Tom Follery - Tacoma Build

INTRODUCTION - 2002 TACOMA 4x4 Xtra CAB



I have done a build thread on my off road trailer but never thought to do one on my Tacoma. So I finally got around to getting some pictures together and figured I’d start one now. I’ll include all fabrication pictures as I go.

MY OFF ROAD TRAILER BUILD
(You must log-in to Expedition Portal for hi-res picture viewing)



I bought my Tacoma new in 2002. This truck is the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. No problems and just general maintenance items. The truck has gone through a few incarnations as far as the general look is concerned. But the engine and suspension is basically stock. I started off without a camper shell but later found it to be a needed and great addition for camping. I also had a Yakama roof rack for the longest time till I decided to build my own.

Here it is just a few months old:



After some time and fabrication work, it looks quite different today.











Current Mod list:

Engine/Drivetrain:
All stock
3.4L V6
Stock gearing
Manual trans 4x4
TRD E-locker rear
Stock exhaust
Installed engine hood padding - Elfin 55" x 32" x 3/5" Thick AFI-02
Airaid AIR-510-934 M.I.T. Modular intake tube
Custom water neck for gauges
Sky High Car Audio GA (6) spot flat battery terminals
XS Power D3400R 12V Battery #1
HPS (57-1216-BLUE) Silicone Radiator Hose Kit

Suspension:
Old Man Emu 881 front coils
Bilstein B8 5100 (Ride Height Adjustable)
General Leaf springs Heavy Duty rear leaf spring, 4(3/1) leaves
Icon Vehicle Dynamics Add-A-Leaf Kits 51100
Bilstein B8 5100 rear shocks
Custom made e-Brake lifter

Wheels/Tires:
Method Race Wheels 305 NV Machined/Black Street Loc 16x8" 6x5.5", 0mm offset 4.5" Backspace
BF Goodrich KO2 LT265/75R16
Spare Same as others

Armor/Protection:
Self-made front bumper with LED lights
Self-made rear bumper with swing out
All Pro Rock Sliders SKU AP-306631 80"Pdr Coat Blk w plates

Interior Front)
Self-made gauge pod for driver pillar
MaxTow Double Vision 280 F Water Coolant Temperature Gauge Kit
MaxTow Double Vision 100 PSI Oil Pressure Gauge Kit
Self-Made center console w/ digital gauges
Cobra 29 LTD Classic CB Radio
Firestik Antenna
VanTop H612 12" 2.5K Mirror Dash Cam w/ Voice Control
Self-Made front overhead console w/ Digital clock w/aux outlets
Self-Made rear overhead console w/aux outlets
Corbeau bucket GTS II - Grey Cloth seats
Painted dash and interior parts
Self-made door panels
New carpet #6519 StockInteriors 8075-Medium Grey Plush Cut Pile
Noico 80 mil Sound deadening mat

Interior Rear)
Bed Rug carpet kit
Front/Rear Upper overhead console with storage and aux outlets/LED Lights
Self-Made solar battery rack x 2 batteries
Self Made side cabinets with storage and electrical outlets
Laptop swivel holder mount
Moringstar MPPT charge controller for rear battery
Universal AGM battery 100Ah UB121000r #3
Whistler 800 watt power inverter
Fire extinguisher

Exterior Other:
Self-Made Roof rack w/LED lighting - Solar Panels
Snugtop Canopy
Self-Made Grill
Fender Flares coated with Bed Liner
X-Bull Traction Boards

Lighting/Electrical:
FMS LED Headlight Bulbs Conversion Kit 80W 8000LM 6500K Cool White
ACANII Smoked Headlights w/Corner Signal Lamps Driver & Passenger Side
AmeriLite for 1995-2000 Toyota Tacoma C-Type LED Tube Black Replacement Tail Lights
OTRATTW Rocker Switches
LED Rock lights
LED bumper lights with/fog
LED Overhead lights with/fog
LED Side lights
LED rear overhead/bumper lights
Pioneer DEH-80PRS CD Receiver
Rockford Fosgate P1000X5 Amp
Rockford Fosgate T2652-S Power 6.50" Aluminum Component Speaker System x 2
JBL GTO939 GTO Series 6x9" 300W 3 Way Black Car Coaxial Audio Speakers
Rockford Fosgate P3-1X12 Punch Single 12" in Self Made Enclosure
Nations Hi Amp 190 Alternator (Blue)
Big 3 Wiring upgrade 1/0 cables and fuses
Self-Made electrical panel
Blue Seas Fuse boxes
XS AGM XP3000 battery #2
HQST 100 Watt Monocrystalline 12V Solar Panel x3
Renergy 50a Dc-dc on-board battery charger with MPPT
SMD Electrical block
LED turn signal mirrors

Recovery Gear/Other:
Hi Lift Jack
Shovel
Various tow straps
various recovery shackles
Snatch Block
RotoPaX Fuel Container
RotoPaX water Container
Pelican 1440 Case

 

Do you have any pics of the overhead consoles? I’m also interested in how you did the dashboard. The truck looks great!

 

Yes I do, will be posting them soon.

 

Yes, this please..

1st gen is always tight on space and any ideas on how to be more efficient is a benefit.

 

FRONT OVER-HEAD

So for one of the interior mods, I wanted to add a overhead console in front and back of the cab. So I thought about the items I would want such as switches, lights, or com equipment. After sizing everything up I started to build the front console first. Mounting of the overhead in the front was with some metal brackets bent to a "L" and screwed in the location where the stock sun visors once mounted. Also to long 1/4-20" bold were welded to the area where the front dome light was


I really liked the OTRATTW rocker switches so I ordered some in blue since everything else has been changed to blue LEDS. I also put a digital clock in along with some aux and USB ports and downlighting.

Items used: OTRATTW - CONTURA V - LED Color (LI): BLUE / BLUE VPS-01 Panel
Puck down lights Part Number PLF-NW3W-S-V2 www.superbrightleds.com
VanTop H612 12" 2.5K Mirror Dash Cam
Mazda RX7 Sun Visors w/mirror & light
HZMAN Men's Jesus Stainless Steel Pendant
12v 12 hour Alarm Clock, Panel Mount LQ1201AL





I had the top of the windshield tinted down to 6" to cover up and wires showing.



Camera mount for the rear view mirror was mount in back.

 

REAR OVER-HEAD

After building the first overhead console I was able to find room for one in the rear cab as well. Both of these consoles were wrapped in marine vinyl which was close to the stock grey color, but for my liking it wasn't close enough, so later on I painted them both to match the over all color. Then I applied a clear coat over the paint. It has held up well and doesn't get sticky in the hot weather as some painted items can.









I installed some USB/Aux ports and various switches along with my Cobra 29 LTD CB radio.

 

DASH MODS

My dash was getting scratched and scuffed up during the years so I had to do something about the looks along with a few modifications. The radio bezel was reworked to accommodate my GPS and newly made center console. Also I added some tweeter mounts for some speakers.

As for all of the dash lights be converted to blue LEDs, you can check this LINK for detailed info for the process.

The painting was done with Dupli-Color Pastic Adhesion Promoter to ensure good adhesion, then I sprayed Rust-Oleum "Truck Bed Coating" to give the dash the same textured look as well as a bit of hardness. This bed liner has very fine particles and makes for a great texture when painting unlike other bed liner paints which are way to aggressive for what I am doing. I would actually NOT recommend it for a bed liner as it is too fine with tiny grit particles. Finally I used Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover paint "Satin Graphite" as the finish cover. Here's the interesting part, I was told by many people that the paint would become sticky to the touch in the summers hot months, but that is not the case. In fact, it has been through two hot California 100 d summers and is as dry and harden as the original dash coating. The stickiness issue does come up on sub-straights like vinyl, rubber, etc... But to overcome that a good coat of clear on top of the final paint drys it just fine.

























I use the Rokform mounting system for my phone and iPod

Paint:

Dupli-Color CP199 Clear Adhesion Promoter Primer

Rust-Oleum 248914 Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Truck Bed Liner Spray

Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X
12 oz. Satin Granite General Purpose Spray Paint

 

That’s great! Thanks!

 

Holy Be Jeezus!

 

CENTER CONSOLE

So the original Center Console that came stock with the truck was getting pretty dirty and beat up over the years, so I decided to build a new one. I started off with some different patterns, then finally decided one one. I made it in two pieces so that I could cover it with marine vinyl, (which was later painted to match the dash). I added a few cup holders and a few switches and voltage gauges.

This Modification was done around the same time I painted the dash, so pre-paint pictures are shown.







I had to modify the radio/heater bezel to accommodate this console a bit.









Here the front part started taking shape. I still wanted a section in the rear like the original which had two sections of storage.



The rear section of the console was made more narrow so that the seat belts would still fit.







So I brought it in the house so I could stare at it all night long, instead of talking to my girlfriend.





I was going to cover it with one piece of vinyl and to make all the folds necessary I had to add a reveal to the sides. I'm not a professional upholstery worker, but I got the job done.
I added 10-24" T nuts to the reveals so I could screw them on after the vinyl was installed. Not sure how a pro would have done this, but this seemed to work out.























Now I could bolt the reveal on without the seam showing.









The reveal were covered. At this point I could use short 10-24" bolts to fasten the reveals to the main unit.







I gave the reveals an interesting shape so to look not as just a unnecessary add-on.



The two section storage compartment were added with the same method using reveals.



I did end up painting the vinyl to match the dash and all other parts. To keep the paint hard and not sticky I used a clear coat, which worked great. I also added some of the existing carpet to the top on the storage box to make it comfortable for my elbows.

 

Damn! Awesome work on that interior.

 

Thanks my Taco Brother!

 

GAUGE MODS

Being that the temp gauge's on these Tacoma's are vague in its readings when it comes to where I stand temperature wise, not to mention that they don't always work, I decided to add a aftermarket gauge or two to the system. I did want to keep the original temp gauge hooked up, but found a way to add another as well. I just welded in a sensor port in the existing water neck. Same goes for the oil pressure gauge, I found a unused port in the lower block in stead of getting one of those "oil cooler sandwich adapters" with a extra port. I hear that they leak anyway.











Below: The water neck before the port was added. You'll notice that the fuel rail crossover pipe is naturally bent, and it turned out to be just perfect to allow my sensor to be installed.

Water Outlet - Toyota (16331-62040)



The temp sensor fitting is refereed to as a 1/8-27 NPT fitting. Most of these fittings were purchased HERE The weld in threaded aluminum bung was purchased HERE



So that is how the coolant temperature gauge was added to the system, next was the oil pressure gauge.



The Teflon tape didn't do jack! Don't use it. I got some hi-temp silicon on the threads instead. No pictures of that though. The gold brass adapter piece is refereed to as a (16mm Male to 1/8-27 NPT Female)






Below: This is the original threaded plug that was removed. NOTE!!! DO NOT thread this plug clockwise into the block as it can just keep on threading until it drops into the oil pan. I didn't do that but came close.



Here is the gauge's oil pressure sensor installed. No leaks.



Now for the self made Pillar Pod. I started out with the Lotek gauge pod, but found that its fit and gauge orientation wasn't to my liking so I decided to make my own. (A concept I kept on 90% of the mods on this truck)
I start off using the original pillar and positioning the gauges exactly where I wanted them I hot glued them in place temporarily, then took it from there.





Time for the fiber glass.







After this stage, I used a mixture of Bondo & hardener and Fiber glass resin & resin hardener to make what I have heard is called "RONDO". Its a kind of liquid bondo. You can apply it with a paint brush. I drys in a few hours unlike Bondo alone. I got the concept from SRAYWAY CUSTOMS . It tuned out to work well.





A little more sanding and its ready for paint.



As I did with most of the parts on this truck I started off with "Rust-Oleum Truck Bed Coating" to get a slight texture and then let it dry for a few days, then painted it with "Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Graphite"



The Pillar Pods were build around the gauges listed below:

MaxTow Double Vision 280 F Water Coolant Temperature Gauge Kit MT-WBDV06

MaxTow Double Vision 100 PSI Oil Pressure Gauge Kit MT-WBDV04

Sensor Thread Adapter Swap Kit for LS Engines MT-FA-03-KIT

 

INSULATION & SOUND DEADENING

The sound deadening stage was actually done prior to the previous posts above, though not as interesting in my opinion. I found a sound deadening mat that was reasonably priced and available. It is the Noico 80 mil (2 mm) 36 sqft (3.4 sqm) Audio Noise Insulation and dampening mat. It is a lot more expensive then it use to be, but then what isn't? It was easy to apply and I do recommend it.











Lots of 1.0 cables and others prepped and ready for lighting/audio and the second battery up coming.

 

This….this is it…The coolest build thread I’ve ever read.

Well done sir. Absolutely beautiful rig

 

Thank you Road_Warrior. Love that side box in your camper shell.

 

Thank you sir! It’s incredibly useful. I came up with the idea because I used to have a Ram with the Ram boxes. Only good thing about that truck.

 

I read through all your posts, so I apologize if I missed it…How many miles do you have on the truck?

 

240k and still runs like a top.