SoCal 2023 TRD OR Build

About 28 years ago.. My first car. 1989 MT 2.4 liter 22RE. A Toyota fanboy was born.. lol

 

Very nice truck. This was my brand new 1992. That was when I became a cult member too! Went on to own it for 14 years.




My Current stock Taco.



Your current truck is awesome. With some very nice mods.

 

Those were the days! What did that 92 cost you?

 

Sorry, bit of a story.....

I traded in a 1989 ford ranger that I had purchased brand new. I had the residual owed from the Ranger folded in with the Toyota. I think the total financed back then was around $18,500 CDN over 4 years. Being young and single I paid it off in 3 years. It was a lot of money for me back then. But boy we (when I met my future wife) sure enjoyed that truck . I had to sell it after 14 years as I could not fit our first child in the extra-cab part of the truck. It had about 220K Km's on it and the original clutch when I sold it. I still got like $8.5K CDN for it. It was in great shape as I really kept it well maintained and totally stock.

With kids we had to step away from Toyota trucks. Drove a lease returned 2003 Pathfinder that we paid cash for in 2006 to fit kids in. Drove that for 14 years and wore it out. So it didn't take much convincing my wife to get our 2020 Tacoma. Especially for sentimental reasons and meeting our outdoor recreation needs.


My 1989 Ford Ranger that developed a valve cover leak and a rear main leak. Valve cover gasket was covered under warranty. The rear main was not. Was so glad to dump it for the Toyota. Really wanted a 4x4 too.






Was very sentimentally attached to that 1992. When I met my future wife we had so many adventures in it. It did have 2 head gasket failures on the 3.0 V6. Once under warranty and again out of warranty. Toyota and the dealership covered them both times no charge. That's when I really became a fanboy. Other than that it was just basic maintenance for 14 years. I really thought that I was getting the better engine with the V6. Little did I know back then that the 22RE was probably the one to go with.



How about your 89? Looked really good. I loved that color too.

 

Crazy how prices have changed. V6 4x4 for well under 20k. I remember that V6 having the head gasket recall. The 22RE was bulletproof but I dunno how well it would have pulled your trailer.

My 89 was awesome.. So many adventures up in the Sierra’s and Death Valley. Never gave me any grief. Lack of power was my only limitation.

My 2023 however did have to have the engine pulled at 1800 miles for a timing cover leak. I really can’t complain though. I had that 89, 2 Gen 1 Tacomas and a 92 4Runner. None of them ever have me any issues besides normal wear and tear. And the 2023 has been flawless since.

 

Installed SDHQ Terminal Heads, Powertray with Circuit Breaker Kit and a Garmin PowerSwitch. Had to use a clutch reservoir relocation bracket with the Powertray. I’m happy with it. Gonna go back in and try to clean up the wires a bit more. Don’t like the negative hanging over the fuse box like that. Heavy gauge wire can be a pain to work with in tight quarters. Mounting the circuit breakers on top of the fuse box wasn’t my first choice. They have a nice custom battery tie down that you can mount the CBs to. Doesn’t work with a stock battery though. Didn’t want to buy an aftermarket battery just for that. I used

$6 3M VHB 100x200mm~ (4" X8") Double Sided Foam Adhesive Sheet Tape 5952 Automotive Mounting Industrial Grade Very High Bond 5952 (1 Sheets 100x200mm)

3M VHB tape to mount them. So far they staying as solid
as if they were screwed down. I’m impressed considering the heavy gauge power wires put some stress on them. We’ll see long term.. So far I only have the ARB compressor hooked to the Garmin. Works great! I have an engine bay light kit I’m going to add to the BlueSea fuse block.