My Budget build

Hi everyone,

I posted in the "new members" area but I wanted to introduce myself here in the 5-lug section and post a few pics of the 2007 Access Cab 5-lug I just bought. I've been wanting a 2nd gen Tacoma for awhile now. Mostly for some light hauling and trips to the mountains. Unfortunately, my budget for a new vehicle was pretty limited which tends to make things a bit more difficult after drooling over many of the Tacoma's I see here in the forums. However, I was able to find this 5-lug and for the price, I couldn't pass it up. She's got some dents and scratches and isn't a 4x4 like I wanted, but for a 2007 with 21,200 miles I paid $8000... I'm happy

I've learned a ton from you guys here in the 5-lug section while researching what mods we can do to our truck and what wheels fit, what tires fit, etc. I plan to do some minor mods to my truck over the next few months without breaking the bank and will post progress here.

Mods:
Bigger tires/new wheels ASAP - DONE
Fatbobs lift kit - DONE
BHLM
Colormatch grill
???

Update: Here's how the truck looks as of 9/3/12...



================================================================================

Here's how she looked when I bought her...

 

Sweet, nice starting point and low miles to boot.

I was gonna do bigger tires and different wheels but just did the tires, I don't mind the steelies but they ain't everyone's cup o tea. I may change them later if I find something that I really like.

Welcome.

 

I hear you on the steelies ivel. That said, I've seen some folks with a creative side do some interesting things with their steelies. Perhaps some pinstripes/edge traces with an accent color that matches a painted brake caliper. Take a look out there on the internet...you might find something to keep the budget in line while offering some personalized interest.

Enjoy your new (used) Tacoma Chaos!!

 

Welcome in!
TW has got some crazy stuff to see, from LT to just some audio mods, I've learned more about tacomas from this site than anything else lol.

Dude, you got a great deal on the truck! Good luck on the mods, you definitely have a great starting place!

 

Welcome to the 5-lug taco family!! great website here with a wealth of information! What are your Future mod plans??

 

Thanks everyone!

I know right? Craiglist has been good to me this year lol. The previous owner didn't know how to drive stick (her dad was the original owner but he passed away and she inherited it) and she just wanted it gone. With the cosmetic bumps and bruises (also had a cracked windshield and rear window which I already replaced), I was able to knock off two grand what she was asking. So yeah, like I said, she wanted it gone. No complaints here

Thanks! Current mod plans are first, get some bigger tires and new wheels (which I've already purchased - another craigslist win), fatbobs lift kit soon after that, and then as time and money allow, start to work on some the cosmetic stuff: BHLM; colormatch the grill; repair dents and dings; maybe install fog lights and cruise control. We'll see how it all pans out. Should be fun though.

 

You can find some cheap stuff on craigslist, I got some KMC xd Enduro's (all four) for less than I would pay for one of them online. What wheels did you get?

 

I scored 5 Firestone Destination M/T 30x9.5 R15's wrapped around some stock jeep alloys all for $500. They are in very good condition and the seller said they only had around 500 miles on 'em. The wheels are in very good shape too. I was originally wanting some black wheels but I actually kinda like the way these look. And no they don't say "jeep" on them anywhere

I researched a ton to figure out whether these jeep wheels would fit. I even test fit one before the sale... mistakenly though, I only test fit a rear wheel not realizing the brake calipers on the front wheels are were most of the clearance problems are. So unfortunately, they don't fit on the front due to caliper clearance issues. After comparing all my options, I'm gonna have to get some wheel spacers.

Here's some pics of the wheels/tires...
(sorry for blurriness)


I wanted to get an idea of what they'll look like once mounted...

 

Looks awesome, hope you can make them fit.

 

love those wheels you picked up, heres a link to my build page since we have the same truck. maybe there will be something on it you like? or ideas? idk haha. anyways nice truck you got a sweet deal im jelly!
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-builds/215876-thorpedo26-5-lug-build.html

 

Aye man you have a nice build going on here!! as for the 30" you may want to consider the black box mod in case the tires start to rub. It's a harmless mod to do, just cut some plastic and unscrew a meaningless box haha.

 

You finished yet ? ? ?

 

I just ordered the wheel spacers Thursday. It's hard to find spacers for 5 lugs. I ended up ordering them from http://www.motorsport-tech.com/. I hope they work out. It was a little more expensive than I would've liked to have spent on a couple blocks of aluminum but then again I didn't want to cheap out on these get ebay ones and deal with vibration and possible failures. They're supposed to take about 5-7 days to fabricate and then a few days to ship. I'll post up pics when I put 'em on

Yeah, I read about that and was gonna see how much rubbing there is before I start trimming and removing stuff. They seemed to have decent clearance when I test fit them, but we'll see how they really fit once they're mounted.

 

Yeah, I mean if you ever think about going with a larger tire (idk why you would 30 is fine) but I would recommend the BBM. Test the turns to see if you rub in your garage or something before you have to find out on the road

 

Good start.

Also, thanks for the link to the spacers. I have been trying to find some for quite a while now. Right wheel sticks out a little further than the left, so I have been trying to find some custom spacers that will even out the left side.

Thanks!

+1 rep!

 

Glad I could help. Though wheel spacers seem to be somewhat of a taboo topic around here, everyone seems to recommend Spydertraxx when spacers are needed. However, they don't make spacers for us 5-lugs and Motorsport-tech seemed reputable from the group buy and other research I did on them. After seeing the custom options available on their website, I would think they can fabricate just about any spacer you could want.


On a different note. I ordered the FatBob's lift kit this afternoon

 

Chaos your 5-lug looks mean with those 30's man it's gonba look badass with the lift on it. Welcome to the taco family btw! Sweet truck too.

 

Here's an update on my build that is good and bad.

First the good...
My wheel spacers arrived yesterday! These are hub centric wheel spacers and you can see the lip in the center that is custom fit to the centerbore of my jeep wheels. This is supposed to ensure a good fit and prevent vibrations. I was a bit worried about how that lip was going to fit but all the research and measuring I did paid off. They fit the wheels perfectly! When I ordered them over the phone, I thought the guy said he would add some extended thread lug nuts to my order. However, the ones I received look like your basic lug nuts. I hope it won't matter too much.





I was going to install the wheels and spacers this weekend but..... now onto the bad news...

The FatBobs lift kit arrived today as well (very fast shipping considering I ordered it 2 days ago). Unfortunately, it's missing half of the parts that were supposed to be included. No shocks, no U-bolts. It only included what you see in the picture. I emailed FatBobs to find out what's going on and will keep you guys posted. Kinda disappointing. It looks like I won't be installing everything this weekend like I had hoped.

 

ask them to over night them at their expense.

You get the long leafs or short ones ?

 

I wanted the long leafs but it never gave me the option. But I'm pretty sure they gave me the short ones. Do you guys think it'll make a big difference? I'd prefer whichever one is going to give the better ride quality and lift.

They just changed their website. Now you have the ability to select which length leafs you want in the lift kit. That option wasn't there when I ordered. This is all frustrating.