PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Would also like to point out that "Salty" is from Virginia. So, like I said, while a couple of the Connecticut guys and gals I met at Carlisle may have heard of TW, none were members...

 

I was not really a member of their group. I just walked up with my dog and asked if they minded if I hung out with them. All the ladies instantly fell in love with the dog so they said I could sit with them.

 

They invited me because I had a Tacoma LOL...

Could you find that picture and post it here?

 

Not really a good drinking story, but I mean I puked a lot once...

My GF had just broken up with me which hurt me and my manhood, I was also trying to show up the bro's and impress some girls we had over. So I hung with my buddies through whatever they drank and by this time, drunk as they were, decided they should probably stop.

My dumbass is like haha fuck you guys I'm a real man. Took about 8-10 bottles of various alcohol from the table, poured about a shot of each into a glass, chugged it, felt like I was a winner for about 10 seconds then enjoyed staring into a toilet for the next 20 minutes.

A lesson was learned and no girls were impressed...

 

Some higher-quality comparison pics...

 

I actually wish the Tacoma was just a little bit bigger. Not quite Tundra size, but in between what it is now and a Tundra..

 

My uncle refuses to ever buy a new Tacoma, or any Tacoma newer than 2004, because he thinks the 2nd and 3rd gens are too big...

My 2010 RC seems comparable in size to a 1988-1998 Chevy C1500 RC short bed...

 

@Iamraiderpower

I am a self-confessed Chevy truckaholic!

I've been infatuated with Chevrolet (and to a lesser extent GMC) trucks since my dad bought a brand new S-10 Blazer in June 1993.

In 2010, I started making Chevy truck tributes in the form of 6-minute photo mashups videos that I posted on YouTube...

These mashups included Bob Seger's "Like a Rock," as a nod to the commercials of the 1990s.

The original videos ran from about June 2010 until the end of 2011. My external hard drive, which contained photos going back to early 2009, crashes in July 2012. I lost everything, including almost 3 years of Chevy truck photos. Ever since July 2012, I've been restocking my inventory of Chevy and GMC truck photos and have yet to post any new video mashups...

 

One of my favorite trucks I ever owned was my 98 Z71 Ext Cab in white with red interior. One helluva truck!

 

'53 Vette colors!

 

@Iamraiderpower

On a few occasions, I've followed people into parking lots and gas station, just so I can ask permission to photograph their vehicle...

Most of the time, it's a custom or unique truck (or SUV, or van). One time it was a BMW i8 (a very expensive plug-in hybrid sports car in case you didn't know). A lot of the vehicles I've "stalked" into parking lots have been rather ordinary to the layperson. A perfect example would be a red 1995 Chevrolet G30 Beauville 15-passenger van. To most people, this would just be a mere "church van." To me, this was a must-have for my photo collection. This van was in very good condition for being about 20 years old, and having the 15-passenger seating arrangement meant it had either the C6P or C6W heavy-duty equipment package!

I stopped to ask the guy if I could take pictures of his van, forgetting I was on a fairly busy road and not the parking lot or some residential street, and almost got rear-ended by the person behind me...




Anyway, the guy driving the van said I could take pictures, and I followed him into the parking lot of a nearby bank where I took pictures of his van at various angles while he took care of business in the bank...

 

I'll look, but I really don't know where it is.

 

I copied it to Facebook to show my friends... I'll find it.

 

March 3rd, 2016:

@Iamraiderpower

My desire to photograph this van almost caused my truck to get rear-ended!

Again, this is an Apple Red 1995 Chevrolet G30 van, with the 146" wheelbase, Beauville trim, and 15-passenger seating configuration...

One thing I found odd about these vans was that the rear air-conditioning was not available with the 15-passenger seating. This is rather contradictory, because unless you live in Alaska or certain parts of Canada, wouldn't you need the A/C during the summer for transporting that many people?!?! All 125" wheelbase vans, regardless of seating configuration, were available with dual A/C and heat. Front heat/defrost was obviously standard, and front A/C was about a $900 option. Rear A/C and rear heat were two separate options, with the rear A/C being more of a necessity in my opinion, as the front/dash heaters in these vans are quite powerful by themselves. The rear heat was available as an option in 146" vans with the 15-passenger seating.

Rear A/C is available on the 12-passenger 146" van. It is never mentioned in my 1993 Chevy Vans sales brochure why rear A/C is unavailable in 146" 15-passenger vans, but my guess is that it has something to do with reduced headroom from the back row passengers. While they were more than capable of towing, 15-passenger 146" G30s were also unavailable with the heavy-duty trailering special package...




So, here's what's so special about this specific van. For starters, it's Apple Red, which is one of my favorite colors on these vans!




Second reason...

This is a Beauville!

Beauville was the highest of two trims available, the other being simply Sportvan.

The base Sportvan was available with many of the same options as the Beauville, including A/C, cruise, tilt, power windows, power locks, and stereo CD (even in 1993 a CD player was an option!). The most notable difference between the Beauville and Sportvan was the front fascia. Beauvilles had the "dual-quad" headlamps and fake chrome trim seen on the red 1995 model, while base Sportvans had single headlamps like the gray 1994 G30 also seen in this post...

These vans were most popular as conversion vans and commercial vehicles. I have seen very few "loaded" G30s, as most of the 146" passenger vans were ordered as fleet vehicles for schools and hotels. They were ordered with A/C, an AM/FM radio, and virtually no other options.




Third reason...

Most of these vans are beaten to shit. Even this van was is not totally rust-free, but it was one of the nicest examples I'd ever seen. As I said above, most oG30s were used as commercial vehicles and did not lead easy lives. Finding one in the Northeast, in this condition, is almost unheard of these days!




This van, however, is not the Holy Grail in my opinion...

Why?

Well, the most obvious reason is that it does not have rear A/C. If I bought one of these, I'd use it primarily to shuttle my friends around, like when we go up to the mountains or down the shore, or when my friends are hammered and I'm the designated driver. Look at all those windows...

This thing is a greenhouse on wheels!

Second of all, it does not have the top engine option, the 454cid/7.4L V8. The big block has been available in these vans since at least 1990, but most customers seem to have chosen the 350cid V8 or even the sturdy but underpowered 6.2L diesel V8. For 1994, the 6.5L diesel replaced the 6.2L, and I've photographed a few diesel G30s, though they were all school buses or cab-chassis/cutaways...

Sure, it's easy to swap the engine, but it's not as fun as having an original 454 G30!

As for the rear differential, this van has an open rear, but that isn't a big deal. It's quite easy to swap the open rear for a G80 locker.

My primary reason for not considering this van to be the Holy Grail is the lack of rear A/C...




March 8th, 2016:

I photographed this van at Rice's Market in New Hope, again with the permission of the owner, just five days after photographing the red one!

This is a 1994 G30, with the base Sportvan trim...

It has also not fared as well with regards to rust...

Unlike the red 1995 model seen above, this one has the 12-passenger seating and is equipped with rear A/C...

 

September 1st, 2015:

Here's another one I photographed at Rice's Market, also with permission of the owner...

This particular van is a 1995 base model, and despite the lower body rust, it is not one of the roughest I have ever seen. It was formerly a school van, and as such is equipped with dual A/C. It also has power locks, but not power windows (this seems to be common on ex-school G30 vans; I think it was for safety/security reasons)...

 

August 31st, 2013:

Yet another 146" G30 Beauville, also spotted at Rice's and photographed with the owner's permission (The only reason I've ever gone to Rice's in the last five years is because there are so many cool vehicles with friendly owners who are more than happy to let me take pictures)...

This green van is a 1996 model, also with the 15-passenger seating, and thus, no rear A/C...

 

One of those with SAS and Cummins would be legit!