BillyFargon's 01 Tacoma build to adventure w/ the boys

At the end of 2022 I got rid of my 3rd gen 4Runner that I had for a little over 5 years. In that time I took it out in the snow maybe twice? I fully built it but never used it. Seems the last few builds have been that way.

Here is the 3rd gen when I got it.


Here is how it was when I sold it.





Full build is over on t4r.org. This thing had everything.
Anyways, I got bored.. wanted more space.. wanted a truck.. ended up getting a full size GMC. A year and a half later my older son got a cheap 3rd gen 4runner basically stock to use for adventures. I saw a couple pics and it reminded me of how much fun we had back in the day when we used to go 4 wheeling a lot when they were little. So I decided I should get something cheap, rough, something that I wont be afraid to take out and get messy. So I picked up this gem.






But dont let the pics here so far fool you! It needs a bunch of work! But.. its a good start.

First thing that had to go for me was the canopy that it came with. Not a canopy guy at all!


Does anyone recognize this truck? Was there a build on here? So far it came with front Icon coilovers, total chaos upper control arms, rear OME springs and shocks, e-locker, front bumper..

Should be fun though! I really enjoy driving these old trucks even though they are a little small for my size.. but that 5-speed manual and 3.4 are a good combo.

I will document most here and on my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BillyFargon

 

First thing I have done so far is I installed a Badlands winch. Hacked the grill up for it because it wasnt in the greatest shape anyways. AC components behind the grill have me a little concerned..



Then all this had for blinkers were those little dot markers that people put in the grill and that wasnt going to work for me so I installed some Amazon led blinkers.


Got the blinker wiring loomed and tucked away and loomed the winch cables so they arent as obvious from the front of the vehicle looking through bumper.



Filter was pretty nasty.. Now I need to clean MAF and throttle body.

 

Got a little too over zealous when trimming the grill.. It was hot.. sweat was dripping in my eyes and I cut a lot! I will keep an eye out for another grill and try to get a cleaner, tighter trim around the winch.


Also pulled the seats out last night so I can start addressing the pet smell.. Going to clean the carpet, seats and basically everything in the interior. Probably do stereo and some other dash stuff before I put it all back together.

 

If your carpet is still not up to your standards when you're done cleaning it, you could replace it as well:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/best-place-for-replacement-interior-carpet.728241/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/first-gen-carpet-kit.719367/

 

Carpet wasnt coming clean very easy.. You can see some difference but overall it still smelled!


So I figured I would just rip it out and toss it!


But.. I'm not going to get new. I found some decent used carpet on marketplace that will go back in. If I were trying to make this super nice I would get new but I'm trying to remember this is going to be a fun rig and if I get carpet dirty it will be ok.

Pulled the stereo out.. it was very bare bones. I replaced it with a newer Kenwood and they almost look the same! The new one has bluetooth, phone, amp pre-outs.. so it looks similar but does a lot more. Bluetooth is an absolute must have!

 

Got the "new" carpet installed. It's not perfect by any means but its waaaaaay better than what was in there!



CB and stereo installed, just need to wire the cb in before I can put dash trim back.


Also setup the extra scangauge I had laying around. Now I just have to find the "X" codes for the added gauges.. well I guess just the AFR since I don't have an auto (no need for trans temp).

 

Picked up some Weathertech mats. Never had gray ones before... hopefully they can stay decent compared to the tan ones. They will probably just need more regular cleaning.



I added some military style battery clamps. Just so much nicer to connect the winch and accessories to compared to the stock clamps. Also added a blue seas fuse block. Not many places to mount on the drivers side so just went to the factory fuse block cover. I did take a pic of the top before I covered it though for future reference.

 

Got the interior cleaned up and put back together. Good enough for now!

 

I had to replace the whole e-brake cable system. Something happened with previous owner and instead of fixing it right it was just cut out and some was partially left.





That was a real treat to do with bolts breaking and pins being seized. Now I need to replace the whole rear brake proportioning system. I don't know how stuff like this gets so neglected and haggard.

Also got the CB antenna installed on back corner of bed then drove all the crap we had been throwing in the back of it to the dump. While at the dump I tossed the heavy plastic bed liner.. can't stand those.


When I got home and I was backing it up into my sloped driveway I heard and nasty rubbing type sound in the steering that I need to figure out where it came from. Wasn't at full lock.. Hopefully its something easy or at least straight forward.

 

Fixed the tail gate latch. Nothing on this thing is easy.. the nutserts built into the handle were seized with bolts so I had to cut it all out. But the spare latch from spare tail gate went in within minutes.



Also got the front windows tinted.

 

Finally got the Tacoma out in the woods as an easy first run with my boys to make sure everything worked well.