Kirkman's low budget build

As of Sep 2016



It all started back in April 2016. I needed a work truck in a bad way. I always wanted a Tacoma 4WD, but money being tight I settled on a base model 2009 single cab 2wd



Unfortunately this is one of the few "before" pics of the truck. I wasn't very proud of it. One thing to note, my daily driver standards are set pretty damn high. That goes for every car I have ever owned. So 4 months later, here she sits



When I bought the truck, the paint was chipped up pretty bad on every panel. And was starting to rust from the inside out. At first, my plan was to buff the chalked up shit and bring it back to life. Finally after a few days of arguing with myself, I decided just to repaint the entire thing. So my buddy and I got to work. I didn't take many pics during the first 2 months, didn't plan on starting a build thread back then. But I did take a few.










Limited time and money slowed the project down to about 2 months. In the end, it turned out pretty good, worth all the blood sweat and tears. And cussing. A lot of cussing. Now it was time to save up for a lift kit and some wheels.
A few weeks later, ordered a Fat Bobs lift kit and some Rockstar II wheels.
Around that time (July 4th) Discount tire had some pretty damn good deals going on tires, so I took advantage of it. Got them to price match the cheapest online price I could find - just over $600 for all 4 mounted and balanced. That was a good day



So finally, I put her together, cleaned her up, and did a photoshoot.






Did a few more mods over time, also bought some more toys.

 

Mod list
-All-over bodywork and paint job
-paint to match front and rear bumpers, mirrors, handles
-OEM cowl hood (bought for $100)
-antenna delete, patched hole (haven't installed hideaway ant. yet)
-painted grill
-spec-D headlights
-smoked foglights
-tinted/cleared taillights, cleared headlights
-painted emblems
-LCE headers
-K&N CAI
-fat bobs garage lift kit
-17x8 XD Rockstar II
-265/70/17 Nitto Terra Grappler G2
-leather armrest mod
-tailgate EZ down
-bed mat
-nitebruiser LED backup lights


Future mods
-sound deadening
-12-15 steering wheel
-cruise control
-intermittent wipers
-Exhaust
-Sliders
-Bull bar
-Wet Okole seat covers
-power door locks
-power windows
-Viper security system (already have)
-navi/xm

 

Installed the CAI, nitebruiser LEDs, and bugshield.

 

More pics...






My girl Roxy

 

Good looking truck!

 

Clean!!

Is there write up on the EZ down tail gate mod? Can't seem to find anything... Then again the search bar isn't the best.

 

True haha. I don't know if there's any content out there on it or not. Although the instructions that came with it were excellent and thorough. I ordered the legit Stabilus one versus the Sachs knockoff on Amazon.

 

That's a Good Lookin' Tacoma

 

Thanks guys!

 

Bought a Wicked Flow muffler a month or so ago, turned out being a lot louder than I had hoped for.



So that started my next project - sound deadening. I did some research and decided to go with Noico. Bought 2 layers - a roll of Noico foam heat insulation, and DMM1 sound deadening mat. Install went great except that I covered most of the bolt holes up and it was a challenge to find those suckers afterwards...







Truck sounds soooooo much quieter now, no more exhaust drone and it feels and rides smoother as well. Definitely well worth the time and money.

 

I see you removed the Tacoma badges and flat black painted them, what did you use to reattach the badges 3m double sided tape or something else?

 

Yes I use tape similar to 3M with some adhesion promoter beforehand

 

Haven't had much time to work on the truck these past few months, but I did get a good deal on a camper top. Plan on selling it very soon. Also finally got my borla exhaust tip put on.

 

good job! i would love to spray...anything for that matter!!!