'03 Tacoma Build

[01tundra]

Put up pics anyway. If it looks crappy then you'll make us all feel better about ourselves... You don't have an off-day very often.

I will as soon as the nut clips and bolts show up at the dealership (tomorrow hopefully). Some of the original bolts were rusted, so I broke 7 of the 12 bolts trying to get the lower valance off, figured it was a good time to replace everything.

Of course, breaking things was the name of the game this weekend for me, I managed to break every one of my 1/2" drill bits....my wrists still hurt ! Funny how it's always the "simple" projects that end up biting you.....

Things got ugly in the shop last night .

 

[TangoBlue]

I didn't hear about any tornadoes going through TN last night...

 

[01tundra]

I didn't hear about any tornadoes going through TN last night...

Ha.....I still haven't beaten my old record though !

 

[juicebox]

Were those DeWalt titanium drill bits? I just bought a set of those and my 1/2" drill bit chipped.

 

[01tundra]

Yep, a few of them were. The best bits I've ever bought were some plain old, ugly, black oxide drill bits from Grainger years ago. Seems like all these new plutonium coated super bits basically suck. Those gold ones chip like glass almost.

 

[Derek24]

Ahh you posted pics of the truck of that of which we don't speak....Looks good!

 

[Box Rocket]

Just noticed your welder. Which model Hobart do you have? And how do you like it? I just bought a new Handler 187 that should be here next week. I've got a couple projects I'm itchin to start on so I'm getting anxious.

 

[jim65wagon]

I didn't hear about any tornadoes going through TN last night...

I was thinking earthquake......

 

[01tundra]

Just noticed your welder. Which model Hobart do you have? And how do you like it? I just bought a new Handler 187 that should be here next week. I've got a couple projects I'm itchin to start on so I'm getting anxious.

That's a Handler 187 and I love it. Won it as the "most carnage on the trip award" from the '08 UA......I figure that welder cost me about $5k ! I took it home and decided to try it out and then either sell it or the brand new Miller 185 I had just purchased, to me the Hobart welded better, so the Miller went.

 

[01tundra]

I hope to have the winch wired up and the bumper back together tonight if all goes well. I won't have the in-cab switches for a few more weeks since 12VoltGuy is running a little behind right now. I'm going to go ahead and have the switch leads ran out of the control box so it will be easy to wire once the switches get here. Putting the solenoid pack between the battery and fenderwell on the driver's side, I relocated the remote control plug to the top of the solenoid cover last night and started making up my cables.

 

[01tundra]

Well.....so much for a hidden winch . I can at least say that it definitely wasn't due to lack of effort.

 

[TangoBlue]

What winch?

What winch? Oops - I see it now... I was distracted by the neatness of the garage.

You sound like my Grandma... we would rave about the incredibly delicious Sunday supper she would whip up, and she would say it wasn't as good as she'd hoped.

That looks great! Considering the space you had to work with and all the reinforcement you added to a notoriously weak area, I think it turned out beautifully. Do you have any tow/shackle points tucked in there someplace? Where did you place your solenoid? I ended up sticking mine below the airbox - there happened to be a couple holes with captured nuts that lined up perfectly with the solenoid mount.

However, I'm still taking bets on a pool for when you decide to build a new front bumper.

 

[01tundra]

Ha....I'm my toughest critic....what can I say, it could always be built better in hindsight in my mind.

The solenoid pack is right next to the battery, same place I had it in my Tundra, you can see it in the third picture down. I move the remote plug to the top so it would be easy to access, even though once I get the dash switches in, the controller will just be under-seat decoration !

I may paint the chrome drum lever black, I think that's what is jumping out in my eyes the most.

It would be simple to build a bumper, but I really wanted to keep as close to factory look as I could. The back was not an option, since the hitch hung down so low and the rear bumper was rusting. I actually shaved a substantial amount of weight off with the rear bumper build. I'm shooting for as light weight as possible for this rig.......less is more!

 

[TangoBlue]

Well, you did a superb job. Meritorious pat on the back! I look at the drum lever as a teaser... "hey, there's something special about that bumper." Shackle points? Just in case you need to give me a tug at GSMTR next May.

I'm shooting for as light weight as possible for this rig.......less is more!

Truer words have never been said... especially with the 3RZ (me). Did you get a before weight for comparison? Pre-SAC and post-SAC was a miraculous wash - 4400 pounds courtesy of the Stafford dump scales.

 

[01tundra]

I've got a receiver shackle for the rear and planning on just using the factory attachment points up front.

I didn't get a chance to weigh it stock, specs say 3,705#. I was shooting to keep it 4K or under.....the tundra was pushing 7K and that was the downfall of having a full-sized rig IMO. I added somewhere around 90# in sliders, 120# in skids, 65# winch, 50# winch mount, and probably 50# in misc., that would put it around 4,080#. So say 4,100#, but I bet I lost 100# in receiver hitch and rear bumper. I need to get it on a set of CAT scales soon to see what it actually is.

GSMTR - we're there !