Good Ol' 96 Red Jalopy

Been wanting to start a build thread for my first gen tacoma for a while but got lazy lol
So get ready for somewhat a lot of pictures of what I've done so far to the Red Jalopy!

KINDA CURRENT PICTURE (DECEMBER 1ST, 2021)


THE DAY I GOT IT

1996 Tacoma Backstory:
I found this gem on offerup from some guy who's owned it for 10 years! This truck during that 10 years was used as a landscaping truck, so the truck has some minor dents and the interior was completely shot. But all of that has been somewhat addressed (pictures/updates in upcoming posts). This was a perfect truck for me because I wanted a project and keep me busy on my days off.

Apparently, as I was told, the tacoma has around 320,000 miles because the odometers have been rolled back. The odometer right now reads around 258,000+. I am not too worried about the mileage anyways since I kinda set my mind to an engine swap. So I am just gonna run the truck until the engine gives out on me. I was thinking about grabbing an engine from Yota1 performance or doing an LS swap, but the decision will be made when the time comes. The engine runs completely fine, idles great, and doesn't leak at all!

WHAT IS CURRENTLY DONE TO THE TRUCK

SUSPENSION
Icon Ext Travel 2.5 Coilover (Non Resi)
JBA Upper Arm
Total Chaos Spindle Gussets
NAPA CV axles
OEM Lower Ball Joints

Rear Suspension is unknown, haven't touched it yet.
But it does have a spacer in the rear.

LIGHTS
Harbor freight light bar 24"

WHEELS/TIRES
x5 285/75/16 BFGoodrich KO2
x4 Method NV 16"
x1 4Runner 5 Star Rim 16"

ARMOR
Welded Nerf bars from the previous owner

INTERIOR
4Runner seats
4Runner Center console
LED lights around feet area
Atoto apple carplay radio

ENGINE (Whats been done)
NGK spark plug wires
NGK spark plugs
Air filter
Royal Purple Oil 5w30

This is basically it for the first post! Bear with me as I try to upload all the pictures and descriptions of what I've done so far in the next upcoming posts!

 

The very first thing I did with this truck was getting new tires and wheels, this was also a gift to myself for getting my A&P license! (Airframe and Powerplant) I am now a licensed aircraft mechanic! This happened back in May or June I don't remember exactly lol. But I went ahead and pulled the trigger to buy (4) 16" Method NV, (1) 4Runner Star Rim and (5) 285/75/16 BFGoodrich KO2s. The truck already had a spacer lift before I put on the icon suspension, so luckily when the wheels were put on, the only thing it was rubbing on was the lower valance on the bumper.

But here are before and after pics!

 

Oh and maybe I should post the pictures the seller provided so you guys can see what I was working with and how its turning out

 

The very next thing I did after getting the new wheel package was put a whole new front suspension on!

The front suspension and axles were totally shot. The upper control arms were rubbing against the coilovers when fully drooped, the CV axles were torn and there was grease everywhere. The lowerball joints were some cheap aftermarket ones and they were torn up too. The rotors were due for new ones, the brake pads were nonexistent.

So with all this in mind, I basically tore everything apart and replaced it. I went in with the mindset of "while I'm there I might as well replace it"

These were all the parts that was put on,
JBA Upper control arms, Icon 2.5 EXT Travel (NonResi), NAPA CV Axles, OEM LBJ, New rotors, brake pads, total chaos spindle gussets, brake fluid flushed and bled. Alignment done by a buddy.

The pictures I am going to provide might not be in order, but I will explain as I go!



Basically in these pictures, you can see the CV Axle disaster . On the driver side, the inner CV stub was still stuck to the diff and it was a huge pain in the ass to remove.



With everything removed I tried to stay organized as possible so that when I reassembled I wouldn't be cluttered with mess and have a smooth install lol. But with everything removed it's time to assemble everything back together

 

With everything pulled off, it was time to assess everything and do what I think should be done while everything is off and my plan was to steel-it the frame! and of course, clean all the cv grease and grime that was built over the years.




These pictures were before the steel it and before the recovery hooks were painted red
This is the after

 

The truck was on jack stands for 2 weeks because I was waiting for my icon coilovers to come in! It was such a hassle because I was supposed to receive them already when tearing down the truck, but it was shipped to a different offroadware house in california and I live in vegas. Then it ended up staying there for 2 weeks until they decided to ship it overnight to vegas. But here are the pics with the new suspension going back on




Everything that was put on and done:
Steel it frame
Painted Recovery Hooks
Icon Ext Travel 2.5 set at 2.5"
Total Chaos spindle gussets
New NAPA CV axles
JBA upper arms

The welded gussets was done by my homie @qwackens on instagram and he also did my alignment! Hit him up if you're a vegas local

 

After I got the suspension dialed in, I took it to the dry lake bed and did some trails over there to test the suspension out. I am pretty happy with how the front handled!

 

After all that was done, I decided to do an 01-04 swap
I desperately needed a new hood anyways since it was damaged in a front end accident by the previous owner
I managed to scoop up an OEM 2001 hood from a guy on offerup
The grill and lights I got from ebay
I kept the same fenders and bumper

I didn't cut into my core support I basically attached the headlights to my grill and jerry-rigged it to my truck. Not a way I recommend but it was just something so I can have the conversion done. So far its held up pretty good and the headlights still aim pretty okay





If you guys have any questions on how I did it, just let me know! Just too lazy to explain everything

But here is all the tacomas lined up

 

Then after all that I wanted to get ready for a camping trip, so I needed some light source considering by the time I leave to the campsite it's going to be night! also who doesnt love night wheeling? So i bought a harbor freight lightbar and it was surprisingly pretty bright

 

I love when people take the time to keep these on the road. I had my 96 for 16 years and it was absolutely a family member. Too bad you had to lose the best front end Toyota ever made, but I look forward to where this goes . . .

 

How did you do the grill swap? Im wanting to do the same just so I can the hood with a scoop

 

Truck looks great! Was wondering what your process behind spraying the frame with steel it was? Looking into doing the same and I know I need to remove all rust and paint before and clean, but I haven't came across someone whose done it on a first gen before.

Also, I'm looking into upgrading my front end suspension as well and was curious as to how you like the Icon setup?

 

….no the front face

 

Great looking build, looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for it!