1st gen tailgate

james dean creations chart

 

Well, if you want a good story, here goes! If you watched the video, you can see how great the truck looked, inside and out. No rips in seats, no dents, looks new inside and out! I take care of my stuff! But of course, dealers just don't want old vehicles on their lots, even if they do look so good! Out of curiosity, I did ask two dealers what they would give me on a trade, and both basically said the same thing, about $2500, which is basically what it would have been worth if it was dented, ripped up seats, and needed painting! One dealer actually told me to just sell it myself as I would get more, which of course, I already knew. So, the day after I ordered my new truck, I figured I should go ahead and list my truck for sale. I listed it for $6995, as I figured considering the price of a new one, it was worth that, although even I didn't think I would get that for it! I put it for sale on a saturday, and after receiving several phone calls of interest, but nobody showing up, after a couple of days, I put the address in the ad posting, saying for people to just "drive by and look at it" with no pressure and even telling them to not ring the doorbell, so they would believe and see that it was as good as advertised! Well, on the following thursday, 5 days after I listed it, I happened to go out my front gate, and a guy pulled up on a brand new motorcycle. I was putting garbage out and quickly went back in the gate. But then I saw [as I peeped through the gate] that he was looking at my truck. So, do I go out and talk with him, or just let him look and contact me later as I said in the ad? I decided to walk out there and talk with him. He was admiring the truck, and said he was looking for just something like my truck. He said that all the other trucks of similar age he had looked at, were dented up, needed paint, and had ripped up seats and some had headliner falling down! So I told him we could drive around the block if he wanted to, and he jumped at the chance. When we got back, just as I was telling him that he should just think about it, he immediately said he wanted the truck! He said that he knew my ad said the price was $6995, but he offered me $6700 CASH right there on the spot! Of course, I acted cool, but inside I was amazed that I was going to get that much for my truck! So, we agreed on that price, and he rode his motorcycle to the bank to get the cash [I specified cash only]. When he got back, I was just finishing unloading some of my stuff that was still in the truck, as I just somehow in my mind, not come to the point where I actually realized I was going to be selling my truck yet! Anyway, we did all the paperwork, and he was gone. The thing was, that I specified in my ad that although I certainly have no control over what happens to my truck once it is sold, but I really didn't want to sell it to someone who was going to turn it into a small work truck, with a lumber rack on the back! I wanted to sell it to someone who was going to use it as a personal vehicle, as I had for over 23 years. Well, it turned out that the guy who bought the truck, had just retired as an Oakland CA police officer, who had no vehicle at all while he was a cop, as he was able to drive a cop car home every night. His dream had been, when he retired, to buy his dream motorcycle, which he did, and what he came to my house on. But he quickly realized that he couldn't haul anything, such as a new TV, luggage, etc, on that motorcycle, hence, his need for a truck. So, I DID end up selling the truck to the perfect person to become the next owner, and I could not be happier about it!

 

i am interested about the safety of my tailgate now that the plastic liner 'protector' has been removed to do Line-X

sometimes i like to sit on the back with the tailgate down and watch the corn grow but I always had the hard plastic thing to sit upon

now there is just the metal with Line-X spray and it does not seem to be 'strong' enough to hold much weight on the back with the gate down as before

 

Awesome that the taco will hopefully continue to live out its life with love and respect and not die a cruel death.
I do still think that taco would've been better off with me but you got a GREAT price for it my friend. Good for you

 

i remember this! an original owner of the very early 1st gens (longer than me ) that decided to pass it on after 2+ decades
.... currently I am trying to figure out exactly what to do with mine now

 

You need to get the reinforcement plate that is available to add to where that plastic liner was. I can't remember whucj company made it. Maybe ask in the general thread

 

i did check out the james dean creations website
for some odd reason i had greatest difficulty locating the graphics on my tacoma
@Running Man informed me that my model year is a strange one and that could be the reason why

 

wth! ??

 

$400? Sheesh, might as well get fiberglass fenders for that price. Then, you know of course you gotta go LT to fill the fenders. Then SUS, link, and tube the rear end.

It's easy, just

 

what is the price point for those at the jamesdeancreations?

it looks like 3 different packages for those!

found this one? from the website

those plastic headlights

 

this is what i see!
$85 plus S&H

 

i don't even know if the jamesdeancreations matches my design and color exactly to the T

 

oh man i wanna put side stripes on my double cab. i know not correct but i love side stripes

 

this pattern from jamesdeancreations is NOT what the back of mine looks like
@Running Man what is going on?

 

@Taco critter put some custom ones on his truck
they look nice on white

 

I don't know what kind of side stripes one of the commenters is looking for, but James Dean Creations DID have the side stripes that came on my 1996 Tacoma LX Xtra cab. When I had it repainted, I chose NOT to replace the side stripes, as I thought the truck looked better without them. But he DID have them available. I have bought from James Dean Creations twice, and the guy just does a great job. I definitely recommend his work highly. His is an example of a business that just would not exist without the internet! But by having his website, his clientele is literally the whole world, instead of who would happen to drive by his shop. But in the two instances that I bought from him, the quality was excellent, and color was right on.

 

Why have a tail gate that folds down when you can have one that swings out..... like a Honda Ridgeline

 

Swinging is all the rage these days

 

You know what they say.

When in doubt, swing out

 

I bought this in aluminum last year and linex'd it along with the rest of my truck.

https://www.relentlessfabrication.c...ma-tail-gate-reinforcement?variant=6773065924

@GQ7227

However, let me say that I bought it on black friday and it was only like $130