New to me project/new member

A little intro and share of my new project.

a coworker/friend of my wife who knows I like my toys mentioned to the wife they were going to sell her husbands 1st gen. Just his small town run around rig. Been in his family since basically new. I asked the wife to find out a little details. She said they wanted 2 grand for it. Has 150k miles but probably needs some work. I was like 2k can’t go wrong there so I bought it sight unseen. Anyways, it’s definitely been lacking maintenance for quite some time but was never anything but a run around rig in a small town and because of the area we live in is rust free. Zero issues removing bolts/nuts/parts that I’m sure haven’t been touched in 20 years.

when I picked it up I quickly realized I wasn’t going to just take off and drive it. Had a old school spacer and block lift. All wear parts looked possibly original. Rear leafs were cracked and missing. Ball joints shot, rack leaked badly, tires were old and cracked out and definitely leaks a little oil. But appeared to run good. And everything works. It’s a 96 2.7 (was hoping it was a 3.4) 5 speed and I think 3.58’s also a bummer….

so far I’ve done a full ome/Dakar kit. 882 up front, removed the biggest rear overload (still has a big rake without weight, have 250lbs of equipment plate weights in the rear right now and it sits nice….) jba uca’s, whiteline lca bushings, Kp off-road cam bolt setup, oem lower bj, oem steering rack and tie rods, changed all fluids. And picked up a set of used raceline wheels and Schwab open range 285/75/16 and 1.25 spacers. I hate the wheels and tires but attempting to not get upside down in what was supposed to be a cheap farm/run around rig, not doing to well there, oops….

still need to tackle the oil leaks (valve cover maybe and who knows) I have a little brake issue. When I take off after it’s been sitting the rears are touchy and will easily lock up on gravel but after a short drive they are fine….

wanting to maybe add a soft topper and winch setup if I can find them used. I have 3 extra winches laying around…

anyways, here’s a before and current pic. Also have a 16’ Tacoma and have had other custom crawlers in the past.

If ya have any ideas on my brakes or anything else I’m all ears. Been a long time Lurker so figured I would contribute where I can. Thanks

 

Nice find! It needs a more traditional wheel. Enjoy!

 

I agree. That’s what I wanted. I told the wife I would attempt to keep this budget friendly… I picked up the wheels and tires for pretty cheap off CL and didn’t have many miles on them. Long term they won’t be staying but I’m hesitant to set it up too much until I know it’s not gonna blow up haha. I really just wanted to get it on the road

 

Welcome to TW

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

I did the little spin the tire and count the driveline thing as I kinda felt like it’s a little too peppy for 3.58 gears, a 4 banger and 33’s. According to that I think they may be 4.88’s? Maybe someone in the past re geared it? That would be nice. With a little extra encouragement it will take off in 2nd

 

Man that is a nice looking truck! Where are you seeing oil leaks? When I got mine it looked like a valve cover leak but turned out to be oil filter housing (common leak easy fix), oil pump cover (common one), and finally the timing cover which was a project.

I put 882 and JBA's in mine too, makes a huge difference! The rabbit hole on these things goes deep and fast get that whole idea of cheap out of your head