Your unique mod on the 1st Gens

I had this mod completed on my truck before, but I just redid it with a new grill that I painted in a pearl black (headlight surrounds in satin black). It's my take on a Satoshi grill with the addition of a 3D printed scoop that connects directly to my intake box. Basically, my version of the old deck plate intake mod. I add a second scoop on the driver's side, for symmetry. Obviously, there is no intake on that side, so it just redirects air back into the radiator. On the stock grill, the two sides where the scoops go are actually blocked off.

It's hard to see due to the ballast I mounted on it, but there is a tube connecting the air box directly to the scoop (this tube is the factory elbow that connected the airbox to the fender well. I capped off the hole that it leaves on the side of the air box)
20211205_234322 by Jose, on Flickr

20211205_234337 by Jose, on Flickr

Here is the completed grill, mounted up to the truck.

 

my whole truck is pretty unique. But I’ll say my wheels and my kit.

 

more! looks very slick

 

thank you.

 

Bagged?

 

I follow you on Instagram, been enjoying your build for a while!

 

yes

 

thank you brotha.

 

solid af. Wheels remind me of an F40.

 

Thank you.

 

looks good. first time ive ever seen love flames!

 

My work in progress

 

I like the roll bars with lights. You don't see those around too much anymore.

 

I got tired of the cheap suction cup phone mounts on the windshield that fall off randomly or the cheap Amazon mounts that cause big phones shake so much going down the road that it's impossible to quickly read the directions. I treated myself to a RAM Mount. If you aren't familiar with, you're in for a treat. By far the best phone mount on the market, just get one and you won't accept anything else. At work we use similar mounts to setup instrumentation to precisely measure things in awkward locations.

There are pre fabricated solutions to mount this system, but none quite fit what I was looking for. I wanted a way to permanently mount the phone out of the way of other controls, off the windshield, not require drilling holes, and still have the phone accessible to passenger so they can control it, play different music, setup direction, etc. I cannot take complete credit for the idea, as I'm sure I've seen someone else mount a phone here, but I can't find where I saw that. If you know, please link it.

Anyways, on double cab 1st Gens, there is a blank panel on the center stack above the HVAC controls and left of the middle vents. On non-double cab models, the passenger airbag disable switch goes there in place of the blank. Since it is not being used, I thought it would be the ideal mounting location. Initially I thought I would put a couple of holes in the switch blank and mount the ball directly to the blank. However the blank can move a bit and is only held in by two molded in "spring latches". I feared it may break with continued use and fall out after hitting a big bump.

I decided to create a "sandwich" to clamp a ball into the center stack. There are two thick plastic plates that clamp onto the switch hole, providing a solid attachment that does not move under load. The original hole pattern on the RAM Mount didn't quite fit the space, so I ground it down a bit and drilled new holes. With a few modifications to the RAM Mount Ball Base, a couple of parts I designed and 3D printed, I present to you the Phone mount. So far this is amazingly solid, the phone does not move. I don't have to glance too far off the road to look at it. Best of all, the phone can easily be put in place with one hand. Time will tell how durable it is.


The Location Used. Typically there is a blank panel or a passenger airbag switch depending on the cab.


Backing Plate - grips the sides of the square cut out of the switch center stack.


All the parts - Fasteners, backing plate, face plate, and modified Diamond RAM Mount


Assembled in the Center Stack


Ball Location




Finished Product

 

@Cattywampus

Nicely put together

 

Been building up a camping set up for the back for the last little while. Its complete with foam padding, a full length drawer/platform, some simple lighting solutions, and the right side is easily removable to make room for larger cargo. Also rigged up an old roof rack I found using a drill and leftover steel bits. Outside of ladder racks on work trucks, Ive never seen one of the older style aluminum toppers with a rack on top.

 

Pretty much the entire front end of my truck is pretty unique at this point. You can see all the details below:
https://youtu.be/IxSUBG8iJK4

 

Subbing to stay informed. Threads like this are part of a healthy site that will be around for a long time. It TWs success shows in the members and discussions ratio. Keep up the good work!

 

not so much a mod on the taco, but moreso a tool to make life easier... made a simple tool for those cold winter days when switching the manual hubs is tricky with gloves on.

 

Do you have more details or pictures of this bracket setup? Did you get lower or higher in the butt seating? *headroom impact