Tamara the Tacoma, A build and Adventure thread.

What had happened was:

This was a build that I was not “planning” on. At the time this project presented itself I had a pretty sorted out 2001 4-runner named Nelly that I loved.



But when a close friend told me that he was going to send this 2008 Tacoma to the junk yard I could not resist the temptation.

You see my friend that sold me this truck had blown the motor up when driving home one summer day from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The belt went and well, you can assume the rest.

When the truck was towed to my house it had no hart and what was left of the hart was in the bed of the truck collecting rust. Time to build a...

The Plan:

I wanted a reliable truck that cold take me off the grid. Could support me in my field for work (Camera Ops), surfing missions, and occasional pit support for friends who race in Baja and here in the states.

I also wanted the vehicle to perform well at speed with all of the “Overlanding" creature comforts.

You see I have had and built a few pre-runners in my day. I wanted the performance of a pre-runner without fiberglas fenders. It appears that a lot of humans in this space now want the same.

After a quick call to the Brothers Brenthel and TJ @ Baja Kits the plan was set in motion.

The only thing that is bothering me about this platform is the lack of 4 wheel drive.. So That is something that I plan on tackling with the help of Wyatt of Rock Solid Toys. The transfer case is built so I am slowly buying and putting together all of the parts that I will need for the full transformation.


ARMOR:

• PelferyBilt Front Aluminum bumper with full upper hoops, 20 inch LED cut out and Fog Light cut outs, powered coated
• PelfreyBilt Tacoma High Clearance rear bumper, Gate with Rotopax mounts, High lift mouth, and fold down table powder coated
• PelfreyBilt IFS skid
• PelfreyBilt Gas Tank Skid
• PelfreyBilt Mid Skid
• PelfreyBilt Rear Skid
• *All Aluminum
• PelfreyBilt weld on Rock sliders with kick out

FRONT SUSPENSION:

• Baja Kits +2 kit
• Baja Kits spindle gusset
• Baja Kits bypass and double sheer shock mount
• King 2.5 Coil over with remote res
• King 2.5 triple bypass
• Link: http://www.bajakits.com/c-1336631-offroad-suspension-toyota-4wd-tacoma-05-15.html

REAR SUSPENSION:

• Baja Kits Rear Spring under kit
• Deaver Custom made spring under pack for the 1000 lbs of extra weight
• King OE Replacment 2.5 shock with remote res.
• King 2.0 4” travel hydraulic bump stop
• Gusseted rear axle housing and 4.88 gears E-locked By; DC Shock services
• 1.25 spider tracks spacers

OVERLAND GEAR:

• Truck Vautl 7’ system with locking drawers
• ARE custom made shell, dual sliding wind doors, internal support for extra roof loads
• Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform, custom setup for access cab front
• Rhino Rack’s Foxwing Awning
• ARB 50qt fridge

RECOVERY:

• WARN 9.5CTI
• WARN Spydura Synthetic Rope
• Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead 1.0
• Factor 55 Shackle mount
• Snatch block, and tow strap, chains

WHEELS / TIRES:

• BFG KO2 35x12.5 R17
• 17 inch NV Method Race wheels with Fux bead lock. (had Bead locks on the 4-runner and they leaked a LOT)

LIGHTING:

• 20" Ridgid SR2 Combo light in front bumper
• 2x Ridgid amber lights in from bumper
• 1 4" rear Ridgid singe row amber
• 2 Ridgid back up lights
• 6 Ridgid rock lights, 1 on each wheel, 1 under the hood, and 1 under the awning
• 3x R-46 behind grill. 1 spot two flood

MISC:

• Overlandbound member 3907
• 4x4 “swap” coming soon!
• Rock Solid Toys built manual shifting transfer case
• 4.88 front differential
• VIAIR Constant Duty onboard air system with 2.5 Gallon tank
• Dual batterie setup (custom built)
• Fridge plug in access cab and shell so it can be moved around
• Switch Pro 8 switch module. LOVE IT!

Coning soon:

• HAM radio and Amateur license (March)
• Garmin GPS hard mounted
• Solar panel
• Maxtrax
• 4x4 conversion
• Lots of tools, tools for tools...

Some of the pics from the begging:

 

Whats the time frame we looking at to see some photos?

 

Here are a few photos of when we put the motor and the cleaning of the inside. These where the first few days.


Before:






After:




Motor almost in:







All Done:





For those who may want to know, I sourced the motor form http://www.calminitruck.com. Hassim and Mike are awesome and super easy to work with. Manny there does gearing and set up my 4.88 3rd that I will be using in the rear end that I am building. These guys know there stuff..


New Wet Okole Seat Covers, I have had these in every truck I have owned and they are worth every penny!







Then came the install of the Truck Vault, Such a rad product.







These draws are DEEEEEEP!

 

Heheh I love the story of you saving a poor truck from the wrecking yard and giving her a new engine, sub'd.

And my sister's name is Tamara!

 

Man that truck vault it awesome!!

 

Yeah I had a similar system in my 4rnr but the TruckVault is just amazing. A little on the pricy side but if you are an organization freak like me and need to have expensive things safe on the trial this is must have unit.

 

I've been comtenplating it because I too have an access cab, that I'd like to put a Softtopper over the bed. Not the most secure topper, but didn't wanna fork out the cash for a shell. Home much of the bed does the vault occupy? Could I get more pictures of various angles if possible?

Aloha,
Sonny

 

SonnyBones, Sorry for the late reply work and life have been bit wild the last two weeks.

It takes up the whole bed. the hight is up to about the wheel wells. With a Softtopper you would stuff would be safe for sure.

Here are the other two photos that I have. I can take more tomorrow.

 

Out with the old and in with the new. The truck is a TRD so here is a comparison of the old Bilestien shocks to the new King OE Performance series shocks. I also have a few photos of the Baja Kits UCA, compared to the stock UCA, and the Deaver leaf pack vs the stock pack. The Deaver pack is the heavier pack for a camper shell and extra rear weight.

Kings old vs new:



New King Rear shocks and Deaver leafs vs Stock:

 

No problem dude! Truck vault really does look like a good fit. Sick suspension btw

 

Here are a few of the BajaKits UCA vs stock..





And Finally how she looked after the first updates. Suspension, Wheels tires, motor, Truck Vault and seat covers. I finally got to drive the truck after two months of work.

 

Truck looks damn good!! Bajakits UCA looks beefy as heck!

 

Are those the Method NV wheels?

 

My ARE shell was shipped to Torrance Shell center in the South bay. The guys there were AWESOME and had the shell installed in less then an hour.







I did a lot of research before settling on the ARE shell. It has all of the features I wanted. The sliding/vented windoors are amazing. Being able to reach in and grab whatever you need is awesome. Also the vent is great when camping. Fresh AIR!

Also ARE did some internal strengthening so that I could stand on the roof if needed. Basically its a hybrid of the work shell and the Sportsman shell. So it has all of the strength and comfort!

 

Truck looks awesome great work on saving and making it great again.

 

Damn 35" KO2's look sexy

 

Sweet setup man

 

Thank you guys! More to come soon!