PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

That’s an awesome bus, and a great drive for a first stick in a while. I’m jealous!

 

@Plain Jane Taco
@PROseur
@98tacoma27
@HomerTaco

My parents bought me Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars all the time, beginning when I was still in diapers. I still buy them! At almost 29 years of age, I still buy them! The ones I particularly like, I keep. I give the rest to my cousin's 6-year old son, and he goes absolutely bonkers over them...

Sometime in 1991-1992 (maybe 1993), my dad bought me a 1986 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit (Matchbox) exactly like the one in the photo. I was just learning how to talk and form words, so I called it a "Rolls-Rice." This particular Matchbox car was one of my favorites; Perhaps because subconsciously I knew that Rolls-Royce really was "The World's Finest Motorcar." I also particularly like dark red/maroon with a beige interior.

My dad probably paid like two bucks for this miniature Rolls-Royce at the local Toys "R" Us back in 1991-1992. I recently Googled "Matchbox Rolls-Royce" and found that they are selling for as high as $50!

 

I drove it out on the main road too, didn't stall once! Kermit's clutch is actually quite forgiving. Kermit also has about 86 horsepower, so he's no slouch either...

 

If you have any old ones you don’t want let me know

I help a local under privileged children’s group and we can use them here

I will pay for shipping

 

@Plain Jane Taco
@HomerTaco
@98tacoma27

In my humble opinion, towing a person's vehicle because it is parked in a "private" or "reserved" parking spot is no different than GRAND THEFT AUTO. If a vehicle is parked in a way that poses a hazard, such as right near a fire hydrant or in such a way that it impedes traffic, then that's different. This scenario will never happen to me because I never park in handicapped spots, fire zones, or any other spaces like that...

But I've said it before and I'll say it again...

If my Tacoma gets towed because I unknowingly park in someone's private spot, then I will report it stolen just to make trouble for the towing company, and I will also blast the towing company on Yelp. I've seen how towing companies treat people's vehicles. I've had to get my Tacoma towed by AAA a few times (a few flat tires and a blown master cylinder), but I gave the tow driver the keys, and he drove it up the back of the flatbed. In the case of the master cylinder, the front wheels were locked but the truck was in neutral and the rear wheels still spun, so it didn't hurt the Tacoma...

That said, I can proudly say that the only time my Tacoma has ever been on the back of a flatbed is because I wanted it to be there. I can also proudly say that of the 3 or 4 times my Tacoma has been towed is not because of the truck. It's a Toyota Tacoma, for Christ's Sake! Tacomas don't just break down unless they are really poorly cared for or just a lemon. I've seen plenty of beaten-to-shit Tacomas that continue to run and drive, so yeah, our trucks are reliable and highly unlikely to end up on the back of a tow truck due to a mechanical failure of some sort.

That master cylinder incident was borderline. It was February 2014 and I was driving to school after a snowstorm. I was going a wee bit too fast and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid slamming into the back of a Chevy Tahoe that had stopped suddenly. About a mile or so later, the pushrod got jammed into the master cylinder and locked the front wheels, and my truck wouldn't move. One day and $1,200 later, the truck was good as new...

Going back to how tow drivers treat people's cars, I once saw a Toyota Prius getting towed in Doylestown Borough because they were doing road work and it was blocking the path of construction vehicles or something. That's all well and good, but since the owner was nowhere to be found, the Prius was just yanked up the back of the flatbed in "Park," and presumably with the parking brake on. It is hard to forget the painful sound of those tires squealing up the back of the flatbed. God only knows what was happening to the transmission...

If I unknowingly parked illegally and came back to my beloved Tacoma being yanked up the back of a flatbed, it would take an incredible amount of self-restraint not to deck the tow truck driver and take back what is rightfully mine. Just because a vehicle is parked illegally does not give the tow truck driver the right to treat it like shit...

Back in the day, horse theft was punishable by death. Roughly a century and a half later, if you give someone a black eye for attempting to steal your vehicle, you go to jail...

 

tow truck drivers are on the same level as car salesman, human scum.

 

@Plain Jane Taco
@HomerTaco
@98tacoma27

I would now like to tell you about a couple of parking-related incidents in the Borough...

One time a couple years ago, I was driving my mom's 2013 Murano because the Tacoma was in the shop (forget why; It was either getting the oil changed, getting inspected and getting the oil changed, or getting repaired after the drunk guy hit me). I parked in the parking lot near my work, which is technically not open to the public until 5pm. On weekdays, this parking lot is for the use of the businesses that occupy the buildings owned by the same people who own the bar where I work. It was about 4:15-4:30, and out of nowhere this bald, stuffed-shirt, blowhard businessman comes out and starts screaming at me...

I can tell you right now that screaming at me right out the gate, and threatening to have my vehicle towed is not the way to get me to do what you want. A shouting match ensued, with the usual "I work here and I know the owner, so you'd better not touch my car if you know what's good for you, Kojack..."

I honestly forget whether or not I moved the Murano or just blew the guy off, but either way it didn't get towed...

Another time in December 2016, in the very same parking lot, I parked my Tacoma there like I always did. The business renting the space in the same building as my bar does not like people parking there, but most of the time they just deal with it. I do not know what the hell was going on that day, because I got a $50 parking ticket just because some privileged business executive didn't like my truck being there...

What's obnoxious is that I had been parking there for years, and I didn't even park there that often. I only parked there because there was no other parking available, it was cold, and I didn't feel like walking...

You'd think the people who worked in the upper floor of that building would have some sympathy, especially since they've seen my truck there before and know I, oh, I dunno... Work there?!?!

Needless to say, the whole situation was a win-win for me. My boss paid the ticket, and I had a civil but very stern conversation with the employees of that business. It basically went like "I'm sorry I parked there, and I realize space is at a premium, but there was no other parking, and I'm constantly in and out running errands." I also asked the receptionist to "Please not be a Grinch since it was so close to Christmas." I did not specifically say "I work here, I need to park here, you need to deal with it, and if you or any meter maids touch my Tacoma again there's going to be hell to pay," but the look on my face and the stern tone in my voice pretty much said that...

Haven't had a problem since, and in fact the employees of that business specifically tell me to park there when there's no parking elsewhere on the property...

FUN FACT: My boss's then-new (to her) company vehicle was towed from the property where the bar is located because the people who work above the bar didn't recognize it, jumped the gun, and called the tow truck. The situation was quickly sorted out, and the only loser in that situation was the towing company, because they had to bring the car back and didn't make even one lousy cent...

 

Parking in D-town can be tough... I've gotten my share of tickets up there over the years.

 

@Plain Jane Taco
@HomerTaco
@98tacoma27
@tcBob

This brings us to the most recent situation. This was maybe a week and a half ago...

One of my usuals spot was taken by a work van belonging to a guy doing work at the bar where I worked, and I wanted to leave the other primo spot open for my boss, so I went and parked my Tacoma right around the corner in another spot I had explicit permission from the owner of the bar (and the whole property) to use. I pulled my Tacoma into the spot, set the parking brake, and shut off the engine. I am sitting in the driver's seat of my truck with the door open and my left leg out the door, gathering my things, when this guy pulls up in a white Maserati and starts screaming at me that it's his spot and if I don't move he's going to have my truck towed...

As someone who was relentlessly bullied in middle school and most of high school, when some random stranger "backs me into a corner" like Mr. Maserati did, I immediately go on the defensive.

Let's take a look at the facts:

1. The owner of the bar where I work as well as my boss (the GM of the bar) said I could park there.
2. I had in fact seen this white Masaerati GranTurismo parked here once before, but I didn't know the guy actually owned a business nearby and paid the owner of my bar to rent that spot.
3. There was no sign saying "Reserved" or "Private Parking," so as far I was concerned it was a classic case of "First come, first served" and "You snooze, you lose."
4. This guy was very hostile, began yelling at me immediately, and threatened to have my Tacoma towed.
5. I am like a 5-year old at the playground with a new Tonka dumptruck when it comes to my Tacoma, so threatening to have my baby towed is like pushing a 5-year old down and stealing his Tonka toy.

Long story short, this guy was kind of an asshole right out of the gate, and all I saw was "an entitled rich guy in a Maserati" who was trying to "bully his way into my spot." I was kind of an asshole too, but only because he started out being hostile. I immediately called my boss, and she'd be there in five minutes. This guy was not backing down and just in general being a jerk, so I decided to stand my ground and remained in my truck with the doors locked until my boss came. Five minutes seemed like an eternity, so I called the owner of the property and a few other people I know. I was told that if I really felt threatened by this guy, I should immediately call the police, so that's what I did...

I called 911, and said that there was this "black guy in a white Maserati" who'd shown up out of nowhere after I'd arrived at work, and he was demanding that I move my truck or else he'd have it towed, and being rather belligerent. The 911 operator dispatched two officers to the scene on foot, and by the time officers arrived, Mr. Maserati was gone. Right about the time the cops showed up, my boss also pulled up, and Mr. Maserati appeared again, this time on foot. The meeting was quite civil, though a wee bit heated at first. Mr. Maserati started saying to the cops how he'd paid to rent this spot, and how I'd been belligerent. I told the cops I believed he'd been belligerent, then I just came right out with it and stated I had Asperger's Syndrome. When Mr. Maserati found this out, he immediately changed his tune. He looked at me, with the cops standing right there, and said "let's start over." We introduced ourselves, shook hands, and both apologized. With my boss, one of his employees, and both cops present, he said that it was partially his fault, especially because he didn't have the parking space marked as "Private." My boss, who understands me better than a lot of people, also explained to Mr. Maserati how I have Asperger's Syndrome, and that when I'm given a routine I get very "locked on," and get very aggressive when a stranger disrupts my normal routine, especially when I am following orders given to me by my boss. Sometimes I think my boss understands me better than I understand me...

I've worked with highly-trained professionals in the special ed system all my life, and so far an Asian-American woman from the midwest who manages a bar for a living, and who is just four months older than me and has no absolutely no formal training in dealing with "special needs" individuals, has been better than almost all of them. My boss briefly forayed into special education in college and took a few classes relating to it, which gave her respectable knowledge about Asperger's and other Autism Spectrum Disorders, but she decided to change her major to business management or something...

She's not only my boss and colleague, but she's also my mentor, my hero, my role model, and quite possibly one of the best friends I've ever had...

And she just considers herself to be an ordinary person...

 

I know this is a Tacoma forum, but the XJ's are great rigs. My cage car is a POS Impala that had it's transmission go out at less than 7,000 miles.

 

Great advice about painting the calibers.

But if I wanted to upgrade the calipers? Is anyone running different brands?

 

My aunt and uncle's neighbor (in California) bought a used 2008 Tacoma regular cab 2WD automatic, with 20K original miles on it, at a local dealership just yesterday...

She paid $12K for this black beauty!

Also, that's my aunt's 2013 Prius V you see in the background there...

 

$12k for a 10 year old 2wd regular cab that looks pretty stock based on those rims. Am I missing something....

 

Nice find! Will she be joining TW??​

 

Sweet find!

 

Nice!

 

Was thinking the same thing. Bought my 2011 Reg cab 4x4 with topper and 50k a couple months back for 11k cash although that was not at a dealer.

 

And its a 4cyl

Great that she got the truck... but its not one heck of a deal. KBB is $8-$10k.

 

Yeah, a 4 banger at that.... sounds like a rip off to me