PC3coyote's 2017 Tacoma Build

Hey man, how did the paint on the tailpipe hold up? What paint did you use exactly?

Truck looks AMAZING.

 

The Mictuning was super bright at 180W and 13,200lm. I only switched it out because I wanted one with a more blacked out look. I went with an Offroad Town one which is even brighter at 240W and 20,000lm. I may switch it once again because I may be getting a southern style offroad slimline hybrid bumper with a 20” heise light bar and smittybilt x20 winch. I’m in discussions with them now.

Thanks! I’ve done a lot more that I need to photograph/document. I’ll get to that soon!

I don't recall the exact brand but I went with whatever the cheap one was at Advance Auto, Duplicolor I think. You don't need any of the super high temp (>2000F) paints. It doesn't get that hot that far back so any of the 500-800F paints work. I used a matte/low-gloss first but it didn't come out great. I'd recommend a satin/semi-gloss finish. That's what I did round two and it came out amazing. There's a lot of options so you can use whatever you like the most.

Ensure you sand it with a medium grit sandpaper some first and clean it fully. Also do a few medium coats followed by a heavy coat to finish it off. I had to redo mine due to poor prep and too light of coats.

After a few months, it’s help up decently but not amazing. Everything from the rear passenger tire sprays onto the tailpipe so you have to be careful when you clean it. A little bit of the paint has rubbed off on the lip on the exhaust tip from cleaning but it still looks really good. As long as you don’t rub it to hard, it should hold up fine.

 

Guys! I finally had a chance to take photos I updated the OP with the most recent updates and photos.

Summary of what's recently been updated...

• BHLM with Hyluxtek HID low beams, @XenonDepot Xtreme LED high beams, and LED turn signals
• @Baja Designs LED Squadron Sport amber wide cornering fog lights with Toyota bezel kit
• ARE V-series topper with tilt-down front sliding window, fabric headliner, LED battery dome light, black Vantech J-1000 roof rack, Vitamin Blue rack pads
• Custom sleeping platform with full-length powdercoated drawers and three-piece red oak deck
• Swapped out 180W front LED light bar for a blacked out 240W one
• Added some misc recovery gear

And here's what's in the queue...

• Ready to be installed
  • Ampper rock lights
  • Rigid Ignite rear lights
  • @forty2 narrow switch plate and CH4x4 custom switches
  • @ragofabrication relay holder
• On order
  • @SouthernStyleOffRoad slimline hybrid bumper, powdercoated black, with hoop, 20" Heise flush-mounted light bar, Smittybilt X-20 synthetic 10k winch, black Smittybilt d-ring 9.5k 3/4" (qty 2) with black Daystar d-ring isolators, and a blue Factor 55 flatline

See below for my review of the @Baja Designs squadron sport fog lights! I'm super happy with how the lights perform and look.

 

Can you post a link where you bought the headlights... where is ossdesigns? How much were they? Im looking for bhlm

 

I actually bought them on Craigslist. I traded a guy locally for my stock lights plus cash in exchange for his BHLM headlights. He wanted the OEMassive lights. He originally had a friend from OSSdeisgns out of Miami, FL do the BHLM lights. They typically do high-end BMW lights. There are a few vendors that do BHLM as a service including @kustom54lighting, @InSight Retrofits, and others. They can provide more info on what they offer and the process.

 

Truck looks great OP, I think you would be very happy with TufSkinz tailgate decals. They are more raised/embossed. I had these on my truck and loved them!

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...argid=kwd-327279331121&ref=pd_sl_8impapcdz7_e


my review

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tufskinz-tailgate-decal-review.453459/

 

Thanks!

I’ve considered those, they look great. I’m happy with my 2d versions, I have to keep the @rrentrop sponsorship going

 

Ahhh, I just really like the embossed look. Fills the letters out more, but I understand!

 

I’m going to think about it some more, thanks for linking the page and your review!

 

What did you guys think of the latest mods? I was excited to get some pictures finally!

Rock lights and rear lights going on this weekend! I finally have all of the parts (Ampper rock lights, Rigid Ignite rear lights, @forty2 narrow switch plate, CH4x4 custom switches, @ragofabrication relay holder, wiring harness and relays, misc wiring supplies, etc)

 

Sounds like a fun weekend!!!​

I still need to wire up my revers lights

 

I’m looking forward to it. Electrical is definitely not my strong suit

 

I can relate!!! ​

 

Damn man! More goals. I have morimoto HID's waiting to go in but i'd prefer to get the BHLM done first. Bought some Ray10's in matte bronze but i'm thinking about selling them off and going blacked out still.....decisions are tough. I was stagnant for a while because of my wedding but now that that's done I can finally show ol' blue some love again! New grill should be fabbed sooner than later and we'll go from there. Awesome progress on the truck though!

 

i LOVE it even more now! to me, the topper look soooo much better than the Thule rack! I'll be interested to see how the sleeping platform works for you. i'm 6'1" and can lay down diagonal in my bed, but that doesn't leave much room for my wife. I really want to do some overlanding at some point, so a sleeping platform like you have is ideal. I've got a few years before that may happen though.

Also really like the fogs! I've been thinking of putting some Lamin-X on mine, but just reluctant. Didn't i read somewhere that you were swapping out your grille light bar?

I can't believe the transformation your truck has gone through, and not even just straight from stock to how it looks now - You've had several significant different looks. The one you've got now looks the best so far

Keep the pictures coming, and can't wait to see the next update!

 

When you switched the light bar to the 240 v light did you need to change your harness? The one you suggested in your write up says MAX 180W

 

Thanks! I really considered bronze wheels. I think they look great with blue. Have any pics? I obviously have an obsession with the blue/black look. The majority of my cars have been the same theme.

What grill did you go with?

I had my HIDs well before I found the BHLM lights. The HID ballasts can be mounted even if you eventually take the headlights out to swap them. The bulbs come out of the back of the lights when you take the headlights out so I wouldn't be to worried about that if you want to go ahead and put the HIDs in first. They make a world of difference.

Thanks! I love the topper as well. I felt like I aged twenty years but I'm all about practicality and it doesn't get any more practical than the topper! It keeps everything secure and dry (camping, road trips, etc), utilizes the space much better. I'll rent a trailer from Home Depot for $20 on the rare occasions I need the full bed. It was even better that I found it used on Craigslist (just like the Thule rack).

Thankfully, I'm 5'8" and my girlfriend is 5'5" but the short bed is still pretty tiny for us especially with our 66 lb Aussie. We'll likely only squeeze in back there on road trips where it's just for the night. I miss my old long bed but I like the look of the short bed more and it fits in our garage by a few inches.

I love the new fogs, much brighter than my stock ones. I have my stock ones that I need to post for sale along with a OEM bed mat, OEM cargo net, some LED headlight bulbs, etc.

I did swap my front 32" lightbar. I went from a Mictuning one (180W and 13,200lm) to a Offroad Town one (240W and 20,000lm). I only switched it out because I wanted one with a more blacked out look. It's a pretty subtle change but I like it a lot more. Both are really bright bit I think the Offroad Town is a decent amount brighter.

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I didn't. I did go from a 180W light bar to a 240W light bar. The harness states 180W but I haven't had any problems. I haven't used it for more than a few minutes at a time but it works perfectly. They do make larger HD harnesses if you are concerned.

 

I was flip flopping between the bronze and black. Came across the Ray10's and impulse bought one (that was all that was left) figuring that I'd scoop the rest up on the next release. That didn't happen so now I'm thinking about going another route with something a bit more readily available.

For the grill, I bought an SR5 insert from a guy in my town and I've been chopping it up. Gonna attach an old FJ emblem that I have on it, back it with some mesh (still deciding on lighting or just deleting that part totally) and mount it.

Are your reflector buckets blacked out in your headlights as well? How does that work with the HID/LED combo you have going on? I'd love to do the BHLM myself but I'm worried I'd screw something up (plus the wife wondering why I've got headlights in the oven haha). Maybe I can come up on a sweet deal like you landed somehow haha. Gotta check craigslist more often I guess!

 

Let me know how much you'd want for the stock fogs and LED's!

Also, must be nice to find stuff on Craigslist! I haven't found crap on there and look every few days.

 

Yeah the guy had the buckets done as well. I probably wouldn’t have. It does look way better though. For the turn signals, it doesn’t matter now that I have LEDs. They are still really bright. It pretty much kills the high beams though even with the brighter LEDs I have in there. I only ever use my low beams though and if I want high beams, I just flip on my light bar. He also fully blacked out the side markers where I would have only smoked the lenses. I can’t complain though since they were a craigslist find so a lot cheaper and no wait. It’s crazy how much stuff I’ve found on Craigslist. Almost everything on the truck is from Craigslist, from the for sale section on TW, or built by me. It saves a ton of money, you just have to watch it all like a hawk for when things pop up and be patient.

Will do! I need to find them and see how much they go for lol. Maybe I’ll get that figured out this weekend. If you check craigslist around your area (even up to an hour away) and the for sale section of TW (including people who may ship), you’ll eneventually find what you are looking for! It could take a few months but you could save a decent amount.