AndyTaco's High School Student Build

I'm a starving artist & high school student, so mods come as fast as I can get the money in, which is slow as hell. Don't judge me, I don't have much to show off...



Truck Info:
2010 ACLB V6 Base Model
Silver Streak Mica

Interior:
Mossy Oak floor mats
Mossy Oak steering wheel cover
Dome & map light LED's
TRD shoulder pads

Exterior:
Homemade 'Raptor style' grille
Plastidipped fuel door
Lots of cool stickers
N-Fab Spare Tire Carrier (Modified)
Plastidipped grille surround
Plastidipped hood

Armor/Protection:
Dee Zee Ultrablack Bull Bar *removed*
AVS Hoodflector Bug Shield *removed*

Wheels/Tires:
16" MB Wheels 352's
265/75/16 Goodyear Wrangler Authorities
Matching spare

Lighting:
Custom retrofits w/ LEDConcepts ColorMorph Halos
30" LED light bar in lower valence

Future Mods/Wish List:
Top of the list = near future
Window Tint
Sport hood swap

Here it goes:


7/29/14:
Got my 2010 ACLB back in December 2013. After months of driving it stock, and today getting new wheels & tires installed, I decided to slap together somewhat of a build thread.

Stock:




After a long period of research and budgeting, I decided on the Goodyear Wrangler Authorities, exclusively at your trusty Walmart. I love them so far, but I'll keep this thread updated every once in a while as to how they're holding up. I bought some wheels at Discount Tire, I believe they're called MB352's. I had them installed at DT for around $100.


Closeup of rims before install:




Everything waiting to be installed at DT:




In the driveway after the install:





DT left a couple scratches on the back fenders; I don't think they are very visible so it doesn't really matter. Took a sharpie to them... Not the best of ideas but if you squint you can barely see em'

Had to use a kitchen knife to trim some plastic in the wheel well where there was some minor rubbing.





I will be adding to this every once in a while, showing off new mods and additions as I get them.

Feel free to leave thoughts and suggestions


UPDATE 7/31/14: Tires MUCH louder than expected on the highway. Not too much of a problem, but if you hate a loud truck, don't get A/T tires.

UPDATE 8/1/14: Can't get out of my truck without looking back and taking a pic.



UPDATE 8/8/2014: "Raptor Style" mesh grill mod

So after all of the parts came in the mail - which took about 3 weeks - I finally got to work on my "Raptor Style" grill mod.

I bought some Raptor Style letters from www.bayareametalfab.com to begin with. They were around $51 with free shipping which is very reasonable considering BP Fabrications was selling them for $60.


I ordered "Toyota" lettering unpainted because painting them myself is quick and cheap.
I went to Walmart and got some primer and flat black paint.

First I put two layers of primer on each side of each letter.



After that was done, I sprayed several coats of flat black paint, but only on one side. I didn't think painting both sides was necessary.



Once those were dry, I started the project.

I unboxed the black honeycomb grill that I got off of eBay. I was disappointed because in the picture it looked like metal, but when I opened the box the grill was 100% plastic.



It wasn't too much of a problem considering the stock grill on my Taco is even cheaper plastic, so I just continued with the project.

Next, I used masking tape to mark the top and bottom of the letters. I used a level to insure they were perfectly straight across.



I had to do this inside on my kitchen table because it was horribly hot and humid outside.

Next, I taped the letters onto the grill using the masking tape so that I could just eyeball where they should be. Took about 10 minutes of moving them around to get them to line up evenly. I then applied 3M Super Strength Molding tape to the backs of all of the letters.



Like so.

I removed the red seal on all of the strips and placed each letter very firmly down into their places. After all of this was finished, it was looking good.



The next day, I got to work on installing the grill. I took the stock grill off which seemed like a piece of cake, but there were several surprise steps that ultimately led to this project taking around two hours. (Broken clips, duplicate parts, etc.)





RIP, butterfly.

I then installed the new grill. Very easy and quick, after I fiddled with the broken clips and finally got them into place.



I was relieved when I finished because it was so damn hot in my car port that every five seconds I was wiping my sweat with my shirt, which I eventually had to take off. Texas weather, man.



Final Result.


UPDATE 8/31/14: Took her wheeling today. Ran into a large mud hole, about 3ft deep of murky, sketchy ass water. Being the idiot that I am, with the help of two drunk rednecks egging me on, I attempted to cross without 4wd. My trusty Goodyears almost got me through. *ALMOST.*





*note* I tried to go on the left side of the water, although it wasn't a whole lot shallower. I''m kind of on the land in these pictures because I started toward the middle, and turned to the left more as I started to get stuck.

UPDATE 11/18/14: Ordered an AVS Hoodflector bug shield and a Dee Zee Ultrablack Bull Bar w/ license plate mount today. Bull bar should be here in 2 days, and Hoodflector should be here shortly after. Can't wait to get them installed.

UPDATE 11/23/14: Installed AVS Hoodflector & Dee Zee bull bar. Looks pretty good!



UPDATE 3/13/15:
Haven't posted in a while. Since I last left off, I've added my spare tire and mount, and plastidipped some eyelid things onto my headlights.




UPDATE 3/25/15:
Plasti-dipped over my gloss black grille surround. Left the inside of the grille glossed. Love the matte black!

UPDATE 4/17/15: Plasti-dipped hood, took off hoodflector


UPDATE 8/25/15: Retrofits, 30" light bar in lower valence

 

Nice rig!

 

Thank you, sir! Almost thought my build thread was never going to be noticed

 

I may be first but I won't be the last.

What psi are u running on the tires?

 

Honestly I haven't checked yet. Just got the tires installed yesterday and I assume Discount Tire pumped em' up to like 38-40. I will probably lower the PSI once I take the new setup off roading

 

Id def check them and re-torque the lugs myself.

 

Will do. New grill should arrive tomorrow so I'll get to work on that, making my own Raptor-style satoshi mod. Should look pretty sick. Also looking for a custom bull bar that looks like Skistoy's but having no luck.

 

OMG!!! Dam, You've got a beauty of a Tacoma!!! I love it!!!

 

Thanks

 

Sweet ride, keep up the good work

 

Looking good! Have you considered a full winch bumper? I have seen a few with them running around and you really can't beat the look.

 

Thank you man, means a lot

 

Very expensive lol

 

Hey,anybody got one of those Undercover Covers for the Bed? If so are they as good as the Company advertises? I live in Maine,so we get Feet of Snow not inches at times so you'll think that might cause a problem with the cover,of course I would sweep it off,but at times the bottom layer Freezes,I am thinking would it cause problem the cover being plastic,I have never had one of the Undercovers,but I think it would look great sense my 2014 Taco is the Blue Ribbon with the Black Grill,just got Her three Weeks ago and like most of us already wanting to spend some $$$ to customize Her,Damn! It cost me $851 just to Register my Baby here in Maine,it like to have Floored me,I am from Tennessee $87.50 any Car or Truck,I am still learning things about the Taco,so anybody have any Tips,please let me know,Hey I have a Harley for sale,so if anyone is interested e-mail me at forgiven0123@yahoo.com for more info.

 

I like the black on black look... Wheels, grill etc. Mine has an aftermarket mesh grill, looks okay but a real pain in the ass to open the hood.

 

Thanks, man! Really? That sucks.

 

VERY NICE!

 

Thank you, ma'am!

 

Called you a sir and just realized. Edited immediately. LOL

 

Nice rig! Your grill is awesome nice job