Tacoed Tundra project

Not gonna lie, I had this image in my head as I was reading it!

 

I’ve been searching for about a year for a truck exactly like this one. I think the seller and i both got a good deal.

 

The definition of a good deal is when both parties leave the table unhappy

 

The interior was pretty darn dirty. Luckily it didn’t smell as terrible as it looked. There was still a handful of corn nuts in the bag. I’m not a fan of potato chips, so i passed on eating the rest of them as well.

I vacuumed out the interior, then used a leaf blower, then removed the seats, carpet, and, trim. I blasted the whole dog gone interior with the pressure washer...including the dash.

I used about 1.5 gallons of Purple Power cleaner on the carpet. I was VERY pleased with the results!

 

It took me about 4 hours to remove the transmission. Another 1.5 hours later and the engine was out of the bay. I had to air down my front tires to about 2psi in order for the oil pan to just kinda clear the core support.

 

At first i was wondering where the green truck came from. But i figured it out.

 

After i pulled the engine i used more Purple Power to clean the entire engine bay.


Before





After

 

Yeah, it has a super crappy Earl Scheib paint job. The story is that a previous owner wanted his truck to look like a work truck, so he wanted his lovely green truck painted a mundane white. I would have REALLY liked to have a green Tundra! I’m just going to have to look past it...every time i look at the truck. I’ll have to remind myself that i paid $1000 for it.

 

Some of these are amazing reference pics. Like the back of the engine & the trans & empty engine bay & cab without carpet.

 

I have no idea how old the currently timing belt that’s in my 2000 tundra. To play it safe, i did some ordering of parts. UPS delivered a timing belt kit today (the Toyota transmission filter arrived yesterday). In my head, the only option was to use genuine Toyota parts. It should be much quicker and easier to replace those parts with the engine out of the truck.

 

All this work i did last week on the truck. The absolute only reason i haven’t pulled the drivetrain out of my wrecked 2000 4x4 is because i’m still gathering firewood out of the woods. I don’t want to trash this new 2004 tundra right off the bat. I need to cut load up, split, and stack about 3 more cords before i can disassemble the 2000...except that the log splitter broke earlier this week. Hopefully parts will arrive tomorrow and i can split wood for the rest of the weekend.

 

At this point i’m after some information from the hive...

So i have a 2000 4wd and a 2004 2wd.
-Can i use 2004 2wd spindles with my 4wd hubs?

-are the 2004 2wd upper and lower control arms the same as the 2000 4wd control arms?

-i know ball joints are different between years, but that’s about all i know. Can the older style ball joints fit on any of the 1st gen control arms?

Also another question...i know ABS is a debate, but my 2000 4wd AC SR5 doesn’t have ABS. Is it worth swapping out the 2004 ABS system with my 2000 brake system?

 

I'm watching with great interest! I have some informed opinions on your questions, but my opinions are only worth what you paid for them (in this case nothing).

I believe that the spindles are different from 2000 to 2004, as are the ball joints. Accordingly, the lower arms should be different as well. Since you're most likely to need a sawzall to remove the arms, maybe just buy new lowers for your soon to be 4WD 2004. I believe the uppers are the same for both years.

There are no hubs, per se, so the best plan in my mind is to bring your 2000 4WD spindles to the new truck (and therefore buy new 2000 lower arms to use in the 2004).

You're going to need to run the 2000 ECU in the 2004 to support the 4WD. I don't believe that ECU supports ABS, so the argument is moot. However, in any case the ABS requires "tone rings" and sensors which are present at each wheel location (in the spindle/hub and rear axle), so you would need major upgrades/swap outs to get ABS running. Not worth it IMHO.

 

Nice production! Epic!

 

Wow, amazing resurrection! Love it & in for the results!

 

Mmmmmm.... doubledick gasket...

 

While i have the front suspension apart i’m thinking about possibly buying a mid travel suspension kit. I’m only after 1-1.5” of height. I was looking at the Fox Factory 2.5 coilovers with DSC adjusters, and Camburg uni-ball upper control arms. This truck will be seeing a decent amount of tarmac so i want to keep it quite streetable. But at the same time i’d like to be able to get a bit more performance off the road as well. I’m not going to be driving driving fast though the desert. Just slower speed stuff. The problems i’ve heard with the suspension parts that i mentioned are-
-the Camburgs UCL are difficult to align.
-the Camburg Uni balls squeak and makes noises.
-The Fox shocks have too stiff a valving.
-The Fox Spings are too still as well.

My buddy is just recommending to install some Bilstein 5100 at all four corners with a 1~2” spring spacer. And to stick with ball joints.

I do plan to install a winch and winch bumper at some point, so there will be extra weight over the front end.

Does anyone have some input about the Fox shocks and Camburg uni-balls in my particular truck?

 

Fantastic read. Like everyone else, I'm duly impressed with the work you've accomplished.

AAA+++

 

I don't have any input, but I do want to say that I would like to hang out with OP for a few days.

 

Ok so you want a work truck...cut the donor truck's frame somewhere up under the cab and make yourself a trailer out of the taco'd truck.

 

Well. This is one crazy ass story of Toyota toughness. Holy crap. You're in good company OP.

 

Make sure to bring your truck, ibuprofen, and a cape. I'm sure we could easily find enough high jinks in those few days to create some timeless memories.

 

hmm. impressive it still drove ok enough with the frame mangled like that.. i too rebuild derelicts


love seeing this ol things kept alive (even if it means cannibalizing other ones)

 

At that lift height, you don't really need aftermarket upper control arms, if the OEM are good, I'd just run those. Bilstein 5100 are a super solid inexpensive option. How are the rear leaf springs?

 

I like this idea.

 

Me too! And OP is definitely handy enough to pull it off (or at least as handy as some of the redneck videos I've seen online). Hell, it would even be color-matched! Could keep beating that bed up loading firewood for the rest of the green/white truck's life.

 

See? And y'all wonder why I live where there are no trees. Evil bastards.

 

One of my friends recommended me to do that as well. No doubt it’s a great idea, but i just don’t have use for a trailer that small. If it were an 8’ bed off of a single cab truck, then it might be a totally different story for me. Then again, if i had an 8’ Tundra bed, i’d probably just stretch the frame on my Access Cab and plop the 8’ bed on it.

I currently have a 8’ truck bed trailer that i made when it converted my old 77 F250 2wd truck into a 4x4 “lowboy”. That full size bed has been an excellent firewood hauled over the years. I found a pair of Timbren bumpstops at the junkyard and installed them in the trailer. I also found a parking brake handle out of an old 70’s F350 chassis cab U Haul truck. I then hooked that brake handle up to the existing Dana 60’s parking brake cables. It works awesome when parking the trailer on a incline so i don’t have to chock the tires. I can also run a padlock through the handle to keep the wheels locked up 100%. I also welded in a little platform on tongue to bolt down a 4’x2’x2’ Greenlee job box. It works perfectly to store the chainsaws, fuel, and other equipment.