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1998 Tacoma extended cab V6 Truggy Build

TIMZTOY

TIMZTOY

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I know I haven't posted on here for quite some time now. But as some of you may know. I sold my 85 Hilux crawler. And moved on down to Florida, which I regret. And I have been Jonesey pretty hard-core for another Rockcrawler. So I just found myself a sweet 1998 Tacoma extended cab V6 four-wheel-drive with a brand-new crate motor in it. So I'm driving 11 hours to go pick this thing up and I'm going to turn into my new truggy. So when I get back to Colorado I'll have my TOY again.
:hill:
 
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MountainGoat

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That is great news Tim! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. Glad you are coming back man. :)
 
FJCDan

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Florida, not a nice place to live, not a nice place to visit.
 
TIMZTOY

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No set date to over back yet.. But I Would say ballpark of 1 year..
My plans for the truck are to go hard core "ish" with this truck. And finally do my truggy that I've been wanting to do.. Mostly because this truck has a lot more rust than I was hoping for.. It also has the frame rust hole issue between the bed and cab location..so cutting the frame in half and doing a truggy would actually solve a lot of issues that could arise by keeping the rusty frame..

I would like to do full width axles.. I'm thinking. Dana 60's not sure.. I haven't researched all of the different options. But I like what kimmel has set up and his seems to work great..

Another issue I'm not sure about yet is the fact that I need the truck to tow a enclosed trailer. And I haven't researched coil overs options enough to know if I can do a 4 link with coilovers (truggy) and still have the abilities to tow...

So what I want, might have to sacrifice a tad for what I need..
Another random thought that might be a issue, is if I truggy it and hook a trailer to it 14' long. I it going to tow oddly because the hitch is closer to the axle as a truggy compared to OEM being several feet behind the axle..
 
TIMZTOY

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.
 

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TIMZTOY

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I have never seen a Toyota truck rust in this location ever..
I either going to patch each hole, or replace the entire roof panel
 

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TIMZTOY

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The tailgate is all that's rusted on the bed surprisingly..
 

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ttubb

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Submerged in sea water at some time? Why the new engine? I think I see rust coming through the front bumpers too.
 
rover67

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crazyness.

What are your plans for it?

cut the back off of it and make it a campermobile? you could french in one of the old yota camper backs and have a neat rig.
 
DaveInDenver

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Recent? Matt, that truck is probably 15 years old and has lived in Florida probably its whole life. The earliest Tacoma is now 19 years old and my white truck would have been eligible for classic plates next year... You remember how bad cars looked after a few winters of road salt, now imagine constant exposure to salt water.

But with that much rust and all the scratches on the roof I would suspect something like being dunked or in a nasty storm, too.

Having just gone through rust inspection and stabilization on the Taco (which we sold last month), my guess is that frame is a total disaster from the cab back and probably the sections under the cab and engine aren't far behind. Tacoma frames are a whole bunch thinner than Hilux. A whole lot.

If it's got a bed liner, the floor is probably gone underneath it, too. The reason the tailgate rusts like that is the plastic bumper top rubs the paint on the bottom lip and gives water a place to get a foothold.

Since you probably got it cheap, it's a good candidate I bet for a tube frame and flat bed! You're just buying a title, frame number, windshield and engine subframe.
 
Hulk

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DaveInDenver said:
Recent? Matt, that truck is probably 15 years old and has lived in Florida probably its whole life.
Click to expand...

Whoa. I keep thinking Y2K was a few weeks ago. :o
 
TIMZTOY

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rover67 said:
crazyness.

you could french in one of the old yota camper backs and have a neat rig.
Click to expand...

not a bad idea.. definitely a different look.. but no, I need my extended cab simply for the leg room when driving


and Dave
the bed is in good shape ( inspected from underneath )
the truck lived its life on the beach. literally.. he had a beach business.. I vacuumed out like 6 lbs. of sand from the interior.. and what I originally thought was stain was just dried sand dust on the plastics.. and wiped right off and looks new now.. :hill:
there was also about 7 gallons of sand in the bed underneath the toolbox. :mad:
the owner stored beach chairs on the roof with out a rack and they would bang and rub on the roof. that's why its rusted.

the frame is rusted in the TSB location between the cab and bed.. there is a hole there. but it doesn't concern me to much as I have had another yoda in the past with the same issue and I fixed it with no welder and little experience. I paied a friend to weld it. now I have lots of experience and tools so its a simple fix to me.
everything that needs replaced due to either neglect, maintence or rust, was going to be removed from the truck and replaced with different parts as long as I keep with my truggy plans..

it I keep the bed on, or keep it IFS (which is stupid :p: ) then there is going to be alot of rust issues..

as for the rust on the roof and windows, if I cant find a easy fix, like replacement panels, or donor panels. then I might make it a convertible (like a Heep).. but then ill loose my need to have the power windows and locks. :(
 
TIMZTOY

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That's what I do :thumb:


But this is the direction I'm wanting to go with the truck !
 

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TIMZTOY

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And
 

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TIMZTOY

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DaveInDenver said:
That truck's got nowhere to carry anything!
Click to expand...

and !!
if I wanted to haul crap, id get a dodge ram or a suv...
besides I know someone who builds pretty good offroad trailers..
**** I bet he'll even make one out of the existing bed and frame assembly.. :hill:
 
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