The Amocat- 2005 Tacoma

[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by tacotuesday

I'm definitely watching this closely. I haven't heard of a 4x4 Tacoma consistently getting 30+ mpg without losing quite a bit of truck functionality. This is going to be great

I got 30+ in the summer with my V6 ~ 97 4x4 3.4L V6 DLX Tacoma Project ~ Winter is another story altogether though...

[aardvarcus]

I got the curved top to side transitions fiberglassed over the weekend. Used a 8” cardboard concrete tube form to mock up the 4” radius I wanted to use. Used six layers of epoxy fiberglass, but it didn’t end up as rigid as I had hoped. I decided I needed to add more layers to the inside to stiffen it up. Also considering embedding some sort of support or adding an angle to the inside to increase the stiffness.

The epoxy stuck to the cardboard more than I thought, I didn’t put any epoxy on the first layer I laid on the cardboard and thought the waxy surface coating would prevent sticking, but not so much. Had to use a wire wheel to get the last layer of cardboard off from the inside, so that inevitably ate away at the first layer or two of fiberglass. Lesson learned.

Anyway got it prepped to lay more glass yesterday but the rain and bad weather kept me from laying any glass, maybe this next weekend.


MickeyJD and WDB,
Detailed so it can be copied is not a problem. I have copied much from others who paved the way before me who were nice enough to post.

Tacotuesday,
Yeah, I am not interested in losing any truck functionality. I have actually added several things to the truck to increase functionality (Trailer Hitch, LT tires, Tools, etc.), with the downside of added weight impacting my MPGs. You just have to be mindful of what you are adding and removing, I see many Tacomas with so much junk bolted on them I am sure they get worse mileage than a full size.

[aardvarcus]

More progress, I laid some more fiberglass on the top to side radius transitions from the back side, also included some strips of XPS foam to create a box beam out of the fiberglass, which stiffened the assembly up substantially. I did some bondo work (material not person) on top of the fiberglass. Some of the areas needed built up a bit. I clamped an aluminum piece to the two sides to “simulate” the lexan window edge, and then built up material so that the shell will have a lip for the window to make it flush. I did some rough sawing and sanding, and then had to add some more material to some of the low spots. Hopefully some more light sanding and I can start priming the shell. Finally on the downhill stretch. And of course a couple pictures of the bondo progress.

And what would be one project finishing up without two more underway. I finished the design of my electric fan controller, and ordered most of the parts. I will get pictures and do a detailed write up when finished.

I also am doing some serious head scratching on the Tacoma underbody, so I took some pictures of the underbelly and did a rough sketch of the layout, very roughly to scale. I attached it here in case others find it useful. I will post a design and ask for feedback soon.

[mikeyjd]

Where's the pictures?

[aardvarcus]

Whoops, forgot the pictures. I updated the original post and added them.

[aardvarcus]

Well I got the final bondo-ing done and finished sanding. Also sanded the rest of the shell to knock off the gloss so the paint would stick. Got the shell primed and painted black. Visually the shell has turned out ok, one of those looks good from a few feet away, but is far from perfect up close. I am going to try to get the windows installed in the sides and maybe the third brake light in the shell hooked up today.

[aardvarcus]

Well, I ended up doing a bit more sanding and putting another coat of paint on the shell, looks a bit better now. I found and used flat black this time instead of gloss and thanks to that and the extra sanding I am happier with how this coat of paint turned out.

I also got the windows cut out and installed. See the attached pictures, which I am fairly sure I actually attached this time. Notice my high-tech window clamps holding the lexan against the adhesive.

Spent quite a while looking for my third brake light that fits into the opening in the camper shell, thought I had lost it. Turns out it was right where I thought it was at the very first place I looked for it, I just overlooked it the first time around. The joys of not being organized very well.

Anyway the windows adhesive should be set up today and I figured out the wire I need to tap into to get the brake light signal, so it looks like another day or two and I will have this project finished.

[wdb]

Very clever use of jackstands! So it's what they call in the used car business a "thirty footer". It looks great from thirty feet away, any closer and the pricetag goes down. That's okay, it's a great effort and it fits the aero profile. I'm excited to see what it does for gas mileage.

[aardvarcus]

Finally got the half shell finished enough for now and installed on the truck. I had trouble with tying into the existing wiring from the brake lights, as I thought I could piggyback on the existing trailer light controller harness I installed, but after quite a bit of troubleshooting, I figured out the Tacoma uses a separate circuit to run the trailer brake controller light circuits. I assumed the aftermarket light controller was triggering off of the brake light and turn signal wires, but not so much. Anyway since my truck is a base model with no towing package, I did not have any of the fuses or relays installed from the factory, so basically the towing circuits didn’t work. Finally I traced the real tail lamp wire, and once I spliced into that everything worked fine.

As you can tell, the adhesive I used to hold the windows in looks horrible. It dries clear, but when you use a heavy coat it doesn’t dry very fast. I installed the windows Sunday, these pictures are from today and yes it is still not dry.

I have had the shell on the truck for two days now, I can tell a bit of a difference in coasting down hills. A couple hills I used to loose speed on as I rolled down I now don’t lose speed. I will refrain from making assumptions on differences in fuel consumption until I run a full tank through the truck.

[freebeard]

It's a little late, I know, unless you're going to redo it. But what they do with glue-in windshields is paint a black stripe around the inside edge and put the glue on that.

It looks good though.