Matt Gyles
Vineland, NJ
Negative Camber
1997 Toyota Tacoma
Never ever underestimate a man with a solid plan, especially one with the ability and talent to see it all the way through.
When it came time to build this truck, Matt Gyles, owner of Haggard Fab, had a plan. After building his last project, a near complete Toyota pickup, Matt decided to go a different route. He came across this neglected 1997 Tacoma that had sat for two and a half years and knew that this was the truck that he wanted to build. Matt decided to part with his pickup and give this Taco the attention it was begging for.
The Haggard Taco started off as a little more "haggard" than Matt would have liked. The truck wasn't stock, but the 'bag job on it was less then desirable. It didn't take Matt long to tear into his new project, and within 24 hours the truck was down to a bare chassis. The original plan was to build a simple, practical mini body-dropped on 20s, but nothing fancy. That plan was quickly tossed aside when Matt decided to go all out and build the sick Taco that you see here.
Matt wanted to build the perfect rolling business card to show off the talents of his shop, Haggard Fab. He began by building a chassis to stock-floor bodydrop the truck and scrapped all but the front clip. The frame was built in a matter of days, but there were a few weeks involved in reengineering the front to eliminate the bumpsteer, build new control arms, and set up the air suspension. The rearend was narrowed 8 inches to hold the 20x10.5 Element wheels wrapped in 285/30ZR20 Falken tires. To assist in the stopping power, Matt designed a Wilwood rear disc setup. He also added Fox shocks on all four corners to keep it riding smooth.
After the chassis was complete, the process of smoothing out everything began. Shaving the handles, hood squirters, gas door, smoothing out the under side of the fenders, and adding a flush-mount gas door under the extra cab window all added to the rolling business card showing off Matt's multiple talents. As if that wasn't enough, Matt gutted the bed, leaving nothing but the bedsides, built a new floor and walls, and added a Grant Kustoms full skin combo to give the back the sleek look he was after. Once all of the bodywork was straight, Matt once again relied on his own skills and sprayed the House of Color True Blue Pearl from front to back. Matt didn't want to have all show and no go, so he dived in under the hood and added a T3/T4 .50 trim turbo, stainless intercooler, and Turbonetics wastegate to give the four-cylinder that extra "get up and go" he was after. For the interior, Matt turned to Carl Miller to wrap the seats and upholster the cabin in comfort to seal the deal on the perfect plan.
In exactly one year and eleven months, Matt built this whole truck from top to bottom with the help of a few friends along the way. Matt has zero regrets for this build and if he had to do it all over again he wouldn't change a thing. Since completing this truck, Matt now proudly sports his Negative Camber oval. To check out some of the buildup on this Haggard Taco or any other builds they have done, check out Haggardfab.com.