Moto Photo Taco

Currently:



Hi. My name is Keith. I enjoy long walks in the woods and people leaving me the hell alone. I started off life with Toyotas with an over built Cressida (different story for a different day). Later on I scored a '96 4Runner in excellent shape with 111K for $3500. Could have turned around and sold it for nearly double that day but instead I kept it for longer than any vehicle I've ever owned. Put 70k on it, little OME lift, wheels & tires and a bunch of regular maintenance. Loved that truck and it's simpleness. Here's a few pics:



Minnesota life was finally taking it's toll. Fall of '16, decided it would be a good time to sell so I could still get a good return on it before it developed more rust and rolled to 200k the following year. I had been debating on a few trucks but kept coming back to the Tacoma. Newer 4Runners are too luxury-oriented for me and I'd rather go X5 diesel if I wanted that. I wanted something that could haul my bikes, dogs, deal with home improvement projects and be capable of mild overlanding for my photo hobbies and the trail maintenance my club does. Needed a quad cab and long box. Wanted TRD pkg (didn't know at the time my only option for LB was Sport) and was looking for Silver, White or Red.

After a local test drive of a lackluster '13, I found this '14 in Madison with more options. It had 28k on it, heated cloth seats, remote start, in excellent shape and priced just under the market. Drove out and bought it.

My wife is crazy and made the salesman put a bow on it so she could take my pic.


Got home that night and swapped my wheels on. Loaded the bike up and the next day...



So the build begins....
Function over form (ok, ok....mostly). Forest service road friendly while not sacrificing commuter-ability.

Not going to list "plans" because plans change. But I have a pile of parts in the basement already and will be updating.

Suspension:
Needed to clear the wheels for the time being....
Front: Bilstein 5100 at 0.85", stock springs.
Back: Stock

Wheels/Tires:
16x8 Level 8 MK6 -10 offset | Bronze
Cooper Discoverer 265/75/16

Interior:
LED update | Thanks @MedlinAround
Center console organizer | Thanks @salex
Glove box organizer | Thanks @salex
Door sill protectors | Thanks @G Tek Fab
Husky floormats
Maglite mount
Rear seat hammock | Duluth Trading Co
Viofo A119S dashcam
Center console phone dock | Thanks @T MAC

Exterior:
AVS in channel visors
Truxedo tonneau cover
CustomCarGrills (Perf SS flat black) & OEM FJ emblem
Amber LED fog lights | Thanks @CaliRaisedLed
PIAA superior bass horns
Sylvania 886 reverse bulbs




The site has been invaluable already, looking forward to learning more and contributing.

 

Awesome!!!!!

 

Nothing earth shattering here but everyone likes pics...

After an ill advised spacer install to stop the front tire rub while, I said screw it and got 5100s. Still debating what I will do in the end for suspension.


My crappy spring compressors were not cooperating. Took way too long to do this.


I wanted something to protect the rear seats from the dogs. They shed like crazy. The big one likes to get up front. The little one likes to stand on the door arm rests. Basically they just destroy things. But they're dogs so....they're the best.
Everything I found was a terrible color or didn't meet my requirements. Then I found this from Duluth Trading Co of all places. Matching grey. Solid across the front to prevent center console stepping, sides to keep them off the doors. Fits and matches damn near perfect.



They are used to having free reign in my old truck, they'll get used to it.

 

Nice truck! DCLBFTW!!!!

 

I decided I should get a dashcam. Between the batshit crazy drivers in the Twin Cities and the wildlife I see up north, it's a sound investment. After a little research I went with the Viofo A119S and so far I'm really impressed with the video quality. I also like that it uses a capacitor instead of a battery so it should be less affected by cold weather.

Fairly hidden from the front, slighly obvious from the passenger side...


...but from my side...


Unnecessarily long test footage.


Mounted my trusty multi-purpose Maglite.


Really liked these @salex organizers so I had to get those.




And put in some floormats. You guys ever see a pic of a floormat before? Didn't think so.

 

Nice truck!

 

Very nice!

 

I love this. Going to have to bite this setup.

 

Nice truck! And Gas Gas too!

 

Well I put in 5100s and interior LEDs so I figured I needed to complete the TacomaWorld trifecta and do a grill upgrade.

Count me among the minority that prefers the "thin lip" style grill, it was just a matter of deciding what material to go with. I liked the few I saw from CustomCarGrills and the price was right so I grabbed the Perf SS in flat black. Figured the white vintage style OEM Toyota emblem would look nice so I opted for that as well.

Longest part of the process was just trying to get the damn grill out. Several attempts and internet searches later finally made me realize that it was just the eight tabs on the bottom that needed to be squeezed and pulled straight out. Cut, zip, glue and set. Put it on today and I like the results.




The guts behind it don't show up as much as they do in the photo, truck is pointed uphill at a low sun. I dusted it all with some black paint before reassembly.

While I was in there, I also upgraded the horns to these PIAAs. I'd love some Grovers but I'd probably end up shot or arrested. I like to use the horn.

 

Looking good!!!

 

Updates.

Did my standard 30K service.
Engine oil/filter
F & R diff
Xfer case
Spark plugs
Air filter (surprisingly dirty)
Cabin filter (surprisingly dirty)
Greased driveshaft
Checked U joint bolts

Had a very significant MPG bump immediately afterwards. After a couple tanks it's back to where it was. Still don't really have a solid highway tank on it to gauge that. Lots of mixed use so far.

Put in a set of amber CaliRaised LED fogs with the brackets. Pretty happy with those guys.

We had plans of taking it down to Arkansas last month to do some trail riding. Ended up taking a friend's truck instead. Welp...it was good to get that maintenance done and happy to keep the miles off of my truck.

As the weather is getting consistently nicer, I'm starting to get going on some other projects. The one I was least looking forward to was first. Toyota in their infinite wisdom has no protection on the door sills, thinner than paper paint and jamb covers that rub through. This all needed to be fixed. This has been documented before, but....here we go:

All four needed to be addressed, some worse than others. This is the front driver side.

Cover off.


The passenger rear for some reason was the worst. PO must have used that side a lot for something, though wear everywhere else is near non-existent. Sanded through everything with 80 and then smoothed it out from there. Didn't take much elbow grease.


Cleaned it up with some solvent and shot primer.


Followed by a couple light coats of Dupli-Color Toyota Super White, couple light coats of clear.


Let that sit for a few days and then it was time to reassemble.

Here's the main culprit. The little knobs on the edge where my thumb is. A few swipes of sandpaper made short work of that to leave an even, smooth surface.


My extra layer of protection was some 3M clear bra. I cut strips and applied that from the seam of the door jamb past the 90* towards the rocker. And then some G Tek sill plates over the whole thing. Now I can use my truck like a truck.



Cross that off the list.

Started on my bumper but that blew up in my face. More updates on that later.

At the track with Puddles.


Washed up with Hudson.


Took the side Tacoma badges off after this pic. Probably take the rears off too.

Bought a winch. Still looking at suspension. Need to prioritize some bed lighting. More to come.

 

Looking good!!! ​

 

You MX? Or woods racer? I did Hare Scrambles and Enduro for 17 years. Finally got tired of waking up Mondays unable to get out of bed without help. Last bike was in 1992. Long live 2-strokes! BTW, truck looks good too!

 

Woods! The club I'm part of has a MX course that we throw an annual event at and has a 5 mile woods loop around it. Makes for some good training as the Hare Scrambles around here usually incorporate a partial MX course. I prefer Enduros but an occasional HS is fun.

I started riding in my mid 30s and just turned 40. First year in Senior class, racing against all the guys that have been riding for 30+ years. Amazing how fast some of these old timers can be.

 

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