Ready For Anything - Functional Daily Driver Build

Hi guys, it’s been years since I’ve done a proper build thread, but I had one on the H.A.M.B. that connected me with a lot of good people. It was about a kustom ‘51 Kaiser chop top that I built over eight years and it served me well to have it all documented.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1951-kaiser-dragn-build.272171/

This thread will be about my 2008 Double Cab Limited with the Red Rock leather interior, 5.7 and 4wd. I looked for about six months until I found the exact truck I wanted and my patience paid off.

I purchased my Tundra from a house painter. The truck had a rough life but I knew it was structurally and mechanically sound and was a great base to start with.





We even saw an FJ60 on our way home in the Tundra, one of my all time favorite vehicles. I own an ‘87 FJ60 which we will get back to in a minute.

 

The pics above are from the day I bought it. The seller had a really weird ad with no pics and basically just said “on this date I will be selling my truck for this price. Don’t bother me unless you are ready to buy it.” I bookmarked the ad and came across it again as his date came closer. He seemed a bit standoffish but I figured I would send him a text. It took a few days for him to even respond, but I was able to communicate enough to tell him I was buying it and would like to take it for a Pre Purchase Inspection at his local Toyota dealership. The inspection showed a weeping water pump, and low tires and brakes, but otherwise the truck was all there. The mechanic was cool enough to let me come back and look at the truck while he had it on the lift too. Money well spent!

 

First thing I did was change the oil to synthetic. I like doing this at an even mileage number so it’s easier to remember when to change. Of course I write it down too, but when I’m driving it’s easier to know how much oil life I have left if I can remember the mileage.

 

I didn’t love the look of the oem 20” wheels, I’m more of an off-road guy, and the tires were shot too. I found a set of used Rock Warrior wheels that had to be shipped from a nearby state. Unfortunately the seller did not disclose that they were bent and cracked! After trying to get him to either let me return them or pay for the repairs I gave up. Clearly he was shady and I was getting nowhere unless I wanted to drive to his house. I just had them fixed and moved on. I buy and sell a lot of used auto parts, it’s part of the hobby to me. Most of the time everything works out great but I guess every now and then you’re going to get burned.

 

For tires I decided to try the Falken Wildpeak AT3W. Living in North Carolina, the 3 W’s appealed to me: Wear, Wet and Winter. We get a lot of rain so wet traction is important, and for the 1-2x a year that it snows it’s nice to have good tires and 4hi. The pricing was also great on these tires! I went with 285/70r17 knowing they would fit at stock height and also look good with the mild lift I had planned. These work out to about a 33” tire which IMO is perfect for a daily driver that might see some occasional dirt.

 

Shortly after I got the Tundra the 454 started knocking in my FJ60 so I found an LS-based 6.0 liter truck engine called an LQ9. It was freshly built with a mild cam and related upgrades. The engine was about four hours away so it was time for the first family road trip in the Tundra.

 

My kids loved playing on the roof rack like it was a jungle gym, but after listening to it howl for four hours on that road trip it had to go. I posted it on marketplace that night from the hotel and sold it in the parking lot before we drove home! Worked out pretty well and paid for our trip haha

 

It sure was nice to have my Tundra when it came to picking up the engine and hauling the family in comfort.

 

Good stuff, man! My 2010 was a work truck before I purchased it last year. Enjoying having it as my daily driver now.

 

Thanks man! Do you have a build thread on here?

 

The FJ60 engine swap turned out nice. Enjoying driving it with way more power and double the gas mileage.

 

We sold my wife’s GX470 and had to wait two weeks for her Sienna SE to be delivered by Carvana. I drove the FJ to work every day while she used my Tundra.

 

No, so far it’s all been mostly just fixing some cosmetic stuff. The truck hit a deer at one point, so the front end looked a little funky on day one. I’m adding stuff day by day though. I’ll follow along and if I do anything noteworthy maybe I’ll make a thread!

 

Is there any kind of lift or level with this? That set up looks so good it has me questioning what I’ve been considering with my RW wheels.

 

At that point the suspension was stock. Just the new wheels and tires.

 

Here’s the GX460 we sold.

 

Took the hood deflector off. Really wasn’t digging this look.

 

Found a beautiful TRD PRO at Costco, probably cost about three times as much haha

 

Forgot to mention, this is the Tacoma I sold to buy the Tundra. It had a turbo kit and was lowered. Cool little truck but it couldn’t haul much, and I wanted to be able to pull a car trailer if needed.

 

Installed an oem 2010+ grille. Still thinking about painting the chrome bezel black.

 

How did you guys like the GX470? I was considering getting one for my wife.

 

Highly recommend a GX for a family vehicle. We owned a 470 then this 460 and both were great! The only reason we sold it was because my wife wanted the convenience of sliding doors and the larger third row and cargo area in a Sienna. At least we got a Sienna SE!

 

Got tired of my jumpy gas pedal so I researched on the forum and pulled the shim out. A quick test drive and it seems like the spots in my neighborhood where it surges ahead on bumps and corners are much better. Time will tell. Pedal looks like it was cut at the dealership too, can anyone confirm based on these pics?

 

Installed a new head unit, a Sony with CarPlay since my AUX port was messed up and I was sick of the stock head unit.


I was on the fence about getting the Metra dash kit in gloss or matte black. I’m really glad I got matte.


I purchased the Crutchfield because they give a deep discount on the installation accessories. I got a PAC wiring adapter to retain steering wheel controls, factory sub etc.


While everything was apart I gave each pry a good cleaning. Crazy how many sticky drinks have been spilled in the console/shifter area. Nice to put everything back together nice and clean.

 

Chrome is a nightmare to strip and paint...trust me. Have your dealer order you one that is already painted. Sparks Parts has them for about $180 but my dealer price matched.

 

Installed Diode Dynamics SL1 high and low beam LED bulbs in my headlights. These things work so well! My commute takes me down some dark, windy roads so these were really helpful.

https://www.diodedynamics.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=led+bulbs+sl1+led+bulbs&amnoroute

 

looks good

 

Looks like a nice plug and play option. Did you have to get the CANBUS module with these as well?

 

Looks like mine as well, and I would say yes it was cut. I pulled the shim from mine as well and the jumpyness went away that I had as well