Nick's stray-dog build

Got a spare 1gr-fe

 

And welded a new exhaust y-pipe back, 3in stainless, vibrant resonator, and same muffler as urd kit. Stinger style exit all the way at the end of bed, lots of tube but it kills a bit of the rasp and cab noise these trucks have

 

Calipers:
47730-60300
47750-60300
Rotors:
126.44174CSL
126.44174CSR -good stuff, LMperformance is where i got them. These are good but i'm getting DBA rotors next go round soooo
Pads:
PTR09-89111 -TRD
Caliper mount bolts:
90080-10213
Pad spreader clips:
04947-35050
Brake lines from the soft line to the caliper(a good 'just in case'):
47318-04110
47317-04050
Russell speed bleeders that fit: (makes bleeding a one man job!)
639570 (1/4 in. clear plastic tubing helps a lot)
(rear drums:639560)
Redline RL-600 brake fluid to flush out some of the old stuff. I'm biased i use Redline errythang as of now but it's also just as good as the fancy Motul stuff at like half the price iirc
Braided stainless lines all around
Also
https://toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth.com/
https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/
---best prices by far - screw going to the dealer
Found out one of my calipers was frozen up so i upgraded to 4-runner brakes. When i got my wheels i got 17s with the plans to do this in the future and finally got a reason to follow through. Much more bite than stock but the real difference is how much longer i can be on the brakes before i get any brake fade - a lot longer. Only big issue is the brakes are still drums in the rear so the brake balance is bad. I've been getting pretty good with left foot braking and light gas to control the pitch of the truck to combat this while goin fast out on the local track. All-in-all way more betta than it usta was!!

 

30in of snow and my truck decided to get into a fight with a snow bank... .............snowbank won
Had plans to make a new bumper so I had pulled the support out a while ago, got a project in between and never got around to it. That upped the damage literally and messed up my grill too. So in a relatively redeeming fashion I used the opportunity to upgrade to a 2011 honeycomb grill. Not sure how much I like the color match yet. Also brings about 2 problems: 1. I really really gotta get around to making a new bumper. 2. Without the bumper tons of air gets caught up under the hood. The cf hood already shook around quite a bit on the highway, now it even bends a little and picks up air over the grille even. I hit about 70-75 and the truck literally wants to take off. I already had plans to redo the top layer of cf so its right and looks good this time. Along with plans to cut vents in the hood, but now I really really gotta get around to it. The big high pressure zones are in the front by the fan (the shape of the hood makes a little bit of lift by the top of grille too) and just in front of the cowl where the open space behind the engine is. I'm thinking cutouts like we're popular in Group B cars like the audi quattro or manta 400 style might be cool. The real deal would be to v-mount the radiator for prerunner-style bumper ergonomics and a reverse hood scoop like Peugeot 205 t16 or common to see on rx7s but thats severely ambitious.

 

Pulled the back seats a while ago for weight savings and to live my regular cab dreams vicariously through my DCLB. Don't plan on getting rid of this truck ever, so the dream of a reg cab extra long bed with the double cab roofline and access cab driveshaft will come to fruition eventually. Also more recently upgraded my battery to a LiFePO battery by Antigravity batteries. I'm real impressed with the weight savings 15lbs vs like 50-60 the stock group27 is; you'd think i would have a few scales by now with how much i like making my truck and wallet lighter. Couda sworn tacomas were left side positive so I got one that way but it's verrry snug. Right side positive would be the proper fit. Group24 40 amp hour

 

Its a lightly modified version of font JI Burrito. Notable use in Los Pollos Hermanos logo. I'm a big font nerd. Not that I know em all by name n shit but I pay attention and like to see cool ones. Seen a little yota pickup on rt10 years ago with the decal font switched like this and it was a bit polarizing of a moment. I can't get the memory to unstick from inside of my head so this had to happen.
Stenciled out and cut by hand. Laying out big pieces of vinyl like this is surprisingly difficult. Took a few tries on a couple of the letters. So proud of it

 

Started the new bumper by cutting out and mo bettering the crossmember that hangs down in the front. Crazy how even cromoly flash rusts in just a few days around here. Though lotsa paint guys say that flash rust makes a good base for paint, which im not sure I believe, but it makes me feel better about shit rusting immediately so ill go with it

 

A little wide and even when I pack the tube with sand the horrible freight pipe bender kinks the tubing a lil. Hard to justify the price of a proper bender for just my own projects so thats okay with me; room to improve

 

The little tubes out to the side significantly helped reduce turbulent air in the front Hood dun wanna move nearly as much when goin fast. Don't understand but not complaining. Just needa make a big ole skid plate and think of what I'm gonna do to fill the top part in front of the radiator, thinkin some kinda perforated metal or cf plate with vents cut out, idk
'Face' of the truck looks like this now: haha

 

Lotsa screwing, even for a young guy like me

https://www.cargoequipmentcorp.com/e-track-horizontal-vertical

 

Hmm.. maybe, just maybe, I need different leaf springs

Maybe

 

flash rust doesmakea really good base because of the texture, smooth steel never holds paint long

 

Well that's good cause i din't really prep the metal at all. Woulda been too nice if i did that

 

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

Lil rain storm came round over the weekend n knocked a couple branches off the trees. So I'm about done cleaning em up and whaddya know, right there in the lil bits of leaves left on the ground... fuckin mint set of Deaver U644/U645, just what I needed to get my spring under setup together prim n proper. Money doesn't grow on trees but there's losta things that do

 

Dun made a stupid and cycled one of my shocks without any pressure in the reservoir and got some air in the shock. The pressure sets the seal on the internal floating piston in the reservoir. Cycling the shock with only atmospheric pressure can pull air into the oil sometimes. This creates cavitation in the oil which eats up and corrodes the relatively soft aluminum parts in the shock. Big no-no and requires pulling the shock apart so the parts can be cycled to bleed the air out of the shock oil. Not that bad for me cause I want to get into shock tuning and rebuilds so it gave me a decent excuse to open the shock up to have a look around and get familiar. Fox 2.5 x 14s with DSC adj.. Pics don't quite do justice to how good quality and just how big they are

 

Normally i run Wix 51516XP filters about as long as i've owned the thing but the quality of them has been going downhill (fukn mann + hummel buyout), so i think it's time to search around for sumn different.
For how i drive and where i live, cellulose (paper) filters aren't really acceptable IMO. My commute and even getting lunch only adds up to a few miles a day and i live on the backside of a hill on the east coast which makes mornings always cold so i leave it to warm up for a while. My oil cap is pretty much always peanut buttery cause the condensation in the engine doesn't really get a chance to cook off all that often. Also the tolerances on the piston rings are pretty loose on these engines which can lead to fuel dilution of the oil and a fair bit of carbon getting caught in the oil on start ups before the rings warm up a bit. Long explanation short this leads to lots of water and shit in the engine which a paper oil filter can't really handle unless you live in the southwest and or make 20+ mile trips almost daily. Cause of the water and fuel alone it can pretty much rot away the filter media slightly.
Not many options for synthetic filters unfortunately and most are out of stock; Amsoil one seems good if it weren't forever hard to get. In my searches i found Cummins has their own line of filters called Fleetguard, with some models made with a proprietary synthetic media called Stratapore. Apparently they're very well made and reviews are good, just what i'm looking for. Unfortunately again they don't make anything direct fit for the Tacoma, and there isn't really a list of which of their filters have the Stratapore in them, most are cellulose. Kinda have to call them and ask a tech about a specific part # or dig through forums to find info from someone that has.
-Cross-referencing a 51516 here: https://www.oilfilter-crossreference.com/convert/Wix/51516 Led me to a Fleetguard LF3339 https://shop.cummins.com/CSSNAStore...BkDRB8NB3I0aE4DYSLDMAjOdM7_A2uocaArG9EALw_wcB Should fit a taco, okay price, and probably great quality. Would be fine for someone in a dry climate or doing lots of miles but not a Stratapore filter as i learned here: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/cummins-fleetguard-stratapore-filters-any-good.24440/ (good feedback worth a quick skim)
- The last post in this thread: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/are-all-fleetguard-filters-synthetic-media.115662/ Led me to the Fleetguard LF3947. Stratapore, should fit, and even extra capacity which is good; a bit pricey but with the size of it and synthetic media it will easily go for long intervals in the 10-20k mile range so that should make up for it. Also no anti drain back valve, imo this is a benefit since the taco filter mount is upside down and i daily mine anyway. Maybe not as good for someone whose truck sits for a couple weeks at a time but even then i don't think it'd be a big deal since the flow restrictions are apparently very low. The other one mentioned there seems like great mix of the two in size and media but the price is a bit high
-Lucky for me a place in NJ has the LF3947 in stock at a decent price https://myfleetfilters.com/fleetguard-lf3947-pac-lf.html So i'm gonna order one for now, fingers crossed it fits and works well

I looked into a Canton Racing filter as well https://www.cantonracingproducts.co...-6-1-4-oil-filter-3-4-16-standard-o-ring.html I like a lot about it. Made in US, no bypass, silicone anti drain back, the housing stays and only the filter part itself gets replaced so less waste over time, great reviews and oil condition reports. What i don't like is they refuse to get test data done on them and i've yet to find info on what the filter material is. They're held in high regard but pretty much all the feedback is that despite the good things about them, there's just no real test data to prove they filter to the 8um like they say and what percentage at that level or at the standard 20um. Maybe a good one for backup if the Fleetguard options don't fit or work as well as i hope

-A good read on media types: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/whats-in-your-filter-media-types-explained.345164/

 

Skid plate got done just in time for winter. Bit of a hack on some parts but the cold weather was coming fast

All chromoly to keep it light/strong and slightly more rust resistant --MO on many of my mods. The bottom sheet is .125 the rest is .090 wall. Way easier to cut and work with thinner material so I stick with thin stuff and add lotsa gussets and structure to make up for the thinner material choice. Don't think it'll hold the entire weight of the vehicle for long, I'll take it off to jack the truck up, but it surely will for a little while if necessary and should handle big hits fine.
Welded little standoffs from the frame with captive nuts to hold it. No pics now, I'll post some when I get them. Thinking up a way to get through bolts in the frame somewhere and climbing up under the truck with 2 ratchets would be too much so in this case it felt pretty intuitive to do captive nuts





Had a lil pal to help me out with the work. Eastern red backed salamander. They are cool they breath through their skin and can shed and regrow their tails to fend off predators. Common here but I don't see many. I think the light from the welder draws em out cause they're around a lot when I'm welding at night

Good opportunity to mess around with different weld strategies. I'm getting a lot better so I got that goin for me, which is nice