My first Taco - thought i'd share

Hey guys and gals! This summer I was lucky enough to find a ridiculous deal on a 99 4wd v6 tacoma with 140k miles on it. The only issue was a little bit of front end damage from a rear ending....however, that means I only paid $500 for it.

So it has gone really well, I successfully replaced the core support, radiator, fan, fan shroud, fan clutch, belts, removed the a/c system, and got the hood to latch. Only things left on my list are a custom grille and a bumper, and a driver side headlight. I've used this forum countless times for entertainment and information purposes over the last few months, so thanks to everybody for the help. Thought i'd finally share my progress and return the favor.

Here is the original damage: I was able to drive across town to my place, but during that 5 minute drive both the p/s and a/c belts broke.

Had a friend look at the frame and it seemed okay!



Damaged fender support and core support. So basically I cut out the support on the driver side behind the last bit of damage , and on the passenger side right behind the headlight.

New (from salvage yard) core/fender support. There are predrilled holes in both supports that I used to line up the position of the new one. bolted it in and then started practicing welding.

It's not pretty, but it does hold. This was my second day welding. :/

New radiator in with all the fan/pulleys/belts in behind it. These are just pictures I happened to take, so its not the best documented progress but I wasn't really planning on posting anything as I was going along.

Spray painted the blue so that it isn't visible behind the grille eventually.


and finally here's my hood repair, which consisted of me jumping on the hood a few times and behind it back into shape to the point that it latches.

this truck isn't going to look as good as a lot of yours....but it will be functional and tough as hell!

that's where i'm at right now. Hood is on and the engine runs great. Tested the 4 wheel drive operation just on a straight road and it all works! No strange noises or check engine lights. Once i get the last of her together, planning on changing the oil, maybe the deckplate mod, new spark plugs, air filter, and some other simple stuff. Right now, I have put about $1600 total (including original purchase) into this, so I'm guessing after registration and the last few parts it'll be about $2k. Not too bad for 4wd tacoma, in my book.

Currently waiting on some parts on the way before I can finish the cosmetic stuff. I'd love some input from everyone on ideas for further mods or whatever repairs and such. Or just to share your thoughts. I really could not have done any of this without the previous posts, so thanks again everybody.

 

I respect anyone that brings great trucks back to life. Welcome from North of 60

 

Nice work. Rising from the ashes.

 

thanks guys!

 

I second this, you definitely saved another perfectly fine truck from the fate of a car compactor machine. An insurance company would have totaled this truck and written it off.

You know what they say, anyone can buy a new truck, but real men keep the old ones running!!

 

Welcome and congrats on restoring a great truck!

 

Congratulations and great work, looks solid. Love your garage by the way

 

congrats man great deal ! you'll love her even more with your hard work invested bro

 

Looking good. Nice find. I'd pay 500$ for that truck all day, every day.

 

Awesome job!!! Roughness is CHARACTER.

 

the garage is definitely my favorite part of the house: so many toys.

thanks dudes. when I get her fully road worthy in a few weeks, i'll let ya'll know.

 

Awesome bud ! I'm restoring an 02 Taco Ext Cab 4X4 Stepside V6 3.4L TRD Supercharger 5-manual 3" lift. Bud Built skids and traction bar. You found a great deal and glad to hear you recused it from the junkyard. Good luck....

 

well, finally getting around to updating this. Still waiting on a few little things to get finished up, so she definitely isn't 100% yet but she did pass the emissions test we need here in CO and is legal to drive! I've also started going through all the maintenance items that I can think of - feel free to add any that I might have missed. although i've tried to read through TW as best as I can.
at 145K miles:
New air filter, spark plugs (which were original i'm 90% sure, they were Denso on one side and NGK on the other, and incredibly worn), drained and refilled automatic transmission fluid, new battery, oil change, front brake pads and rotors (there was a slight pulsing in the brakes beforehand, now its good!), installed a curt hitch on the back, and just the other day went out and got a grease gun and lubed up the driveshaft zerks. I also attempted and failed to solder an auxiliary cable into the stock radio head unit, which totally failed. So I upgraded that to a kenwood. I wanted to try though. And when I got the grill, I decided to customize it a bit with a different mesh. I think it came out awesome. Still waiting to finish the front bumper though.
Still want to get some new tires eventually, clean or replace the fuel filter, and get some lube on the ball joints. but I've been driving her for a few weeks now, and I have to say - she runs great from what I can tell. and I really enjoy driving her.
Here's some pics:
getting her emissions tested!
fun.

more fun...


new brake pads and rotors:


old and shiny new ones:



here's a closeup of the grill I made. i think it looks great. Still gotta get the bumper on there though.


cheers