Second Generation Irrelevance

It’s time to start a build thread.



The intent is the bare minimum of mods to this truck. No stereo, no backup camera, no power locks or mirrors, no fog lights. It’s intended for street use only, and will be the easy loaner and kids truck down the road. I may attempt an EV conversion with this at some point, it seems like an ideal platform to start with.

Specs:

I4 Prerunner regular cab base model MT.
Zero extras it seems. Desert Sand Mica and a recent repaint with new flares, no badging. Frame is pristine.
126k on the clock.

PO installed:
1. Bed Rug (not sure I like it but not sure I want to remove it)
2. Bakflip tonneau (needs new weatherstripping installed.
3. Locking tailgate handle (think I may replace w one which will code to the ignition key)

Mods done:
1. Cali plates
2. LED plate lights

Mods planned:
1. Gentex rear view mirror
2. H4 high efficiency bulbs
3. New front amber bulbs
4. Flush and fill with redline MT fluid
5. Research taillight options

The current tails are really pink but I think they are OEM. Not sure what I want to do there.

 

Sweet truck! So, is this an SR5?

 

Nice little truck! Good find!

Reminds me of my first vehicle, but not as cool. Same color, single cab 99 Mazda B2500 5sp, had it in the family for 17 years

 

Not sure. Title I think said SR? Is that possible? Manual window cranks. Zero switch spots populated. No cruise.

I could see adding cruise if it’s just finding a stalk and plugging it in. I think I even have a spare.

 

Intermittent wipers?

Also, cruise control is a lot harder than it looks, especially if your truck is a stick shift!

 

When I was a kid I have vivid memories of my dad and I going to shop for a 2200 or 2600 or something like your truck. This would have been late ‘80’s. A female high school student had one from her dad which was just awesome. I wanted one bad. We were a full on Mazda family with matching 626’s, both 5 speed. My dad spent hours looking and walked away. I was crushed by that move.

 

I think so, IIRC. I’ll check that. Haven’t touched them wipers yet.

 

Stalk check. Intermittent wipers w mist, yes. Plain Jane on the left side.

 

So many blank switch locations lol

 

Anyone know the size / type of the sidemarker bulb?

 

I'd get a color matched 2011 grill, you would probably have to paint it to match. smoked OEM headlights, bronze Trail Edition wheels, ko2s letters out, and some 5100s

 

I can see the appeal. And I'll never say never

I swapped out the aftermarket wheels it came with (16x8's) for these alloys from a fellow TW b/c they felt like the right look for this truck even though they are OffRoad wheels and that's a bit of a poser move for a PreRunner. Definitely staying stock tire size as it's a road only rig and I want stock loading height and entry height. At 126k the suspension still feels better than the 50k on my 2016 OffRoad but I could see doing budget shocks. Still, it really rides nice as-is. I am marginally tempted to do a bro grille on it or anything more plastic than chrome but the rear bumper is going to stay and it's all chrome so I'm not sure I care too much about any de-chroming efforts right now.

I am going to swap out all the bulbs but leave the headlights and taillights as is for now. Perhaps a headlight harness down the road. Maybe new OEM assemblies if I felt an intense desire but the ones it has are in pretty good shape for their age.

This truck is the beater / loaner / commuter / grocery getter / street truck / future EV conversion. At 3500 lbs with a pretty nice turning radius and the 5MT and no frills, it really feels like the perfect truck for the boys to learn how to drive and to get to/from the office.

I did order clazzios and a gashole.

 

Anyone know where to find these plugs?

 

just wanted to say that I like your website, and ill be using it in the future! Thanks for putting it together


EDIT: quick question, I havent poked around with the multimeter yet, but do you know if theres a constant 12v close to the rear view mirror area in a 2nd gen OR ? Im going to be deleting my rear view mirror with camera/auto dim, and replacing it with a screen and a wireless camera.

 

Bob the mirror guy says yes but my base model 2005 has no overhead so I can’t help much. Sorry.

 

Ill poke around. Im working on another solar project, and its taking so long because I am trying really hard to build clean wires. Its actually amazing that I have this much patience.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/great-white-taco-build.424430/page-629#post-27354555

 

Just to document my super 2dxtreme mods going on here

1. Alignment (tech said minor tweaks, just slightly in need of it, probably a decent use of $90)
2. MESO gasshole (b/c I'm using an aftermarket gas cap, the OEM one tends to not fit as well and I've had codes fire with it, plus nice to stick the cap in the hole when filling)
3. Tailgate handle gasket (the pop-n-lock didn't come with one so I bought a cheapo which had it and added that in for a bit of water protection
4. Re-routed tailgate handle rod (seems like it works best in the OG spot through the guide loop rather than flipped as pop-n-lock suggests
5. Replaced some door panel push-in plastic clips
6. Replaced sidemarker bulbs, now all bulbs except reverse HIR's are brand new, just need to bend those reverse bulbs and slap them in.

TODO:

1. Finish clazzios (remove, add seat heater pads, replace, tighten, get fold flat plastic panel on the passenger seat back fitted properly, get center console done properly, maybe some extra padding for center console)
2. Replace weatherstrip on tonneau
3. Shift knob (going to use a 6MT pattern on my 5 speed for the short term, will keep the OG knob in the glovebox and swap it out if I lend the truck out.
4. Redline MT-90 to see if the shifts get a little more buttery
5. Gentex mirror and harness for power, then remove garage door opener
6. Probably replace the shocks given that it has 126k miles and good shocks make a difference in ride quality. The leafs and springs seem just fine so leave those as-is to keep costs down.
7. Possibly rotate 10 year old alpine components from the Tundra to this truck though the speakers are fine, but OEM at 17 years is probably worth replacing.
8. Internal broken plastic parts (driver kick panel, center console latch) not super urgen
9. Clutch pedal and brake pedal pads (en route, they are cracked right now)

Not really much left to do on this truck, just a few odds and ends, nice to have something close to done which I can just drive and enjoy.

 

Clazzios finished. I hooked up with a guy who made a nice pad for the center console. I really like it, super comfy.

threw on fox rear 2.5’s w dsc I’m back and 2.0 coilovers up front. Alignment today and the shop said I need a sway bar relocate as some inappropriate touching is going on right now.

Anyone with ideas?

 

Grille swap today. Gotta order some of the lower plastic mounting tabs, those are broken. Also need to figure out the rubber gasket. Thinking double sided tape.

And for some truck stuff, used it to haul a birthday cake from B&R for my #1

 

Dave,
Did you do the cruise yet? If not you need the switch on the right side of the steering wheel, (easy to find used) then there’s a side cover that goes back but it has a hole with a rubber flap. Then there’s some wiring with 3 small wires that replace the horn wire? Most expensive part of the upgrade but I’m sure you could make your own! Then being you have a 5 spd manual you need to remove the stop on the clutch pedal and install a white plastic switch. Now the hard part is finding the wire that plugs into a clutch pedal switch. Trust me it’s in the mess of wires in behind the left kick panel. It should have about a 1/4” wide piece of tape holding it to the wiring. I’ve done them a few times and once the wire was easy to find the other I had to dig and dig to find it. This is the very first mod as I had to drive my 07 from NC to AZ. Excuse the dirty fingerprints on the horn it’s anti-seize and it gets everywhere…

Oh, now you know why I purchased those coin holders / trays as the foldout one below if full.