1997 Company Logo Truck build. :)

After owning a 2012 tacoma and being forced to sell it in order to get a diesel rig to tow my work trailer, I decided to spend a few grand on a 1997 Tacoma Extended Cab 4x4.. Now that the company is doing okay, I can afford to work on it a little. The plan is to make this truck a show piece, complete with company logos, nice lift, and super clean overall appearance. I want it to make a statement and draw attention.. So here we go.


1. Bought the truck with a blown head gasket. Originally thought about rebuilding, but decided to buy motor from japan with 30K miles on it.. Had to change out almost all components on Japanese motor to fit it back into US chassis. The oil pan was backwards, oil filter was on back side of motor where oil cooler lines originally connected, pulleys were wider on new motor, so had to pull off all pulleys and use a lot of original parts to fit the motor. Motor mounts were different, exhaust manifolds were different.. and a lot of other small things. But after about 13hrs of work, it all went in and fired right up.

2. Now the plan is to paint (black or blue.. debating..), modify suspension, regear, service the transfer case, clean up the interior, and badge the baby with logos.. Should take a few days.. of thinking.. and a few years to complete.. ha!



This is a pic of the old motor.. looks a little tired... And I had to get new radiator. Original was jb-welded in several places lol!

 

Picked up a lift for my shop. Now things are going to get serious on this build!

 

Nothing like a clean first gen! Great idea for a bit of mobile advertising. That lift is the business - going to make life immensely easier!

 

So I got the tires and rims.. and coil overs and axles, and upper control arms.. and bushings.. , rack pinion, leaf springs, and God only knows what else that’s going to need replacing ready for the truck.. started working on it and hope to take it out for a test run sometime next week.

We shall see how it goes. I decided to go obnoxious on my wheel and tire setup. 15x12 mickey Thompson wheel and 33x12.5 Mud Claw tire. I want it to stand out and I think it definitely will.. literally.

Test fitting wheels and tires. Will be doing a little weight reduction in the form of trimmed fenders and body pretty quick.

 

Pic of some of the parts that went on to the truck. Also had to put in new rear wheel bearings and seals, along with new drums.. and brake lines.




Broken seal caused this.


Good shot of the front end being completed. New rotors and calipers. Was easier and probably cheaper than wasting time to clean up old ones.

also ended up cleaning and painting the frame while we had it all exposed.




Ready for alignment while new tires are being mounted on new rims.

 

I think your company is going to get more business once people start seeing this truck

 

Looks great! What's your company you're advertising?

 

How about pics of that whip with the whitewall tires?

 

Advertisement for my construction company Elevated Development Construction. Website www.mytracycontractor.com.

 

A few pics of the new wheels and tires.

 

Mudclaw tires i got didn’t have white letter.. sadly.. but nothing a little stencil job can’t fix.

 

Today was another successful day. Removed most of the interior, removed old alarm and stereo mess, and removed most of the sound deadening from the floor of the truck. A few pics of the before. Was pretty dark when I finished up so no pics of interior stripped.. yet.

 

Removing the sound deadening video.

https://youtu.be/FnvwHW8J_hQ

 

This is what I was referring to

 

Now that’s a bit different. It’s a buddies company logo truck.

 

@Dalandser