Snaeper's Automobile(s) - Resurrecting a Celica (or two)

[Snaeper]

Current Vehicle: "Sandra" the '19 Toyota Tacoma SR-SX with 2.7l I4 and 4WD​

How she started:

How she sits currently:

ORIGINAL POST BELOW​

So I've been on GTPlanet for going on almost ten years come 2017, and in my time on GTPlanet, not to mention my time on this planet Earth, the only car I've driven up until a few weeks ago (that was registered in my name, mind you), was my 1990 Toyota Celica ST, with a 4AFE 1.6L and 4 Speed Automatic transmission. I nicknamed her 'Marie'.

This car, "born" the same year as myself, has served me for the last decade well. In my time with it, the most catastrophic failure it suffered was a broken water pump. It's had it's share of smaller maladies, but has always got up and gone when I needed it to. I consider myself fortunate, as I've ridden in similar Toyota econo-coupes such as the Tercel and Echo, and rejoice at the much more aggressive drivers position the Celica provided, with bolstered seats to hold you when in motion. Manual windows meant they always worked (but putting the passenger's down was a pain), and overall, the interior has held up remarkably well considering it's age and use. The biggest issues is the fact that it's an R12 car, which has made recharging the AC a considerable pain, to the point that I've suffered 6-7 years of Arizona summers with no relief.

Being that it's the ST however, it's got no muscle to match it's suit and that's just in reference to the rest of the Celica line up of the time. Merging with traffic required patience, highway driving requires momentum, and the engine is not a sonorous affair when pushed hard. Where it lacked in performance, though, it made up ten fold in reliability and affordability of repairs, as the engine was widespread in various other Toyota's, chief among them the volume-king Corolla.

Early in my time with it, I tore a huge hole in the passenger's side bumper while re-entering my driveway. That remained up until this year, when I finally had the extra funds and time to get a replacement bumper installed. It remains to be unpainted and I don't yet know if I'll get it re-sprayed, but I'd like to do right by the car considering all we've been through together (and the fact that it was my Step-mom's car before me, it's been in the family for almost twenty years!)

Thus, when it came time to get a new vehicle to switch things up and conform to the needs of my job, the Celica did not get traded in. The new vehicle in my life is something quite unexpected, from a brand I never thought I'd own. However, the value was good, it was overall easily affordable, and met or exceeded the criteria that I was looking for.

Originally, when I first took my current job (working as a Laborer for a general contractor renovating high end hotels), the goal was to save up and get a Volkswagen GTI. As the months went on though, and my collection of job tools grew, it became apparent that the Celica would need to be replace sooner than scheduled. My little Celi's trunk was tiny and didn't like staying open while I loaded a hundred pounds worth of tools in and out of it, the lack of AC and space were wearing on me, and the fact that the more money I'd put into it would never be seen again meant that it was time to get a new vehicle ASAP.

Thus I began looking at trucks. Primarily Tacoma's, but I also considered Chevrolet Avalanche's, GMC Sierra's, Ford F-150/250's and then some. When I realized trucks kept their value extraordinarily well and the only ones I'd comfortably afford would have exorbitant mileage, I began to consider the far more affordable SUV's. Montero Sport's tempted me, and I looked at 4Runner's as well, but then Equinox Sport popped up.

I had completely forgot they had made these! The Sport's featured a few cosmetic tweaks that greatly improved the visuals of the truck in my opinion, and it also got GM's DOHC, 24V 3.6L V6 instead of the pushrod 3.4L 12V V6 of the standard fare 'Nox's. In addition, it had hydraulic power steering over electric, a Pioneer sound system, and AWD. It was then that I realized that I had just gotten the best blend of what I had wanted (GTI), with what I needed (SUV/Truck) while being in my price range at 11k.

After talking with the dealer, I brought her home with a reasonable monthly payment at a decent interest rate (176/mo, 9% APR with a TERRIBLE credit score). The fact that it's already got some oomph (264hp/6500RPM, 250lb-ft/2300RPM) and looks pretty good stock, combined with it's lack of enthusiast market compared to trucks and hot hatches means my wallet will be fatter in the long run, with fewer modifications to tempt me. Regardless, I do plan on purchasing a few things for protection and convenience, and the current list of modifications and add-ons is short but succinct:

-WeatherTech Floormats and Tailgate liner
-Pioneer Touchscreen head unit to match the factory Pioneer sound system
-Seat covers to keep the black leather from getting dirty.
-Nitto Tires as soon as the current no-name's wear out.

My only complaints with the 'Nox so far extend to it's interior. Despite being the top of the line trim, which means most of what I touch is a decent material, the upper parts of the door panels and the dash are made out of the hardest and cheapest plastic. The dash at least does me the service of being out of my way, allowing me a good field of vision though, and while it's not an inspired design, everything functions well. Otherwise, the leather seats are comfortable and the functionality of the rear-sliding seat is a great feature.

The previous owner also put some really off-brand tires on the car. They're in good shape at least, but my Celica has taught me that a good tire can make a huge difference, as the Kosei K1's were originally wrapped in Fuzion-brand tires, later Primewell's, but as soon as I put my current Nitto's on, I realized what I'd been suffering through. The 'Nox will likely also get Nitto's as I can get them affordably via my uncle and am impressed by their performance on my Celica.

The plan is to pay off the Equinox and sell it shortly after unless I really come to like it. Ultimately, I still need to get a truck, but I'm using the Equinox to improve my credit. The goal is to get a new Tacoma and then drive that for what will likely be another decade at minimum (the rest of my life at maximum).

Meanwhile, I'll be keeping the Celica for the time being. It costs me next to nothing to insure (about $20 for liability), and even less to fuel up ($15 lasts me almost a whole month... and that's driving every day). Now that I have another vehicle, I might attempt to do more hands-on work on the Celica. Probably go to a pick-a-part and get some fenders and a new headlamp housing and trim. Might scuff the paint and get it re-sprayed by Maaco on the cheap and will explore converting the AC and fixing the sound system to make it a decent car. It might end up becoming the family automobile for use as a grocery getter or loaner in the event someone's car breaks down. Might put it up for sale, might swap a 4AGE Blacktop or 3SGTE into it, who knows!

Thanks for reading, guys!

 

[Brutaka]

Nice cars. You've honestly got me slightly interested in Celicas now.

 

[Snaeper]

Nice cars. You've honestly got me slightly interested in Celicas now.

They're good fun. I wouldn't say they have loads of latent untapped performance, but they are a little underrated in my opinion, in terms of people's enthusiasm for them.

I would recommend getting anything with an S series engine, as that is easier to do a 3SGTE swap into, which is about the only way you can get power into them reliably. The 3SGTE of course being probably one of Toyota's best performance engines ever made given it's appearance in WRC and JGTC's GT500.

 

[Snaeper]

I've been driving the Equinox pretty regularly for a week now and it's a good vehicle.

The fuel mileage is going to require some adjusting to, as it's only been a few days and I'm already on a quarter of a tank. The Celica could go about a week or so before needing to be filled up if I did a lot of regular driving (and stretching to a month if I drove lightly). The fact that it has almost 270hp (compared to the Toyota's 100hp on a good day) has contributed to the poor mileage, most likely.

Still, the 'Nox is comfortable, the functional space has already come in handy, and the sound system really is fun. The weather is nice right now, and while I've never been one to lust after a moon roof, it's nice to have all the windows open for the cool air to flow around while driving.

On a more somber note, I discovered that one of the trim pieces on the rear hatch is loose, and the front passenger's lower seat cushion isn't attached to the frame. Joys of a used car everyone.

Since it was nice and the Celica has been sitting for a few days, I took it to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Now I realize just how bolstered those front seats are after sitting in the... hmm... "American-sized" front seats of the Equinox. The Celica is still slow, but I have a better appreciation for how attuned you are while driving it compared to the larger, better damped SUV. The Toyota may not get much cred given it's drivetrain (And the fact that it's not even really a good FWD at that), but it was clearly meant to be a FWD sportscar and feels the part, it's just ultimately not very good at it, especially the ST.

 

[Snaeper]

So I've been on quite an adventure of wheels and tires these past two weeks.

First, I found a screw in one of the rear tires of the Equinox. No problem, I'd been planning on replacing the rubber with a new set anyways as the fronts had worn down and I hadn't rotated them in years because I hated those tires that much (they were still the set that came with the vehicle when I bought it several years ago). Costco was doing a sale on Michelin's so I picked up a set of Pilot Sport AS 3+'s. More performance than my vehicle needed, but I wanted some nice, grippy Michelin's for my daily and the savings were not to be scoffed at.

I enjoyed them for about a week before running over something small but HARD while leaving work. Bad, nasty sound followed by a whirling pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft.... Profanities were flung. So I pull into a gas station, jack the car up and take the wheel off, thinking I'm going to find a massive, gaping hole. Good news is that the tire is fine, the bad news is that the debris just caught the inside of my wheel rim, bending it significantly. Had it been the tire, I likely would've had a new one, no questions asked but no, now I need to find a new wheel for a vehicle that had unique wheels that are almost ten years old and were only on one trim for two years.

A call to the Chevy dealership revealed the expected markup: $400 for a new one from Michigan. A search online found used wheels for $200, or about the same price as an aftermarket wheel. I weighed my options and decided to pick up two used wheels. One to replace the bent and useless wheel and another to replace one with severe curb rash. The curb rash'd wheel will become my backup in case this happens again before I sell the vehicle (it's paid off and I'm looking at inexpensive Minivans, particularly the Mazda MPV).

Well, a few days have already gone past and I'm still rolling around on my donut when I get the e-mail: My replacement wheels are still several days out before they're even shipped and then there's a weekend and 1-5 days estimated shipping time before they arrive. Yikes. I'm already frustrated because, had I not just bought tires, I would've likely just found some standard Equinox wheels and cheap tires to throw on for the time being, but now I'm committed to my Pilot Sport's.

So, not wanting to spend potentially two more weeks on a donut, especially should anything else happen, I decide to go check out a junk yard and see if I can find a decent tire and wheel that will last me that long. Before I make it that far, my father reminds me of a used tire/wheel place just a few blocks south of me and we decide to check it out before heading across town. I let them know how much I'm looking to spend and they ended up (after a little trial and error to find something that fit) finding a steel wheel with a used Michelin to go on the car for now. I'm concerned that it's a 5x114.3 wheel and my Equinox uses 5x115, but it fit well and drives fine so here's to hoping it makes it the week or so I need it to. Luckily my commute is short! Anyways, the steel wheel, balanced and inflated, with used Michelin tire only set me back $30!

Now I just need to find some donuts for the Celica so I can take the Alloys off because it ate the back of truck within 100ft of where I ran over the debris that bent my Equinox. No luck in that lane!

 

[Snaeper]

Found a nail in my front tire today.

.
.
.

I want off this ride.

EDIT: Costco repaired it for free under warranty. Same tech that helped me with my tire yesterday was there again today and understood the horror story I've been going through.

 

[Snaeper]

So after a lot of working for little reward and seeing that home ownership on my pay was still a long ways off, I decided to trade in the Equinox and get a Tacoma, a vehicle I have wanted since before I even owned the Equinox.

I used to dislike Tacoma's, but I have come to love them from both a fiscally sensible and enthusiast point of view. These trucks hold their resale value like Fort Knox, they have a massive and enthusiastic community of owners (especially here in Arizona), they are grandfather clock reliable and will function better for both the lifestyle I want to delve into (more outdoors activities, camping, kayaking, mountain biking) as well as my work (I work for a General Contractor).

So after years of putting away some money, paying off the Equinox, and putting away a lot of money for a few months, I finally determined it was time to pull the trigger.

But it was a waiting game I'd have to play. I wanted a 2.7l 4 cylinder. It's not a numbers champ for armchair drag racers, but it's the home run king of longevity and I plan on owning this truck until it's rust in the ground. I also decided I'd get 4x4, as after this truck serves it's purpose as a work truck, it'd move on to being a dedicated trail rig to explore the wonderful scenery of Arizona. That meant Access Cab with the long bed, which suited me and my driving needs much better anyways.

There was only one in all of AZ, it was used, and it was the base model work-truck version. Then, a few days later, a brand new entry popped up...

I cleaned up and cleaned out the Equinox and decided to head to... CarMax! They had no Tacomas, but that's not why I was there. CarMax does a wonderful used car estimation offer business. They evaluate your vehicle and give you an offer. Depending on what CarMax would offer me, this would determine how the rest of my day would go! Turns out my expectations were within $500 of what CarMax would buy it from me for, so with their print out in hand, I next went to... my bank!

I had planned to get pre-approved for a car loan, but came to find out that my bank, as of only a few weeks ago, stopped putting out car loans on a branch level. Before heading to the local credit union, the little voice inside of my head said, "Remember, you're aiming for the Toyota offered APR. If you don't qualify for that, don't even buy it! And the banks will be hard to match 2.9% anyways!" so with that in mind, I finally made my way to the Dealership.

I laid out my intentions. Said I wanted to test drive the four cylinder and a V6 for comparison. The V6 was a sweet truck, but it was a well outside of my price range unless I wanted RWD. On top of that, I am well versed on the merits of the four cylinder, so I was eager to hop into that.

And it didn't surprise or disappoint me at all. Probably exactly the amount of performance I expected. I don't have a lead foot, so the acceleration was good for around town speeds. On the highway the truck still impressed. No lighting up the tires at 65mph, but I was very comfortable and was both enamored and terrified by the Adaptive Cruise Control and other safety features on the truck.

At one point on the highway, the Salesman set the cruise control to 77mph, told me to take my foot off the gas and brake, and then asked me to switch from my wide open lane into a lane with a truck that was struggling along at 65mph. He told me to keep my foot off the brake. Every synapse and learned reaction told me to stop, but I listened and waited and then breathed a sigh of relief as the truck applied the brakes and slowed itself down to match the speed of the truck ahead. The box van then exited the highway, and what would become my Tacoma began accelerating again all on it's own.

We got back, ran the numbers, I was approved for the loan I wanted, got close to the monthly payment I wanted with a five year loan (insisted I wouldn't be going longer than that, as it went up to 4.9% APR for 72 Months) and walked out a happy guy!

I'm excited to take part in the huge Tacoma community here in AZ, hope to eventually get into some light off roading once I have proper all terrains on it, and am looking forward to 10+ years of ownership with my awesome little truck I've named "Sandra".

 

[Snaeper]

So despite having power everything, I lack a keyfob. The Taco, being the base model, uses an old school key. This was a plus for me rather than having the keyless entry and ignition (although that was cool as heck). Not having the fob is already starting to irk me. However, before I can pull the trigger on a Viper Alarm system, I want to get my biggest single purchase out of the way: A SnugTop camper shell.

Okay, maybe second biggest depending on how the suspension system rings up down the road but I digress! The SnugTop will help both in the camping department as I plan to make a bed shelf for me to sleep in to avoid tent building and to do "light" overlanding, as well as for storing tools of my trade in a relatively secure and sizeable area. This way my lazy ass can keep my stuff in there without having to shlep it out of the bed every day and night before and after work. I'd ideally like the alarm system to be wired into the shell to increase security in case of a break in, but I might call up an installer and ask if that will even be necessary.

Other things on the radar are a tailgate anti-theft solution in case I forget to lock it, tint (also to be done after the shell) and a dash cam. Tires and Rock Sliders might squeeze in first, though, and I might grab some aftermarket fog lights to put in the empty bezels, as well as ditch lights since the kit I'm eyeing for that is relatively inexpensive. A bumper mounted aftermarket fog light (likely on it's own switch so I don't blind people in day-to-day driving) and an LED tail light refit might also be in the works to help increase output.

I've driven around the wilderness in the dark and I know it's no fun with stock headlights.

 

[lbpomg95]

That's a cool looking truck! I never see single-cab trucks anymore(granted I'm in the UK), it's always 4-door quad cabs.

 

[Snaeper]

So I crossed the first of many things off my to-do list last week and got my Viper Alarm system installed. It's a two way system with remote start and will be expanded over time to include additional sensors to alert me to glass breakages, tilt (in case someone tries jacking it up to steal wheels) and other sensors if I deem it necessary. It also came with Remote Start that is light years better than the factory system that was on the Equinox. I was also pleasantly surprised that the engine didnt shut off after getting in the truck like some Tacoma owners complained about and I believe thats because my truck came with the old school key instead of the keyless entry/push button start like the higher trims did. Works for me!

This week I'm going to be selling my tires and getting a full set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers. These are an excellent hybrid All Terrain/Mud Terrain that also perform well on the road.

Mud flaps, Floor Mats and Seat Covers are soon to follow after that as I need the protection from work and play. The particular covers I'm eyeing will also add some needed padding to the seat bottom to help support my thighs.

That's a cool looking truck! I never see single-cab trucks anymore(granted I'm in the UK), it's always 4-door quad cabs.

Yeah, I really kept my eyes peeled for this truck. It looks great for a base model. Everyone I've shown it to has thought I spent $40k+ usd on it.

Toyota's Tacoma plant in Mexico exclusively make the Double Cab Short beds that's how popular they are. Their Texas plant makes the Double Cab Long bed and the Access Cab. Regular Cab sadly perished with the last generation in 2015. Fuel Economy regs meant that it's short wheel base would impose stricter rules. That coupled with a low take rate killed it.

Edit: Forgive my typonese, damn phone's keyboard blows.

 

[Snaeper]

Second item is off the list now. A nicely optioned SnugTop Rebel with sliding windoors, reinforced shell and yakima roof rail slots. This will be great for work and camping as I plan on sleeping back there and it will allow me to securely store my tools in the back.

The windoors let me reach in from the side as well as allow me to have secure air flow when sleeping.

Build quality is industrial upon inspection, but fit and finish is top notch and the color matches perfectly. It also levelled the truck out and made it ride really well now that the bed has settled. I plan on eventually adding Prinsu Roof and Shell racks that will allow me to store kayaks, camping gear, but also stud and sheet goods that are too long for the bed, hence the fiberglass reinforcement.

Something weird happened while waiting to get my shell installed though...

When I first arrived at the dealer I saw a fellow Tacoma already parked. It was an older 2nd Gen with a nice lift and wheels, KO2 tires, an ARB front bumper and its own shell. It was a simple, effective build on an Access Cab like mine.

Anyways, I sat waiting for a ride to get something to eat when the owner of the black Taco shows up with his Girlfriend in their Hyundai Sonata.

I noticed the guy and began politely staring as I tried to gather my thoughts.

"No way..." I think.

Ten years earlier, I had had an interest in buying a VW or Audi. I looked at and test drove some GTI's, a Jetta and a really nice A4 that already had some tasteful modifications applied.

During the test drive the owner mentioned that he was selling in order to buy a Tacoma for mountain biking.

Flash forward to today, again this is ten years later, and here is the guy! It has to be him!

So he finishes up looking at his truck and shell and goes inside to finish up his business. Then out he comes and I ask him about his (rock) sliders to break the ice. He mentions theyre from a local company.

I then ask if he'd ever worked at Vidal Sassoon, the salon I had met him at to test drive his car.

"...yeah." he said staring quizzically.

"And you used to own an A4?"

"...yeah..."

"I'm god, hello my child."

"So I test drove thay ten years ago and saw you today and thought you looked familiar and remember you saying you were gonna buy a Tacoma."

We were both in disbelief and laughed it off. He told me some more about his truck. It was a Manual TRD OR 4x4 and at the time he bought it, was the only one for sale in the country and he went to Iowa to get it.

I related that mine was the only one in the state and we spoke some more then parted again to likely run into one another in another ten years sometime.

Small world!

 

[Snaeper]

Simple "mod" today.

Fuelly informed me that my last tank averaged 18mpg. Not great but probably better than my Equinox which calculated in at the high 16's.

My commute is short, mostly city driving and my one highway jaunt is barely two miles long and sees me putting along at 65mph. Then work involves a lot of 15mph and below motoring so I decided there was no need for a chin strap on the truck.

This will give me drastically better approach angles and makes the truck look really good. It was an easy task to remove it (although I discovered my socket wrench was seized so I had to trek to Home Depot to replace it) and I'll put it back on next month when I road trip to LA for my fathers birthday.

I also ordered a few necessary items and one fun one and I'll cover those when I get them. Tires will also happen soon.

I also washed it for the first time in 1000 miles! Quicksand hides the dirt well but I wanted to see how it would go with the new cap. I'm already glad I got the windoors on the sides of the SnugTop because it makes cleaning the partition window and rear cab window insanely easy. I was fearing I'd have to empty the bed and crawl in to wipe them down, but instead I opened the sides, unlatched the partition window and was able to reach from there!

Cleaning the sliding window within the windoors was a bit more difficult thanks to the fixed mesh screen, but it's not as if a few drops will affect my visibility at all. Just triggers my OCD!

Also got my first compliment from a 4Runner owner in the Home Depot parking lot! My truck was probably $10k less than his, too!

 

[opelgt1969]

These are wise investment bought for my 2000 dodge truck(used) had for over 12 years now and the only thing wrong with the dash is it's dusty under the cover, too lazy to clean.

 

[Snaeper]

These are wise investment bought for my 2000 dodge truck(used) had for over 12 years now and the only thing wrong with the dash is it's dusty under the cover, too lazy to clean.

A dash mat would've been great for my Equinox. The Taco however has a fairly upright windshield and a very small dash so glare hasnt been a huge problem for me. One of the things I just got off Amazon thanks to gift cards was a fitted sun shade.

Otherwise I work mostly at night and I'm parked in a covered driveway during the day.

It will probably happen someday, especially if I start working more day shifts. A dashcam will likely come before it, though. I do appreciate the suggestion!

 

[Snaeper]

So three more things knocked out, two more "sensible" purchases and the first "fun" one.

In Arizona a good sun shade is worth it's weight in gold. This folding Intra-tech shade is probably the nicest I've ever had and was custom cut and fit for the Tacoma.

It's made out of seven layers and has a weighty, firm feeling. It snugs into the windshield with the right amount of effort to let you know this was made for my windshield. It blocks out an enormous amount of light and heat from the untinted windshield and serves it's function well.

I realize most might not prioritize something like this, but if you live with the sun and heat alot, you should.

Next was a set of heavy duty floor mats from Huskyliners. Husky makes two models called the X-act and Weatherbeaters and these are the latter. They're a harder material and a little less expensive, but fit just as good.

The bottoms have numerous teeth/spikes/cleats to keep the liners from moving on the carpet.

These will be great as the factory carpet liners were already filthy from just light use, so something that will hold up to work and camping like these are just the ticket.

Saving the best for last, I did a very popular Tacoma mod and swapped my factory tweeters for Kicker Branded OEM Subaru tweeters.

These require no adapter plate, no adapter connector, nothing! Plug and play with ease and the swap was done quickly. The only hang up being the two fasteners closest to the windshield were somewhat difficult to get to with fingers and tools.

The sound improvement wasn't immediately noticeable with the first song, but as the tracks kept rolling I could tell the noticeable improvement in the high end clarity of the music.

I'm already looking forward to further audio upgrades and am debating between a new Head Unit or a Kicker Key to power the upgrades.

I'm really loving this truck and am enjoying driving it around. I think a header to tip full exhaust replacement will be in the cards sooner than I anticipated. I like the growl of the big bore 4 cylinder and a freer flowing exhaust could really enhance it.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Joey D]

Too bad you don't live closer. I'd sell you a set of Line-X'ed CBI bolt-on rock sliders that I have sitting in my storage unit that I took off my truck before I sold it.

When it comes to mounting lights, I recommend installing an auxiliary fuse box under the hood. I used a Blue Sea marine block with a secondary circuit breaker. Initially, I had a piece of aluminum that I riveted some angle iron onto and bolted it under the hood. But I eventually found a mounting plate that worked a little better. But you can still get by with making your own plate. Also with interior switches, look at Cali Raised LEDs, they make a switch panel for the Tacoma.

With an exhaust, there are systems on the market, but they are way overpriced for the most part. Since you're not really going to get any gains, you're probably better off just having an exhaust shop fab something up for you.

Other things on the radar are a tailgate anti-theft solution in case I forget to lock it,

I'm not sure if you got this yet or not, but you can get a couple of hose clamps and put them around the hinges on the tailgate. While not 100% theft proof, it works really well since the Tacoma's tailgate is super easy to steal.

 

[Snaeper]

@Joey D

Fuse Panel is definitely going to happen, once I get to adding more auxiliary lights. I'm likely gonna get Baja Design Squadron Pro pods in the fog light area, a flood light or two in the rear bumper, probably Cali Raised Ditch lights and a stealth bar in the front. But that will likely happen after I do a retrofit to the headlights, so not for awhile! Unless I go camping enough at night to realize it needs to happen sooner...

Good tip on the exhaust, I forget that that's an option. I do plan on getting the LCE Header that the 2.7 guys swear by though.

And I know about the hose clamps. There's also a guy on Tacomaworld that makes a very inexpensive metal piece that looks very nice. I have been doing a good job keeping the tail gate locked in the meantime, though.

 

[Snaeper]

The "I'm glad I'm not married 'cause she'd be divorcing me right now" update.

So a buddy of mine has an old Chevy and his four different brands of tires were in various states of rot and decay.

To compound matters, he picked up a nail in one of them so we came to an arrangement where he bought the Highway "Terrain" Firestone allseasons that came on my truck and I picked up these babies.

Cooper Discovere AT3 4S. The 2018 SEMA Best New Product: Tire Category award winner. The 4S is a Standard Load all terrain which will work just fine for my largely urban driving habits, but has the grit and grip for the fire roads and-then-some I plan on tackling, and is sufficiently sipened for snow performance as well. This is great since Arizona gets a bit up north every year and these tires should be more than capable of handling those conditions.

On top of that, these are a 31" instead of the 29"s that came stock. It's resulted slightly more leisurely acceleration which... I actually prefer. Is it weird that I wanna make my truck slower? Anyways, the increase in weighr has also made bumps in the road a bit more jittery since the stock shocks are not suited to the small increase in weight. Otherwise the ride is even more plush with the extra inch of side wall and theres virtually no detectable sound, especially with the music on.

That being said, they still set me back a few hundo's so this will be my last expensive update for awhile (though I mighr squeeze in some cheeky and cheap additions).

- Typo'd on my LG Stylo

 

[Snaeper]

I didnt really know where else to put this post so I'm gonna insert it here.

Last weekend was my father's birthday and we got to spend it at a family friend's beach house in California. They gave us full reign and tossed us the keys of their Maserati GranCabrio (or GT Convertible... Or GranTurismo C Sport... All apply?) to enjoy for the weekend.

The GranTurismo is, of course, ancient in terms luxury cars at this point. On top of that, I had never really understood the appeal of the car even when it was new. But that might be because I had only considered the car from a fixed roof coupe perspective.

In that regard, it's at the end of a long list of cars that are cheaper or more capable or both when you consider it's MSRP and also it's extreme depreciation.

However, when you take the roof off, the list is upended. All of those number master turbo engines that modern GT's and sportscars are adopting work against them. A Convertible isn't a car you buy for dynamic engagement. It's not a car you buy to go as fast as possible in. It's an exercise in vanity and enjoying the point a to b drive to the maximum.

I have never understood convertibles, even though I'd ridden in them before, until I rode in this. I get this car. The 4.7l V8 makes absolute sense. Who cares that it has a normal automatic? It works well for getting the engine to sing it's praises and that's all that matters.

I walked away from each ride (but especially the first) having been converted not only to Maserati, but also convertibles in general. The fact that you can pick one of these cars up for $50k lightly used is only another feather in it's cap.

Maserati really sits on the same end of the market that Mercedes, Audi, and BMW do, albeit on the higher end of those brand's ranges. Despite that, Maserati's elusiveness in the American market gives them added cache and appeal. Making even a 12 year old GT lust worthy still today. Riding up and down the PCH in car crazy California still netted us looks when that V8 revved (or idled, or did anything really). About the only other new car I could see having the same appeal to top down driving (in this price range) is the Audi R8 and it's lovely V10. Yet, I appreciate the Maserati's understated coke bottle shape over the midship German's figure. I like that the Maserati doesnt scream for attention, instead politely asking. Making for rides through traffic less embarassing as you arent quite the object of attention you might want to be.

All told, this car has firmly been added to my list of lottery cars and I hope that the upcoming replacement keeps the V8 (add a hybrid system Maserati, but NO TURBOS). Losing that and it loses any and all appeal that is unique to this car. Find a way Maserati, because you have something special here.

 

[Snaeper]

Took the truck on an off road trail a few weeks ago with a few other Tacoma's. Beautiful views and a lot of fun despite the others being quite a bit more capable than mine.

Nothing drastic has been done to the truck lately, but I figured I'd share most of the little things that I've changed.

The most recent was a switch to the leather and plastic shift knob from a TRD Sport. My friend noticed my knob and insisted I have his as he had upgraded to the TRD Pro knob. The stock SR gets a moulded urethane knob which I didn't realize how awful it was until I felt the leather. I now hate my urethane steering wheel, lol!

Next up was MESO Custom LED Map lights and Dome Light. These things are bright and allow me to see inside the cab in complete darkness. I might switch the map lights to red in the future as they are almost too bright and can interfere with eyeball night vision dilation.

I was given a Dashcam for Christmas and currently have it temporarily plugged in to my 12v power plug while I decide if I want to keep it or not. It beats having none at all, at least!

Lastly, I removed the dealer logo off the shell and added an AZ Tacoma World decal to let the other Taco enthusiasts know I'm amongst them. Arizona has a massive Tacoma following if casual and in depth enthusiasts covering all three generations.

Bonus:

I camped in the truck with some fellow enthusiasts back in November up along the Mogollan rim in Northern Arizona. I made an impromptu sleeping platform out of 11ply plywood and rolled my bed's mattress topper onto it. It did the trick and I will keep using that solution until I no longer regularly use the bed for work.

 

[Joey D]

That's the perfect sleeping setup, I slept in the back of my Taco many times when I had it. Glad you're enjoying it and the weather looks so much nicer down in Arizona than up here in Utah. I can't wait for it to get warm.

 

[Snaeper]

Immediate Future Plans:

- Build my own Prinsu-style Cab and Cap racks as buying off the shelf will set me back $1200+ and that is unacceptable. The 80/20 alone is $150 for all the rails I'd need/want, so at that point it's just making a template of the mounting points, side panels and front panel to give to my metal workers if their prices are reasonable. That way I can get a rack that better suits my needs, is relatively unique to me, and hopefully will save me a bit of coin over buying off-the-shelf.

- Seat Covers I rode in my buddy's 3rd Gen that was equipped with Katzkins. I'm probably going to go with Clazzio's myself, but I'm tired of cleaning cloth already, and the extra padding available Katzkins made the ride noticeably more comfortable. Clazzio is also available with padding, so I'm hoping for the same. On the fence over aftermarket seat warmers to go with them.

- Mild Lighting upgrades I'm going to be adding some OEM Fog lights from a TRD Off Road and upgrading the low beam headlamps from H11 to H9 bulbs. Mostly done!

-Audio Wiring has all been purchased to make the harness, now I just need to button down what kind of Amp I want and where I want to put it. Finger is hovering over buying speakers.

By the end of the year plans:

- Armor Specifically a steel IFS skid and some sliders. This will give me peace of mind on the trail and will get the truck ready for next year when I plan to tackle the AZ Back Country Discovery route with some other Tacomas who are making it an annual thing. Suspension may or may not happen before that, as well, if funds can be secured.

That's the perfect sleeping setup, I slept in the back of my Taco many times when I had it. Glad you're enjoying it and the weather looks so much nicer down in Arizona than up here in Utah. I can't wait for it to get warm.

Yeah it worked out well. I also crashed in the back on New Years Eve as the party I went to was an hour from my house (on the interstate!) and I didn't wanna drive home that far inebriated and with other potentially inebriated drivers sharing the interstate with me.

Biggest issue I had the first night in the woods was waking up and being overcome by new-found claustrophobia brought on by alcohol and the fact that I had locked my side windows. From now on, despite the potential risks, I'm gonna leave them unlocked so I can roll out the side if I need to, because it's a PITA to wiggle to the back door in the event of a hurry.

No plans on changing it though as the space and budget for any kind of RTT is nonexistent and I don't want to go back to tent-building.

 

[Snaeper]

Alright, so I am attempting to do some budget lighting upgrades with mixed results.

First up, the most noticeable one is that I added the fog lights and bezels off of a '19 TRD Off Road that had just 1k miles on them. One thing I noticed about the bezels and learned from some exploratory removal of my friend's TRD Sport's bezels is that the previous owner and us were doing it wrong. We needed to remove the grill and reach around to compress the plastic tabs so that they wouldn't bend and break (which they did). A little plastic glue and some pushing, though, and they popped in, never to have to move again, even when I upgrade the lights to some more powerful aftermarkets down the road (should I determine the need, mind you).

Cosmetically, it really improves the look of the truck as the lack of foglights was apparent each and every time I saw literally any other trim level of Tacoma driving around and if I haven't made it clear in my previous posts there are a lot of them.

In order for the fog lights to actually work, I'm going to have to get the correct switch and a relay. The relay will be easy, as it plugs into an empty slot on the fuse box specifically for the fog lights. The switch will be a bit more of a trick as I'm going to have to remove my steering wheel in order to place it. Oh boy! Here's to not setting off an airbag come time for that!

Should all go in place well, the fog lights will be indistinguishable from trucks that rolled off the assembly line without them, as I have thusfar used all original Toyota parts. No spliced wires! No nothing!

The other less noticeable mod was a swap from H11 headlight bulbs to H9's for my low beams. What was supposed to be a cheap and easy swap turned into 30 minutes of swearing in the driveway, a cut finger, a lost light bulb in the engine bay, and not a lot to savor for my efforts.

The adapters that arrived were actually designed for an H8-H11 conversion, so I modified the plastic by trimming it away. During which one of the male ends of the adapters nearly split down the middle, sending my knife into my finger. Years of modelling with plastic had me prepared and the injury was truly minor, but piled on the other frustrations I was already feeling. The Passenger side light bulb is incredibly difficult to handle as the fluid reservoir for the windshield wipers blocks my big mitts from easily removing and fastening tightly clipped plastic. To cap things off, both of the new bulbs lightly brushed my fingers, so I hope that there wasn't a significant amount of oil to hamper their lifespan seriously.

After what should've taken 5 minutes ended up taking 30... I found the results to be less than stellar. There's supposed to be a 100% improvement in light output between the H11 and H9, and I really wasn't seeing it. It might be the adapter, it might be the type of bulbs I purchased. Oh well! I plan on eventually getting some retrofitted aftermarket headlamps down the road, so stay tuned for that.

 

[Snaeper]

This was an eventful weekend!

Started it off on Friday by swapping the front (6x9) and rear (6.5") door speakers for Infinity Kappa Coaxials. These would complement the Kicker tweeters I already had in the dash.

The Kappa's are great speakers in terms of build quality, but the best feature is that they have a great range to work with my lousy head unit's power output.

The result was fantastic audio quality despite having no amp or sound deadening. I'm very happy and will be pushing those a little later.

Good thing, too, because a mod I have been putting off just slotted in line...

One of the issues with the Tacoma's is their composite beds. They lack the ridigity that full steel or alloy beds have. Normally, this isn't an issue. However, when you add bed bars and a RTT or a fiberglass shell like I have, it opens the door for the side walls to flex out.

Pictured is the driver and passenger sides of the bed as viewed from the rear and interior looking up. The drivers side has bowed out slightly and it resulted in a good deal of mud entering the bed due to spirited mud driving while I channeled my inner Carlos Sainz (Sr.)

This is thankfully an easy enough fix and will require a ratchet strap and a pair of aftermarket bed stiffeners. I'm actually glad the mud highlighted the issue, although it likely wouldn't have occurred had I not been chasing my friend's Taco down the slick road.

Pics from the camp site and the exterior of our trucks.

We encountered two other Tacomas out and about.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Snaeper]

So I got bed stiffeners the other day, will get a picture of those but they're pretty straightforward and basic.

Still need to finish the wiring of my fog lights *whistles innocently* but there's not a pressing need for them so no biggie. Keep on posing on!

The exciting news is suspension. I have been scouring the earth and researching every suspension option triple overtime. I finally found what I *thought* was going to be my solution: Ironman 4x4's Foam Cell Pro shock absorbers. However there was a persistent voice in the back of my head "Ironman's are good, but Tough Dogs are better." So I researched Tough Dogs. They had quite a few features and benefits, but they were exclusively focussed on the Australian market and haven't even touched development of a Tacoma.

However, I remembered that the Tacoma shares the front strut design with the 4Runner, FJ Cruiser and Land Cruiser Prado (Lexus GX). The FJ and Prado *did* have front struts already designed so I reached out to their US importer.

After a little research we confirmed they would work on the Tacoma, and now we're just sorting out the design for the rear shock. Thankfully, rear shocks are fairly simple and easy to adjust for their applications, and once that is sorted, I might just be the very first Toyota Tacoma to have Tough Dog suspension here in the states!

Having read the boatloads of good ink spilled about them from Land Cruiser guys, I am excited.

 

[Snaeper]

Here is a pic of the bed stiffener mid-install. This is a Total Chaos brand stiffener and is one of the best you can buy. For my needs with work, there was no other option as cheaper stiffeners impede on ingress and egress of the bed too much.

These involve three existing mounting points and three new points. I ended up damaging the hardware on one of the existing points and trekked to ACE Hardware to get replacements.

These should protect the bed sides from splaying in the future and are a must for a Taco.

Here are pics of the installed Kappa Coaxials. These are great speakers and a huge improvement over stock even with my lousy head unit. Sound deadening and an amp are short listed but not urgent ad I'm very satisfied by these units' performance thus far.

 

[Snaeper]

So this ended up happening far sooner than I planned, but it was an opportunity that only presents itself once and I jumped on it.





More details soon.

 

[Snaeper]

Alright, so I kinda detailed the background about these earlier, but here we go again. The Fronts are straight from an FJ/Prado, which is the same as the 4Runner and Tacoma. The rears were easy enough to put together it seems, but I'm slightly disappointed that they came with a rubber boot, rather than the black shield that is shown in Tough Dog's information. I'm guessing that's due to the "custom" nature of the rear shocks, and it will be fine for my uses.

These babies are huge and heavy. Because of the Foamcell insert, they're able to be filled with more shock oil than a gas charged shock, and more oil is in contact with the surface of the extra large shock body, which will improve cooling when compared to a similar, Nitrogen-charged shock. They're twin tubes, so they will ideally last much longer than an aftermarket coilover setup and should ride with the same levels of comfort as my stock suspension.

The thing that set them apart from the other suspension options I was considering was these:

Those little black dials adjust the rebound compression of the shock absorber, allowing me to tailor the ride quality depending on how much I'm carrying and what kind of surface I'm driving on. In the American market, the only other shock that has anything like this is the Rancho RS9000XL, and that's a shock that does not have the reputation for endurance and capability that Tough Dogs have. Otherwise, for me to get rebound adjustments, I'd need to drop $3k+ on top of the line coilovers from ADS, Kings, ICON or Elka. I believe Fox has some more reasonably priced options... but that's in comparison to other coilovers, and are still 2x the price of what these shocks set me back. That's before considering they need to be rebuilt roughly every 30k miles...

In comparison to a Bilstein 5100 that I used to get the rear measurements. The Bilstein is a bit narrower, mostly given that it's a monotube, but is larger than the shocks that came stock on my truck, so these Tough Dogs are monsters by comparison. More surface area means better cooling. I'll say it again and again. Couple that with the foamcell keeping the gas charge from being in contact with the shock oil, means that these shocks will be nearly entirely fade resistant, allowing me to have the best possible off road performance and comfort.

I still haven't installed them as I was waiting for my Add-A-Leaf pack to arrive. I did "a dumb" and waited until the shocks arrived to order something for the rear lift. I decided on AAL's as I would like to eventually get Tough Dog leaf packs (whenever they get to making them, still in the pre-design phase) to complement the suspension. For now the AAL's are from Headstrong Off Road, and are touted as some of the best. They'll be easy to slip in as I've helped install them before.

It will be interesting to see how much lift I get from the fronts. On the one hand, suspension for the FJ doesn't usually give lift to Tacoma's, but these shocks should net 1.5" of lift for an FJ. Then there's the fact that my Tacoma is a four cylinder, so it's lighter than some. I might get no lift, I might get 2"s we'll see. I will be happy either way, really, as I was only looking for a better performing shock and these were the ticket. The rear will definitely be getting a lift as the Add a Leaf's are doing the work and are unequivocally meant for the Taco.

However, if Lift gets up there, I'll be looking at potentially picking up some Upper Control Arms to help the tires stay in alignment, and those start at $450ish for a decent set from a company called JBA, and go all the way up to low four figures for forged/billet/milled pieces from companies like ICON, etc.

Also, I'm eyeing getting SumoSprings for the rear. These will serve the double function of keeping the bed largely level when weight is added, but also work as super bump stops.

 

[Snaeper]

Big Saturday this weekend. My buddy gave me the green light to come over to his garage so we could tear into my suspension and get it installed.

Fronts went in first. Drives side was smooth. Found out putting the bump stops in was kind of a pain in the butt for just one threaded bolt. Passengers side front had a hiccup as the shock was incorrectly assembled so I had to run to AutoZone to rent a compressor. We squeezed the spring and rotated the hat and in it went.

Rear shocks on trucks are silly easy, however adding the Add A Leaf pack was more of a pain. Luckily another buddy of mine showed up to provide insight and gave us a helping hand (and foot). The drivers side was a bit frustrating but we got it done.

Passengers side was a breeze and I practically did it myself while the guys had a chat to catch up (we're all 3rd Gen owners).

Truck gained 1.75" of lift in the front and 2" of lift in the rear. I expect things to settle to 1.5" and 1.5-1.75" in the rear. Overall very happy with the amount and how the truck handles. Looking forward to getting everything torqued to spec and taking it out.

Still waiting for new U bolts for my U bolt flip kit, though. I got it off Craigslist for $40. Normally a $300 kit with $230 Timbren bump stops.

Loving my truck even more now.

Also just finished putting some nice mud flaps on that my brother got me for my birthday belatedly. Truck looks like a real out and about tourer now.

 

[Joey D]

Did it align alright without the control arms? When I lifted my truck I had to the arms to get everything straight. I could've made do without them, but since I was doing a bunch of highway driving I didn't want to be wandering all over the road. I went with Light Racing ones and I don't think I paid a ton for them, they worked great and were reliable. The Icon stuff is pretty, but I always felt like their stuff was geared towards the overland enthusiast that had a bottomless bank account.