PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Heading back home a short time ago, with the A/C cranked and Bob Marley playing; Hard to believe this truck is getting a new frame by the end of the year! Also hard to believe I've got the A/C on in October...

 

You might also want to maybe doing the UCA’s the new frame will come with the lowers

 

Damn thing's still not here...

 

So, for those who do not know, my truck is getting a new frame courtesy of Toyota; My truck has almost 140K miles and will no doubt have over 140K by the time the frame arrives and the dealer is able to do the replacement.

That said, I've decided to replace the water pump due to my truck's age and mileage and that fact that a lot of other TW members have told me this is a good idea.

As of right now, my A/C works great; The evaporator core was replaced in September 2018, but the system has been trouble-free since then. However, the compressor sometimes makes disconcerting noises on startup when it's been sitting for a while. While the engine is out of the truck during the during the frame replacement, would it be worthwhile to pull the trigger on a new A/C compressor? The process of disassembling the truck for the frame replacement requires evacuating the system of refrigerant anyway...

 

If you have the money? Why not?

Myself. No I wouldn’t.
Mostly because I don’t like spending money.
Who knows? It might make it 10 days, or 10 more years.
You’ll never know if buy a new one?

Or ask the dealership to have the Tech inspect it.
Contrary to popular belief, most Techs are pretty honest guys. (At least in my experience)
Then make a decision based of what you know

 

I'm friends with one of the techs at my dealer, and he even has a 2nd Gen 5-lug RC as a daily driver; I think I will hold off on the A/C compressor, but a lot of the guys on here (plus my uncle who used to be a mechanic) said I should definitely get the water pump replaced.

 

Yes, water pump would be a good thing to have done. I agree with both the guys on here and your uncle. That’s money well spent. Plus, it will be an OEM part. Since the dealership will be doing it.

 

A customer brought this adorable French Bulldog named Picasso into work on Saturday!

 

Lately, the mail has been arriving after sunset; But, the decal kit finally arrived!

 

My hand to give you an idea of the size...

 

I applied probably 98% of the decal kit this morning before work; I accidentally messed up the black windshield banner that I intended to put on the hood (I have a white one that I'm actually putting on the windshield on order, and as of right now the only stickers I didn't apply are the ones that say "FIRST AID KIT INSIDE".

Some of the decals came out a tiny bit sloppy, but it works out well because it gives my truck the appearance of having worked the front lines of a zombie apocalypse for at least 3 years!

 

Chances are that if we actually had a zombie outbreak, a decent amount of military and police forces would be be wiped out. Those remaining would be dedicated to protecting big cities, and rural and suburban areas where people chose not to evacuate to the designated quarantine zones (again, in the aforementioned big cities) would be left to fend for themselves.

Some of them might current or former military, but likely not with any access to Humvees or other legit military vehicles, so the small town militias would likely have fleets consisting of vehicles belonging to militia members with rest being requisitioned from the deceased and boosted from abandoned dealerships; A 12-year old Toyota Tacoma with almost 140K miles could fall into any of those three categories; 4WD models would obviously be preferred, but 2WD models would still be suitable for highway and suburban combat.

While there would certainly be some stick shift vehicles in the fleet based on whatever was available to take after the zombies took over, vehicles and other automatic transmissions would be preferred because chances are that most volunteers militia members wouldn't know how to drive stick; Even for volunteers experienced in the art of the third pedal, the last thing anybody would want is to freak out during a zombie attack and stall a stick shift vehicle in the heat of the moment, so automatics would be almost universally preferred by all but the most experienced drivers.

 

Pickup trucks, SUVs, large RWD vans, and dirtbikes would be the most popular forms of "Zombie Response Vehicle" for sure. Big American-made RWD station wagons would also be incredibly popular, but in my honest opinion anything reliable with the ability to carry at least two people (with the obvious exception of the aforementioned dirtbikes) and a decent amount of weapons or supplies would be suitable...

I saw a lifted late 1990s Mazda Miata at the Carlisle Import Nationals earlier this year that would make a great Z.O.R.T vehicle; It's nimble and fairly quick, it's super reliable, it can carry two people, and the trunk is big enough for a few rifles, several handguns, and the necessary ammo!

 

Dump run or is the garbage part of the decor?

 

You need a blue flashlight light!

 

Dump run...