Buyin my First Mini

So 2 days ago i lost control in the rain & i totalled my work van goin 40mph into a light pole and took out a street sign too. i wasnt wearin my seatbelt & im lucky 2 b alive! i found a truck im considering buying this week. its a 01 tacoma



INTERIOR: TWO 4RUNNER BUCKET SEATS CUSTOM CENTER CONSOLE
STERIO: KENWOOD BACKWORDS FLIPOUT MONITOR, MTX AUDIO 10's AND DOOR SPEAKERS
BODY: SHAVED TAILGATE HANDLE, GAS DOOR, AND LICENSE PLATE BOX
BAGS: FIRESTONES, 9 SWITCHES, 5 AND 7 GALLON TANKS, VIAIR COMPRESSOR.
RIMS: VELOCITY 18" 10 SPOKES WITH LOW PRO NEW TIRES.


im 19 years old and ive been a member on this site for a few years now & i have some basic knowledge of how things work, but like i said this will be my first mini truck and im a lil nervous about things but at the same time excited for something new. since i will be using this truck as a daily driver for work (doing tile work) there will be some things ill have to fix ;] as in cloing up the cut part of the bed with sheetmetal and tubbing the fenders and getting everything line-x'd so my tools dont fall through. haha and is there enough room to relocate a 5 and 7 gallon tank and compressors underneath this tiny truck to clear up some bed space? im going to want to do these modifications by myself so im gonna need your guys help! i have experience arc &mig welding, &have my own tools. does anyplace sell prefab sheetmetal for the bed work ill haveto do? thankx alot any help is appreciated

suicidedoors makes this for the bed --> (click me)

You may want to put off any tile werk for a week or so to get the bed ready and the truck prepped to handle the daily chore you are about to hand it.

Good luck.

Oh yeah, glad you made it out OK from the wreck.

aww perfect! thankx bro

one spot i wish i saw utilized on more trucks was the area outside the frame behind the rear tires. a cooler/storage tub is always nice. or stuff a tank on each side there. typically its dead space. the compressor(s) shouldnt be as hard to relocate since its smaller. a sheetmetal shop should be able to sheer you a big square, and put a few bends in it to cover the notch in the bed, and some trailer fenders can be had at big rig or trailer supply shops locally in most areas. if its getting bedlinered, i would suggest running around all non factory seams (notch, tubs, ect) with seam sealer to smooth the look a bit before bedliner. and you could cut cost a bit by sanding the bed down inside, so they dont have to. i would say like 180 should be good. and do the bulk cleaning of it yourself too.

post more pictures of it. it looks good. i like the non tint and the clear tails. really clean. i would cut off the front frame horn tow hooks. they look silly. haha.

get some pics of the suspension, and post them up. Find out who did the work on it also.

a 5 and a 7 gallon air tank? wow. that is a lot of air.

if its your frist vehicle with airride, there aer some basic things you need to know.

how to drive with bags

how to check to see if the bags are rubbing anyting (which if they are they will "blow")

dont drive like a kid with the front all the way up and the rear all the way down, it looks dumb, as well as eats your front tires up

get a buddy who has airride, and go check the truck out really well. you dont want to buy someone elses problems.

and get alot more pics of this truck to post, and the people here can give you ideas if your gettn a good deal.

look under neath to see if this truck has half the frame drug off of it or any other damage

also how much do they want for the truck?

alot of times it easier to start with a stock truck and add the goodies to it for the personal satisfaction of "i built it myself"

but if its a good deal, you got the money, the truck seems solid, your happy, then by all means get it, youll be happy....and addicted

-james

And if you do decide to get it, the tendency with your first mini is to drag the ever living piss out of it. Don't. You will regret it. I'm not telling you not to drag, just be smart about it, and like James said, check the rails and make sure that there is something there left to drag.

only thing i will say is Yota's are awesome.

Make sure you really check it out. mess with the switches, look at the suspension up and down to make sure it doesnt go weird. Post pics for us.

I would try to take someone with me that knew alot.

Derick if you pick it up roll out to the Tropics Lounge there in town Saturday (21st) were throwing a little show and shine up there. She looks clean hope she works out for ya.

So i went to look at it today..it got me thinkin about what i want to do 2 it already haha. i made him an offer at $4600 & he said hed take it. i looked in the local truck trader and cant find any trucks for that price. i have 5 grand as my budget and can spend the rest on fixing the bed area and makin it good 2 go 4 work and my friend said i can use his fabrication shop 2 work on it. I found out Go-EZ customs did the suspension work. it has a wishbone 4 link in the rear. 1/2 lines, bleitzkreig valves? he said it gets about 18" of lift in the front, about 12" in back. it can hop in the front. it Lays Frame but has magnesium? drag blocks so it doesnt f*k up the frame. it has shocks at all 4 corners, rode really smooth and everything looked pretty clean. solid welds, no wearing or rubbing, wasnt a hackjob. needs some minor body work but im not expecting a perfect truck. was missing a rollpan and has a fuel cell mounted in the rear of the bed that is halfway recessed with double tubing that looks like a roll bar but said it was made so somone cant steal the fuel cell .. i would have taken pictures but i only had my cell phone & it was at night time. i think im gonna go with my gut on this one and go for it.id be happy drivin it and i could fix it up the way i like it im gonna go back tommorrow or saturday and look at it one more time with my pops and a buddy of mine that has a bagged s-10. thankx 4 all the great info you guys are headin me in the right direction! im writin all your input down so i dont 4get it