TruKnight's Autobot Build

time for another update!

ok so since I already have the pro grill and floormats, I decided to just lean into it and get the badges too.



they are solid metal which was nice!



part number for those interested

then I installed some diode dynamics sae led fog lights



pricy, but they look nice!

next, I got a set of those 5 light raptor lights off ebay. now, I dont care for the raptor look, but I did see that I could use them as sort of a low power drl light bar if I zip tied them together and put them behind the toyota grill logo, to backlight it as it were. I ended up using some left over plastic tubing from an aquarium undergravel filter, slicing that up, and shoving the lights into that to keep them straight, then zip tying that down tight so they wouldnt move, then zip tying the ends of that to the grill itself. ive since painted the ends of the tubing black so its not noticeable. I fuse tapped it into the towing slot in the cab. I think it came out rather nice.



it looks better than the pictures show it, but you get the idea.



that completes the front end update. most of the changes are around back tho.

next I popped in an oem toyota hitch cap, didnt know they made these, no more annoying empty hitch receiver hole.



also put on a ebay generic license plate frame, it came glossy but some plastiderp took the edge off.



looks alot better I think.

after that, I installed a vanguard roll bar. ignore the tape measure that was there so I could figure out what size lights I wanted to put in the 4 mounts it has.



I also put some more black vinyl on the tailgate at the top to cover the last big scratch it has in it.

a word on the roll bar: I installed this myself, it was difficult but I managed to do it. they want to you drill and use rivnuts to hold it down, I suggest you throw those away, because as it turns out, like most everything on our trucks, the plastic bed caps arent part of the composite bed and will pop off if you pull up on the ends. I first set it where I wanted it, marked the holes, then took it down and popped off the bed caps and went to home depot and got my own hardware and drilled the 6 holes and secured them on there, and then with the bed caps attached to the roll bar, I then set it back on the bed, a tricky operation but I managed it. now, I thought that having the only method of securing the roll bar to the truck relying on the plastic clips in the bed caps was pushing it, so I got some bedrail nuts from (I forget where ill edit it in later mabye) and tied off the front to 4 of those, then I got some angle brackets for house framing and drilled holes in those so I could use the convenient bedrail bolts that came with the oem bed divider, and I also got a second divider, so 4 of those hold the bed caps down tied into the rails and I think thats about as sturdy as I can make it. it didnt wiggle around before, I just wanted to overdo it.

I chose this specific roll bar because I liked the looks mostly, and it was tall enough to not block the 3rd brake light.

next up I removed the old grey off road bedside decals and put on this pro one, because since I already had the pro grill, mats and badges I may as well full send it and get these too.



I pushed them up a bit to mesh with the black bed caps, and also to hide some more paint nicks and scratches. has that old school graphic fade I was looking for. going to put some more of that on the door sides I think, then we are done with the graphics.

then it was time for the roll bar lights!

I found these novitech ones on Amazon, they looked unique, werent too over the top, and most importantly were inexpensive. mabye someday ill get the full morimoto big bangars but not today, bit too pricy, and these are 12x cheaper than those. ive only bolted them on tho, ill figure out the wiring later this year when it starts to cool off, too hot to fiddle with that now.



one more pic for today



except for the new door side graphics, thats everything done ive had on my list and ordered.

I think ill cool it now and enjoy the ride.

 

few small things:

got a sticker and a patch for the headliner off ebay.



not going to cover the headliner with patches tho I just thought that one looked cool.

then I applied the side door graphics.



strategically placed to cover up some paint chips and scratches, with stripe fade to match the new bedsides and angles to match the tailgate. it was supposed to be a rocker graphic panel but I wanted it up on the door like the old school toyota graphics.

going to be shopping for a plate bumper next I think, the pics dont show it but theres a few dents and scratches in that one there, but thats a project for next month.

 

Looks great

 

log entry: went to the toyota dealer for the first time since I picked my truck up in 2010, changed coolant, brake fluid and power steering fluid. would have tried to do myself but I dont have a way to depose of the nasty old fluids properly and lacked some tools. I did plan to do these 2 years ago but what with everything thats happened in the last 3.5 years it got pushed off for a while until things calmed down a bit. still got 13 years off the original fluids tho with no hint of a problem, this is why we love our toyotas, among other reasons.

some recall for the seat belts was done, I forget what it was about, mabye it will be less prone to tangling now. I long since replaced the faulty leaf springs with dakars and the carpet and floormats with newer stuff so those other two recalls weren't needed anymore.

also had a zero point vsc recalibration done since I was there, mabye it wont beep at me anymore on certain turns, I dunno worth a shot.

new plate bumper arrived and is in the garage now, heavier than I thought it would be, might have to get some help to put that on next month or try and prop it up on some old tires. after that tho im out of mod ideas, ive done a ton the last couple months, time to enjoy the ride.

 

tpms light has decided to come on and stay on despite all the tires having more than 30psi in them, I suspect whatever powers the things has given up the ghost and its just disconnected itself is why the light is on?

its a nonessential system to be honest, time to look into a mod to disable that I guess, other than taking the cluster faceplate off and blacking it out from behind unless that is the most lazy option.

in other news, the ac blend door actuator I fixed broke again, worse than before with the clicking so I just disconnected it. silly me for not just getting the more expensive oem part for this to start with, which I have now, and will fix it yet again. its at least an easy fix all other mods considered.

also that dealer vsc recalibration was worth the cost, havent heard one beep out of that thing since.

...

oh and now that the new 4th gen tacoma pricing has released and projecting forward to an assumed 60k for a pro w/ all the bells and whistles package, just at msrp mind you, then tack on some accessories like side steps, roof racks and a few other essential bits, then sales tax, misc dmv fees, cost of insurance for the first year, and bigger tires because we never keep the stock tires silly and yikes its more like 75k out the door and parked at the mall.

and if I dont buy it for that pricetag I could instead do something wild like pay off the mortgage with that in a few years instead, yeah, I dont think this in the cards for some years yet.

ah well, im perfectly content with my 2nd gen and never selling that so this was only the second just for fun truck daydream anyway. mabye someday tho.

worst part of it is, I still want one...

 

a wet christmas instead of a white one but I at least got a nice shot out of it to update the build thread with

 

installed trd oil cap and rad cap. old ones needed a refresh and decided to get something nice. part numbers included if you want one.

 

installed 4 new bed cleats today from https://caliraisedled.com/products/bed-rail-hook

the old oem ones were seizing up and showing thier age so it was time to replace em. really pleased with these new ones, 100% solid metal and well machined, slid right into the rails.

no pics cause was raining today, stock pics from the site instead:

 

replaced the a/c recirculation door actuator thingie again with an oem part since the last cheap one only lasted a few months. lesson learned I guess, buy the expensive toyota part first.

speaking of expensive tho, im putting my plans for a 4th gen pro on indefinite hold, 65k yikes! I mean I want one, but not enough to have that kind of long term financial burden for a second vehicle. I guess not as much has changed from 2010 as I thought, looking at the prices, I couldn't afford the top trim 4x4 then and I still cant now.

ah well, back to modding my 2nd gen, which im content with having.

 

Used to also jam out to that song when I had my old SWB!

 

its a good one! I had it on today in fact, rotate it in about once a week.

 

Sadly I don't listen to it anymore

 

oh no! im sorrys for your loss, it went before its time.

 

Yeah that was a little over a year ago.

It had a big hole in the frame so it wasn't going to be long before it was toast. Actually got a pretty good amount for it from the insurance company and was more than I could actually sell it for considering the condition of the frame.

 

ah right the frame reaper, glad ive no salty roads to drive on around here, its taken alot of good trucks off the road.

 

Oh yeah.

 

I wandered over here from Third Gen land and I have to say something. This is easily one of the best looking vehicles on Tacomaworld. Nicely done.

 

thank you kindly! all gens are welcome here!

 

Even this truck? It's got a 3.5L V6 and a 6spd trans? Its just an aluminum 3rd gen!

 

eh, you are pushing it, but at least its blue