What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Well done! I'm sick and super run down today but I gave a gravelly woohoo for ya!

 

Any tips for getting the snap ring in? It keeps snapping back when I try to attach it.

 

Nice looking good

 

Just get one edge on and use a screwdriver and small hammer to hammer the rest of it around

 

Sounds good. Hey thanks for your help - I've barely scratched the surface of this 4WD conversion I don't know how the hell im going to manage everything else.

 

You're welcome! You're gonna learn a lot really fast haha, trial by fire for sure. Be happy you aren't doing an engine swap or a manual swap too haha.

 

Oh engine swap is next man. The 4 cyl isn't cutting it for me...

 

That auto is holding you back, plenty of juice in the 4cyl. I had the full intention of keeping the auto when I bought my grey truck, to cut down on time. It was just so terrible I couldn't stand it. My truck with the manual feels like a race car compared to with an auto. Plus manual is more fun anyway haha

 

When I bought the A340F I was considering doing a manual swap, but I told myself it we be more fun to drive a manual sports car - not necessarily a truck. I just want an excuse to get an E30 or Honda Prelude to be honest with you, lol.

I daily drive the truck, and oh boy it would suck commuting with a stick shift. California is famous for it's entertainment, technology, and it's traffic.

 

Traffic with a stick isn't as bad as everyone who is trying to justify their lame auto vehicle make it out to be. Sucks on a Harley cause of the heat but other than that easy and your brain does it automatically.

Although you'll hate the work to keep it on the road I'd vote E30, FWD is kinda meh. I'm on the fence about buying a 300ZX when I get back to AZ, really wanted one for the longest time and finally found a manual, turbo, t-top version.

 

I'd ideally chose a Japanese sports car just because of the easy of work and reliability, but BMW's on the other hand look so nice. Especially the 70's/80's convertibles.

I'd love a Skyline... just gotta "import" one when no one is looking.

 

Gotta get out of Cali if you're gonna be a car hobbyist, or only modify things built before 1973.

 

Yeah. I love this state and I can't imagine living anywhere else, but damn do the automotive regulations suck.

My dream is to put a 1KD-FTV turbodiesel in this truck. I was reading into the engine swap rules and I believe SMOG is exempt up to vehicles made up to the 1997 model year.

Guess what year my truck is. Yay.

 

Yeah I did the California thing, we had 60s cars then and it was okay but still a pain for daily drivers and anything else you wanna mod. WA and AZ have both been pretty relaxed with vehicle stuff which is cool though.

 

And then there's Florida, where as long as it has four wheels and moves you can get registered.

 

Yeah Florida don't give a crap. Connecticut is a good one to avoid though because they hold titles hostage and make them a pain to transfer to anyone else. If you ever want a good laugh visit the subreddit r/FloridaMan

 

Oh my god... /r/floridaman is my favorite. That and /r/shitty_car_mods.

My elaborate plan to bypass California auto regulations is to sublet a property in Florida or Nevada or something where the regulations are lax and register my vehicle there, but drive and operate the vehicle here in California.

Or something like that. I'm not a lawyer, lol.

 

You could do that, it's a pain but it can be done

 

When I took that auto class over the Summer this guy had a late 80's E30. He removed the exhaust completely and was running straight out of the headers. I asked how the hell did he pass SMOG - he told me he found the shadiest looking SMOG shop in East Oakland and slipped them an extra $20.

There's other way, not ethical ways, but ways... haha

 

How often is SMOG nowadays? I know lots of people just put their junk back to stock every so often to pass, can't imagine doing that on any of my vehicles save for the cruiser which is bone stock and a CA emissions model anyway.