Dream Build: First-Gen Tacoma With LS Swap
The wizards at JD Fabrication built this LS-swapped Tacoma specifically to tear up the desert — and it’s a beast.
Even bone stock, the first-gen Toyota Tacoma is an awesome rig. If you’ve driven one, however, you know it could use a little more power. Well, as you might be able to tell from these pics, power isn’t a problem here. In this video, James Holquin from Terra Crew takes a look at Arteen Binaei’s period-correct desert destroyer, which was fully built by the wizards at JD Fabrication. At multiple points, it’s referred to as a “luxury pre-runner,” and a “high school dream build.” Both seem like fine descriptions. But after seeing how cool it is? I think you could drop “high school” from “dream build.”
Binaei bought this Tacoma after a dirt bike accident landed him in the intensive care unit, because he wanted something safer to play in the desert with. And while it started life as a 4×4, all the poke now goes to the rear wheels. Given that it was designed to go off-road, that might sound a little counterintuitive. But according to JD Fabrication, with enough power, you don’t need four-wheel drive. That’s definitely been proven right for Binaei, as he says all you have to do is hammer the gas, and this baby will float over anything in its way. Of course, it’s also happy to go airborne, and I’d love to see video of it at Glammis.
This is a thoroughly comprehensive build, meaning from the engine bay, to the cabin, to the bed, everything is fully caged. Up front, there are 2.5-inch coilovers with eight inches of travel, and the setup even features old-school Fabtech bump stops. Notably, the rig retains its stock steering box, which you can pick up at Autozone.
That’s not a bad thing — especially since you can get a lifetime warranty with them. The trick-looking lights on the front end are from Baja Designs, and they’re matched by a flip-up rack on the roof. For wheels, the truck is packing classic units from Walker Evans, which are shod with 35-inch BF Goodrich T/A rubber.
Out back, there’s a 40-gallon fuel cell, King shocks, and a pair of fire extinguishers. There’s also another extinguisher in the cabin, because as Binaei explains, a transmission speed sensor once popped out while driving on the freeway. The coolant loss and the resulting smoke spooked him, so when it comes to his truck? He’s as afraid of fire as Frankenstein.
At this point, the only real plans for the Tacoma are to finish off the cabin, which is already equipped with headsets for communication and a center console that looks lifted straight out of a pre-runner. For carpets, the leading candidate is astroturf, which is perfect given how much time this truck will spend in the sand. Check out the clip to see this LS-swapped Tacoma make the donuts, and cross your fingers that we see some footage of it in its natural habitat soon!
Photos: YouTube
Join the YotaTech forums now!