1996 2-Door SX - Good Base For Dedicated Crawler?

My first Tacoma was a 1996 SX, same truck, color, and decals as this one I found on the web. I've been wanting to start a dedicated trail rig/crawler and build it with my son, who should be old enough to help turn a few wrenches soon. Feeling all nostalgic, I really want to get a 1996 standard cab like the one I had.

I plan on SAS the front and 35 - 37's. My goal is to spend $8k to $10k on building it. My question is about the 3RZ 2.7L engine, transfer case, and W59 transmission. I don't know or remember much about them and I'm wondering if they are up to the task? Or more importantly, what mods would/should be considered? AT this point, Im leaning towards the Trail Gear SAS kit with the Rock Assault front axle. Rear is undecided.

 

I have the 2.7l, it's a great engine don't get me wrong but it does struggle going up hills or steep terrain. I'd spring for the v6 especially for what you're planning on doing with it.

 

Probably not too bad on a single cab though. My 2.7 isn't speedy by any means but it is reliable and a little torque monster which is great for the trails.

 

What transfer case is in this model, and is it gear or chain?

 

All Tacoma's are chain. But to be quite honest I've never heard of one breaking from use.

 

Not going to win any races with the 4 banger.. but more then up to the task.

plus finding a single cab with a V6 is ultra rare. only made in 96-97 and very few sold. Id hate to cut up such a rare tacoma personally.

of course can easily swap a v6 over..

 

Easily may not be the right choice of words. 4cyls have different frame perches for engine mounts which means new engine mount perches and the rear crossmember likely needs to move too.

 

Yea...well..

any phrase with "motor swap" in it..means not easy haha

but at least you know it could fit.

For all the work though, might as well do something cool like a V8 even. then you'll win all the races

 

Honestly, I'm not opposed to leaving the 4cyl. I'd rather leave it actually and just gear her accordingly at the diffs. No racing, just a capable trail rig.

 

You could get the 2.7l and turbo it if you really wanted to.

 

I don't want to spend any (unnecessary) money on the engine, just want a reliable little mill and spend the rest on all the drivetrain goodies. I'm afraid I'd hurt my 8k -10k budget going with a turbo... although the thought of it is quite nice

 

I think one of those little guys would make an awesome crawler. Was just watching Fred Williams video on clampy (his 80s Toyota truck). "Better to be over geared and axled than over powered."

 

@Tacofire98

That's what Im talking about!

 

Meet @1999RegCab



https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/99’-reg-cab-3-link-sas-1ton-axles-atlas.441316/

 

Yep. That's it! Looks Pimp. Thanks for the link... reading up tonight

 

Check out my build as well

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/allenfabs-95-tacoma-build.349241/

95 Regular Cab with 3.4 V6, R150F Manual, and now an Atlas 4 speed transfer case

Your truck will be a great base for a build. Being a manual, you will want to spring for transfer case gearing, so a crawl box setup may be the best bang for the buck for you.

 

I was just going to mention Allenfab's rig! That is one bad ass reg cab with an Atlas 4 and a V6. He was twice the awesomeness in his rig.

OP: if it's just a dedicated trail rig, then no need to worry about the 4cyl. It will be plenty for wheeling - provided you have the right gearing [read below]

If you want a dual-purpose rig, yea, with 37"s and bigger tires the truck will feel slower on the road. I can live with it because the performance gains off road are totally worth it to me, so it is a good compromise.

Either way, as Allenfab said, you will need to put some money into lowering the gears at the transfer case area - especially true with a manual tranny].

This means getting a taco box [old school toyota truck gear driven crawl box sandwiched together between your tacoma tcase and tranny] or aftermarket transfer case replacement like Atlas. There are no parts available to lower the factory chain driven tcase by itself, so either way you are looking at a big chunk of money to do it right with the Atlas or toyota parts no matter what route you choose.

Also, I would strongly encourage you to consider doing a link suspension with adjustable coilovers up front. It is so much better in all aspects than leaf springs, really worth the extra money.

Oh...and don't forget to always double what your original budget for a SAS is just to be on the safe side

SAS reg cabs unite!!!

 

My 2nd gen regular cab with the 2tr pulls mighty strong and the only time I wish it had more power was at freeway speeds in a headwind or up a big long hill where I have to trade off between 4th and 5th. For slow speeds it's more than capable and the 2nd gen weighs 3600 lbs.

 

4wd Toyota Owners Magazine has an article about the 3rz this month.