Slow Panda 2.0

I've decided to start up a thread on my 2001 TRD Tacoma mainly to share trips with friends and to document The Panda's build progression. This will be a slow build as I am a college student currently attending Oregon State University as a Recreation Resource Management Major, I am originally from the Sacramento area, California.

Current setup: (RED = Taken Off)
Suspension
Front:
Bilstein 5100
OME 882
Rear:
Bilstein 5100
Toytec Add-A-Leaf

Tires/Wheels
265/75/16 BFG KO2
16x7 Stock Tacoma TRD Wheels
16x7 Stock 4Runner Sport 5 spoke wheels

285/75/16 Mastercraft MXT
16x8 Procomp 7069

Armor/misc.
Homemade front bumper
Homemade sliders
Homemade CB antenna mount
Midland CB
Bestop Soft top

As of 12/24/17

As of 2/7/17

As of 12/19/16

As of 7/24/16

As of 1/10/16


The story begins in August of 2014, I sold my crawler that my dad and I built from the ground up (the original Slow Panda) to buy a truck that I could drive from CA to OR frequently. The Slow Panda was a 1985 Toyota Pickup 22r with dual transfer cases, e-locker in front Detroit in the rear, on 37s with a custom flat white rattle can paint job.


And I bought the TRD 5speed Tacoma in October of 2014 for $8,500 it had 138,000 miles on it

It now sits on Bilstein 5100s front is set to 2.5 and the rear has ToyTech 1.5" add a leaf setup. I also picked up a soft top for the bed


Future plans for the Tacoma: (Green is what I already have)
SAS:
FZJ80 front E-Locked high pinion axle
FZJ80 rear Full float E-Locked axle
Marlin Crawler Dual Ultimate Transfer cases 2.28 crawlbox and 4.7 rear case
Chevy 63" leaf springs
4WheelUnderground front 3 link suspension
Radflo 14" coilovers
40" Nitto Trail Grapplers
17" Stealth Custom Series Stealth6 wheels
Front Range Off Road transfer case cross member

Armor:
All Pro OR Trail Gear front bumper
All Pro OR Trail Gear sliders
All Pro OR Trail Gear Rear bumper

And misc odds and ends

If anyone has seen the Slow Panda 1.0 recently let me know! Im interested in seeing what it looks like now..When I sold it it had a blue interior cage and matching blue high steer arms. With black bed cage. Stickers covered the back windows most notably a pink "Defend Hawaii" sticker.

 

The first trip in the Tacoma was to the Oregon dunes near Florence in November of 2014
Then during winter break of 2014 snow wheeling trips up to Iron Mountain in Sly Park, CA
Some time during 2014/2015. Many trips exploring the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Even went on the Tahoe side of the Rubicon above Cadillac Hill

And this past few days (Dec 20-22, 2015) me @TwinPineMedia and a few other friends headed up the northern California coast to Bodega Bay up Highway 1 to Fort Bragg and in to Humboldt through the Avenue of the Giants.

More pictures and adventures to come...
... and hopefully money for parts.

 

Before the New Year I bought some 265/75/16 BFG KO2's. And love them so far.
I also got SPPC black headlight housings and Sylvania Silver Star bulbs, and painted my grill black to match the headlights. I was never a big fan of the chrome grill.

 

How it sits as of 1/10/16

 

This passed weekend I decided it would be a fun idea to head down to Reno from Corvallis to hang out with some buddies. After an 8 hour drive back to our hometown of El Dorado Hills on Friday, we headed up to Reno on Saturday. It was already dark by the time we found a spot to camp. We setup camp and built a fire, by the time we were ready to go to bed, a family decided to join our camp around 11pm, they started talking about how aliens were following them and that the military is storing things in tunnels on Mars. Weird conversations were had, we drank some brews and we went to bed.

The next day we headed into Dog Valley to do some exploring.
I didn't get any pics but @TheSpeediTurtle and @TwinPineMedia did so photo credits go to them

And of course I managed slide off the trail and get stuck in about the only spot that had more than a foot and a half of snow.



Also, this was the first time I've used the new KO2s in the snow and they out performed my expectations tremendously.

 

Adventure Update:

Camping this weekend in Klamath Canyon with some friends fell through, but I just couldn't sit around with the beautiful weather in Corvallis today. So I went and explored around Mary's Peak. Nothing too crazy, just exploring around BLM Road 10 and found Klickitat Lake, and some cool waterfalls.

Also found a spot to pose for some poser flex shots and some Snow!

Even messed around with the GoPro a little bit

One last picture overlooking the valley
Thats all for now

 

Haven't been on here in quite a while school just started back up but a small victory over spring break I was able to repaint the flares back to black. Looks a lot better I think. Next will be the front bumper and removing the front lower valence

 

Nice...
What width will the front axle be?

My Diamond front axle is 62" WMS and the 4WU kit 3 link frame brackets are built for 65+" WMS.
I had to do a little modification to keep the Jonny Joints from rubbing the insides of the brackets.

Good luck with the build.

 

... also, I see that you want the 14" Rad Flo's. They will not fit with the 4WU 'Cobra' shock towers.
I had to go with the 12's and they just clear the bottom on the master cylinder.

Good luck.

 

Nice rig.

 

@Ritchie The FZJ80 axles are 63.5" if I recall correctly. Also high pinion front and full float rear both with E-Lockers
Also thanks for the heads up about the 14" coilovers I'll have to talk to Brian from 4WU when i get enough money to buy the kit.
Your build is awesome by the way, can't wait to see the final product.

 

Thanks!

 

Very small update, over the weekend I installed my CB. But of course it wouldn't be me if everything went to plan. First the Midland Radio that Amazon sent me was shot, it wouldnt turn on even when wired to the battery, so I sent back. While I waited for the new Cb to show up, i made a bracket for the antenna and while I was drilling out the bracket the drill bit I was using slipped out of the drill and fell into this open pipe thats about 3 feet deep, cemented into the ground in my garage.

The pipe is in front of the washer and dryer to save them from getting hit by a car (renting a townhouse).

So being the resourceful (and broke) college student that I am, bent up a fork and duct taped it to the end of my firestik and retrieved the bit to continue making the bracket.

Anyway here is the finished product. Sorry for the crappy pictures.
Not a huge fan of having the antenna at the tailgate but it'll do.

 

Hey man where did you pick up your soft topper? I've been wanting to pick one up!

 

@Braydman_10 I got it from some guy on Craigslist. $350 and just a little dirty. I love it!

 

Man, I hunt Craigslist all the time looking for one. That's an awesome price!

 

Good read here. I'm liking what you've done to your Tacoma so far... keep it up!

 

@MCObray thanks!!

It's nowhere near where I want it to be. But it does the job for now. Just trying to save up for the solid axle swap.

 

Currently on a two week camping adventure through Utah, Arizona, and Colorado with @TheSpeediTurtle and @TwinPineMedia and two other friends so be ready for a photo dump soon.