Manny: A Taco Build

Moving my thread to ExPo. Not enough time to keep both up to date.
The first few posts are a cross-posting from ExPo.

I have wanted a Toyota Tacoma since I saw the First Gens debut. So, in late 2000, being in a position to buy a new vehicle, I went ahead and purchased a 4Runner. I put a TRD Supercharger on it, and it was pretty fun. At that time, I was newly single, and didn't have any substantial debt to speak of, so I bought a 2001 Mustang Bullitt to go with my Supercharged 4Runner. Later that year, Life threw me my first major curveball, a kid, and I decided it was time to move away from all things that ate up my cash and went fast. So, being that I still loved Tacomas, I bought a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Off Road. So close!!! I mean, it had "Off Road" on the back of the truck. That truck served its purpose for a while, but the extra cab was a limiting factor with my growing family at the time. What I really needed was 4 full doors. Yep, you guessed it. Jeep Cherokee. Built it. Took it to Moab 3 times. Blah, blah, blah... Then came the Chevy Avalanche. You gotta admit... 4 doors, short bed. Way closer than just an "Off Road" sticker. The Avalanche was the first vehicle that I really didn't modify, which was probably why I shelved it for a 2007 White Ford E-Series Van. Oh.... That van. VANdiana Jones. Right concept, wrong time in my life. If you have a week or so to kill, go ahead and follow the link in my sig. I recently sold VANdiana to another ExPo member who will no doubt, fulfill that rig's destiny. Which brings me to last Tuesday. Taco Tuesday, if you will.
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Introducing Manny, my newly acquired 2014 Pyrite Mica Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Short Bed Off Road with a 6spd Manual Transmission. :sombrero: I picked him up with only 6,100 miles on the clock, and about 100 lbs of mud caked to the underbelly... 3 hours of pressure washing later, and I give you this;
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Parts are already on the way. More to come....

 

Wheels showed up today. 16" FJ Cruiser TRD's in black. +15mm offset vs. the Taco's +30mm offset. Should go nicely with the 265/75-16 Duratracs.





I moved a couple months back, and I have been busy trying to get my garage ready for this project. I got all new cabinets and a new tool chest which should come in real handy. I am so stoked at the prospect of working on my vehicle inside, and not on my old sloped driveway.

15'4" of cabinety goodness, and 6' of tool chest heaven.

 

Fresh from the tire shop this morning, I bring you new wheels...
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And for comparison, the stock +30mm offset Tacoma Off Road wheels with the same tires.
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Quick exhaust upgrade- I wasn't happy with the drone that the chambered Flowmaster muffler was producing, so I added a Flowmaster resonator in the section just aft of the flange for the y-pipe to mid-pipe junction. Really, it was the only place it could fit, so it worked out. I have to say, the drone is gone and it still has a nice exhaust note. I'll see how it sounds on the road tomorrow when I drop the kid off at school.
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It hangs down a tiny bit, but no more than the flange itself.

 

Ok. That catches us up to today. Any and all comments or questions are always appreciated. Thx, Brad

 

Looks good so far. Sub'd for future progress

 

The Weather Tech floormats showed up this morning. Great fit and way better coverage than the OEM all weather mats. I bought these based on all the positive posts here at TW.

 

After my drive to drop my kid off at school this morning, I am really pleased with the lack of exhaust drone. There is still a slight resonance at 2500ish rpm, but the tire noise at highway speed is almost as loud anyway. I will be adding sound deadening material to the interior this Fall/Winter. I am still researching what type I will use.

 

Any idea which series flowmaster you had on there to begin with? Garage looks nice. Good luck keepeing it that way! Hope that doesnt sound too sarcastic. I just know how things go at my house. Glad you finally achieved tacoma status!

 

Your garage makes me jealous.

 

Dunno. Was on it when I bought it. I looked for a part number, but didn't see one. Looks like it was scabbed into the OEM tailpipe. Only time my garage gets cluttered is in the middle of a big project. Otherwise, I am pretty good about staying on top of it. My last garage had built in storage too, just not as nice.

 

My color matched grill showed up today. 2 screws and 4 plastic trim fasteners later....

 

Ordered the HD setup the other day. Hoping to have time to install it sometime in October.

 

Looking great...very jealous of the garage.

Matt

 

Thx! Don't be too jealous of the garage. They really eff'ed up the concrete floor, and I may have to force them to redo the entire thing.

 

Just read through your Vandiana build. Can't wait to see where this one goes.

 

Reading through it now...Page 15 of 129...

Matt

 

Took me 4.5 - 5 hours to get all the way through. Absolutely amazing work

 

Greetings! I got it on eBay for $205 + $15 for shipping.

 

Wow! Thx guys! That's a big read. I would't compare the two builds tho... I mean, the Tacoma is already 4wd...