Little Red Turbo Creeper

Well I've been creeping around here since 2011 and have gone through 4 different Tacomas without creating a build thread so it's time I sat down and made one.

Here's where I am today



And here's where it all started


The first Tacoma that bit my wallet and led me to the world of Tacomas was a 2001 extra cab and i never did get around to doing a lot of mods to it but some of my best and worst tacoma moments happened behind its wheel.

Pictures don't do justice to the situation i was in. I spent the night alone in the drivers seat basically standing on the brake pedal wishing I had cell service or a sat phone.

I broke my back in a 4wheeler accident on the way home after being "rescued".


Taco # two was a 2009 and I guess my 2nd worst taco moment would be in this truck but it will always be one of my favorite vehicles



I just can't have nice things. I did a lot more mods to this truck than the first one and all that work being flushed down the drain hurt worse than the accident (no seatbelt and walked away with hardly a scratch)

Taco number 3 was also a second gen (2012) and didn't do much with it. I was living in an 18ft camper trying to save up the money for a house and most of my tools were in storage. I was also still a bit bitter about losing the 09 and had a harder time justifying spending the money after how much I had just lost but it was still a great vehicle.



Right, back to 1st gen things. On veterans day of 2020 I got a bunch of ducks to line up and was able to purchase my current tacoma outright.


no monthly car payment = more money for car parts every month and I now have a 30x30ft garage attached to my house so the tools are secure where they belong and the work can begin.

 

I picked this truck up with 314,000 miles on the dash and not much to go on as far as service history. I think I'm either the 3rd or 4th owner but who really knows.
First time I crawled underneath I realized both CV axles had torn boots. Lifted it up spun the tires and you can hear the CV's clicking so I went to O'Reillys and special ordered the Import Direct CV's designed for 0-2 lift. I also went ahead with more bad ideas and threw them oem green sticker CV's right in the garbage.





I guess I have to consider changing my CV's and dif fluid alone in my garage as my Bachelors part. You know it was a party because I gave myself a little bit of a black eye the night before I got married

(the tacoma is in the parking lot as our bridal chariot)

The next thing on my list for the 03 taco was to change the fluids.

I sinfully drive it to Jiffy-Lube and had them flush the coolant,
flushed the transmission and replaced the screen/filter and seal.
Flushed the brake fluid and change the axle and transfer case fluids and greased all 100,000 drive line zerts although I'm sure they missed a few. All fluids changed except the power steering

 

Did I mention the temp gauge on the dash wasn't functioning? Well it wasn't so I ordered a Scan Guage II as a short term easy solution.


Did some looking around and thought it would be worth replacing the rear temperature sensor


I should also mention it definitely over tightened that sensor when I installed it just expecting it to thread completely in oops, but it's not leaking and hasn't come loose yet.

So my focus shifted to the cluster itself






Bingo! The nuts holding the gauge had vibrated loose making connections fail

Much longer and that top nut would have been history in the bottom of a shop vac


I followed 4DIYers on YouTube for this project down to the DeOxit

https://youtu.be/VVJSwEakRto



This came as a little victory, such a simple fix that cost nothing but the extra I went by adding DeOxit I thought it might help act as a thread locker at the very least to prevent it from happening again.

I hardly look at the guage as I use the Scan Guage instead but that's one less thing wrong with the vehicle.


Did I mention I broke my passenger side mirror trying to remove a sticky taped corner mirror that wasn't straight.

 

I broke the passenger side mirror and the drivers side mirror was somehow a little warped so reflections were wonky and made my head hurt so I replaced them both at the same time






Next up bluetooth stereo
Because i only own one cassette and don't feel like flipping it back and forth

 

Removing the big ol' double din stereo is an obvious choice for adding a little storage space to the cab. It's a must in my book and always among the first things I do to any vehicle I own

It's probably enough weight reduction to save 3 miles per gallon. I'm a fan of the ultra small stereos that don't even have a CD player because let's face it CD's are as terrible as cassette tapes.
I've done a handful of stereos over the years and this is my favorite part.
I like soldering connections






I can't stand a rats nest of wires and have always found it well worth the extra $15 to buy the correct wiring harness adapters

These floor mats are terrible

 

Ugly mats had to go

These Husky floor liners are much better than the cabelas trash


I think the weather techs are a little better personally but these are good enough for me

 

After finding my phone a home I realized I needed somewhere for the sunglasses to go. Such trivial problems in life

It's also worth mentioning that these stock map lights are just not as bright as they should be

The stupid T4R's get all the good stuff.

I stole this idea from @nzbrock




These can be found in the 99-02 4runners and if you can find the mounting bracket to go with it you will save yourself some hassle.

Operation Shady man is a go








These 4runner map lights have way better bulbs and being positioned slightly further back makes them a little easier on the eyes even though it's brighter


This is the bracket you want to make the install easier and it's held in place by the 4 factory mirror screws. I didn't know they existed when i original did this install and have since added the bracket and removed the glued in stud from the ceiling



(I also don't have the factory mirror anymore so maybe someone else can post a picture with the oem mirror and bracket)

 

When I purchased the truck the gentleman I bought it from mentioned there was a minor front end collision he stated it was "nothing more than a baseball bat to the bumper" the grill appeared to be fine but when you looked closer you could see cracks all over the grille. The chrome outer grille was separated from the black plastic and half the grille mounts were broken of and the marker light was a little flip floppy and the whole thing rattled a bit. I'm sure the automatic car wash would have removed it for me for a $5 fee




Last picture with the OEM grille


If only I had a transmission cooler to install it would have been the right time to do it (still on my list of things to order)



Instead of replacing the OEM tacoma grille emblem I went ahead and used the slightly larger emblem off of the 09 tacoma I totalled. Small details add character and it just fits perfectly

I will say I don't like what Toyota uses to hold these grilles in place. Seriously a zip tie is a better option in my opinion

 

When I did the headlights I also swapped new bulbs in as preventative maintenance.

 

Of course I went ahead and detailed the engine bay. I'm a bit OCD with certain things
Here's how it looked at first

Looks like it's seen a few puddles

A little TLC goes a long way


Another small detail that was annoying me was the tailgate. I don't like to Slam things but this tailgate just seemed to bounce off the latches instead of closing. I guess it's been slammed enough that there's a dent running up the face of the latch

On both sides

Simple solution. File it smooth again




Shuts smooth like butter now

 

We must have been visited by a leprechaun because some things turned green,


I got a golden faucet


and a Check Engine Light on St Patrick's day.

I'll be chasing that one for a while.

 

Next on the list was to address the old warn out Bilstein 5100 lift kit, stock rear springs on aluminum lift blocks
Can't have that
Gotta get something new.

This was the largest order I have ever placed and I was anxious from the very beginning


This is the best representation of what I ordered that I could find.

I wanted to have the truck ready to go when the parts started arriving and wanted to make sure I got the most out of the work I was about to tackle and hopefully keep the rust to a minimum.














The rear struts were supposed to be Bilstein 5165 remote reservoirs and i received the cheaper 5100's instead so I called and made them exchange it for what I actually paid for. After I got the 5165's I they were too short for the lifted truck and got back to customer service and ordered 5125's.
Third times the charm

The front struts are the fatty 6112's on a 600lb spring





Leaf springs are the All Pro standard 3 inch pack with the military wrap in the front and the extra leaf for axle wrap prevention. So far it's a pretty good setup

 

Installed the extended brake line in the rear and added a dif breather relocation


I ran this up behind the gas flap when I put the bed back on

Installed the front diff drop kit



Back together again. But I wasn't about to reinstall the rusty stock back bumper or trailer hitch receiver and I hadn't planned to use the stock taillights either




The Anzo taillights said they would work for the later model Tacomas on ebay but all the listing on Amazon said they would only fit up to the year 1999.
That was an obvious sign something might not work but the styling is just superior to other aftermarket options in my opinion. End of the day I stuck the stock taillights on and called it good enough for now. I also opted for an OEM clone bumper I found easily online that included mounting brackets and all new hardware including the license plate lights for a reasonable price

 

Just a little test run exploring an area that has turned into construction BS instead of quiet local trails.



The next thing I wanted to tackle was that valves cover gaskets because well they are starting to leak and if I'm going to be in there I might as well do some extra maintenance.

 

Here's what I pieced together in preparation for the valve cover job



I usually will take a few pictures of everything before I start working just so I can look back and make sure everything is where it originally was

I followed Timmy‘s valve cover job video and also read some other writeups
@El Taco Diablo has one that i read up on.

It was also unbearably hot in the garage during this project so I pulled some windshield washing fluid out of the freezer and placed them in the engine bay. I soaked myself with a Sprinkler several times and ended up working until after 4am. Trying to avoid the heat of the day.







Nice and clean for an engine with 320,00 miles. That was comforting


This cabinet was thrifted from habitat for humanity and has come in very handy as I take things apart I put the parts in order and place the new seals or whatever next to the corresponding parts so everything stays organized and in order. Maybe I'm a little OCD.
I didn't get many pictures after this point as I got busy trying to have it back together before the sun came up so I could drive it to work at 10am

Everything was going nice and smooth so obviously that's when I made a rookie mistake and over tightened the drivers side valve cover
Oops
First thought was throw on a little extra FIPG in the crack and hope for the best haha.

Don't do this at home. Or do if that's what you have to do.

Here's my rough check list I used to minimize errors and it worked pretty well

it went out the window for a little while but that's just how I work sometimes haha. Maybe a little ADD mixed in with the OCD but I got the job done and the crack in the valve cover hardly even leaks, I do have a spare valve cover on the shelf for the next time I dive into the head.

 

Right on man! Great start to the truck, and the build thread.

No truck payments makes build things happen a lot quicker

 

Next was another simple easy and satisfying part swap that costs next to nothing.

Honda Odyssey washer sprayers!
If you haven't done this yet you are wrong.


Just do it, or don't, you do you.

I had a second gen in my garage.


Installed my used Bully Dog chip in her truck since they don't have programming available for the 1st Gens.
She left her stock wheels behind for me as a trade for the chip so she didn't feel like she was ripping me off.
I am a little partial to the wheels so I'm happy with it. Some TLC may be needed and some fresh rubber is in order





Moab is where it's at! But honestly i usually only stop for gas and keep on rolling.

 

Nice little build ye got here..


March 4th I should have the frame for my red double cab… should be a fun build. Totally going to copy the sunglasses holder from a 4runner idea

 

Thanks!

 

I saw it originally on the 1st gen unique mod thread I believe.
@nzbrock is who I stole the idea from