When it comes to wheels, everybody wants to go big these days. The old days of "sticky outtie 15s" are over. These days, it's all about who can tuck the most lug while laying the lowest. So we figured: What's better to showcase this month than somebody stuffing some big wheels in a Toyota Tacoma? We caught up with the crew at Sadistic and they informed us they were laying out a Tacoma on 20s. We figured we wanted a piece of that action, because if anybody is stuffing Tacos, we're in. We took some time off from the shenanigans here at the office and got some photos and some inside information from Sadistic. The result was this red shaved-and-laid Taco you see here before you today. If you have any more questions on this project, just take a look at the Source Box.
As you can see, we've got...
As you can see, we've got a tangled mess under here. Since nobody likes a dirty Taco, we'll need to clean it up by removing as much junk as we can. We'll be unbolting and removing and/or relocating the majority of the mess.
By removing the entire front...
By removing the entire front end, you'll have plenty of room to work. You need to remove the fenders, since we'll need to tear apart the suspension and cut out the fenders to ensure we have the room needed to stuff our wheels.
Remove the brake master cylinder...
Remove the brake master cylinder as well. It will need to be relocated. Here you can see that our fenderwell has been completely cleared.
This is the canvas and you're...
This is the canvas and you're the artist. You need to disassemble the entire front suspension as well by removing the factory shocks and springs and replacing them with airbags.
First, start by removing the...
First, start by removing the shock and the brake lines. If you don't remove the brake lines, you might regret it later, as you might accidentally cut them.
Because you made lots of space,...
Because you made lots of space, utilizing air tools will make this an easier process, because sometimes not even Chuck Norris can undo factory bolts.
You need to unbolt the sway...
You need to unbolt the sway bar as well.
Unbolt the ball joint so that...
Unbolt the ball joint so that you release the upper arm and release the tension.
Carefully pull out the spring....
Carefully pull out the spring. Keep them away from your drunken buddies who will most likely put them on their shoes and attempt to spring over the house. And yes, we speak from experience.
Using a plasma cutter, cut...
Using a plasma cutter, cut off all the excess plates. Don't cut the spring cup. That's still needed. Many people have made the mistake of only using the spring cup to hold the 'bag and in most instances, they will break.
Grind your canvas smooth....
Grind your canvas smooth. You are now ready to begin welding your new brackets into place.