Proud new owner of a Tacoma

Hey guys, I just purchased my first Tacoma! I've always wanted one but never had the need for a truck until now. I live in Lincoln, Nebraska and am interested in taking it off road sometime soon to test out the 4wd, and I cant wait for winter! I've heard of a place in Kansas about an hour south called Tuttle Creek that sounds promising, anyone know about it? This will be my daily, I'm a student and commute 30 miles/day roundtrip.

Here is my truck - an 03' TRD SR5, black sand pearl I believe? Black works for me. I'm the second owner, and the first to drive it on the factory replaced frame. New leaf springs and lower control arms in the front came with the frame replacement, as well as all new lines throughout. Its got 2'' blocks in the back, which I'm undecided on. It looks great sitting up so high, and is perfect high for me to get in and out of (I'm 6'2''), but eventually I'll install a 3'' suspension lift all the way around and get rid of the blocks. I've just never been a fan. I'm really not sure what is responsible for the extra clearance in the front - it does seems to sit high though. Maybe the red cushion things on top of the shocks in the front? Any ideas what those are? Maybe a leveling kit? Tundra shocks? idk if thats even possible.. It appears to have the stock Bilsteins all the way around, which to my understanding are 4600's? I'm new to Tacomas and 4x4's in general - Ive been addicted to 240sx's and have had 3. My goal until not has been to lower, not lift. A move from south Texas to Nebraska has introduced the issue of snow..

My plans for the truck include tinting the front windows to match the back, adding a lightbar, a yakima basket on top of the cab, an ARE topper with yakima rack on top in the back, and new wheels (probably the stock TRD wheels off of a 3rd gen). I also want to replace the headlamps - they look like shit. and black out anything chrome - gross. And get the fog lights to actually function as fog lights. As I mentioned before, a lift kit is in store in the future, but i first want to hammer out the smaller details. Ill be commuting to school and taking camping trips more than I will off roading. Let me know what you think! Thanks

 

Welcome to TW. The red cushion things on top of the shocks are the spacers that lift the front.

 

Welcome to TW Matt, great looking 1st gen!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to the club!Congrats!

 

Welcome aboard!

 

where did you end up buying your headlights from?

 

Wow, that is a sexy 1st gen! Congrats on your purchase!

 

Welcome and congrats on the handsome new ride. There are lots of us who prefer the 1995.5-2004 AKA 1st Gen Tacomas. The red pucks on your front coils and the aluminum blocks under your leaf springs are indeed an el-cheapo spacer lift, which is for cosmetic purposes and hinders off road performance rather than enhances it. One of the few things that (almost) everyone here agrees upon is that spacer lifts are junk. There are zillions of options for good quality lifts for your truck and a TacomaWorld or Google search will open a pandora's box.

Before you replace your headlamps, try refurbishing them first. Mine were pretty yellow and hazy. I figured out through trial and error on my wife's car that wet sanding them with automotive 2000 grit sandpaper, then waxing them a few times with NuFinish worked better and lasted longer than any headlight repair kit. Now I just hit them with NuFinish a few times a year and they have stayed quite clear and decent-looking.

What you call the fog lights are actually the turn signal lamps. Lots of people relocate the turn signals to the corner lamps when they upgrade bumpers, etc. Here is a good write-up: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/01-04-blinker-relocation-mod.305152/

Hope this info helps!

 

welcome buddy.

 

Kevin, I got them from 1Aauto.com , and I couldn't be happier. I got the 6-piece package and it was the most reasonable pricing I found online. All of the lights fit right in, no problem, and the new bulbs were good (though I did replace the headlights with Sylvania bulbs). Quick processing and shipping too. They even have an installation how-to on youtube for 1st gen Tacos, which is where I originally found them. I definitely recommend them, though only time will tell with the lights..

Here are the pictures again.

 

Welcome to TW Matt