The Taco Express

Figured I'd give this a shot so here goes:
This is my 1998 Toyota Tacoma TRD PreRunner.
2.7 3RZ-FE. A340E Trans (No.2). 4.30 Open Diff
Current mileage: 280k
This is the most recent pic:


I picked it up on October 4, 2016 for $4900. It had 249k on it. This is how she looked the day I brought her home:

Soon after, I swapped LED lights into every socket I could find and began to clean the truck up as best as I could.

Then, my inner racer took over and I had to get rid of the stock exhaust. No pics here, but the cat is now gutted and straight piped to a Flowmaster 40 series. Much, much louder.

Took the truck on many trips to ride and did some wheeling in the truck as well.


I had a BLAST that summer going and tearing up dirt. That did come at a cost, however. Starter and alternator went out a short time after.

Things were looking well for the truck. Got some slick new headlights and bedlined the front bumper

Then I dodged a deer and parked it in a pole


Got it all torn apart and assessed the Real damage.


Thank God, the frame was untouched, drivetrain was fine, and the inner fender was the only messed up area. A few weeks of a comealong and a hammer and got the truck back up and running!


Now that It was driveable again, I did my first proper mod and ditched the stock paper filter for an AFE Pro DRY-S


And that's where we stand today. I look forward to building this truck more and more!

 

Broke 270k today

 

Nice truck, gonna follow this build! Nice to see another PreRunner...

Any plans to long-travel or 4x4 swap it?

 

4x4/5speed is the eventual goal. I'd love to do SAS as well, but a high school budget permits nothing of the sort lol

 

Ah budgets, the bane of all builds.

 

You forgot time

Nice job on the repairs Jake, ready for more mods

What are you going to do for paint on those new body panels - the black primer they put on them is pretty junky (autocorrect wanted to put kinky...) and without priming them with some good 2k primer and at least some base coat you might find the new body panels starting to rust. Just an FYI after looking into it for a project on my regular cab...

 

Trying to figure out paint now. Debating on actual paint, plastic dip or Bedliner. Don’t know if I want to keep Sunfire red or not.

 

Sound deadened the interior with some noico stuff. Didn’t get complete coverage but it was cold and got dark quickly. For the amount I put on, this stuff works great!

 

I’m also toying with the idea of trading one of my old quads for this LEER top. Needs weather stripping all around, but the fiberglass isn’t cracked and fits really nicely. I can’t make out any model info or what vehicle it’s made for except for the “...night” under the LEER badge.

 

I like those high camper shells - better than a tent imo - like sitting in a small cabin lol

 

That’s what I’d use it for. I just wanna find out just what it is and how much it’s worth before I trade anything

 

Like the og version of this:

http://www.leer.com/122

Call up a long time leer dealer. Maybe they have some old catalogues or computer files...

 

Got my TW sticker in and on. Looks great!

 

No pics yet, but I got rid of the Flowmaster 40 and put on a MagnaFlow 11226. Nearly a straight through glass pack with a slight curve in it. I think that the 3rz just doesn't put out enough exhaust to make the Flowmaster sound good. I'll get pics up eventually

 

Still haven't put up any pics yet. Probably will when the rain subsides

 

Wheels and Tires are on!
Went with 265/75/16 KO2's
Wheels are Level 8 Strike 6's. 8.5in wide with a -6 offset.
I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out. Gives the truck a much better stance
Paint is next!

 

Looks nice! I love the look of the KO2's. You definitely gotta get that hood and fender painted

 

Just came across your thread. That wheel and tire combo looks really nice on your truck. Did you notice any difference in the ride stiffness going to an E rated tire?

 

Thanks! If anything, it rides smoother than the Yokohama’s that were on it before. Then again they had no tread lol