Wit messes up a good thing

This story actually started out with my dads '96 Nissan Hardbody. I love that truck as a kid, especially the brush guard, roll bar, and sideways-facing rear jump seats. I swore that truck would be mine one day. Then it threw a rod. It was towed out of our driveway on my twelfth birthday, brakes locked up, tires screeching. I thought I could never love another truck like that until my dad pulled in with a brand new, 0-miles Toyota Tacoma SR5.

That was 1998. In 2011 that truck became mine and here we are today with 336k on the odometer with the original clutch and rear brake shoes.



For years I avoided creating a build thread. My 1995 Subaru Impreza was my priority, now featuring a '95 STi engine, RA transmission, and a conversion to right-hand-drive "because I could." I grew bored with this project and started kicking the tires on our other vehicles.



The timing belt jumped on this '98 Tacoma thanks to a piss-poor quality (ACDelco) pulley. In my frustration I left this truck sit for a couple months, trading my wife's Legacy 3.0R in on a 2009 Tacoma.



The '98 sat, neglected for a few months. At the time I thought it just decided to quit on me, so I'd park the '09 Tacoma next to it each day so it could sit and think about what it did. A few hundred dollars, a new fuel pump, and a better quality Aisin T-belt kit, and the truck is back on the road.

I always had a thing for desert prerunners, ever since the mid 90s. This doesn't make much sense in the North-East US, but I don't intend on living in this shithole for the rest of my days so a Prerunner-style build it will be.

So, where are we now?

Base:
1998 Tacoma SR5 Xtra Cab
V6, 4X4, 5spd
336k on the odometer
Original clutch
Original rear brake shoes

Modifications:
Bilstein 5100 shocks/struts
Firestone rear airbags
BFG A/Ts, 33x10.5R15
Hawk LTS front brake pads
Brembo front brake rotors
TRD Off Road fender flares
Nerf bars
Cobra CB
SXM tuner
Kenwood Excellon head unit
Kicker front component speakers
Blaupunkt rear component speakers
Subaru amplified subwoofer
Jolly Roger flag
KC Hilights (x2)
Driveline breather extensions
Automatic chassis lubrication system


Where do we go from here?
Coming very soon:
Wheels to get the truck inspected
Grey wire mod
Scrap pretty much every current modification.
Much more ambitious plans...

 

Sub’d!

Sounds like this truck won’t be your typical TW ride. Looking forward to seeing how it goes!

 

If your gonna get rid of 4x4 why put a snorkel sliders body armor on?

IMO just put a used camburg or total chaos 4x4 long travel on it an some long travel deavers leafs with a 9” or 12” shackle on it call it good best of both worlds

 

I was splashing down some back roads the other day when I dived into a puddle that went up to my headlight. That spooked me.

That said, I do things in stages. Every vehicle I modified followed different themes throughout it's life. I keep my cars until they rot so this one won't be any different. I am researching engine options but few allow me to retain the 4wd. If that's the case, the build will take a full prerunner approach.

Another consideration is my lifestyle and where I'm calling home. Currently I Leeroy-Jenkins things and it usually ends up involving deep water or mud. That's what the North-East has to offer. If I make the move to Cali then the 4wd won't be as critical to me as much as speed and suspension travel. I'm really torn between the two different directions.

 

Speaking of things wearing out before the original clutch... how about a turn signal switch?




I went out exploring the NJ Pine Barrens the other day...








...and I found this.

 

Turbo or supercharge w/ meth injection will get you way more power and keep 4x4. There's an ls swapped prerunner on here that retains 4x4. What engines are you considering? Like where this is going!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/4wd-ls-swapped-long-travel-tacoma-from-memphis.453735/page-19

 

This had me lolling...

Get used to this.

These trucks do everything to at least a decent level, so it makes it really hard to decide how to specialize them. But there’s nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades either. Just recognize that in the end it may do everything better, potentially, but it will still never be as good as a purpose-built SAS crawler, LT speed demon, etc. at those particular things.

The best advice I can give is to do what YOU want to do for your truck. TW will give you a ton of good advice along with some terrible advice, but you’ll see right off the bat that quite a few people who chime in seem like they expect you to build YOUR rig like THEY would. Just be ready to discard what doesn’t apply and be happy with your vision.

Looking forward to the transformation!

 

Thanks dude, I'll check out his build. I'm definitely interested in seeing what he did for his drivetrain. As of right now I'm still bouncing back and forth between a few ideas. Definitely a Japanese motor, preferably Toyota. I am open minded but I will want to purchase an entire front clip of Ebay to ensure I have all of the necessary harnesses and control modules. I loved going that route with my Subaru and I want to go that route again with this truck. The obvious choices are a Toyota V8, 2JZGTE, or an RB26DETT, but the later two are pricey. There are more affordable options that aren't as well supported in the aftermarket, such as the 1JZ and RB25. Again, I'm very open minded. I just want to do something different than the usual supercharger route (plus I can't stand the whine).

Thanks homey. I have a 60-some page build thread on my Subaru, so I'm used to receiving feedback of all sorts. I'm as stubborn as my father though so I'll be sticking to my guns on this. This will be a long-term project. I'm keeping this truck until it rots for sentimental reasons, so I'm not in a hurry to make any drastic changes quite yet.

The biggest things now are sourcing a winch/bumper combo and a snorkel. I can change these items down the road when they no longer fit the build, but these two items are a must for some of the terrain I'm looking at now.


As far as the learning curve is concerned... I first subscribed to Peterson's 4 Wheel & Off Road since 1998. I follow builds there and get some of the basics, but the only vehicle I've fully devoted my time to has been the Subaru. There's going to be a learning curve with this truck as I learn the similarities and differences between it and my other projects. I'm happy to learn though, and will be downloading quite a few files from Toyota's TIS this week to aid in future modifications.

 

As far as keeping 4x4 with a Toyota engine you should be fine if you want to keep it. Here are a couple of the options you mentioned:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/comatizeds-tacoma-2uz-v8-swap.301564/

https://www.race-dezert.com/forum/t...on-life-attn-inland-prerunners-im-back.92196/

And another similar swap in a prerunner:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...amming-into-my-girlfriends-engine-bay.416509/

 

Necro-bump!

So, to update on this: it rotted. I actually sold it to my cousin a couple years ago and he later informed me that the only thing holding the front and rear halves of the frame together was the bed. So, I kept true to my word on this one.

Toyota told me to pound sand on this frame, my 2009 Tacoma's frame, and later again when I inquired about information on the 2022 Tundra. I was employed for quite a long time with a related vehicle manufacturer and worked closely with the customer support center at times. Toyota just doesn't give a shit about maintaining relationships, so I'll assume that trickles into other areas of the company. At this point they're dead to me as a company but I will be reacquiring this old truck.

THAT said. This frame. Oh man, this frame. My cousin did the appropriate thing and simply lynched the truck when he realized what the deal was.








Then patched it up and put some stress on it to make sure it was good enough for PA Safety Inspection.





The truck still had the original clutch at around 340-360k miles, so we decided to replace it as a preventative measure. It was clearly worn out but it was interesting to me just how long it lasted.






At the present time I'm looking for a place to park it as I source new wheels so it will pass inspection. I've been eyeing up SCS F5 wheels for years now, but that will require new tires. If I go with new tires I should consider if it's a bandaid tire or if I should work on the suspension as well but that in itself would be another bandaid for the eventual goals for this truck. I'm going to be updating the first post accordingly as decisions are made. I have an elaborate spreadsheet and Mind Map started to organize plans and budgets for this build. This should be a fun one.

A lot has changed since I first acquired this truck, between my family growing, career changes and new skillsets. I parted out and sold my STi, and my son has been begging for a new "racecar" for a couple years now. This old 3.4L can't even climb a hill without losing speed, so this powertrain won't do the trick.



I'm currently brainstorming options for that one that meets my goals for the project while still staying within a blue-tinged-collar budget. This will be a long-term build for sure.

 

Busted.

I usually elaborate on photos but this is a dump and run. The truck is back, chilling in the driveway and long term plans are being established, along with a budget spreadsheet and breaking the project down into stages. Tentatively the 3 major stages sre: 1) double cab conversion, 2) full drivetrain conversion, and 3) long travel setup with as many home-built parts I can machine and booger-weld myself. This all makes the build less overwhelming, maximizes on-the-road time and allows it to be budgeted in stages. A major driving force is get my kids not just in the garage and exposed to wrenching, but to also do small age-appropriate tasks themselves so they're involved and also learning real world skills that they can apply to other aspects in life. My daughter in particular is a crazy wrecking ball so I need to get her hammering on something. Maybe she can hammer the weak spots in the rusty frame.

With the double cab swap and fiberglass fenders it will require a lot of bodywork. "I have people for that" since that's more of an "art" than a "science." I get science, that's numbers and tangible things. I know kt limits though and I'm not an artist. That said, the truck will end up being yellow with hot pink accents like brakes and a spoke on the black wheels I'm intending to go with. I don't really care what others think of that combination though, that's all a nod to my children and it's important to me for them to think of this as their own too.