Snowy Loves Shitboxes So He Added Another One Build

Well I decided that a new daily driver was in order after I changed jobs and no longer had my middle manager Camry company car. I went from a 90 mile round trip commute down to 20 miles round trip so my options were pretty wide open.

I drove the first gen most of summer but an exo’d SAS'ed truggy on 37's with a 3RZ is far from the ideal DD (https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/snowys-3-linked-98-xtra-cab.371416/). Also not a great road tripper on weekend camping trips or non hardcore wheeling trips. The other truck is a 6.7 dually F350 that rides like ass empty, has emissions that don’t do great on short commutes, and I’d like to keep as many non-towing miles off it as possible since it'll be expensive as fawk to replace.

So enter second gen shitbox. Apparently I only buy Tacoma's that have been the village whore of forums because this was owned by a couple of guys on here before I bought it. I didn’t even have the title signed for 24 hours before I hit Harlan on the way home from the Bristol night race with my cousin riding shotgun. The 770 mile drive home with the cruise set at 80 was lovely afterwards too.





It's an 11 with 117k on it. 4.0/auto, 4.88's, ARB front, Harrop rear locker, tuned fox 2.5's with DSC on all four corners, FJC manual tcase/ADD tube. Exterior is pretty beat but the interior is nice. 37’s and Method beadlocks.

So far I have ordered a set of 35" Maxxis Razr's to put on the Pro Comp beadlocks off my first gen. The 37's on the first gen will get mounted up on the Methods and go on the first gen. The Cooper's are for sale if anyone wants them, just over 1k miles on them.

The next order is for a couple of new front fenders that I'll paint to match, ditch the snorkel if anyone wants to buy it either. The rack is leaking and it came with a good spare so that needs installed. There is also a bed locally that is the correct color that I may pick up as well. The goal is to church it up a bit body work wise and have a nice DD/non hardcore wheeler/camper. There's a ton of camping near here in SW Wisconsin and we love going out west, so this fits the bill for mountain passes and towns well.

 

First order of business was actually finishing the FJ case swap since it came with just the stick shifter and center console removed. Cut and rewelded the stock shifter to fit through the pen tray that I trimmed out. It’s located correctly but will need to be extended taller to shift nicer in the slot. The shift knob landing in the slot keeps it from shifting super easy. I had to cut the right front leg off the trans shifter base to get everything to play nicely too. Everything wanted to occupy the same space with the shift boot on.

 

Got some 35’s delivered and mounted up on the pro comp vapor 2 beadlocks off my first gen. I’ll move the Methods to the first gen since they are 6lb per corner lighter. Drives a ton better with 35’s and the Maxxis’s didn’t require any balancing at all. Butter smooth to 85



New fenders are ordered to ditch the snorkel and have them fit the 35’s better

 

Made a trip to my local auto body supply to pick up some fixins for this pig. One fender showed up today, passenger should be here tomorrow. Going to ditch the snorkel, get the new ones gunned and installed, then start to work on churching up the doors. $200 in paint and $200 in fenders should make a huge difference

 

Goddamn do I hate how little room there is under the front of an IFS truck. 20 minute full on WWE wrestling match to get this bitch out

 

Got the replacement rack installed today, aligned the truck and threw a new muffler on. Asked for the biggest one I could fit since I’m turning into an old man and like it quiet compared to the flowmaster 40 on it originally.

Got paint laid down on the fenders today too. Snorkel delete happens tomorrow and then I’ll work my way back down the body fixing dents/paint work

 

I like those methods!

 

They’ll look juuust right on the first gen!

 

Man yea they do!! Too bad you aren't dragging that shit box down to AL this weekend!

 

The dorkel is gone forever and can’t hurt anyone else now

 

Trimmed the fenders to fit 35’s and broke out the sawzall on the bumper.

Got to here…still didn’t like it


Ended here and really like it

 

Thanks, that is the best mod yet.

 

Started in on paint/bodywork correction today.

I thought I’d just start with a good cutting to see what was under a bunch of chalky finish on the existing paint. Got one side done and I was pleasantly surprised how much the paint came back around. I’ll still be respraying the spots in the doors but I’ve got a good idea on how I’ll blend it now.



Then I started to poke at the hood when I remembered that the previous owner only wrapped the black section, not painted it. So I broke out the heat gun, pulled the wrap off and gave it a good cut. It came right around great and looks way better. Hopefully the glare isn’t as bad off the hood scoop as claimed

 

No turning back now. Goal is to get the filler/prep work done tomorrow so I can lay paint Wednesday/Thursday while it’s still warm out. Not shooting for perfection but at least going to knock some edges off and get the whole truck one color

 

Base coat is on. Clear coat to follow tomorrow. Far from perfect but it’s less of an eyesore now that it’s all the same color

 

Clear is on and this thing is finally one uniform color! It’s far from perfect but the edges are at least off the really aggressive gouges and I worked out a few smaller dents

Before:



After:

 

Just been using this thing has a rock solid daily driver. I need to lower it just a touch and remove the body lift before moab this summer. Bought a used Softopper to gain some dry storage on trips and love the way it looks/works

 

Getting ready for Moab in a couple weeks so I hit the punch list

-Took the body lift out. I hate body lifts



-Corrected camber for the new ride height since I lowered it
-Set toe
-Rotated tires
-Rebuilt the upper shock mounts on the rear. Went from 3.5” of bump travel to 5.5”. Will be so much better when I have a little gear with out west



Still need to grease everything, install a GMRS radio, and steering wheel controls would be a nice bonus to get working on the head unit for the long trip. Then just start packing gear!

 

Used the forklift at work to check clearance on 35’s. They really don’t fit but I kept cutting and added a spacer in back to clear the shocks. Of course I did this the day before we left on a week and a half trip out west







Made a pit stop in Colorado and out in Moab for the week with friends. Hung out in Ouray and ran to Yankee Boy and Engineer/Cinnamon. Love the passes and exploring the towns

 

We hopped over to Moab where we rented a house with 8 other friends for the week. Fun group and days of wheeling our daily drivers instead of hardcore crawlers like usual







Flattened a cam tab but the Bun welder saved the day with an easy fix at the house





Found some cold water less than 19 minutes from our house too!