Branden's Silver Taco Build

This is my first Tacoma. Welcome to my build.

After owning Audi's for the past 18 years, I decided to make a drastic change in my daily driver. Recently I've been enjoying out-door activities more and was looking for a camping vehicle that could easily transport mnt bikes, kayaks and do some occasional off-roading. After seeing a couple sweet Tacos on a trip to Montana last summer, I knew that's what I was looking for.

I love the silver and black combo and knew I wanted the off-road package. For some reason these Tacomas aren't common in Minnesota (Ford/Chevy territory.) I thought for sure I'd be buying one outta state, but got lucky when this one popped up locally. I looked at it right away and was amazed at the great condition the truck was in so I pulled the trigger.

My Taco was bone stock except for the aftermarket side steps (which I personally hated.)



I had a large list of things I knew I wanted to do right away.

• Plastic Dip all the chrome emblems
• 16" TRD Black 6-Spoke Alloy Wheels
• WeatherTech Floormats
• Silver TRD Sport Grill (Hated chrome - Off-Road grill had to go.)
• OEM Toyota Running Boards (Much better than the side steps that came with the truck.)
• Access Literider Roll-Up Tonneau Cover

These simple upgrades really made the truck look more aggressive and was getting closer to the look I was after.





What's up next?

My brother owns a graphic print shop that wraps cars. After the holidays we're going to wrap my roof flat black and add a OEM Toyota Roof Rack. The vinyl will protect the roof from scrapes when loading and unloading the kayaks, but also give it a more aggressive look. I've also purchased some Retrofit Projector Headlights from Kustom 54 Lighting that I'll be installing soon too. Photos coming soon!

 

Picked up a set of retrofit headlights from Kustom 54 Lighting LLC. Santa arrived early for me and I was able to toss these new headlights in over the holiday weekend. I spent weeks researching different ideas in how to get better proper light outta the stock OEM reflector headlights. I'm thrilled I picked up this set from Kustom 54. The quality is top notch and the lighting is OUTSTANDING! I'm so happy! No brainer, best upgrade for these trucks IMO.

New and Oem Headlights:


New Retros in and working!


Close Up of the Retofits:


Love the darker smoked lenses. Looks much more aggressive too!


Next project lined up is adding black satin vinyl to the roof and and adding the OEM roof rack.

 

I like it! Looks a lot like mine. When you remove those channel strips from the roof, don't trash them. They're over $100 EACH if you buy them at the dealer. I sold mine to a fellow TW member.

 

Thanks for the heads up man. Crazy they get that much at the dealer!

 

Another successful weekend on Taco projects. My brother and I were able to wrap the roof in a black satin vinyl and added my roof rack.

My brother owns a graphic print shop in the Twin Cities - Minnesota (www.creativecolorstudio.com ). They do alot of business vehicle wraps and lately paint wraps have become quote popular. It's a much cheaper solution to paint and it also protects your car. I could do a whole post about the amazing work and incredible cars these guys have wrapped.

Tossing vinyl down isn't an easy process. It's very time consuming to do it property. Definitely a labor of love. Before we could start wrapping the following had to be done:

• Remove back portion of headliner
• Remove rear tail-light
• Remove Shark-fin on roof
• Remove plastic roof covers (where roof rack goes)
• Wash roof
• Clay-bar roof
• Spray & wipe roof off with alcohol

That's ALOT of prep-work for a simple roof wrap. But any blemish or debris below the vinyl and it would show. We also wanted to remove the tail-light and sharkfin so you couldn't see any seams. This makes the vinyl look like paint when all done.

Once the prep was done, the fun starts!


Heating helps rid of bubbles and makes the vinyl easier to form and work with.


Vinyl all done and roof rack installed!

 

Very happy with the outcome of the vinyl. This makes the truck look more aggressive and will protect the paint from kayaks and such next year when loading and unloading. Big Thanks to Creative Color for the awesome job!!

 

How are those retro fits working? I'm wanting to pull the trigger on some retrofits and I like the smoke tint but I would think it would affect the visability and diminish the output of light would it not?

 

Hey man nice build, and I dig the vinyl! I've got the same color truck with a little fade on the roof. How do you think carbon fiber wrap would look? Would the 3m stuff be okay to use on it?

 

The carbin fiber wrap is cool, typically I see people do this on sports cars. I think it would look cool though if you like that look. Flat black shows finger prints and scuff marks. Carbon and satin black would hide most of those.

3M 1080 vinyl is what you want. It has the built in air-release. Good luck on the project!

 

Thanks man, appreciate it.

 

Love the roof! Know of a write up for removing the fin and light?