What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Holy shit I want!!!!!

 

So I'm in the process of sound deadening my truck as best I can for $150 + my time.

While I was at it, I figured I might as well continue the process of changing my interior from that god awful fairy gray to flat black.

BXT II Raammat:



Ensolite:



Passenger side door panel... just the vinyl and fabric (used vinyl/fabric dye on it, turned out great. Those wrinkles went away once fully dried):



Other vinyl pieces (used the dye again) - that large piece on bottom is hard plastic... used the plastic paint on it:



All the hard plastic pieces, kick panel, etc :






Rear fabric pad thing:



Rear quarter panel trim:



Rear seat belt receiver:



Now comes the fun part... all the pieces that can't be removed:



(the latched wasn't fully dried yet, hence that "smear" - it looks great now):



Now here's a genius, in a completely retarded kind of way, move... how to paint the seat belt trim panels and seat belt pull handles without getting any on the seat belts themselves:




And of course, the toothpick method is key also:



Now, onto the driver's side...

 

How much of the RAM and ensolite did you need to buy, and did you get it direct from ... http://www.raamaudio.com/categories/Mat-and-Foam-Products/

 

Looking great Box Rocket!

 

Put on new wiper blades. 19inch driver 18inch pass. Loving the increased coverage.

 

I did buy it from Rick ^

And it's that small kit that he has up there... can't remember how much BXT II it is, but it's 3 yards of Ensolite. That should be enough to do an extra cab: rear wall, both doors, and some left over for the kick panel and possibly parts of the firewall.

Truthfully, I'll probably have to order half of that as I went over board in some spots and would like to do the rear quarter areas now that the trim panel is off.

 

Holy shit. I dont even want to think about ever painting the entire interior

 

So you are not doing the floor, and if you were, would you need more? I going to upgrade my system, I hope this winter, so I would do all this at the same time.

 

Ive never used the raam sound deadening stuff but i could tell a noticable difference in sound and heat when i raptor lined my floors and rear panels.. Didnt put carpet back it so its easier to clean up but id imagine it would be similar as the stuff Madjik is using with carpet in for a little cheaper!

 

This spring I am replacing my carpet. At that time I might do my floor.

Speaking with Rick, who has won competitions with his 96 Tacoma, he says you only get minimal gains from doing the floor... which happens to be a very expensive endeavor. If you are an insane audiophile, or entering your truck in competitions, then go for it. Otherwise its not worth it.

The noisiest part of our trucks, by far, are the rear walls.

I just looked at my order and it is this:

1 pack of BXT II (20 sheets, 37.5 sq feet)
1 running yard of Ensolite (42 sq feet)

I'll probably order 5 more sheets of BXT II which are $4.45 per sheet. That should allow me to do the entire rear cubbies and strategic parts of my rear quarters.

 

Raptor Liner, Line-X etc are excellent sound deadners.

I just have no way of doing it to the interior of my cab. So the peel and stick raam mat will do.

I'm not expecting it to sound as dead/tight as a Bentley but I'm pretty sure I'll achieve some notable gains. And for $150 and my time, it's worth it. Especially when you compare it to Dynomat.

 

It was one of those, "well, I have this off, might as well take that off... and since that's off, might as well do that too... ah fuck it, let's take it all off"

 

Tore the interior apart and deep detailed the carpet and dash. I'll come around to posting pics sometime.

 

Continued my bumper build today





More pics in my build

 

I have that same welder and I can't get near enough penetration on 3/16" steel to actually bond. How do you do it?

 

OK, cool to know. Thanks for the tip.

 

I used to be a welder repair man, turn up the heat and slow down the speed. What size wire are you using?

 

Good deal, I have had the box's off many full size pu's but not a taco assuming it isn't much different. Would like top paint mine with por 15.

 

It's by no means a big guns welder with only 140 amps. I think I'm running .030 wire and always full amperage. I can get a nice puddle and one of the pieces hot enough to penetrate but I can't get both pieces of steel to heat at the same time. I end up dragging molten weld down from the vertical piece of steel to the flat piece but just can't get it. It works great for .25" or less though.

 

Reconnected my swaybar.

Been driving for a week with it off seeing if this time around I could finally be able to convince myself to leave it off indefinitely, but don't think that's going to happen.

While there's no question the offroad performance is fantastic in this setup, it's not so awesome in terms of street handling- big surprise.

It simply comes down to a matter of opinion, but I don't like the dive when going around freeway interchanges or simply around long corners. I'm used to a planted, very connected feel and that's my preference.

It's a pretty odd sensation when going over large speed bumps etc when it's disconnected. You literally float right over them without even knowing what happened, it's like the bump was not even there at all and you kept going down a smooth road. It's hard to wrap your head around the sensation and I can only imagine how fun it would be fly down fast trails with some woops! It's neat to really see the new suspension come to life and compare the differences between the stock suspension with the slow rebound that would be bouncing you and bottoming out all over the place in that type of situation vs. the new setup that is a night and day difference.

That being said, a pair of sway bar quick disconnects would definitely be a worth while investment.

Say it's not so!

Sorry to hear that, your signature has always been inspiration. You've got a nice truck!