The Sax Hauler: S/C'd TRD Pro lux truck

Today during lunch I got out the company heat gun and went to town.


Magic fender flare fade restorer

Works like this:

Did all 4 in 30 mins, then another 30 for the two bumper trim pieces.

The heat gun made quick work of the foam tape left over from some old deflectors

 

Then when I got home tonight I got to work scrubbing it


The wheels hadn't been cleaned in ages


Engine bay tidied up nice

Spent awhile working through the layers of dirt caked in the bed.

Once dry, I shot 3 clear coats over the heat-gun-restored plastic for some UV-resistant longevity


The grill was ratty looking. That won't do.


Some questionable body work had been done on the front bumper cover / grill surround. That took awhile but it's all good now.

Tidied up the interior, fixed a few little things there too.

It's looking good. 1st gens are so fun to drive around, such a different beast than 2nd gens.

 

Good morning tacos

Anyone else ever wake up and think, holy crap did I just buy a Tacoma yesterday?

 

This is a fun truck to work on. So simple and it's coming out great.


Bought a bed liner and tailgate liner today


you CAN polish a trd


Bar Keepers Friend works wonders on chrome. Those inevitable rust spots cower in fear of BKF and disappear with minimal effort. Love that stuff.

Got a new key cut from the VIN at the dealer while getting touch-up paint and a shift lock release cover today. Waiting for a few more parts to come in and this pretty little thing will be good as new.

 

20015 on the 2015 today



3 miles each way to work keeps it low.

 

Nice. That's what I was thinking. I didn't have the moneys for one of those when I was in high school, so I have a silver Stephanhouser. Fun to play, but pretty bright compared to cannonballs. Never played a silver one, but the black lacquered ones were deep and mellow! I need to make more time to play more often...

 

Enjoyed a nice drive across town during lunch to pick up a rare brand of alto sax from the 1960s:

 

Mark 6?

 

I wish. Still trying find a good one of those. This one's a Couesnon, needs a little work but got it for a good enough price.

 

nice

 

Alto and tenor saxes sitting comfy in the back seat on the way to play for a swing dance tonight.

Thanksgiving Point has a killer golf course plus great venues for other events

We played at the amphitheater with the waterfalls and pond right behind our little jazz band.

 

I wish I had the TRD supercharger!

 

Picked up a dresser + bunk beds last night, tetris'd them in there and drove back across town.

Who needs a long bed anyway?

 

The truck seemed to ride smoother when it was loaded with a couple hundred pounds of furniture. Is that a thing?
Makes me more interested to install my AAL.

 

Did some trail running last night and was bugged having to choose either high-beams or fog lights. Time to dig into a Fog Light Anytime mod.

 

Roughing it in the great outdoors with the kiddos this weekend

 

Small road trip in the Taco to pick up a tenor sax last night: 1950s "Continental Colonial" complete with a soldier engraved on it. It's in good shape and will be a fun project.

 

I cant't stand the laggy Entune weather app so I installed the mirror that should've come with the truck today: Gentex 453 w/ Homelink, compass, and temperature readout.

Sensor between radiator and grille:



Ran the wire back through the firewall, up the A pillar and across the headliner. The mirror was out of a Nissan so it was more difficult than plug & play but not too bad.

1st test, works like a charm:




My sunglasses get HOT up there, so while I had the console out I threw some Dynamat behind the compartment to see if it will help keep the temps down.



Did the ImMrYo mirror relocation bracket at the same time. It's very well made and a super easy mod. Love it.
There is one drawback though: the higher location decreases the angle so you can't see very far behind you - the top of the rear window now blocks everything past 100 yards or so (see pic below).
It's just a minor inconvenience but since the reviews on this seem to be 100% pros I'll throw a con out there.

 

Nice trucks, and saxophones. I just inherited my family musical instruments a couple months was so happy. One was a sax. Hoping my kid wants to learn. Going to try your heat gun truck. How powerful was it and how did you clear it? Cheers Mark oh and subd.

 

Thanks @MarX. What kind of sax did you inherit?

The heat gun thing on 1st gen fenders is more of a used car dealer trick (aka make it look passable until it's sold). The better way to do it is mask off the truck & spray the fenders with Rustoleum Universal black satin. No need for a clear coat on top of that, and it lasts for years.