wants to sell them I could use em. They need to be 2001-2004.

 

while your doing it use clear corner lights, pretty cheap on ebay ($25 shipped for 1995-2000 tacos)

 

Yeah I thought about those. I'll stick to the orange/clear markers. I just think all clear is not my style. It attracts attention from the law when you start changing your DOT lighting on your truck.

 

Nice truck! Welcome to TW.

 

Ah I like yours as well. I almost made my grill black like yours. I'll be contemplating putting the lights behind it as you have done. A good friend of mine just bought a house in Parker AZ so I'll be out in the sandbox with you soon.

 

awesome! old thread i know

 

How much hp?