MatosTaco's Build Thread

Of course, for this to work, I had to drill a hole in my radiator support. I moved the horn out of the way and put a piece of wood between the radiator support and the headlight wire harness on the other side, would not want to cut those! From there, a 3.25" hole saw made quick work of going through the radiator support. I drilled a new hole for mounting the horn and painted all of the drilled parts with rust proofing paint. I wouldn't want a big rusting hole on my truck!




I plan to install the scoop tomorrow, once the paint has dried. I have to figure out a pressurized air box setup to make the most of the scoop. Not that ram air does much, but I want the meanest possible snort to come from there and this is about as good as a cold air intake gets.




Once I'm happy with the entire mockup of the grill, I'll do some sanding, fiberglass, and painting to make it all look nice.

 

11-18-2014 I got the scoop installed today, had to build another one after a failed vapor smoothing experiment with the first one I built. I can't wait to build an airbox or modify the factory one to work with this. It's going to sound absolutely insane!


Used ABS glue to attach the intake scoop




Here's the driver's side scoop which feeds back to the radiator




Here's what the intake scoop looks like from above the grill




It's a clear shot over to the intake filter, I'll definitely need to make a box and add a screen to stop projectiles lol




I'll also have to relocate these wires so they go around the scoop. It's an easy mod, just need to undo the clip holding them to the floor there and drill a new hole for the clip.




Finally, this is what it looks like from the outside with the hood closed

 

11-25-2014 I've been working on building a pressurized air box to tie my scoop into. I started with some cardboard templates and got the contours by making a contour gauge from cardboard and a bunch of tooth picks.




Then, I traced the patterns out onto some ABS sheet and cut them out with a jig saw. From there, I taped them together in the engine bay(so they would be in their proper positions) and pulled them out as one box. I then used ABS glue to bond the sheets to one another.

 

1-06-2015 I finally got my swaybar brackets mounted properly. I had drilled some holes before that didn't work out. The positions for these were obtained by scaling pictures of the SRunner using CAD and taking measurements. I can only conclude that the 01-04 frames are different as far as bracket locations and such. I welded all those holes shut, followed by grinding them down flat and painting to avoid rust.


In order to weld the holes flat, I clamped a piece of aluminum behind the holes and welded them from the opposite side





Old side holes




Bottom holes welded shut




I put the back of the truck up on jackstands and I dropped the spare tire. With that out of the way, I was able to sit upright below the truck and place the brackets where I wanted them.





I marked and drilled the top holes first. From there, I mounted each bracket via the top bolt hole and the endlinks. I had drawn a line down the center of the bottom of each bracket such that I could draw a continuation of the line onto the frame. I had also measured the distance to the hole from the edge of the bracket by using a caliper. All I had to do then was to place the caliper against the edge of the bracket and make a mark perpendicular to the line I drew on the frame. With that done, I drilled the bottom holes and painted all the holes with rust protecting primer and then engine paint. The driver's side is much harder to do because the frame there is partially boxed in to support the shock and it makes placing the bracket harder.


Passenger's side, real easy to get to




Driver's side, major pain. You have to move an electrical harness out of the way as well.




New Side Hole, frame sprayed with primer




Afterwards, I bolted the brackets to the frame with both bolts, attached them to the sway bar via the endlinks, and then ran a weld from the frame onto the bracket. This is to ensure I never have to suffer the aggravation of this install ever again. These welds were also painted, along with the cleanup and painting of any frame rust I noticed while down there.


Brackets finally mounted




From there, I took a much needed shower and took the truck for a spin. It feels great again, the sway bar makes the rear end feel so much more stable and planted.


1-12-15 The one drawback to the SRunner rear sway bar is that it makes you feel the front roll a bit more. I will likely try 01-04 front end links, which are shorter than mine, in order to tighten up the front. If I'm not satisfied with that, I'll get myself an SRunner front bar.

 

2-19-2015 I finally got my intake setup completed. I ended up reverting to the factory intake box and modifying it to connect to my scoop. The factory elbow that comes off the side of the box and goes to the fender well actually mated up to my scoop perfectly once relocated to the front. I made a cap to close off the opening on the side of the box and a flange to seal up the gap between the new hole and the elbow. I sealed it off with a little polyurethane roof flashing and it was done. The new setup is much quieter at open throttle than what I had before, but throttle response is better with the box than it was with the open cone. I ran with a hole in the box (deck plate mod with no deck plate lol) and no connection to the scoop for a while and it sounded just like the cone filter-just with better response.

 

5-19-2015 Finally, it's time for a build update! I just got a sweet front brake upgrade for my Tacoma, this is a long overdue mod! I got them from Richard, screenname rich- here on customtacos. He decided to go another route (a rather awesome one I might add) with his brakes and sold me these. Major thanks to Rich for giving me dibs on these and generally being a great guy to deal with. He packaged everything perfectly, got me tracking info right away, and checked up on the state of the parts once they arrived. He even provided the part numbers I need for brake lines and fittings Take notes people, that is how you do business! I can't wait to see how his V8 Tacoma build goes.




5-27-15 These things are pretty big compared to the stock brakes, measuring in at just over 12" in diameter








My kit was missing the bolts to attach the new calipers to the mounting brackets. I got them from Ace Hardware and they are 3/8-24 threaded bolts. The ones I got were 1.25" and I should mention that they are Grade 8 bolts. I also added zinc plated lock washers and flat washers to each bolt which I got from the Grade 8 bins.








Also, my brake rotors and caliper mounting brackets had been stripped of their powdercoat. Apparently, the shop that did the powdercoat stripped them because the powder had been recalled. So I painted these with a few coats of high temp silver paint. From there, I assembled the hats to the rotors. I put red Loctite 271 on all the bolts and torqued them to 21 ft-lbs. This is what Wilwood is recommending lately from what I researched, so I will forgo safety wiring from now. I'll be keeping an eye on the bolts to see if they are coming loose.

 

5-27-2015 I then installed the brake lines and bled them using the one man method. A quick test drive revealed a spongy pedal and the front right tire locking up before the front left. I have a feeling there is still some air in the line for the front left brake, so I will redo the bleeding once my friend has some time to help me do it the old fashioned way.

5-29-2015 I bled the front left tire once again and then went for a drive. The pedal felt great and the brakes acted like I wanted them to. I even drove to the airport to see some relatives and the brakes performed perfectly the entire way. Upon getting home, I remembered that there are two bleed screws to do per caliper, I had forgotten the inner ones (closer to the suspension) on either side. So, this morning, I bled the inner screw followed by the outer on each caliper. My pedal is now rock solid

 

6-10-2015 I took her out to an autocross at Homestead Miami Speedway for a proper shakedown. Getting there takes slightly over an hour, and with Miami weather, that meant driving through mixed stretches of dry road and torrential downpours. Once at the Speedway, I started running the fairly short course in the wet. As the day progressed, the sun came up and dried the course. From there, I got to push much harder as my tires got to temperature and started sticking to the course. I got in 20 runs before lunch and probably more afterwards.


I'm happy to report that the system took the abuse with no problems whatsoever. The brakes felt strong and consistent throughout the drive there, all 40+ runs, and the drive home. Success!!!


Videos are posted in the autocross thread (on Customtacos)

 

8-06-2015 I got some new SRunner front end links. Unfortunately, they use a different lower mount and I need to order those.




I also got new tires as a key popped my rear tire and my spare blew the next day (mad dry rot)


Someone lost their key and my tire found it...




Spare wasn't having it...




New Michelin Pilot Super Sports on deck!

 

8-14-2015 Got the tires mounted and have been driving around on the new tires. So far so good. They are much less harsh over bumps than the old Dunlops although I don't yet trust them as much in corners. Wet weather performance is excellent.

 

9-22-2015
My Taco got to 230k on Sunday. My baby's becoming a teenager

 

Here are some pics from when I went to get the tires mounted


Got some gas first




Then I went to a small shop by my house that mounts and balances tires for $16 a pop. I like those small, informal shops because I can hang out and supervise everything.




The new tires look great with my wheels and brakes

 

They wouldn't align the truck because my outer tie rods had some play. I bought and installed new ones and added new end link bushings while I was in there. The old poly bushings were shot so I got some new ones, also in polyurethane. My brother took the truck to get aligned while I was at work so I drove the Miata that day, tons of fun and borderline heat stroke...smh.


I avoided heat stroke while doing the install thanks to this awesome industrial fan

 

I grew tired of how dirty the truck was a few weeks ago, so I washed it and sealed it with Klasse acrylic sealant. Right in time for the rain to start, it never fails lol. Thank God I got this new carport to work under.

 

I hit some debris on the road today, felt like a solid block of steel! My driver's side front wheel went over it and my control arm hit the bump stop. Fortunately, nothing was damaged and I was able to make it home without issue. People seriously need to secure their junk and not drop this stuff on the highway.

 

I haven't gotten around to finishing the hood, I spent a lot of time adjusting the opening so the vent would sit flush. All I really need to do is to epoxy in the vent and it's ready to put on the truck. For now, it sits in my garage along with other projects that I'm behind on lol.

 

Curbed my wheel this morning pulling into work, one of my beloved PSS was injured. Will need to look into getting a replacement. I wonder if this wasn't initiated by the chunk of steel I hit on the freeway and just exacerbated by the curb. Not cool.

 

Blew a seal on the clutch master cylinder the other morning. I got a Master and Slave cylinder at the auto parts and installed them only to find that one or both of the cylinders they sold me were bad. Returned them and got my money back. Planning to go to Toyota and buy the legit ones. My friend's 350Z had the same issue, we resolved that pretty easily since he had factory replacement cylinders.

 

2-04-2016 Man, it's been a while since I updated this. I found the factory Denso parts on ebay and replaced them. Unfortunately, the thread on the fitting going into the master cylinder was jacked up and I ruined the new master cylinder. Ended up buying a new hose at Toyota and another master cylinder. Then I got it bled and put the truck back on the road.

 

6-06-2016 I recently lost my driver's side and ignition keys while kayaking. You might wonder why I had driver's and ignition side keys... well, in college, someone tried to break in and didn't know how to pick a lock. So, they damaged my driver's door cylinder. Then my ignition got locked up. In both cases, I bought separate cylinders because I didn't want to pay $230 for the whole set lol. The passenger's side cylinder later went bad and was also replaced. Ah, the college days... At this point, there were four different keys to my truck (gas door lock was original) I went to Toyota and the full set was discontinued for the 95.5-00 trucks. Lo and behold, they still carry the set for the 01-04 trucks, so I ordered that. The dude at the stealership warned me that there was no guarantee they would fit and that he wouldn't give me a refund. I told him to go ahead and order it... it's Toyota, it's the same truck, they don't change much. The set for the 01-04 has two door cylinders, an ignition cylinder, a lock for the center console, and one electric lock I'm guessing is for the tailgate? It also costs $374... so I got it and here is what I've found:





The driver's side door locks are the same part number




The passenger's side door locks are the same part number




The center console lock for the 01-04 is the same as the gas door lock for the 95.5-00 and so I was able to use that as well.


Unfortunately, the ignition cylinder is longer and will not work. This may be due to some change with the steering columns or the ignition systems themselves, I am unsure as to what. It is literally the same part, just longer. Oh well, at least now there are only two keys, old school GM style lol.




By the way, changing door locks is very easy. Beyond what's needed for removing the door panel (screw driver and something to remove the window crank clip) all you need is a 10mm socket. For the doors, you remove one 10mm bolt, undo the plastic clip with your hands, twist the cylinder a bit, and pull it out. It helps to pull the other 10 mm holding on the outer door handle so you can shift it and get a better view of what you are doing. For the ignition cylinder, you undo the dash panels around it, stick a key in it and turn it, and then push in the bottom pin with a thin screwdriver in order to allow the cylinder to slide forward when you tug on the key. The gas door cylinder has a retaining clip you pull out and then the cylinder comes straight out. Installation is the reverse of removal. It's all really simple.