95 tacos 2003 DC 4x4

95 taco

Well-Known Member
latest update!!!! (05/6/14)
Bought an ultragauge 2, and plasti-dipped my hood.


(04/6/14)
Bought and installed a powered sub under the drivers seat, really happy with it.



(03/29/14)
Got my new leafs and shocks installed today, I haven't measured how much lift it gave, but i'm now sitting stinkbug.


I also got some csjumper LED's tonight, 2 red LED's in the map lights and 1 white LED in the dome light.


I also gotta put the extended brake line on sometime soon.

I'll get better pictures tomorrow


(01/25/14)
got my lights mounted and wired
put the switch in the right blank by the shifter

then built the mount for the lights (100% bolt on)


and the lights wired up and working



(01/17/14)

added a "marine grade" battery terminal on the positive side, and cleaned up and painted my battery tie down.

and got a PID setup on torque to read my trans temp and i'm getting screwy readings.



(10/11/13)

Got new shoes on her today (BFG A/T KO's 265/75/16, load range E)
and i flexed it a little




I used to own a 1995 5 lug tacoma, but it got replaced by this truck.
Specs: 2003 V6 DC TRD 4X4
Mileage: 108,377 when i bought it.


Current pics



Current mods:

visual
camper shell delete -$ free
lots of stickers on the back window

interior
stereo -$ free (for me)
powered sub -$169.99
csjumper LED's, red maps with white dome

drivetrain
grey wire mod -$free (already had the stuff)
2lo mod -$free (already had the black tape)

suspension
front: Bilstein 5100's set in the middle with stock coils
Rear: OMD springs
9'' bilstein 5125's from DSMS

electrical
marine grade battery terminal on the + side
fog/accessorie lights in the front bumper/valance


Future mods :
Cheap/free mods
4x innovations slider -$185
csjumper LED's
skid row skids -$200-300 Or ISU2014 skids.
1,000 watt inverter wired to plugs in the back of the center console -$?
CB under the Pass. seat -$ 50?
relentless front bumper -$ 1,105 or all pro apex.
4x innovations rear bumper -$850 or CBI fab bumper with swingout.
TRD stickers

Homertaco 01-04 homeroshi grill kit.
Coilovers (SAW?)
ADS suspension?
dash mat -$40
tint (35%?)
deck plate mod
accessory fuse box
bed rack?
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/PIAA-10704-Night-Tech-Upgrade/dp/B00544ZD86/ref=au_as_r?ie=UTF8&Make=Toyota%7C76&Model=Tacoma%7C1037&Year=2003%7C2003&carId=004&n=15684181&newCar=1&s=automotive&vehicleType=automotive"]New headlight bulbs[/ame]

Further down the road
Front ARB locker
unlimited OBA (A/C compressor)


Waaayyyyyyyy down the road
5 SPD swap?
dual t-cases or lefty t-case?
LT


Here is the inspiration for my build, i really like this truck, except the RTT.
EW_Tacoma.jpg

Its build is here


And saved for future reference

yea in that case..don't even think about lockers yet.

Look at where i go..i have no lockers..only been to one place where one would have been probably required..but sadly..due to the LBJ failure just before it..i didn't even really attempt it for saftely purposes.

And getting out and doing different type of wheeling will really help dial in what you want out of the truck. For all you know, just a basic lift and tires with sliders could make the truck all the capable you want and sticking to rough roads.

Or..you'll want to do some pretty serious crawling and bashing..

or..go super fast over terrain..

you don't know till you get out and try :)

I had been more or less offroading a lot all my life. But never in anything out side a more or less stock rig with oversized tires. But it never stopped us. You can take your rig MANY places as it is now. You'd be surprised. It will also make you appreciate the armor or shocks or whatever it is you add to the rig, that much more.

I always talk **** to my buddies about not needing a locker on here as im sure many have noticed. But do i want one. You bet your ass i do. I want two. I want to go to the next level. But at the same time, i have learned to pick lines very well..because it was a necessity for me. Would it make wheeling easy? of course. But i will appreciate the lockers that much more when i get them from going for so long without them.

Don't be rushed about getting all the coolest armor and stuff for it. Its expensive man. really expensive. Make sure the money you spend, is going to last as long as possible and take you the places you want. There is no need for the biggest badest truck on TW as fast as possible. You'll get there. its inevitable :p haha

but take your time. Choose wisely, spend your money once and enjoy the living **** out of it.

Got my retrofit kit from the TW group of www.theretrofitsource.com

my kit consisted of
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=227
ballasts: morimoto 3five 35w
bulbs: H1 morimoto 3five 5000k
lhd projectors
shrouds: mini gatling gun
H4 relay harness

it was a pretty easy project, start to finish about 2 hours.

i followed this guide and the instructions found on TRS website.

basically you heat your oven up to 250, let it cool, stick the headlight in for 5 minutes, pull it out and pry the lens off.

the rest is pretty self explanitory, mount the projectors via their website instructions (some people say to jb weld them in place, our kit uses a lock ring and nut, i didn't see the jb weld as necessary) , put the lenses back on, route the harness and adjust your lights!

I didn't take any progress pics because I had limited sunlight! But I will update this post with the ballast and harness mounting.



I will also post better output pics when I get them level, aside from a bad ground that took me a while to find that has been the biggest PITA


thanks Mark! I'm sure I would have done it earlier but the group buy got postponed almost 2 months, they were waiting on a new style harness.

the shrouds are an exact match to the headlights so they look like they are oem.

The headlights I have are "eagle eyes" off ebay, they came apart really easy and have small metal clips to help clamp them together, I would say spend the $50 and get those, the OEM come apart a little different, also you can do them at your own pace and still have headlights on the truck while doing the retro!

I plan on adding a second tank from an early Toyota truck, they were mounted on the passenger instead of the driver side. Not sure if it would be CARB legal but it is a stock tank from a Toyota truck, same as the current one just on the other side of the drive shaft They came with a capacity of up to 19 gallons and that would give me 36 gal total. Low CG, and weight balance! Just have to re-route the exhaust!

Don't have to give up the spare tire location or bed space!
Here you go.

Honestly one would have been enough for under the hood, just felt like going overkill :D

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251486498678?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
amazon.

and we did it on a pick nick bench. i used 2 2ft strips for the engine bay lights, 2 2ft strips plus the 4 1ft strips i had for the rock lights. i messed up another 2 ft of light on accident lol. and the rest is going to another little convenience item i planned for it

edit: the only thing you have to do, since the 3m tape leaves a lot to be desired, is you have to figure out a way to zip tie the strips to the truck in enough spots so that even if the glue comes off, the lights wont move

 
and now the pics

(installed lift on 9/23/13, truck had ~108,500 miles)
Installed my shocks today set at the middle setting, took me about 9 hours from start to finish.
front right before lift

Front right after lift

front left before lift

front left after lift









Diff lock works

and 4x4 works





Had to cut this off

Front left post lift, pre settle, i'll get more pics after i get an alignment and everything settles

Her new stance.
 
That actually doesn't look bad, it gives it an aggressive look.
I didn't like the way the hood looked all black, but I don't think it looks to bad either way (partly done)

It may look good in picture, but in person it looked horrible... I was wanting to do the middle of the hood like you did but I didn't have enough dip to do it.
 
The trailer I've been working on is almost ready to be registered.
I have to rerun the wiring as I used some metal wire clamps and it created a short which blew the stop light fuse.
attachment.php

attachment.php

attachment.php

attachment.php

attachment.php
 
Ordered a Relentless fab DIY front bumper kit, got the full hoops and no cutouts in the wings.
Hopefully it'll be here in 3.5-4 weeks.
 
Back
Top