I scored bigtime yesterday. Found a YT'er selling some 96 Taco wheels with 31 inch Goodyears in great shape. All I had to do was drive to the Dallas area to pick 'em up. Welp, I can't tell you how much better it looks and getting it one step closer to the trail weekend in Jan, the rig is just about all set. Just gotta put the BW flares on next. Had the OME 900's put on late last week, new wheels yesterday...man, it's lookin' great! I'm looking forward to even worse gas mileage now...can't wait.

I'm going to have the wheels sandblasted soon though. There are some rough spots in the finish. Also, since the front axles stick out a little further, apparently, than the 96 Tacoma, the center caps don't fit. I have to get out my Dremel and carve out a little bit...but otherwise, here are some pics...I couldn't be happier with how it's progressing.


Before, with the itty bitty tires on and HUGE wheel gap...



Problem solved...big tires!

 

The taco wheels look good on there Greg. It is definately an improvement from the small tires you had before.

 

Looks good,I want bigger tires on mine now.

 

What is this trail weekend of which you speak? Local event? Can Tacos play too?

/feeling guilty for hardly ever wheeling my truck

 

Thanks guys...I'm really happy with how it looks and drives, too.

Roger, the trail weekend is open to anything. Check out www.treesranchoffroad.com ... the event I'm shooting for is the last weekend in January. It's not just a Toy thing, it's open to all who want to play...should be lots of fun, it'll be my first outing. Seems like a good group...near Kerrville.

 

that looks really clean..nothing like OEM..good deal.

 

Looking good man! Looks like you had rubberbands on that thing! I would suggest taking out the rear center caps also. I like the way those style wheels look w/o the caps better that with. Also it looks kind-of odd with one in and one out... Thats what I did when I had my stockers on there

 

Yea, that brings up a question. On the other wheels, the caps were like big cups, covering the whole axle sticking out. On these wheels, the fronts are completely open in the middle? That surprised me...

I was thinking about fab'ing up something to cover the hole in the front caps. And put a Toy badge on there somehow. But yea, it looks kinda uneven now with one on one off. Hmmmm...

I may just take the rears off until I figure out what I'm gonna do with the fronts.

And yea, nice to have the rubberbands off!

 

What are the black rims you took off and what is their status? For sale?

Mike

 

Truck looks good BTW!

 

Nice score! Man, what a difference. Looks awesome.

 

That looks a lot better! Those old tires are tiny!

 

Thanks, guys...!

Not to rub it in or anything, but I got all 4 wheels and tires for 175 bones. The tires are in great shape, I'm sure I'll see 25K out of them...

BLKNBLU, the old wheels are stockers, too. A while back, I used a drill and wire brush to get all the crud off, primed them and painted them black. It's held up really well...and touching them up, while infrequent, is very easy. I'm probably going to hang on to them...it's always nice to have an extra set of wheels around, just in case.

 

are u guna paint the wheels black???

 

Well, what I'm thinking of doing with these is when I get new tires, I'll have them sandblasted and powdercoated black. That's a much better finish. But I'm not for sure about that at the moment. The look as it is now is really appealing...I'm going to keep it this way at least until I get the new set of rubber.

I've de-chromed everything but the running boards and bumpers (and will probably powdercoat them one day soon), but now with the wheels, I really like how it looks. I was mainly concerned with the chrome on the mirrors, trim and grill, which I have already taken care of...

 

thats because they were off a manual hub taco

 

Yeah, that looks a lot better... it doesn't look like a fat man with an infants ankles anymore. heh heh... anyway, that looks pretty awesome! gotta love the taco rims! You didn't pay that much for em did you? wasn't it like 175 or somethin?

 

Looks good! Remove the running boards and it'll look so much higher!

 

AHA!

I should have thought of that, but I thought manual hubs went out long ago...guess not, well, maybe OEM ones did? I don't know...

I was thinking of taking off the running boards and I still may. But I need something there to help me get in the truck now!

Fat man with infant's ankles -- hahaha.....nope, none of that.

And yea, paid 175 for 'em. I was almost set to pull the trigger on a set of tires...which would be about 600 bones. Saw a post here the night before I was going to NTB and said...BINGO! Got some good rubber, new rims and saved over 400 bucks...I will have the rims bead blasted though...there are some spots where the finish is pitted. Still, saved a heap 'o cash.

w00t!

 

Convert your hubs to manuals and use the center caps, that will look best and you will gain manual hubs!