$$$Baller On A Budget$$$ -- under 30k build

Mod16: Upgraded reverse light bulbs
Purpose: Functional Vision / Lighting
Cost: $15
GY6.35 HIR bulbs installed after reading this:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gy6-35-hir-921-reverse-light-upgrade-vs-high-power-leds.474996/


Perephial light output is substantially better. This is one of those mods that is low cost and high return. I'm glad I read so much about increasing light output on the SR halogen lighting system instead of just purchasing 6k LED bulbs that really dont belong in halogen housings.

Check out these posts (although the pictures cant relate to what you see from the drivers seat).. great mod for the price:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sr-thread-lets-see-them.411453/page-365#post-27709708

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sr-thread-lets-see-them.411453/page-365#post-27712683

 

This build thread is awesome, I love what you’ve done and how you broke it all down here! Really well done

 

Thanks.. hopefully folks find it helpful. I should have done this from jump street... I just never knew build threads existed.. I spent a lot of time linking some of my older posts to my list. With any luck folks will go back and see my old posts.... most of my posts are in the SR thread

 

Great job Op!

 

Thank you. Hopefully this gives folks a little inspiration. Modding vehicles is not new to me. Modding vehicles over time is. I used to get a car, then just buy another $5000 worth of crap and rush to get it all installed ASAP.

This was the first vehicle I've had where I decided to do a little at a time and do it all frugally. I also tried to stick with Toyota parts when feasible. Its honestly better this way.

 

Dealing with the dents.... so the insurance jerkoffs finally sent me a check and let's just say their new method of direct payment to the owner of the vehicle is complete horseshit. Anyway.. I'm not the first or last human being to wine about insurance companies robbing the average Joe... it's just enraging..

Heres yet another photo from the scene of the accident I had 2 and 1/2 months ago.

The major issues are that my bumper sags like a loaded diaper (especially on the passenger side). My tailgate is mangled and bent. Theres missing paint on the drivers side bumper cap along with some creases and marring from impact. The step pad is also marred up and smashed.

The way I see it is that this is all cosmetic (which is important)... this is a truck (which doesn't necessarily mean it's meant to be abused).

The middle ground was to fix it WITHOUT having to repaint anything, live with the blemishes, save some loot, and move on with life. I got quotes from $2600 to $4200 to fix this the right way.. which all obviously included repainting. I wanted to avoid any replacement or repainting of panels. The insurance company's "Approved Repair Facility" quoted me much less -- scam artists...

Repair cost breakdown:
Tailgate: $400
OEM Bumper stamp: $120
Mavcoat: $60 (I bought 3 cans for general maintenance...I used very little to coat the new bumper)
Plastidip: $15 (ARE YOU KIDDING? $15?? -- this shit used to be 5 bucks --- WTF)
VHT Header paint: $10 (I grabbed a can of this to do some touch ups on the rear of the undercarriage and bolts once I got everything apart. I used very little)

Want to see how I used these materials to turn a $4200 repair into a $605 shade tree mechanic diy fix?

Go from this:

To this:


Tailgate..... read here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sr-thread-lets-see-them.411453/page-366#post-27750886

Bumper.... read here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sr-thread-lets-see-them.411453/page-366#post-27751823

Lots of pics and a good look at the rear end when its pulled apart...

Final product.... read here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sr-thread-lets-see-them.411453/page-366#post-27751950

AGAIN...REMEMBER.... This fix was good enough for me.. it might not be acceptable for a lot of folks out there.... but remember... the title of the thread.... Baller On A Budget

The goal is to roll some of the leftover money into a couple more truck mods and use the rest for more important things in life than my Tacoma.

 

Mod17: Ghetto Tonneau
Purpose: Makeshift Rain Shield
Cost: $80

So I mentioned a while back that I had a custom tarp made from this place: Buy Heavy Duty Custom Tarps & Get 20% Off | Covers & All (coversandall.com) for $40. I designed it around the anchor points on the bed & header rail system. I have been using this makeshift tarp for about a year now and I found some room for improvement.

First I got some corner braces for the bed.......$65 check it out here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...3rd-gen-today.399305/page-12187#post-27789128




These are super handy to have and provide many tie down point options and help "stiffen" the front of the bed.

Then I bought some 41" rubber straps from Harbor Freight for $15. I already had a the other assorted straps, bungees, rubber twists, etc. that I have experimented with over the past year of trial and error.

I wanted something completely removable that set up and broke down in less than 5 minutes. Looks weren't that important, I wasn't looking for 100% waterproof, just enough to keep hard rain off my bike/hockey gear.

Tarp Rolled Up/Skeleton:

Tarp Rolled Out/Skeleton:


Heres a couple pics of how it looks.


This isn't really pretty, but its better than the minimalist approach I have utilized for the past year. The corner braces really give me a nice mounting point along with more tie down points, and the rubber straps provide a stronger "frame" for when rain settles on top..... time will tell if this setup is better, but based on what I've seen it will be.

 

Lots of time and effort went into this thread and it shows! Very nice work, love to see other budget friendly modifiers out there.

 

Also way to stay under budget!

 

I'll go over by a little bit. I'm gonna have a member do a BHLM for me soon. I wasn't going to do mods purely for aesthetics, but in a couple weeks I'm going to bite the bullet.

 

That will be well worth it!

 

Dumping a Sig Pic:

 

BHLM coming up soon.. I'm kinda excited

 

BHLM on deck this weekend... I'll also be doing the super frugal and super useful H11 to H9 low beam conversion. I'll be adding to my build thread here pretty soon

 

Mod18: BHLM
Purpose: Purely Aesthetic
Cost: $370

This is one of those splurge mods that serves no purpose but to look better (to me). Rather than purchase aftermarket lights that always seem to yellow prematurely, I kept the OEM lights and dropped them off to @no vtec 4me and he got them from full chrome to satin black with black grilles and amber turn signal acrylic in less than a couple days. Was it cheap...not exactly.. but I will say its professional and high quality...plus it's still OEM (which is important to me -- I don't want to replace perfectly good parts just because). I would have spent more for aftermarket and I wouldn't have received something that has OEM quality/longevity.

Nice work Kevin. Big Difference up front.



Better pics of the work here... check em out..
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/retrofit-and-bhlm-headlights.565466/page-131#post-27938663

 

Mod19: H9 Low Beam
Purpose: Functional Vision / Lighting
Cost: $20

While getting my BHLM done I also decided to move my H11 Phillip's +60 bulbs that were in my Low Beam projectors into my fog lights... I also had the opportunity to repaint the glass..


Here are the Philip's H9 bulbs I purchased and modified for use in the H11 Low Beam Projector...

 

I like the look of a base or lower cost truck, and the way the feel when driving them. You can also have more fun building and accessorizing them as you did here, and they still have that feeling of driving the basic truck.

 

I like the price.. If I had more $$$ I would have gotten a 4 door V6 Offroad or Sport......I'm glad I didn't. The SR is (in my eyes) the best package.

 

Good call... E load tires on 3rd Gen Tacomas when SL's are made better these days, is arguably pretty dang moronic on a truck that is not exactly spilling over w/ power.

Speedometer now off?
One of the few things holding me back from going 265/75r16 is my speedometer is dead on w/ stock 265/65r16 size. Matters to me.

 

I'm pretty sure my speedometer is off by about 1-2 mph. To me it's negligible, but maybe it was wrong to begin with. I always wondered how I was getting 24mpg at times