The Unbuild: A Journey Back to Stock

Howdy all!

New member here with an unlikely build thread — a debuild, if you will. You may have seen my intro post from the other day, but if not, here’s the link.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-member-from-asheville-nc.547065/#post-17739783

As you may know if you read the post in the link, my Yota had a very specific personality when I first got her. It was and sort of still is a teenage redneck’s dream truck. Unfortunately, I am neither a teenager nor a redneck (despite being from south Texas) and appreciate most things in their original intended form, vehicles specifically.

That being said, some tasteful mods may come in the future as time and money permit. In addition, this will not be a post intended to bash other styles or mods. Every vehicle owner has a taste they prefer and I’d rather make the focus of this thread about mine.

Alright, now that the formalities are out of the way, time for what you really came to see: pictures!



Who doesn’t love a streamline, clean look? But wait, what’s this?....



Homemade black mesh grille. Wouldn’t usually be a problem but it was shoddy work and it obstructed the hood latch mechanism as you’ll see in a bit.



If it won’t stay, zip-tie away!



Notice the hood latch impaling the steel mesh.



Previous owner said there was a “3 inch leveling kit” on the truck. I’m certainly no authority on lifts, but the truck does appear to have a bit of a squat in the rear to it. Maybe that’s due to sagging rear springs or too large a spacer on the shock towers. Input is always appreciated.



No spacers under the leaf spring.



An Autozone Special. Probably the cause of my less-than-great fuel economy. Haha



The previous owner said it was 30% tint. I don’t really know anything about tint, but I assume that meant 30% visibility. It was actually sort of dangerous at night.



Not my style but at least they match.



Forgot to get photos of this beauty while it was still on the truck, but maybe that’s a good thing because the detail I managed to capture here would have been difficult originally.



Home Depot Special!



Something tells me the previous owner ran out of adapter piping.

 

Updates so far:

The other day I had the exhaust worked on. A local fellow, Tom Mason of Mason Muffler Service, did outstanding work cutting the old amalgamation off just behind the catalytic converter and attaching a brand new muffler and tail pipe.

Here’s a before and after.



We got all that super dark tint off, luckily the stock tint was still on and the aftermarket stuff came off without a hitch.






You can see through the windows now!

And this came in today so I got to install it!


Saw the chrome setup on a coworkers truck and really liked it against the Impulse Red.

More updates to come!

 

holy shit man!! that exhaust is a joke to say the least, good job on saving the truck...those lug caps are something special LMAO.. love the impulse red...someone had one down the street from my house sit for 2 days then gone...they wanted $7,800 and it looks exactly like yours...man wish i had the money...i'm jealous

 

Haha yeah, i’d like to think I got a steal at $9k but dollar for dollar on just about any other vehicle, regular folks would still call me crazy.

 

Good job

My bone stock 01 mint Taliban special is what I love

-you need new headlights

-you need to unmodify that wedding ring

 

Yeah, something so appealing about the phrase “bone stock.” Headlights are definitely on the list.

As for the ring, it’s a silicone ring off Amazon for $7 which just happened to be my wife’s favorite color. It could be pink for all I care. Haha

 

yeah not sure what all yours has into it but this one had 275k on the ODO with 3.4 and MT 4wd...looked clean but never know til you take it home...for 9 i would say as long as the frame is good you got a damn good price man...everything else can be fixed in time

 

I agree. Especially since what you just described typically goes for 10-13k around here.

As for mine, there is some rust about the extremities but frame was solid and painted and it had 122k on the dash.

 

i'm slow i just read the description under your name...yeah so basically the same truck with more miles... either way man it'll last a good while for you

 

I highly doubt that those red lug nuts are mag style. If they are acorn or tapered seat style you need to change them to mag style ASAP. Also, they may have damaged the wheels by torquing them down already.

 

@nzbrock
I was afraid of that. They are on the list of things to change for the truck. Will post updates.

 

Today was another step in the right direction when my new air cleaner box came in. Finally got rid of the silly air filter cone. Check it out.


Sometimes eBay parts aren’t too shabby.



Upon closer inspection, I realized how they were able to get the aftermarket filter to work without disrupting the MAF sensor circuit. Also the vacuum line to the right was sort of just flopping about.



Ahhh, nice and clean. And that vacuum line finally has a home. Haha

 

Digging the choice to keep it original and simple. Looking good man.

I don't think you need new headlights, but try getting one of those 3M restoration kits. I've seen my friends use them and they really work and make the headlights fresh again.

 

Agreed, great work saving this truck from the Pep Boys / Handy Andy mashup build.

I second the vote on headlight restoration, your lights look better than these and they polished right up:

 

@motodude95
Yeah, I can appreciate some DIY methodology. I tend to lean toward buying new parts to solve aesthetic problems but I think I'll take your advice and throw some of that 3M love on the headlights.
(I can feel my wife rolling eyes at the loving headlights comment lol)

 

Not so much a “back to stock” upgrade as it is just a general upgrade. Who doesn’t need a good ole toolbox gracing what little space exists in the bed of their 1st gen? Haha

For those of you wondering, this can be purchased at Northern Tool online for just under $300 and it fits perfectly while still having plenty of room for all your tools and whatnot.
P/N 41911

 

An update I forgot to meantion up top - So, about a day after I got the truck home, I found that it had a fuel tank leak. When I pressed the guy I bought it from for any info he might have had on it he just replied “come to think of it, I’ve never really filled it up more than have way.”

His response, the way he spelled “half” and the general condition of the truck when I got it didn’t fill me with any comfort that he was telling the truth.

At any rate, I ordered a new fuel tank and tank strap which just came in yesterday. Below are some pics of the area it’s leaking from and the new equipment. Will probably install toward the end of the month before I start the new job.



Broken strap allows the tank to have a bit too much mobility so it may have started leaking from being knocked around.



Nice and shiny! The rabbit agrees.

 

So, it’s been a little while. Got slammed with a move and a job change all at once, but finally this weekend I had a chance to install the gas tank as well as a new fuel filter and downstream O2 sensor using my new garage!



Bringing the old tank down.



That was probably why the old tank started leaking.



Finally out.



Had to swap all the valves and fuel pump to the new tank.



Once the old tank was out I had to cut the old strap out of the cross bar; the pin was rusted inside of the strap end pretty badly.



Another angle of the new strap with a bolt to secure it.



It was definitely time for this to come out.



That check valve was a bitch to get out!



New tank going in.



Hard to see but it was snug in place. Glad that is over with!

 

Glad to see you are cleaning up the truck. There is something to be said about leaving them stock and driving it forever.

 

@Gizler00

I agree. On the flip side, as I mentioned above, there is also a certain appeal to tasteful mods. When I catch up financially, there may be some in this trucks future.