Roxanne's build/ photo thread (PHASE 1)

As of 5/14:



I figured its about time I start a build thread so I can keep track of how far she has come. There are countless threads for inspiration, so this is my way of giving back. The build-up is going to consist of two (maybe three) different phases. Phase 1 is basically complete and had the goal of creating a comfortable cruiser that will be good on road trips, while still capable on basic trails. I asked you all for your suggestions on what mods would be best and I got some great feed back here!

Lets start with the classic "day I bought her" pictures. You can see a whole bunch of them with my post here, but this is the best one:


My wife hates the color red on cars and the taco is no different. She called it hooker red and it made me think of an awesome song by the Police called "Roxanne" and thus, how my taco is named Roxanne.




After a few random mods like hose-clamping my tailgate and fixing my temp gauge, I had to buy a few other essentials. For me, cup-holders are essential and $32 on ebay gets you some basic cup-holders.



Next were some decent headlights. After some research, I decided not to do some retrofits because of the time and cost associated with it. I might change my mind eventually, but for now these PIAA headlights are awesome.



The right is the new PIAA and the left was the stock bulb. Not a great picture, but in person they are much better. These were about $50 on Amazon.com.



I tried an FM transmitter for a week until I decided it was horrible and I wanted A wireless solution. After some TW browsing, I found the BT 35 TOY module. I didn't want to change out the stock HU because I often park in some shady areas in DC and would, no doubt, be a target.



Comes with wireless streaming of music, ability to keep the steering wheel controls, and wireless calling. I decided to mount the mic above the rear-view mirror.



When I was installing the bluetooth, I came across this random module thing. It looks like it might be the security system, but it is not stock and did not come from toyota. It was spiced into the back of the camera and has a red and a green light. The green light was blinking. I left it back there, but I have no idea what it is. Anybody have an idea?


I settled on this location because it looks clean and isn't noticeable. Call quality is good and I don't have to yell.


Next, I wanted an Ultragauge to determine exact MPGs and other various information for road trips. I wanted it out of sight for would-be thieves, so this location is fairly inconspicuous.



Looks good and gives fantastic read-outs. It was probably the best $60 I have spent on the truck.



Here are some superbrightLEDs dome and map lights. Its a quick and easy way to get a TON of light in the truck at night. Great for finding stuff dropped between the seats, which happens a lot with me.

I also wanted the windows tinted. For me, this is a no-brainer, it lowers the temp of the car, detracts from curios eyes, looks 1000x better, and protects from sun burns on a road trip. Shout-out to TINTFX in Fairfax, VA for the outstanding job and price. 25 minutes, in and out!


5100s!



Here is Roxanne up on the lift at the shop. I wish I could have installed these myself, but was nearly impossible in my apartment parking lot and I have no other space. A couple of guys offered their driveway, but I got this done for a decent price.


5100s!


Here is how she sits. The stock shocks had 146,000 miles on them, so they were sagging pretty bad. I had the Billies set at 0" for now, but when Phase 2 comes, I'll be changing it. As you can see, they lifted the front and back up, so they are at stock height again.



Next purchase for roadtrips was the tonneau. It is good for gas mileage and for storing stuff that can't get wet. I have found that it is fairly water tight with some extra stripping and some good fitment. We will see as time progresses.


I also threw on a pop-n-lock to secure random things. I have my stock handle up for free here if anyone wants it.


AFE power!


After some recommendations from some guys and my severe hatred for K&N oil filters, I picked this guy up. We will see how it holds up, but for $70 it better last a while.

That is it for now. I have some WeatherTechs comings soon and some Wet Okles too (end of September)

 

One of the reasons that I got such a great deal on this truck was because it had so many small scratches and dings. The radiant Red really covers a lot of it up, but still noticeable.

I decided that that was an easy fix. I used to detail cars as a job in high school, so I am no stranger to getting scratches out. I used some Maguires products and I think it came out great.




The bed socket worked great for the buffer. I had it plugged in for about 2 hours with no problems at all!







That was all day one!

Day two consisted of the inside.

When I was installing the BT35 TOY, I dropped a socket down in the dash, so I decided to tear everything out to find it. While I was in there, I cleaned everything, like, EVERYTHING!


Started with Halfway72's DIY here and just followed it and it worked great!


It was pretty nasty in there.


Lots of candy wrappers and dirt.


Anyone know what that grey box at the bottom is? It looks like it might be the power inverter, but I have no idea...

Found it!


I wiped everything down and vacumed everything as well.



After:






Detail complete!


Just in time for a nice VA rain! Shoot.

 

After all (or most) of the mods in Phase 1 are complete, it was time to test them all out in a short road trip to the beach.





Last trip to the beach had some great views:



Ultragauge was working great. It is showing 21 in the picture, but MPG jumped up to 22.4 in the final stretch!



The leaves are starting to change color around here:



Across the bridge!



Made it.



Finally back in the city and not one problem!



Things learned from the trip:

• I need my Wet Okles soon to combat sand and spills
• The BT35 TOY works awesome for calls and music streaming with Spotify
• I need a hardwired phone charger
• The Tacoma is actually pretty quiet on the road
• I love this truck
• I need to take more pictures

More mods coming soon!

 

Great start! Keep up the work!

 

subbed.

 

Looks great. Jealous of how much you have done in such little time.

Now on to Stage 2. .

 

I have a bit of an update. Still waiting on my new Wet Okles, but I got some WeatherTechs in the mean time and did some routine maintenance.

Here are the new WeatherTech Floor Liners in Black.


I had these in my old 4Runner and they were awesome. For some reason, my mother has an infactuation with WeatherTech and gets me floor mats for my birthday whenever I get a new vehicle. I would say I am a pretty lucky guy.





I also noticed that the truck was pulling a bit to the right and I don't know how long its been since the previous owner had it aligned. All of that, coupled with the fact that I just put on the Bilsteins, made me get it aligned.



Overall, Roxanne did pretty good. She had a bit of toe, but not too bad.

I am also going to take a minute to plug Jack Taylor's Alexandria Toyota in Northern Virginia. They gave me a pretty good deal on the 4 wheel alignment and also looked over everything for me an no charge. They have a very clean shop, which is a good judge of quality, and were extremely busy. They got me in and out in under two hours on a Saturday morning, Not too bad.



Not a bad looking bay.

While I was in there, I started looking around and I almost (almost) traded in the taco when I saw this bad boy:

A good looking FJ with a bunch of extras. ARB front and rear, IPF lights, 3" lift Safari Snorkel, and RTT.


Until I saw the price...



After the alignment, we decided to take a trip to the mountains. We ended up on some great looking back-roads and enjoyed the cooling weather.



Not bad for a weekend trip.



I also spend a lot of Saturday afternoon wire-brushing and spraying my frame getting ready for winter salt. I'll throw some pictures of that up later.

 

I have a bit of an update. Still waiting on my new Wet Okles, but I got some WeatherTechs in the mean time and did some routine maintenance.

Here are the new WeatherTech Floor Liners in Black.


I had these in my old 4Runner and they were awesome. For some reason, my mother has an infactuation with WeatherTech and gets me floor mats for my birthday whenever I get a new vehicle. I would say I am a pretty lucky guy.





I also noticed that the truck was pulling a bit to the right and I don't know how long its been since the previous owner had it aligned. All of that, coupled with the fact that I just put on the Bilsteins, made me get it aligned.



Overall, Roxanne did pretty good. She had a bit of toe, but not too bad.

I am also going to take a minute to plug Jack Taylor's Alexandria Toyota in Northern Virginia. They gave me a pretty good deal on the 4 wheel alignment and also looked over everything for me an no charge. They have a very clean shop, which is a good judge of quality, and were extremely busy. They got me in and out in under two hours on a Saturday morning, Not too bad.



Not a bad looking bay.

While I was in there, I started looking around and I almost (almost) traded in the taco when I saw this bad boy:

A good looking FJ with a bunch of extras. ARB front and rear, IPF lights, 3" lift Safari Snorkel, and RTT.


Until I saw the price...



After the alignment, we decided to take a trip to the mountains. We ended up on some great looking back-roads and enjoyed the cooling weather.



Not bad for a weekend trip.



I also spend a lot of Saturday afternoon wire-brushing and spraying my frame getting ready for winter salt. I'll throw some pictures of that up later.

 

It has been a while, but I have been busy. My Okles finally showed up and are well worth the money. They fit well and are comfortable. The only downside to them is they do not breath well, so my back gets a bit sweaty.



I also mounted my mag light on the driver's seat.


Started my sticker collection in the bed.


Took a drive out to the hills to go apple picking an the fog was pretty thick.








Fog







Up next is the diff breather mod.

 

Nicely done!

 

Looking good so far!

 

It has been way too long. Several months have passed without update. A lot has happened while Roxanne has been playing in the snow.







Like a lot has happened...







anyone have any recommendations on some car seats for Tacos?



About a month after we found out about the pregnancy, some ass in a honda cut my wife off in traffic. I was a couple thousand miles away visiting T4rwadle5 in Iowa.













As you can see, damage isn't that bad, but that's not stopping me from buying a plate bumper. $940 later, ARB should be delivering some big and heavy soon. I have had a couple offers from solid guys on here to help install. Obviously, I'll be putting pics of the process up when it happens.





While I was in Iowa, T4rWadle5 gifted me his old iPhone charger. I found an awesome spot to mount it.









I didn't want it on the window because I am constantly changing songs and it would be a hassle to deal with it that way. I will hard wire it at some point, but for now this works fine.





Since phase 2 of mods is happening quicker than expected, might as well go all out and start building my expo rig...



Starting small:





That's all for now. I'll update soon enough.

Update:

Still need to get my TW sticker.

 

I've got a radiant red DCSB coming in soon. Already has my name on it and im excited to start the build after looking at this page! sub'd keep the mods coming

 

What kind of knife?

 

Some cheapo from a gun show. A lot like the ones here.

 

Great Start
Nice looking truck

 

Nice build. Sub'd

 

nice job

 

I didn't think I was going to like it when I clicked on the link, but I do. Nice work!

 

Picked up a new A.R.E. topper for the truck today. It is meant for a Colorado, but fits the Tacoma pretty well. It is a little long, maybe 1 to 2 inches, but fine for my uses. $260 and the guy helped me install it. Not bad for a Saturday morning.