1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

I know its a small, sweet little detail that can make all the difference.

Thats why I'm curious on something that can be hidden inside the bed walls. Not necessarily a universal kit like what @Professional Hand Model adapted on his.

Something thats hidden, and makes you wonder "Just how does this work, exactly?"

Thats what I used to wonder about my buddy's tacoma until I read that thread. The information in my brain clicked together to form knowledge.

 

Its been a while since studying the mechanism on the turd gen, but I believe the closer pivots on or is attached to a dial that rotates on a post.

 

I know it's not what you are saying, but what I'm hearing is replace tailgate hinge pins with those auto-close spring hinges used on steel fire doors used in factories.

 

Now there's a thought!

I agree, probably not. It would be interesting to see how it works anyways. Thank you for offering pics.

Might be a worthwhile investigation.

 

Red rotors? You mean calipers? My understanding is the 2005 and 2006 has the bigger calipers already so I shouldn’t have to replace those.

 

I know this is quite different than what you are describing but for just under $25 the Hopkins Easylift torsion bar is really easy to install, fits our first gen trucks and while is isn't completely hidden, it's pretty unnoticeable when installed. It makes closing the tailgate so much easier. For me it was $25 well spent. https://www.tundras.com/threads/adding-tailgate-assist.71398/#post-1841685

 

Ordered a shopping list of parts for the VW beetle. New door mirrors, alternator belt, a few fuel filters, some fuel hose, battery terminal covers, 2 air filters, a battery mat and an oil filter for just over $100 shipped. I forgot how cheap these cars can be to shop for!

 

Shove a proper turbo Porsche motor in there and bills go up, but so does the fun

 

Porsche motors are too expensive and probably wouldn't be much quicker than the motor I have. This car could pull 12.9 before it went into storage many years ago, full steel body and little 165 tires.

 

Nice. Gotta love the Chapman philosophy, keep it light and simple.

 

Yup. Looks are so deceiving too, I've had a few unsuspecting victims back in the day. The 2074 im running is probably in the ballpark of 150 horsepower pushing about 1800lbs. With the low end torque and short geared transmission its pretty damn fun. I stored it for about ten years while I lived in apartments, now its time to play again.

 

You would love a Honda S2000, more fun than 2 midget strippers mud wrestling naked. I regret selling it.

 

Maintaining a 930 engine isn't that bad. Buying one is unbelievably expensive.
Also, NA all the way.
12.9 is damn respectable.

Makes my 200whp/2250lb 911 feel portly and underpowered! Gotta get some more weight out of my hog. I literally spent an entire Sunday a few weekends ago drilling holes in my 911 to honor Mr. Chapman.

While the s2k is arguably the second best Honda ever built, it can't touch a beetle for visceral, low-budget fun.

 

Speaking of fun cars, I was poking around for affordable, fun cars and went and test drove this:



It was an 1:15 drive, and a waste. That car had issues. The smoke out of the tail pipe told me it had a shot turbo. The car wasn't much faster than my SHOs, but should've been. Suspension rattled like my truck. Hail damage. Rock chips. I offered them 5k and they said no. I listed all the problems and they didn't seem to care. Oh well.

I did find a mazdaspeed 6 in the dfw I may have to go check out if it's still there in 2 weeks.

 

Yeah. This is the route I’d have taken if I knew about it before doing the gas strut. The strut costs more at around $40 and is more technical in terms of installation. It also doesn’t assist in the close which isn’t as big a deal as the open IMO.

Only thing about the torsion bar is drilling into the body which might void my warranty.

 

I had one of those back in 2001...it was like a 240HP Go-Cart....one of the funnest cars I've ever driven...

 

Always liked those, if I didn't have too many cars already I would look for one. Its like the real man's miata lol

 

Im so jealous of u guys down south. U can't drive 5 mins without seeing 20 year old toyotas with ZERO rust. In fact, as im typing this a 99 landruiser and a 01 step side fugly bed tundra were driving behind my parking space. They're probably looking at all the black goo on my frame like "wtf"

 

Who knows the nut size/thread pitch for the rear O2 sensor studs? I'm thinking @Professional Hand Model or @empty_lord know without thinking.

Got all four (plus the tools PHM recommended), gonna knock them out tonight in the bay after work.

 

I have no idea. I ordered and picked them up from the Local Stealer.

 

For those of you with or those wanting to switch to LED headlights here is a good article to read.

 

Ordered from Dealer. Fronts tonight, rears tomorrow then.

 

I think m8x1.25... it’s been a long time. M6x1.0 if they’re 10mm bolts.

 

@chrisb
I haven’t been in a bug in a few decades so I cannot compare it to the S2K. I had a ‘00 with 4.77 gears, CR sway bars and fortune auto digressive struts with Swift springs, that little thing was a near death experience everyday and boy was it fun

 

Quick anecdote.
My friend Matt had a 67 beetle standard when we were kids. That car was so light and low that one day right before we hit a bump in the road, Matt pulled up/back on the steering wheel like he was riding his [BMX] bike. It's been 25+ years and that image still cracks me up.

 

Lol in my first beetle I remember hitting top speed and my friend and I would rock forward in our seats like we could push it from inside, swear it worked. When I fixed the speedometer we saw proof that it would go up slightly during the thrust.

 

If you get close enough to a tractor-trailer, you can turn a beetle all the way off and just ride the draft at freeway speeds.
**unbelievably, incredibly unsafely close**