The Junker, built for hunting and fun. Crawl box and sas

At the end of 2019 I bought a 2007 Tacoma Double Cab TRD from an insurance auction. It had been rolled to the drivers side and needed some work. It must have hit something pretty solid on the passenger side and rolled because it tore the passenger side crumple zone off of the frame. It said on the auction site it ran and drives but after getting it home I learned it had a bent or broken rod and needed a new engine. The auction site refunded me some money for the engine. This is what it looked like when I got it.

 

I wanted a double cab Tacoma for a long time. I had a 1993 extra cab Toyota pickup that I had been working on and sold it to fund this build.
Once I got the engine swapped (really more like me watching my friends Mike and Ricky) I started on the body work. Luck for me I worked at a body shop in high school. Here's that progress:

 

I knew my body work wasn't going to be show quality so I had it sprayed with bed liner and then I started on the flat bed.
I wanted a drawer under the flatbed for storage

Next I started on the roof rack at my friend Dave's because he's got the tube bender.

 

Once I got the flatbed painted and the lights wired it was time for the fun to start. I found a set of 35s on the TRD wheels on craigslist for $500. After driving it awhile I did gears, 4.88s, JD Fab pivot kit and inner fenders. When NWF came out with the eco crawler it did that with a FJ Cruiser case. Then drove it that way for a few years. It works great for hunting and driving in the mountains.


This hunting season it started making noises from the rear axle. I messed up the preload on the crush sleeve eliminator and took out the pinion. The good news is I was prepared. I already had a set of Superduty axles waiting to be built. Gears, lockers and new brakes for the new axles are installed. The rear axle is now under the back and the front is waiting for a Martec 3 link kit with ORI struts.

That's pretty much where it sits now.

 

Small update, my Martec kit showed up and I have a set of roller wheel and tires. Here's the progress I made yesterday.

 

Finished the passenger side frame plate and got the transmission cross member tacked in today. It's nice to be putting it together rather than taking it apart.

 

I got my front axle under the Junker this weekend. The Martec kit is really straight forward and easy to install. Very minimal measuring and easy to setup. When I ordered my ORI struts I ordered the wrong misalignment spacers but hopefully they'll be here this week and I can get the struts mounted. First picture is fully drooped out.

 

More progress on the Junker today. The axle and frame are fully welded.
Full droop

Full bump

 

Nice build! I'll watch!

 

Been working on the Junker steadly over the past few weekends. I just about have the brake system done and I should have most of my steering parts here this week. I also scored a deal on some 40" Maxxis Trepadors. Just need some beadlocks and get the front driveline sorted out.

 

That’s some quality work there. Pretty jealous of the elk too.

 

Thanks. Elk are the best. They make the best steaks.

Hopefully I'll get the steering done over the weekend and have it on its own weight too. Here's a teaser pic from when I test fit some 43s.

 

Man, I loved my Treps! Just wish they weren't so expensive! And the good deals I would find were either on the east coast, or the west coast, and I'm in Colorado....

You're going to have a set of Treps, and Baja Pro XS's?

 

I'm going to run the Trepadors. I borrowed the Mickeys from my friend, just to see if I could fit 43s. Eventually I might step up to 43s but I'll have to beat up the fenders first. I did get some beadlocks and mounted the tires on them today.
I also got the brakes bled and started on getting the steering system bled too.

 

I wanted the 42" Treps, but just couldn't convince myself to spend the extra money on them. Not sure if you've run Treps before, but they really are awesome, and capable tires! So I guess they are worth the premium price!

Whats your suspension in the rear?

 

Glad to hear that the Trepadors are a good tire. I haven't ran them before but I'm looking forward to. Definitely expensive but I scored on these. My rear suspension right now is a set of stage 2 u402 Deaver springs. I'm going to get the front setup to ride height and then see what I need to do out back. Probably a shackle flip to start with. Hopefully link it one day.

 

Sitting at full bump up front, no rubbing. Now to get the passenger side to clear and get all the air out of the steering system.

 

That looks like a lot of room!!

 

The fiberglass fenders make it look roomy. The tire clears the cab mount by about ½ inch. The panhard clears the motor by about ¼ inch. My draglink just touches the pitman arm at full lock. Can't wait to drive this again.