Ohcaltexscar's Vragmotor Opbou

UPDATE: Apparently this didn't work, those two locations don't buckle now. Looks like I have more fiddleing to do.


Tackled a little project today for a small not really necessary but still annoying thing.

It'll probably apply to .002 people out there since it's only an issue because I'm making it one.

Here's the issue. Center seat on the right, outside seat on the left.

Why they had to make these different I couldn't say. Maybe production efficiency? So people can't strap in with whatever buckle they want all willy-nilly?

It just annoyed me, and I was curious how and why they worked this way. I also happened to have another set of buckles from the junk yard that I got because I thought mine were broken.

Sooo
Popped the caps off with a screwdriver in those notches at the back.



Found the difference here.
The white bit is shorter, allowing the longer clip to slide in. The black bit prevents the longer clip from seating fully.



Easy enough, just swap the bits.
The red button pops off, watch the spring!
Then this bar slides out. That white thing just clips onto the bar.


This bracket comes out easy.


Then remove the last spring and slide the plastic bit out. One of each colour.


Then swap them and put it back together in reverse. All the other parts are the same between the buckles.



Voilà! Now they work anywhere!

It's also cool to see the inner workings of the buckles.

 

Trip Report!

We put 3,322 miles down last week on our trip to Wyoming.

Average MPG was 19.11

We went stopped in Aurora, Colorado for a couple of days on the way up and then continued on to Cody, Wyoming. Went into Yellowstone for a couple of days and tooled around Cody a bit. Took a day trip up to Billings, Montana (A possible candidate for our eventual relocation) so we could see the city. It was pretty nice, we enjoyed it. Stopped in Durango, Colorado on the way back and rode the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway Steam Train (that's a long title!) That was awesome!

I kept an eye and ear on the truck the whole time, rolled with a full set of tools just in case! Other than a light squeak from the front suspension that I have not pin-pointed yet and a funky brake feel (may be time for new pads and rotors) it was a champ! No mechanical or other issues at all.

We started the trip at 199,536 miles and rolled over 200,000 just before Colorado Springs!




I was watching that like a hawk so I wouldn't miss the rollover.

I'm working on uploading more pictures and I'll post them up when I do.

 

Finally got some tint!

35% driver and passenger
Something light (I don't remember the percentage) over the factory 35% on the back doors.
Nothing on the rear because I didn't want it to be hard to see through with the cap on.
I also got the SunTek ceramic film on the front windscreen.

 

Ordered new lug nuts, not sure if they're the proper fit though, what do y'all think?




I checked the base angle, both are 60 degrees.
My question is about the contact patch, the gorillas have quite a bit less area on the angled portion. I couldn't find definitive information, even on Goooble.
I've never used slim profile spline lugs before so I am not familiar.

 

Just finished installing a 2.5" Metalcloak lift on my wife's Wrangler. I have to say, I'm pretty jealous that that don't make anything for the Tacoma. Makes my truck feel like it's riding on a bag of bricks. Both of our kits cost the same amount too.

If anyone ever tells you that you can't have a lifted capable rig and a nice cushy ride, they are just angry at themselves for something.

They do make stuff for Ram trucks though... hmmm.

 

Those people have never ridden on properly valved Kings...

 

I threw some factory takeoffs from a 2020 TRD OR. Feels like stock with a little more altitude in the front, which it should because it’s all factory parts. If you don’t want a lot of lift that isn’t a bad option to look at.

 

Mmm I bet those are nice.

If I hadn't just replaced all my suspension in June I'd look into that.

At this point I think I could get some good results by swapping the front coils out with softer ones. Maybe a set from Dobinsons, or OME.

I need to regrease my bushes already, I'm starting to get a lot of squeaks out front.
Most of them I hear over bumps. I get one when I turn the wheels whilst sitting still.
My LCA bushes at least (Whiteline), I'll have to hunt for the rest.

 

Oddly enough, the 2020 springs are supposedly stiffer than the 2nd gen Springs due to the 3rd gens weighing more. Truck doesn’t ride bad at all either.

 

Birthday gift from my Wife and family.

Still need to pick up some ancillary stuff but ready for the most part.

 

Working on some brackets for the Ironman pod lights that I got for free with my suspension kit.
They're going on my Wife's Wrangler, not the Tacoma. Fun little project so far!

Lights


I picked up this wiring kit from Harbor Freight, the connectors are the same as the pod lights, lucky me.


My initial idea skeched up on the top right corner and the scale drawing on the left.


After cutting and grinding and drilling for about two hours I have these, ready to be bent and welded up.


Hopefully they'll turn out well and actually fit properly.


This also got me thinking about trying to whip up some bed stiffeners for the Tacoma. They're not any more complex than these, just a bit bigger. Worth a shot right?

 

After bending them into shape, I just need to weld them up now.

 

A few practice welds on some scrap




Looks close enough to the "good weld" pictures to me.



Burned them in and after a bit if grinding

Done

Test fit on the Jeep and anddd...

I forgot about the angle of the windshield.

Sooo

And


Then re-weld


And actually done!

They looked better before I had to rework them but I still say they're a win.

 

Installed with the correct angle





Just painting and wiring left.

Bed Stiffeners on deck!

 

So it turns out that stainless steel is a bit finicky to keep straight when you heat it up a lot, you know like when you weld it.

I couldn't get my bed stiffeners to stay square, I don't have a proper welding table or enough clamps yet. So for now they're on hold, maybe I'll finish out those ones in the future or get some mild steel to work with instead. We'll see.

I'm working on a welding cart for the time being, using an old metal screen door and a free dolly.


It'll swing out so I can eventually put a bottle on the original dolly section.

It's a bit top heavy and tips forward and to the side when I open it up but I still need to add some extensions to the bottom to stabilize it.

If it doesn't end up working out at least I got some practice in!

 

Progress on the welding cart.

Started on the base platform


Added a latch deal, using up scrap bits.

 

Walking the dog a few days ago, found my next project. I have a few changes and modifications in mind for the design though.

 

Headed out to one of the local desert shooting holes nice and early this morning, a brisk 27 degrees and windy.
Spent about two hours scouring for brass over a few of the popular spots tracking shooting patterns and ended up with 122 - 9mm (+1 live round), 22 - .223, 3 - 5.56 and a couple of .45's .380's and one .40 S&W.

Not too shabby! I need to take a rake next time to help agitate the dirt, I found a lot sifting through with my hands that way.

I've got another spot to go check out, maybe tomorrow or Monday.


Found the plastic bricks in good shape too, just needed a wash.

 

Master cylinder started leaking into my brake booster. I ordered a Tundra booster from LKQ and a new master from RockAuto. I picked up the miscellaneous bits from a local shop and made some hard patch lines to convert from the Tacoma M10x1 inverted to the Tundra M12x1 inverted.

The M10x1 and M12x1 inverted fittings were a bit difficult to find locally. I didn't really feel like ordering them offline if I didn't have to.





My father-in-law gave me a cool old flaring kit, it's just missing the little adapter bits to make the double flares. I had some of those from an old harbor freight set that is missing other parts.





I should have the rest of the parts by next week.