The Dirt Taco: From Mobile Meth Lab to Righteous Rock Crawler

I feel like the keyboard warriors saying how bad it is have never turned a wrench in their life, let alone restored something or created a specific build and are more than likely the kinds of people who "invest" in extended warranties. With plenty of time this can definitely be made into something amazing. Installing a pro grille doesn't make you a mechanic.

 

i hope he removed the super charger belt and started the engine to confirm it was/wasnt the SC causing that sound. It sure sounded like a SC issue vs needing a new engine.

 

More interesting than the guy who bought the wrecked tacoma and fixed it up and wrapped it. The one with super wide body fenders. Hope it works out for this guy.

 

Did I miss something? I heard what sounded like a slipping belt or a bad bushing on the outside of the engine. I'm not yet convinced there is serious engine damage. It seemed to be idling fine. I wish he would have given it some throttle. I wonder if there are parts missing from the video that convinced him the engine is unrepairable.

Personally I would have not paid $13k for that truck under the assumption the engine is toast. My time is worth more than that. If you enjoy doing that sort of work, ok I get it.

 

it was more then slipping. there was a clanging sound that was RPM dependent.

 

I don't hear any clanging.

 

2:36 on the engine start video. his first start

 

In any case, I would break down the engine and determine if it was repairable before I bought a new one.

 

For more kicks and giggles, this is guy is constantly repairing cars that have been deemed unrepairable by their owner.

https://www.youtube.com/user/jaymz03ss

 

Boy, if only that poor truck could talk. The stories i'm sure it could tell in it's short abused 3 year life. Lol....

I wish the kid well. Seems decent. Hopefully it works out for him. The way he removed the rad, engine without removing the grille didn't instill much confidence in his skills. However, a great learning opportunity for him. Also, may make for good YT clicks. I'll be watching to see how it all turns out.

 

It's the perfect truck to start with if you're gonna be chopping something up into a super hard core wheeling rig IMO. I wish him well on this one, it's an ambitious project, but it'd be really cool to see it done.

 

I dunno I think people might be under thinking this guys capabilities. Yes it is a task, but if he's getting a second hand engine and goes through the SC and probably isn't afraid of anything bolted on (like suspension) he can have a sweet ride for less than what some people are finding

 

I love how everyone is like "it was a drug running truck" or some crazy stuff that you'd somewhat expect to trash a truck by a bunch of hoodlums when in reality it's probably someone's daughters 3rd grade teacher and they lived in an apartment in the city, lol.
I swear sometimes you can't tell how messy some people are. Sometimes a visual assessment will tell you things instantly, but sometimes you just never know. I worked retail for a long time after the military and occasionally I would help folks out to their vehicles with their groceries. Every time was a new experience haha. Most times I felt like I needed a bleach bath and some lint roller treatment. So it wouldn't surprise me one single bit if this truck was just some filthy casual that blends in with the rest of us Pretty cringe. I think the term "abuse" is a nice way of putting it, and yea I'd definitely love to know the details here.

What if... it was a decent truck but all this is the result of some crazy break up and one of them decided to take it out on the others truck. Who knows. Curiosity peaked.

 

The other thing I didn’t hear him mention is whether he checked for engine codes. I would have done that before going to all the effort of removing the engine. Maybe he did and didn’t mention it in the video or maybe he is in over his head.

 

looking forward to the end product.

 

I saw the "drug running truck" earlier comment and laughed.

My buddy came close to that, interior wise. His house was pretty clean though.

 

Maybe has plans of dropping a v8 in

 

Also, I thought when he got it to finally crank over, maybe a compression test may have been a consideration before pulling the engine.

 

He definitely gave up hope long before Vice Grip Garage would have.