Stevotivo12's SexyTaco build

I have towed my project Volvo quite a few times and also have taken my truck to a couple track days now both of which tend to nuke the diff/tranny oils! It's probably a bit Overkill but I'm hoping to make this truck last for quite a while for me

 

i think the next consideration is to remove the rear cats. do you have any suggestions about it?

i'm heading to have my exhaust worked over to reposition the muffler next week. i may want to remove the cats at some point after that. Pablo at Tandem, one of the Tacoma builders out here with a good shop in Ft. Worth is considering doing some exhaust package, so i may work with him to remove the cats and replace with clean pipe. sorry if i missed a mention of that... i'm slammed at work and doing the internet half-assed right now.

 

Yeah! When youre trying to pull out the factory y section of pipe, be sure to use PLENTY of PB blaster, mine were rusted together and ended up costing me a trip to an exhaust shop because I had one break trying to tq it off. Oh that and on the driver's side you can slide the cat straight through the frame section it rests in, but I am pretty sure the only way it fits through is with the aluminum exhaust hoop in there removed. There is a bolt on either side of it! Im pretty sure those are the only tricky parts IIRC

 

Don't know if anybody has any experience with these, but Speed Bleeders are in my opinion one of the best inventions for brakes. Cuts bleeding time in half if not more, you just crack the bleeder open one time and pump the pedal until all the bubbles are out!

 

step one of two! thanks again for the idea.

 

Looking good brotha, plenty of room for the Trac bar now

 

The gods of fitment saw fit to smile on me today, I was at the DIYG again replacing some wheel studs that broke because I didn't use anti-seize lube the first time as I was not aware ARP states that for all their fasteners you should use it! So I found out there is JUST enough room to squeeze the studs out the back of the hub and past my brake rotors. It's close as all hell, had to remove the ABS sensor and bend what's left of my brake shield out of the way but I could snake the studs in once that was all done! Turned a 4 hour job into a 2 hour one in a hurry! Was another good day at the DIYG!

 

got the trac bar installed yesterday.

Bud is a nice guy it seems. he's also full of shit regarding fitment. but no problem... just that others should know. his trac bar is a second gen item and the people need to know. just say it's modifiable for 3g, then everyone can be happy!

after turning the muffler and gaining clearance issues from that (just a step in the plan, not a major issue), Pablo at Tandem had to modify the bracket and fit the front a bit off from its intended/designed location. again, not a huge issue but not as nature exactly intended.

Tandem is developing their own exhaust kit with rear cat removal, and I'm looking to be the test mule for that, so we'll take care of all the exhaust stuff by the Fall hopefully.

for now the trac bar sits well, has a tick of preload, and seems to be working right. the truck feels different right away, the steering is a bit more responsive (a little crazy and i need to get used to it), and i can definitely get on the throttle earlier than before. kinda cool.

thanks again for your write up... been taking inspiration where i can get it.

get your clutch completed?

 

Glad you like it, but yeah now that you mention it I seem to remember the shop mentioning having to modify the mounting brackets a bit... Either way glad you got it sorted out brotha! I have not gotten a chance to order the clutch yet, planning to do that over this summer

 

Hey guys! Just got back from the High Point University annual Sigma Nu Fraternity car show! This year's show donated to the American Heart Association and they raised over 7K before today for the cause, as well as selling tickets for entry, T-shirts, and vehicle entry tickets today so all told could be 10K raised. In addition to that, I also am pleased to announce that this year I added "Top Truck & Offroad" to my "Top Bike" award from last year!

 

nice! congrats, and now to outdo yourself next year..

 

Haha hopefully a year from now I'll be opening a garage in/around my hometown of Virginia Beach... That's my dream, and why I studied business/entrepreneurship the last 4 years! Just gotta take a year or maybe two and work in another garage, get experience and hopefully an ASE certification and then I'll be ready. Already got a business plan ready when the time comes and all

 

that's awesome! good luck, big projects get big rewards.

 

Thank you brotha! I appreciate that and I'll keep you updated when it comes time to get started on it!

 

just to let everyone know, my old rim and tire setup is for sale for $1000. I paid 2200 for the rims and tires and the tires are just about sea, maybe a few thousand miles tops left where they could pass inspection which explains the price. HMU if you're interested and please tell your friends!
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/american-racing-20-ar901-with-michelin-premier-ltx-tires.559037/

 

At last! A real update to my thread! So this week, I have been working hard on a new project for Gurt... Her coils have started to sag lately seeing as I have the fox 620 lb/in coils and my truck is heavier than stock... So I am working on painting my eibach 700 lb coils and getting them ready to install. I will update with pictures of the products I used and the final results in a few days when the clear coat finally finishes curing and I can polish it up. They look pretty decent now though even with the clear coat still foggy in some places and definitely still wet

 

Already tracking how I am going to do that! Theres this race that happens in Virginia Beach every year on the actual beach and a bunch of trucks try to be the fastest one across the beach. I want to have my truck ready for that race by that point a year from now, ideally regeared and with more power somehow

 

i would be there in a NY sec if i could.

and i'd beat everyone and probably destroy a bunch of stuff on the way to my win!!!

(j/k).

in other news i'm getting my Y-pipe, rear cat removal, and exhaust reroute tomorrow!

 

So about a month ago my truck went in and got by far its most significant suspension upgrade to date.. Because I can't weld, my good friends at the local off-road truck accessory shop got the bid for this one and Im glad I took it to them because they pulled this off perfectly, really did a great job. All told, they:
-removed old, sagging leaf springs and Icon AAL
-grind off axle perches, and both shock mounts
-reset pinion angle based upon manufacturer of the parts' recommendations
-weld in new axle perches for the leaf springs to go under the axle
-weld in new upper and lower shock mounts, uppers extended approx 10" or so above frame to the top of the wheelwell while lowers are moved slightly below the axle to accept a 14" bypass shock
-installed new deaver leaf springs and fox bypass shocks
-painted everything with black chassis paint to match