03 JADE MICA TACO BUILD THREAD

Well ill start here, I use to be "TacomaYeti" but my thread was all messed up so i started a new one! Got a descent amount of things done to the Taco! I'll get some pics posted and tell you what all I've done! So here is the new build thread! Enjoy! Little history lesson for you fellow viewers! This is my second tacoma, I had bought a 2000 Sr5 4x4 automatic 4 banger back in 2012...my first tacoma. Put 90,000 miles on it. Sold it and started searching for another tacoma! Found this one right here on VCI(local internet classifieds service) the night it was posted and called the fellow tacoma owner up and bought it on the spot! So that's some truck history for you! Anyways enjoy the build!!

Truck Specs:
2003 double cab
TRD 4x4
V6 3.4L Automatic
165,000 miles(had 150,000 when bought)

Bought the truck in May of 2014...had 150,000 on it with ARB and the Mud hogs, interior was in amazing shape...what's awesome is i got the truck for 9,000!!! pumped on that one

Current Picture of the Jade Mica Taco: 2/24/2015





Future mods:

Suspension:
-Icon Standard travel remote reservoir coilover set
-Icon VS series rear remote reservoir shock set
-Old man Emu dakar Leaf spring set
-Total Chaos UCA's
-Wheeler's U bolts


Wheels & Tires:
-BFGoodrinch 33" MT's Or General Grabbers 285/75/16
-Stealth Series SR8 Bronze 17"
-Spidertrax 1.25 Wheel Spacers


Amour:
-Rear bumper(undecided on model/manufacturer)
-CBI Offroad rock sliders
-Full skids


Interior:
-Dome Cargo net stetching from left to right(for spare blankets and such)
-weather tech floor liners
-New center console cluster(OEM)
-New Front and rear window glass (OEM)
-New weather stripping back glass(OEM)
-New glove box door(OEM)
-New cover panel(OEM)
-Katzkin Leather seat covers
-Keyless Entry
-LED gauge cluster lights
-LED shift nob lights
-LED Air/heat lights
I Want to get my interior back to perfect shape, like it came straight from the factory (OCD problems at its finest)
The interior is in better than normal condition, but I prefer it to be perfect..

Exterior:
-professionally color matched door handles
-Glass works Limited front fenders with 3.5" flair and 3" rise...kinda iffy though, might just trim the fender well
-Truck Vault bed cargo organizer
-Prinsu Roof Rack System (of course when they release the designs)
-Satoshi Grille system


Lighting:
-New headlight housing
-Remove PIAA's and replace with 20" Rigid Industries E2 Hyperspot
-LED bulbs in rear tail lights
-Ditch 42" Cree Light bar
-Rigid Industries SR-2 40" Bar under Roof Rack System
-Hella FF 500 Driving light kit mounted behind grille
-Hella Optilux 4'' LED Fog Lamp Kit


Engine/Drivetrain/Performance:
-Cold Air intake
-MagnaFlow CatBack Exhaust

Recovery:
-Smittybilt XRC 9.5k Waterproof Winch Gen 2
-Viking 3/8"x80' Winchline Black w/ Black Safety Thimble
-Gunnebo 3/8'' Detach Hook


Thats about it so far, got a pretty good vision of what i want my truck to look like. Won't be long till i start on these add ons. Will start with suspension


Here are some old pics of my 2000 Taco:


My Old taco posted up with a buddies 01 Prerunner

 

So here is the oldest pic of my truck i could find...this will be the beginning pic and will chronologically progress..the truck already had some things done to it...such as
ARB Front bumper with a Line Ex paint job
33" kanati Mud Hogs
PIAA HID's plus Fogs
Line Ex Bedliner

So here we go...
Here is the oldest pic...the day I bought the taco!!




Pic of the taco with the flares off and getting sprayed at the body shop



Re painted the grille..shot of black




Threw on a TRD badge i got off Amazon! Like the look






I had a body shop color match the fender flares to give it that "limited" look. plus i love the way they look







Interior pic, threw a wheel skins steering wheel cover on. Love the way it feels








Taco doing a little towing!

 

Here is the pic of the bed...got the ammo can/ tool box idea from a couple of threads on here




here is a pic of the back seat, always wanted a way to tote around my AR's and thought a vertical gun rack would be nice! It is a Koplen and meant for a Side by Side...i bolted it down right behind the center console just as you would in a ranger or rhino, shot it with some olive drab rustolium. Works great, only con would be no one can sit in the middle seat, but don't intend on any one sitting there. Also strapped my grab and go pac on the passenger seat, contains all the things i might need in any situation.

 

Picked up an ARE camper shell, looked for 2 months and finally found one! Couldn't believe i found one that was Jade Mica! Praise the Lord for that one! The spectacular thing is i got it for $250...say what??? oh yeah i couldn't believe it. This camper shell was in Pristine shape and has carpet lined on the inside! I was super stoked. Anyways here's the picture

The day I bought the shell(had to drive to Murphesboro but well worth the drive):







Also threw on a 42" curved Cree light bar, I used Relentless Lo Pro Brackets to hold the light bar up there.



Little light bar action on the highway.



picture does no justice

 

threw on some marathon super hide seat covers, chose Kryptic Highlander Cami pattern. love the covers, also preserves the original seats!

 

Here is some of my favorite pics of the taco so far, and also some light bar action!



cool pic of the taco during a big rain we had




most recent pics, February 17, 2015. We had a huge snow, accumulated 13" in one night! here is some pics I snapped







this pic was actually taken during a early November snow

 

More Pics to come, Im going to snap some more pics when this snow melts, suppose to be -9 degrees in the morning so it ain't going no where for a while! I'll get some more walk around pics once the snow clears. But funds are very low right now, leaving for boot camp in May so i wont be doing a whole lot till i get back for 10 days after boot camp! much more to come! stay in tune!

 

Will be posting some good pics of the taco in the snow tomorrow, got another 3 inches tonight! stay tuned!

 

AWESOME truck make this thread picture heavy post more pictures!

 

Thanks brother! oh and will do! I'm gonna take some good pictures in a couple of hours. Isn't daylight yet!

 

Got a couple of pics of the taco in the snow

 

Some pics inside the ARE camper shell



The axe is mounted in the rail with double thread bolts, used mickey mouse nuts to fasten the axe on.

Line X bed liner

Pic of my DeeZee box with Maglight attached with kayak paddle holders

TRD cat back exhaust

Not a taco but still a beast....2015 Mule 4010, has 25 inch ITP's w/ SS wheels

 

Thats it so far!

 

Truck looks good. I wish we would get snow here in CA like that. I miss the snow days when I was in Oregon.

 

thanks man, yeah love snow! we got 14 inches and the taco was a beast in it

 

Lookin good, love the LED bar. How did you end up mounting?

 

Thanks man! i used relentless Lo Pro brackets meant for a 42" curved bar. The bar fit in perfectly! I'm gonna post some better pics of how it was mounted in the morning. Mounted so clean and beautiful, hardly can see the wire

 

Here are a couple smaller mods I've done recently(past 3 months):
-Xtra Lights LED interior dome lights front and rear

-Mounted my CRKT Fixed blade under middle console lid

-Mounted a skeet shooting hip bag across back seat for extra stow away...temporary, until i come up with a better solution! I would classify my truck as a grab and go / quick response rig...stuff i might need if things get saucy



More pics to come!!

 

Here is a better pic of how my light bar is mounted...I'm gonna do some painting and get it all clean


Here are a couple of pics when I got the taco clean of salt and grime!

 

Anybody want to donate to the Jade Mica Taco Project? Goes to a good cause and 100% conscience raising satisfaction guaranteed!