Building Ron Burgundy

Hey TacomaWorld

This is my first Tacoma build. I’ve had some other pickups and cars that I’ve worked on, so I have a basic understanding of mechanical work. I’ve found a 2008 DCSB off road with 16,000 miles as of this posting. My intentions are to build a capable off-road vehicle that can handle some moderate/challenging terrain and serve as a camping vehicle for the wife & kiddo. This is also my DD, so I plan to be relatively thorough with my modifications to ensure I get at least a bit of longevity from each change. Please feel free to toss in advice, ask questions, or tell me I’m an idiot. I’ve got some learning to do and this community seems to be the best resource available.
Thanks for following along!!


Current:
-what I believe to be 3rd gen stock wheels
-Toyo Open Country A30 265/65/17
-Pioneer audio deck: Mixtrax touch screen (very nice with apple play, dvd, etc.)
-Wade window deflectors
-Toyota bug deflector
-Otherwise, seems to be bone stock

 

16,000 orig miles for a 08, wow! Nice find!

 

Welcome aboard, and what a find!

 

I know! Drove 7 hours for it.

 

Time well spent for sure!

 

Beautiful truck! For longevity, daily driver and camping, mild off-roading works. Rock crawling not so much, that’s beater stuff there.

 

I hear ya. My goal isn’t to hit rock crawler specific trails, but to have the capacity to tackle a bit of real terrain should I come across it. I also am close to a lot of snow in winter so that’ll be a priority too. I’ll edit my post to clarify.

 

Nice truck; Welcome to TW!


Can’t help but wonder how often the oils was changed in a 13-year old truck with less miles on it than I put on my 2010 in a year!

 

I thought the same but he had regular oil change records and everything.

 

How often did he change it? Like every 3K instead of every 5K, or every six months like the owner’s manual says to do if you drive it less than 5K in that amount of time?

 

It varied a bit, but it was close to 5 month stretches. I think there was 3-4 times it went as long as 7 months, but nothing longer than that. The guy lived in a pretty small farming town and garaged the truck it’s whole life. Only took it to cruise to Bend, Oregon occasionally for a night out.

 

Automatic or stick shift?

 

Manual.

 

Update!!

I've gotten a hold of an upTop bed rack with the alpha attachment. It was on a blue Taco and the guy had the alpha powder coated blue to match. I'm thinking of leaving it for now since its almost red/white/blue (minus the white haha). Maybe I should powder coat the rack white and leave the top blue...



I've also just ordered Fox 2.0 Coilovers.

Should be snagging some Falken Wildpeaks soon 265/70/17. I've had Falken's on 2 other rigs and loved them. Will update with pics once I've received everything and update again once I install.

 

Update:

I’ve decided to do some minor cleaning up on the exterior. I’m not the biggest fan of chrome, so I removed the decals on the lower panel. I also removed my running boards because I didn’t much like the look, plus they’re useless. I also gave Mr. Burgundy a bath to show off a bit. Peep the tailgate sticker…

Still waiting on coilovers. They arrived but powder coating is chipped. Hopefully it’s made right and I can make some forward progress. I also did make it out for a camping trip about 2 weeks ago. First time running the RTT. Very functional for my family.

 

Update:

I’ve gotten the coilovers situation figured out. UPS had abused my Fox 2.0’s pretty well and there was some chipped powder coating. Luckily Headstrong went way above and beyond and handled it in the matter of about 2 days. I’ve already gotten replacements and they’re in way better shape. Should be picking up some Fox 2.5’s for the rear in the next two weeks and I’ve ordered the Icon RXT leafs, along with the wheelers super bumps front and back. I’m hoping full suspension upgrade will be completed by end of July!!

I finally got tires mounted so I’m pretty pumped on that. I also installed Greenlane Off-road bed stiffeners. Here’s a couple picture updates:

 

Update:

Fox 2.0’s are on. Not a very difficult upgrade but very excited to see these add to the final product. I’ve got Wheeler’s Superbumps put on as well, which is probably a bit of overkill, but it should at least make bottoming out a bit more progressive as opposed to a hard stop.

Overall, I received a little over 2” of lift. I’m hoping these don’t really settle at all, and from what I’ve read/heard, the coilovers usually don’t. It’s the leaf springs that you see noticeable settling. Anyways, once I’ve been aligned and I can get a hold of the rear shocks, it’s time to raise the rear!!

Honestly, I have to give credit to Headstrong Off-road. I received a chipped set of coilovers and it took them about 3 days to make it right. They were incredibly helpful, incredibly generous with a solution, and I’ll for sure keep them high on the list of vendors.