Stikle's Build

We'd make a dangerous pair...but with badass Tacos!

 

Quick question, and I'm pulling from the beginning of your build from 2013...

How did you get the masking tape on the letters on your mudflap to line up as good as you did? I was looking at replacing them, but they are like $200 online!!! I'm going to paint them like you did, but wanted to get a few tips/tricks before I did.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

I used a pair of scissors, a roll of painter's tape, and a couple hours in front of the TV. If you look at the second picture (post-paint), you can better see the all of the little pieces of tape I cut to make the different angles and curves of the "D". For the curves, I remember it being easier to cut multiple straight pieces and just lay them on the curve going around instead of trying to cut the curve exactly.

If/when I do it again, I'd actually green scotch pad the entire flap to make sure everything is off and it's completely black, then tape off the 4WD, tape off the ENTIRE rest of the flap to protect against overspray (or tape with newspaper), and then do multiple coats of white and then clear coat.

It's not particularly hard, just a little time consuming - hence the TV. Good luck!

 

No doubt!

 

Great work. I really love this build thread. Will you please tell me what type of flat black paint you used on your front grill? Mine is faded and needs repainting. Also, where can I find those white instrument cluster overlay sticker?

 

Hey thanks! I honestly don't recall exactly. Knowing me though, I got it at Fred Meyer, which means Krylon.

As far as the overlay stickers - I'm pretty sure I got them from whitegauges.net VIA Amazon. If you have a tach, make sure the set you order has a tach that goes to the correct RPM. I got the wrong set initially, but they made good on it.

 

December 7, 2015:

Truth.

December 16, 2017:

(5 minutes later)

Oh hey...it might work better if I RECONNECT THE VACUUM TUBE TO THE MANIFOLD THAT'S BEEN OFF SINCE I CLEANED THE MAF SENSOR.

It did.

<facepalm>

Oh and also finally got my gas tank skid mounted. Had to do some custom fab work on it at a friend's house because it wasn't manufactured correctly. I'll just have to hit it with some more paint now, but that's not a big deal.

 

I was wondering if you still had the FSM. It would be greatly appreciated if I could get it from you. Thanks

 

Any pics of how you fixed it? I got one from the same batch & it’s just sitting in storage as of now, but I’d love to install it! Thanks in advance

 

Geez...I'm not getting post notifications again. Sorry for the delay.

Do you still need the FSM? I've got it kicking around here somewhere.

Well, the previous picture posted showed a completely unnecessary cut on the front facing side. We had to weld it back together. Where we DID have to cut it was on the driver's side. It wouldn't fit up over the strap that held the gas tank up, so we marked it and my buddy whipped out his plasma cutter and voila.

 

Well, the cold last month cracked my radiator. Luckily the crack was on top so I was still able to drive around until the new one arrived.

As Denso OEMs for Toyota, I figured that was the safest bet and

$158 Denso 221-3138 Radiator

ordered one from Amazon. I had it swapped out in under 2 hours. It was pretty easy and everything just lined up and worked.

And yesterday, one of my HID bulbs died. I swapped ballasts just to rule them out, and it's definitely the bulb. I called up The Retrofit Source and ordered two new bulbs (which they've upgraded to 6500K since I originally ordered) and let them sell me two new ballasts as well. Geez...now I HAVE to get a job.

 

So, I've been away doing the life thing.

This happened last year though - turns out trees > metal...





and finally:



I also took the opportunity to add a

$359 Smittybilt XRC GEN2 9.5K Waterproof Winch with Steel Cable - 97495

Smittybilt 9500 XRC winch as well as

$57 Abrams Blaster Emergency Vehicle LED Hideaway/Surface Mount Strobe Warning Light - Amber/White

Abrams Hideaway Emergency Flashers behind the corner and tail lights. Corner and blinker lights are all LED now too.

They're pretty nifty!

I also relocated all of my switches to below the stereo and I'm pleased with how they look.



Note: "Full Coverage" does not include collision...that needs to be added. Sigh...