Lets Build A Taco!

Good afternoon guys and girls.

I need some serious recommendations.

I have a serious vision with what I want to do with my truck, and I'd like to see what you guys have to offer!

I have wheels and tires, and what I'd like to do next is lighting. I want crystal clear headlights, with clear corner markers and bumper lights. I had clear corners before, from ebay, but they didn't fit right. I would also really like amber pods, and a light bar, but I'm on a tight budget.

eventually, with your guys' help, this will be a full baja prerunner!

Give me some recommendations, and I'll keep you all updated!

Thanks,
Nate

 

Well I know that haha. You guys just have so much more knowledge and know where to get the stuff for these trucks. I will definitely look more on Amazon though

 

My recommendation is to reconsider your priorities. It's cool to look cool, I guess? But it's way cooler to have more than $300.

Good luck!

 

I know I know $300 is nothing, but I am saving up. And I'm getting another job soon. But seeing what you guys say and recommend bring me probably more joy than actually buying the stuff. And eventually when I do buy it, I know you guys will enjoy seeing it! The Taco community is awesome and infinitely smarter than me. Thanks for the good luck too!

 

You'll need around $10k first

 

Thread title (did) mentions building a "prerunner" but you only mention wheels, tires and lights... Wtf?

 

Well lights are the first step. The truck is the prerunner trim, but then it's long travel. I know what I want for that, but I'm saying who wants to help me get there, from the ground up. Sorry for the misunderstanding

 

Sure thing! Nothing wrong with dreaming or planning for the future. I just couldn't recommend you buying light bars and pods with the last $300.

Plenty of good options out there tho when you're ready to buy! I have no real need for extra lights, so I really can't recommend anything.

Pretty sure in this sense, OP is referring to the trim of his truck being a Prerunner. Not like a dunes prerunner.

 

This is the energy I was expecting! The trim is a prerunner, but I plan on making a dunes prerunner. I live in AZ, and the random ones I've seen make me smile. Thanks!

 

Your Truck but i can think of much better areas to spend your money then on lights.

unless for what ever reason you only have nights free and never see daylight.

 

I enjoy going out at night, and my current lighting is barely usable for road use. I just wanted your guys' recommendations, in hopes to one day be on par with proper baja trucks.

 

Recommendation #1: never log back on to Tacomaworld. It’ll be conducive to that tight budget.


For real though, my only recommendation is to build your truck to how you like it. But I will say this: for your headlights, if you can go OEM with the assemblies that will be best. Then look up the “ultimate headlight upgrade” thread created by @crashnburn80

 

There's rarely such a thing as cheap lighting that works well and doesn't build up condensation. For auxiliary lights like bars and pods, I recommend diode dynamics as they make a high quality product, but don't charge insane prices like some other high end manufacturers. If you want to upgrade your headlights, find someone who retrofits the stock housings, or DIY if you're so inclined. If you want temporary results, just get Amazon lights. My brother got a $100 light bar and even with 1/3 of the bulbs dead, it's probably about 80% as effective as my friend's $900 heretic studios roof bar. That being said, I'm perfectly happy with Diode dynamics so far. I don't have a roof bar, but my 20" in the bumper is just as bright as my high beams when caked in winter highway sludge, and performs excellently when at least moderately clean. Also, no condensation or leaking, even after sub freezing temperatures and close up pressure washing. I haven't had anything to complain about, and I plan to get the rest of my lights from them.

 

Also, I'm familiar with the fun of putting together build sheets in Excel knowing full well I won't be able to make it happen anytime soon . If anything it's actually nice because you can infinitely change it and learn for free when all you're doing is making a list. It would kind of suck to drop a ton of money being new to the game and regretting it. For starters, I'd check out Camburg, Total Chaos, Dirt King, Solo Motorsports, Giant Motorsports, JD Fab, and of course, keep an eye on the TW LT thread. You'll learn lots.

 

Thanks for the recommendations! I was actually looking at a $100 light bar and 2 pod set on Amazon haha. The Excel sheet is a great idea, and that is what I was hoping for. I'd like to create a list of everything that I want, save and purchase it, then show everyone the build! This thread is more of an idea giving thread, rather than an "I have a million dollars, lets blow it on a Taco" thread.

 

I was looking for something like these for the headlights


And these for the corners

 

Just be weary of the quality of no name lights. If there's one thing that we can do on TW it's spend other people's money. Now what kind of build are we talking? DD, or dedicated prerunner? Keeping 2wd, or 4wd, or awd conversion? Leafs or links? Trailing arms, normal 4 link, cantilever suspension, or something else in the rear? +2", +4", +6", or I beam swap in the front? Let's have some fun

 

I like where this is going!

I plan on this being my DD until I get a new one (been eyeing a 1983 944 Turbo), but I would totally daily an LT taco. My plans after that are making a dedicated prerunner. Full LT upfront, but leafsprung in the rear (cantilever is the ultimate dream, but that may be too far). I'd like to put a T100 axle on the rear, while keeping it a locked 2WD. I dont know whether I want to keep the 3.4 and SC it, or do what others have done, and 2JZ swap it (emissions is no problem haha)

 

I'm no expert, and I only know what I do from reading about other people's builds and experiences on here, which I'd highly recommend doing yourself. That being said, it's fun to talk pipe dreams. I'd recommend doing a bit of research into what dailying a real LT build involves. You're going have to deal with harnesses when you get a roll cage (since you don't want air bags blasting you into a steel tube), the soft suspension will mean tons of body roll and miserable towing, the big increase in width is going to be a PIA for city driving and parking, you'll likely end up with a fuel cell and a bed cage, so you'll lose a lot of functionality, and you'll probably want solid engine mounts which means lots of vibes, among other things. While they are very cool trucks, they are very different beasts. Those are just some things to keep in mind. You can always start with a rear SUA kit, then move to a rear axle swap, then take care of the front end. Any reason why you want to go with a T100 rear end? Ford 9" are very popular for the prerunner guys, but if you want to keep it toyota, the 2nd gen Tundra has a 10.5" rear axle which will handle just about anything you can throw at it. Cantilever would be great for keeping your bed relatively intact, but without it you'd need a cage to house extended shocks or bypasses and brace them properly. I know I would like to do an FJ80 rear axle swap with a cantilever set up to minimize intrusion on the bed, but that's a long time out and would be more crawling focused haha.

 

As far as a DD goes, I'd just keep it front LT. The T100 axle widens the rear end enough to solve fitment issues ( I dont really like the wide front end with the narrow rear), and it beefs it up while keeping it in yota specs. I dont plan on trailering anytime soon, and I live in the desert haha. I dont know if i will ever go full cage, but who knows. And like I said, I'm getting another car, so having a full dune truck will be a side hustle. Thanks for the info, and theres so much on TW, idk if id ever be out of info!