Gabriel's 1st Gen 2004 DC Tundra Build

GoodEnoughforGabe

Adventurer
The Rig:
-2004 Toyota Tundra Limited DC
-4.7 V8, Automatic
-4x4 & Factory Rear LSD
-Tan Leather Interior

Modifications:

Powertrain:
-AFE Cold Air Intake
-Magnaflow 40 series Cat Back

Suspension:
-Bilstein 5100's in the front with Emu 887 coils
-1.5 inch block in the rear (ArchiveGarage Shackle flip on its way to correct this)
-Removed front anti-roll/sway bar

Tires:
-Winter: Blizzak W965 265/70/R17
-Summer: BF Goodrich ATKO

Armor: (on its way thanks to Relentless Fabrication and Wrenchmonkey_)
-"Honeybadger" front bumper
-Custom built high clearance rear bumper with bedside protection & fully welded recovery points

Bed:
-Snugtop Canopy w/ sliding windows and front fold up window to connect with the rear power window on my cab
-RhinoRack w/ Roadshower and Tepui Autana Ruggedized

Electrical:
-Northstar 27M battery w/ 900+ CCA

Sound:
-Kenwood 2 din Bluetooth touchscreen deck
-400 watt 4 ch Amp powering:
-JL 3 way crossovers in the front with custom bamboo baffles, 2 way Pioneer speakers in the rear
-Kenwood 10inch and Amp

_______________________________________

The time has come, for me, to start my build thread. I'm doing this to document my build, encourage me to get out there more, learn along the way, and snap more photos. Please feel free to comment and contribute advice if you'd like.

Here goes nothing...

My passion for mechanical things and kinesthetic learning goes all the way back to fond childhood memories of building Lego's. I bought my first car when I was almost 15, more than a year before I had my drivers license, after I had finally saved up enough money (a whopping 1000$) and purchased my sister's (now ex) boyfriend's 1996 Subaru Outback with a pancake 2.5L and severe overheating issues coming from blown head gaskets (the 96-99 are notorious for this). Financially speaking, I should have never even purchased the car, let alone do what I did next to it, but hell, NO RAGRATS (not even one single letter?), the process of the JDM Engine Swap made for a great Intro to Cars 101 class if nothing else. My dad and I wrenched on this thing, and it made for a great Intro to Cars 101 class. I got to learn all the basics hands-on, understanding how an automatic transmission works, two head gaskets on a pancake (never buying a flat engine again unless its a Porsche :smiley_drive:), and the simple important things like fluids and torque specs. I fell in love with the feeling of having completed something with your own sweat, tears and blood (literally). I became a Knucklebuster, and to this day the feeling of wearing thick, restrictive gloves just doesn't do it for me like the having grease, oil, or splinters on your hands. Long story short, the damn thing started overheating again, probably had a blown head gasket already off the boat from Japan, and as I needed a reliable daily driver I started to get frustrated, more so every day I had to pull over on the side of the road, pop the hood open and let the engine cool off, once at my H.S. but hey this built character too. Best believe I was a lady killer with that maroon legacy outback ;)...
What better for my first REAL car then a 1986 Benz 190e 16v manual getrag (If you don't know what these are, look em up they are quite awesome). I finally had something I could chuck into and out of corners, a true drivers car, It was built like a big, husky German woman should be and didn't (always) leave me stranded on the road - we got it for 5k so it worked out well. I still own the beaut to this day, I call her Bella, but we'll save that thread for when I'm ready to really rip into her and give into the money pit.

Onto the main show let's get things on the road, or off the road I suppose. :elkgrin:

I bought myself a meticulously maintained, single owner 2004 Toyota Tundra Limited DC. I got it at my local Ford dealership actually, the guy had traded in for a brand new F-150 (he probably regrets this now). At the very back of the users manual I found a maintenance record with the owners name and number on it, and before purchasing the truck from the dealership decided to give the gentleman a ring. With no stake in whether or not I bought it, the guy walked me through how meticulously he maintained the thing and drove a single horse trailer back and forth to Texas many times for his daughter with it. Lots of highway miles and over-maintenance, he assured me. The Tundra certainly looked it and drove like it, but it's a good reassurance to have when buying from a dealership, you all know how they try and cheat you and hide all the blemishes. I was sold.

Here she is shortly after I first made the purchase, up in the hills of Lake Chelan. (Please excuse the low quality camera photos, from now on I'll do my best to bust out the Canon :rolleyes:
Chelan.jpg

We've been on quite a few adventures, but not nearly enough as much I'd like (My copilots are in there on this one)
Beach Day.jpg
(Lets Go Places: I know, I know, 1) I'm a toyota fan what can I say 2) I lost the original image

I don't have many recent pictures, but Ill do my best to snap some this upcoming weekend.

That's it for now. I'll list my Mods at the top in an edit, and keep it updated as I go along. Lots on the way. I'm excited for this journey, and hearing what all of you have to say.

Thanks for reading, cheers.
-Gabriel
 
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HighPlains

Observer
Awesome, glad to see another 1st gen double cab owner! Im curious where and how you have your sub situated in the cab, been trying to devise the best plan for adding one to mine. I also have an '04 double cab.
 

GoodEnoughforGabe

Adventurer
Thanks for the comments!

Awesome, glad to see another 1st gen double cab owner! Im curious where and how you have your sub situated in the cab, been trying to devise the best plan for adding one to mine. I also have an '04 double cab.

Right now I have a small box with a 10" behind the Passenger seat, it works but I'd like to have it be more discreet so I'm going to do the dual shallow 8" baffle under the rear driver's side seat, this seems to be the most holistic install we can do on our DC's.
 

GoodEnoughforGabe

Adventurer

Wow, I did not realize anyone had managed to fit a shallow 10 inch in that area! I had seen the dual 8's, but never a 10, thanks for sharing.


My bumper from Wrenchmonkey_ was scheduled to be delivered today but damn customs took a few too many hours to clear it. I might be able to get my hands on it tonight if It makes it to my local UPS facility, I'll post some pics.

On a personal note, I was out of town up in the mountains staying at a cabin this weekend with a bunch of my buddies, going skiing all day, snowshoeing, and :ylsmoke: it was a blast! It worked out perfectly for me with the girlfriend up north visiting her grandma so we got to have a guys weekend. My buddy has one of the new DJI Mavics that fold up small enough to toss in a backpack, he got some awesome footage up on the mountain of us goofing around. The damn thing is amazing, makes we want one, but $$$... my ladies have to come first, truck parts and valentines day :Wow1:

32050105604_0184a6ff99_k.jpg
[/url]DJI_0044 by Gabriel, on Flickr[/IMG]

32739140232_1cc80c87fd_k.jpg
[/url]DJI_0044 by Gabriel, on Flickr[/IMG]

32739136772_298e6d425c_k.jpg
[/url]DJI_0039 by Gabriel, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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GoodEnoughforGabe

Adventurer
My valentines present arrived yesterday!

18f418b123aefd12dc2384de8f978b29.jpg


ce9378afc699433feb2c34d3624d3386.jpg

I'm sure it was a lot more fun to unwrap then it was for Scott (Wrenchmonkey_) to package it, he did a great job and it got here timely with no issues...
Doing business with him was a pleasure, and I would recommend anyone ordering or trading with him to go ahead, as he is trustworthy and friendly. Sometimes doing trades or purchasing over forums with people you have never met can be scary, but it's good to know there are honorable people out there still. Side note, his fabrication and welding skills are phenomenal.

Gonna attempt the install tonight!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

wrenchMonkey_

Adventurer
Awesome Gabe. Glad to see it arrived in good shape. Ya, it wasn't the most fun thing to wrap but Id rather do that then of dealt with it being shipped on a pallet.

Look forward to seeing the install.
 

GoodEnoughforGabe

Adventurer
Made my first cuts Thursday night, things are going pretty smoothly. Forgot to take a picture but I sanded the bumper down to bare metal, that took a solid 4 hours with a 5 inch rotary sander and nearly 15 sheets of sandpaper. Gonna prime it and then spray a nice layer of black enamel on it tomorrow.

The way its sitting in these photos is about one inch lower than it will sit when its all set and done.

da029d1eb8e64f1c37ab1e5f051e2d41.jpg

b4e3a8e896e942fdd326b6f0d14b17d8.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

character zero

dangerfoot
Yo! How's your build progressing? I've come back to modify my truck and get some inspiration from the forum and like what you had laid out!
 

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