Micheal05's 2003 Prerunner Build

This is my 2003 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner that I bought by myself in July of 2022. Truck had 127k on the dash when I bought it. This was a huge accomplishment for me because I've always wanted to purchase my car on my own at 16. I plan on building this truck right and doing things the right way instead of taking shortcuts.

How she sits now


So heres the plan. I want to build this truck to be fun daily driver that I can take through mud holes, do donuts, and jump train tracks with my friends in. I have no intentions, as of now, to make this a rock crawler. I live in the Southeast where theres virtually no overlanding/crawling action. The goal is for this to be a fun truck but more importantly, an opportunity to gain experiance in all aspects of the automotive industry. So if you’re interested about what happens when a 17 year old with a good work ethic and a truck mix, you should probably keep reading.

Mod List:
Suspension:
Bilstein 5100
OME 883 Coils
Dakar Leaf Pack
ARB Poly Bushings

Wheels/Tires:
Prinx MT 285/75r16
Method NV305 16x8

Interior:
Sony XAV-X1000 Headunit
Skar 12 inch Subwoofer
Skar 800w Amplifier
Custom Rear Deck

The Coming Mods:
It’s a surprise

 

16 October 2022

I recently came into possession of a Sony XAV-X1000 headunit. This is very nice because it has Apple Carplay and I don't have to listen to the radio anymore. I was being drove crazy by the 10 minutes of ads that would come on every time I got in the truck. Installation was pretty smooth. I wired the harnesses all by myself which I'm pretty proud of haha. The only hiccup I ran into was once I got the new headunit in, it wouldn't turn on. This got solved pretty quickly though. The issue was the fuse (15v) for accessory power to the radio had blown. Other than that it went very smoothly and is working great.

Old Headunit Out

Wiring Harness

Final Product

 

127k miles is like new when it comes to Tacoma's. Great choice. First things to check now after the Head Unit change, lower ball joints, Timing belt (change at 90k) water pump, pulleys, and belts go along with that deal.
Then comes the fun stuff.

 

11 February 2023
After using the truck for about 6 months I started to get annoyed by the back seat. Throwing bags in the back was a hassle because they would fall behind the seat, so I decided to make a removable bench. I had a quarter of a sheet of 3/4s plywood laying around and found a 4x8 foot sheet of marine carpet on Amazon for 20 bucks.

First I measured out the top area of the deck.


Then painfully I measured the curve of the hump for the transmission.


Finally I got to carpet everything and install it and I am very happy with the results. It is very stable and does not move around at all. Even after jumping a few train tracks everything is still in the same spot.


Overall only took about 5 hours to do (pretty good considering its my first time using a skill saw and jig saw) and only spent about 20 bucks total. Very happy because I measured, cut, and bought everything on my own without the help of my dad.

 

11 March 2023
Was online and found a really good deal on a 12 inch subwoofer. Decided to take advantage of the deal because I planned on purchasing one in the future anyways. Me and a buddy with limited knowledge got it in and working in a couple hours.

Quite a large box, roughly 60 pounds haha.


Power was relatively simple. We just used the grommet in the firewall to route the power wire.


Routed all the wires from the headunit to the amp under the carpet and grounded the amp to an existing hole under the drivers seat on the body.


Sub sits on top of the deck I built.


Bass Knob is tucked away in the glove box.


Overall was a fun project and learned a few things about wiring. I could definitely do it faster if I redid it.

 

31 March 2023
Couple of pictures I took

 

29 April 2023
Well it was about time something broke. Luckily for me all it was was the battery. Truck kept starting weaker and weaker until Friday it couldn't turn itself over without aid from a jump. All is good now with a new duralast. Props to the old battery however, it was put in there in 2016.

Out with the old


In with the new

 

12 August 2023
I can officially say my truck is no longer regular traffic. After another long summer of work and sweat, I saved, planned, and executed a full suspension lift on my Tacoma.



While mowing my grandfathers yard, I received a text from my mom letting me know the final piece of the the puzzle had arrive. And good lord, was I ecstatic. Very quickly I wrapped up and was off to the tire shop





Mi amigos were very fast and super easy to work with. 10/10 recommend Castillo Tires.



As soon as I got home, disassembly began. I started on the front simply because I didn’t want to tackle the rear yet. The shocks gave a surprising fight to get in, but a few chisels and a hammer proved to be the method. While I was down there I checked the ball joints, wheel bearing, brake pads, etc. Everything felt solid and looked perfect.



The next day my dad and I began on the rear suspension. This wasn’t necessarily harder than the front, simply just more to do. Never the less we got it all installed. This was also the first time I’ve bled brakes because I installed the extended rear brake line.



The following days consisted of my driving it to Firestone and getting an alignment. Fortunately I had enough saved and went ahead and got the lifetime alignment plan. The lady said I got a 20 buck coupon and it dropped the price down to 216 but I have a feeling there wasn’t actually a coupon. Regardless I was prepared for 216 after researching prices online the night before. I picked it up the following day and the truck drove absolutely amazing. Slight rub at full lock occasionally. Do I know why only sometimes? Nope. Regardless I’ll need to do the pinch weld pretty soon because after flexing it for fun at my practice it rubs when turning. Then this weekend I took it out to take some pictures and I can officially say the truck is completely lifted.

 

Looking good so far dude, little piece of advice, keep the fuse as close to the battery as possible, right now that entire length from battery to the fuse is unprotected and if it were to rub through and short would surly start a fire and melt the shit out of that wire and anything it's touching. If there's a fuse (usually within 6-8" of the battery) that can't happen since the fuse would blow.

 

A few weeks after I installed it I learned about proper fusing. At some point the goal is to rewire and relocate the fuse. But yes haha right now it’s not that safe.

 

Truck is looking great. Nice lift.