Bfaulken's build thread "Duke"

[Bfaulken]

2001 SR5 4x4 3.4 V6, Auto
Dorado Gold
bought stock in March, 2012 w/174k in Colorado.

This will be a slow build on a college student's budget...:cry2:
but the plans for the next few years are glorious!

Stock (minus running boards):

Current:

Current Mods
Lift: Front - Toytec/Eibach Coils & Bilsteins 5100s
Rear - LC 7.5/8 wraps & Tokico Trekmasters (for '93 LC)
-Diff Drop
Armor: -Home-built rear bumper
Electronics: -DRL on/off Toggle
-AndyMod 2.0
Entertainment: -Pioneer AVH-P1400DVD head unit
-12" Kenwood Sub & Amp
Exterior: -Removed Running Boards
-Plastidipped Emblems
-Grill Mod
Engine: -ISR Mod
-Elbow Removed
Wheels/Tires: -17x8.5 MB Motoring Vortex wheels
-285/70/17 Yokohama Geolander AT-S tires

Future Mods
-Cargo Deck/Drawers with integrated sub/amp
-Upgraded door speakers
-CB Radio/PA system
-Home-made front bumper
-Off-road lights
-Roof rack
-Sliders
-Skids
-Aftermarket Muffler


Not in any order yet, I'm still figuring out the plan.
Like I said, this will be a LONG process.

Thanks to everyone on here for dozens of ideas for mods, maintenance, and general advice.

 

[Bfaulken]

First mod I did was getting rid of the chrome on the back. Plasti-dipped them Black

 

[Bfaulken]

Next came the Head Unit, but no pics. So on to the next "mod", my LEAST favorite by far...I was cut off in traffic, then the car slammed the brakes right in front of me...bummer.

 

[Bfaulken]

The only reason I was even driving the day I got in my wreck was because I went to a local shop to get pipe cut for the ISR mod, so that came as soon as I got my car back.

The sound is noticeable at and above about 3,000 RPMs and I love it, although I don't really notice much of a power gain.

 

[Bfaulken]

Ordered some switches, bought some 18 gauge wiring and connectors, and tackled my DRL's and the AndyMod 2.0. Everything works perfectly, although I haven't gotten to see the AndyMod in real action yet.

 

[Bfaulken]

Removed the running boards a couple weeks ago. Now on to my first "big" mod. I got some LC 7.5/8 wraps, then sanded and painted them orange (just like my ISR pipe). To go with those, I got some Tokico Trekmasters for a '93 FJ80. For the front, I got the Toytec/Eibach coils with Billy 5100 adjustables (Taco's), with Toytec's diff drop. Install Took a little longer than expected, as always, due to the fact that the top bolts of the strut assemblies were seized. I ended up just buying new top plates from NAPA after an hour and a half of prying, twisting, and hammering socket wrenches...To get the front assemblies on the truck, I slid the top into the three holes and loosely secured it with the nuts, then used the spare tire jack to pry the UCA down far enough to get the lower bolt in. Sorry, no pics but there is one somewhere in another thread on the forum.

Rear Coil Comparison:

Finished Lift:

 

[GSPRunner]

Lookin good so far brother, and I like the future plans. And for being on a college students budget, you're doing pretty well! Get some new meats on there and that rig will be looking tough!

 

[Bfaulken]

Lookin good so far brother, and I like the future plans. And for being on a college students budget, you're doing pretty well! Get some new meats on there and that rig will be looking tough!

Thanks man, & new rubber should come in the next couple months. I'll need need to replace these anyway at that time so why not upgrade then, when I've saved up more $$$. My T4R budget is officially gone as of the lift and any more money for a while will go in the bank for school stuff. Gahh I hate being responsible! :redbrick:

 

[Bfaulken]

bad OTRE

I took it in to get aligned today (post-lift install), and they told me the driver side OTRE pretty much fell apart as they were adjusting the car...I assume this is to be expected/normal with 180k miles on the vehicle?

Only had them replace the one, but will watch for signs of the other one going bad, especially since I'll be driving it 2000 miles from Florida to Colorado in 3 weeks for school. Good news is the print-out looks like they got it aligned back to specs, which I wasn't completely expecting after the lift!

 

[Bfaulken]

Grill Mod

When I got in the wreck, the grill basically fell off, so I thought it was broken. I took it off to tie the hood down (sketchy) and threw it in the apartment. When the truck was in the shop, I looked at the grill and saw that it was fine, just had some broken clips! So I bought some paint & bondo and went to work. I originally was painting it black but the last can I bought was mis-marked and ended up being Charcoal/gray. I kinda like it, since it matches the bumper trim, and the black emblem and screen behind it give some nice contrast.

 

[Bfaulken]

Elbow removed

No pics, but I was bored the other day so I removed the elbow off my airbox. The sound is noticeable in higher RPMs, although it still doesn't compare to the F-150 I sold before getting the Runner...V8, dual Flowmasters, sounded fantastic...

 

[TCMach]

Looks real good man. Maybe I'll see you around FoCo or something. I totally understand what you mean by college budget, although my bigger problem is not having anywhere to work or tools to do it with.

 

[Bfaulken]

new shoes!

Look what the UPS man brought!!! More presents to come on Thursday morning arty:

On another note, I have a set of 5-stars for sale, with tires on them that can be used for another few months.

 

[JWaldz]

Lookin good! Love the switches lol.

 

[Hepar]

Dig it! Build is coming along great. Especially on a college budget. All my extra funds in college went to riding the hills. Not much extra after that.

 

[Bfaulken]

Lookin good! Love the switches lol.

Thanks! Wanted to have a little fun with it lol

Dig it! Build is coming along great. Especially on a college budget. All my extra funds in college went to riding the hills. Not much extra after that.

Thanks, & yeah I know what you mean! Lately I've been surviving on cheese quesadillas, PB&J, and Spaghettios to save money for snowboarding trips and the new wheels (Gotta thank my Dad for helping me out with tires). Looks like I'll be doing a lot of housework for him when I'm back for Thanksgiving... :whipping2 haha

 

[Bfaulken]

yay?

Well ya know how things rarely go as planned? My morning in a nutshell, cost me about $350 more than I'd hoped. Went to Discount Tire with my steelies to get some 285's mounted, and the wheels my idiot self bought didnt clear the brake caliper (not enough depth to the rim)...So The guy showed me the only wheels he had in stock that would fit, and gave me a discount on them since i didnt have much choice. So I've joined the ranks of 17" wheels!
Way more flashy than i originally wanted, but I don't dislike them, and they go with my chrome bumpers (for now). Mounted w/ 285/70/17 Yokohama Geolander AT-S that were really cheap.
So if anyone wants steelies, they'll fit if you're running spacers...Make me an offer!

 

[TCMach]

Diggin the rims man. I did the same thing on my first set of rims (summit racing d windows). They didn't even come close to clearing the caliper haha. Oh well I ended up with wheelers type b rims and it all worked out. I'm totally jealous of your toytec front lift. I can't wait to swap my Tunda TRD coils for Toytec/eibach coils.

 

[Bfaulken]

Diggin the rims man. I did the same thing on my first set of rims (summit racing d windows). They didn't even come close to clearing the caliper haha. Oh well I ended up with wheelers type b rims and it all worked out. I'm totally jealous of your toytec front lift. I can't wait to swap my Tunda TRD coils for Toytec/eibach coils.

Yep, Summit Racing. Did you end up returning them or sell them, & how much did you make back?
And the Toytec lift is awesome, I love the ride. Plus whenever I get around to getting armor I can move it up a notch to compensate for the extra weight

 

[TCMach]

Yep, Summit Racing. Did you end up returning them or sell them, & how much did you make back?
And the Toytec lift is awesome, I love the ride. Plus whenever I get around to getting armor I can move it up a notch to compensate for the extra weight

I returned them but they were a gift so the return shipping wasn't on my dime. If I were you I would try and sell them, shipping wasn't to pretty if I remember correctly.