Evolution of & endeavors in elated excess (2012 OffRoad)

(regardless of the mods made after this pic, it's just too blingin' to retire)

Gather round, children. Listen to this harrowing tale of a man and his 4x4 steed as they embarked on the world and it's countless perils.

And don't worry, I'll show you the pictures.


As a prologue...
The items with asterisks are in the garage, waiting eagerly to get installed and will be making an appearance soon.

Performance
TRD Supercharger*
URD LT Headers*
URD Comp Y-pipe*
Aeroturbine catback exhaust*
URD Stage 3+ Clutch*
URD Hydro clutch bearing*
URD short-throw shifter
Drilled/slotted brake calipers
Hydraulic hood rods (+5 HP)

Suspension
BDS spindle lift
Toytec Boss coilovers and rear shocks
ARB EMU Dakar HD rear leafs
Energy Suspension spring bushings
Prothane poly-greasable swaybar bushings

Exterior
Pelfreybilt aluminum front bumper
Smittybilt X2O 12k winch
Pelfreybilt rear bumper
AllPro HD sliders
N-Fab spare-tire bed rack
Custom fabricated bed extender for Timbersled hauling
Bushwacker fender flares
Softopper bed cover

Lighting
K54Lighting blackout HID retrofit headlights*
40" roofmount LED bar
21" hidden bumper LED bar
Baja Designs rear LED floods
RUN-D amber LED fogs

Interior
********* ReCurve EZQ equalizer
JL Audio Stealth sub box
JL Audio HD600 Amp
JL Audio 10" Subwoofer
Focal K2-Power Front and Rear component speakers
Focal Elite audio crossovers
Full cab sound insulation
TRD limited (Black/Red) shift knob
Caltrend Super-Suede seat covers*
Weathertech floor mats
Interior LED overhead lighting

 

How the #*%! Did We Get Here?
All good stories need a little background. Its been a long road to the Taco, so here's the rides that kept me company along the way.

My passion for autos began with bikes. For my 6th birthday my uncle gave me his 1975 Yamaha TL125 Trials bike.

That was followed by a 1986 Honda XR100R that I have still to this day to teach friends to ride on.

Puberty kicked in, so I needed a bike that agreed with my sense of manhood. Enter the 1992 Kawisaki KDX200 2stroke. Mmmm, adrenaline was my new drug and it came clad in green and purple.

When some sap nabbed the KDX, I found comfort in a 2002 Honda XR400R.

Upon discovering the marvel that is Timberselds on Youtube, I freed the XR into the world and nabbed a 2006 Yamaha YZ450 with a Timberseld kit to ride no matter the season.

As for street rides, we'll make it quick. By year of acquisition:
2005: 2004 Honda 919
2011: 1985 Yamaha Vmax 1200
2014: 2012 BMW R1200GS

Apparently my love for 2 wheelers has also blossomed into a habit of hoarding...

When I was old enough to drive 4 wheels (16 at the time in my home state of NM), my dad gifted me with what was HIS first car when he was 15. 1930 Ford Model-A. We got it running and painted. To this day I've never had so much fun driving something so slow.

For college in Florida, I equipped myself adequately to mob with the squad to the beach. Formerly my Uncles pride, it was a 1978 Chevrolet Caprice Classic Sationwagon with a 355 Block engine swap, custom two tone metal flake paint and matching blue leather interior. Shag Wagon?

For the summer when back in NM, I discovered an appreciation for speed on 4 wheels with a 1996 Dodge Stealth Turbo. I let it go to a mechanic with 220K on the odometer for $800, and I still see it around town.

There was a dull period of driving a Volvo S70. I think it's obvious no one wants to see a picture of said ride.

Then, oh my. Welcome to the world of mods. The day I got my employment offer for a big boy job I ordered up a brand new 2006 Subaru WRX Hatchback. I won't say anymore, for a lack of words to express my love for that eagle-eyed, four-legged, turbo charged snowmobile of a car.

One might say I was sad to let the WRX go, but it's departure open the way for the star of the show. I give you, the 2012 6-speed TRD OffRoad Tacoma. No further introduction necessary.

To be continued...

 

It Was Inevitable
Growing up, I was the awkwardly tall kid everywhere I went. It melded depressingly well with my social ineptitude. But it did have it's perks. While my pre-pubescent buddies we boasting about losing the training wheels on the BMX, I could reach the pedals on my dad's 1988 4Runner. On our almost weekly camping trips we'd stop the car just beyond the transition from refined pavement to the beckoning abstract of backcountry roads. While the 'rents were locking the front hubs I'd sluff myself out the small sliding rear window and assume my place in the drivers seat. As a result, I was a 10 year old more confident driving stick on rugged dirt roads than talking to kids my own age. I liked that 4runner more than I liked most people. In fact, I might still...

In 1997, my dad got his hands on a 1995 T100 XtraCab. What a tank. In it's time spent with us it devoured at least 150K miles of brutal offroad driving. Most of it's other milage was spent towing trash trailer, hauling firewood, and moving friends. It was thanks to that truck that we were able to inspired to make a very remote escape for ourselves amidst expanse that is the New Mexico National Forest.

When the T100 hit the 300K mark, my dad decided it was time to let it go to someone that would baby it more. He traded it towards a 2013 TRD Baja Tacoma. I was surprised, as my father has never been one for options or accessories. The Baja was beautiful, and I wanted it.
Then mom REALLY threw us for a loop. She took her Camry to have some electrical things checked out, but came home short a Camry and plus on FJ-Cruiser. There a certain kind of joy reserved for watching a 5'2" 70 year old bundle of sweetness clamber in and out of that thing. She's named it Shamu, and loves it unconditionally.

The only other memorable ride I grew up with was a bad-ass little Subaru Brat with the rear facing bucket seat in the trunk. Perhaps it played some roll in my purchasing a Subaru WRX in 2006.
Not that one would need any more inspiration to take on such a car as that. It proved reliable, beautiful, fast, confident in any conditions, and did everything I asked of it without complaint.

As inappropriate as it may be to utter such things, it wasn't until I moved to Colorado that I started to recognize it's limitations. Denver is the first place I've lived where, regardless of the day, there's always a gaggle of people happy to head up to the mountains. The WRX could manage, but it wasn't an ideal space for 5 full grown men. Especially after a day of hiking or snowboarding. Then the Timbersled made it's entrance. The WRX had never had a problem trailering my bikes around. But I'd never driven with a 9 foot long machine whipping around back there on icy roads in blizzard conditions. And those are the ideal days to take the sled out, so it was unavoidable.
So at 190K, the WRX made it's way onto the craigslist and I was on my way to being a proud truck owner. For some reason I couldn't convince my dad to sell me his Baja Taco, so I was left to find my own.

I loved working on the WRX. With no training at all, it's potential for modifications inspires one to learn and challenge oneself. I even took up welding so I could fab a custom rally light bar. And I was introduced to the magic world of auto forums. Hence, I was initially remorseful about letting it go for a boring old truck. But as you all know, the Tacoma is a platform ripe with opportunities to make it your own with a staggering community of quality retailers and mutually eager fans.

 

You're Doing it Wrong
You know how on an awkward blind date or at the first day of camp the tension can get so bad that you're relegated to those miserable Icebeakers? The ones where you subject total strangers to needless interrogation with questions you'd never ask someone you actually knew. They always involve the one "what's your most embarrassing moment?"

My build story happens to open with one of those moments...

Having determined unequivocally that I was going to own a 4.0L Tacoma, I went straight to scouring the interwebs in search of the first mod for the truck I didn't own. Starkly aware of the looming loss of my Subaru's forced induction fun, it was inevitable that I resolved myself to supercharge the Taco. But the TRD superchargers had already been discontinued, with no one else making them. The supercharger well was drying up quickly, and I panicked.

Luckily for me, there was a gentlemen local in Denver selling a TRD 'charger with an "almost" complete FJ fit-kit. I snatched it up and went about the task of trying to find the parts to complete the kit in a manner to suit a Tacoma.

Flash forward a month, with virtually no ground made on my parts. I already knew I was going to have to have some of them machined. The good news was, I found a truck to match my Supercharger!

But alas, here's what makes this story a cringe worthy one. It's almost 2 years later, and the Supercharger is still sitting in a box in the garage. My excuse: URD contracted Magnuson to start production again so I opted to wait for them to have fit kits. Then URD announced they had cracked the ECU on the 2009+ Tacos, so I could install without a Toyota Flash while running the miraculous UCON unit. So here I sit, waiting until the next batch of piggybacks with a naturally aspirated Taco and a $4500 supercharger shaped paper weight.

So yeah, I've owned a TRD supercharger longer than my TRD truck. What numbnuts starts a Tacoma Build without a Tacoma?

The Acquisition
The 2016 new year brought a new ride. My patient combing through countless listings paid of with a 2012 6-speed TRD OffRoad Mag-Grey Tacoma with 55K miles. It was the only 2.5gen 6-speed within a thousand miles that wasn't asking $35K.
The morning of Jan 20, 2016 I squeezed onto the bench seat in my homie's 2006 2door prerunner for a little road trip to Casper, WY. 6 hours later I was mobbing back to Denver in the new project.

Fun anecdote: My buddy was pulled over doing 115mph on the way back. When he drove back to PoDunkWherever, WY for his trial date to contest, the Judge was out for Big-City-Boy blood. He spent a day and a half in jail. He was so embarrassed, the first I heard of any of it was over drinks 2 years later.

Back on topic, my inspection of the truck at the dealership revealed they hadn't spent more than 5 minutes looking at the thing. They claimed in was in like new condition with a leveling kit.
A mangled rear quarter panel, obliterated trailer plug, exhaust tip torn clear off, and no spare to be found were clear signs the thing had been crawling. That, and the 4" spindle lift including a cut front crossmember and lowered front diff riding on 34" mudders. The rear end had 4" blocks on stock spring packs with a leaf removed. Needless to say, the rear shocks were dead on arrival.

But nothing a little TLC time in the garage couldn't fix.
Talked them down from 29K to 25K.

Despite the fact I had just paid as much for a used truck as I paid for my WRX new in 2006, I drove home feeling victorious. 2016 was off to a good start.
Please be patient, this build thread is still getting "built"

 

Shut up already, we're here for a Build
It's a 4 hour drive from Casper, WY to Denver. By the time I breached the 303, I had arranged to pick up a set of 17" black wheels, a Softopper, OEM roof rack, and 40" light bar with mounts before making it home. If I have any addictions, they're coffee and Craigslist.
Less than 24 hours after the test drive, the Taco was showing signs of evolution.


Custom spare tire bed mounts
The first fabrcation project on the books.
Welded this kit up to save departure angle/clearance but retain bed space enough to load up toys. Adjustable along the bed rail system.

Red badges
Plastidipped the front badge in red and rode with it for a whike to see if it agreed with me. Followed up later by doing then all. I'm married to the look now, so they'll get treatment with the real thing soon

Please be patient, this build thread is still getting "built"

 

Sweet truck!!! Love that TL125!!!!​

 

Thank you sir! A long way to go still (on the thread AND the truck). Thanks for stopping by. Diggin' your build, super clean.

When I moved to bigger bikes, I gave the TL back to my uncle. Still lives in his garage, fully restored and looking like it came off the showroom floor.

 

First Things First

Please be patient, this build thread is still getting "built"

 

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