Harvesting Parts from a Totaled Taco to Build a 2021 Tacoma TRD Sport
Extreme Terrain customer Timothy Sullivan offers a full break down of his 2021 Tacoma TRD Sport build.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That is a well-known proverbial phrase meaning to make the best of a bad situation. When life gives you tacos, make taco salad is a slightly less well-known proverbial phrase. Actually, I just made it up, so it is not known at all. But it means the same thing, only specific to when something bad happens to a Toyota Tacoma. Timothy Sullivan owned a red Tacoma SR5. During some bad weather he slid through an intersection and his beloved taco was destroyed. Maybe that one should be considered taco salad. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Sullivan then got a 2021 Tacoma TRD Sport to replace it.
Sara Riodan from Extreme Terrain recently had a video chat with Sullivan. The chat is posted on the Extreme Terrain Toyota YouTube channel. In it, the two of them discuss the new 2021 Tacoma TRD Sport and what upgrades have been done to it. The video is part of the Extreme Terrain ‘Customer Builds’ series. The series highlights a customer build, hence the name, and serves as inspiration to fellow owners doing their own build. The truck that Sullivan has is not too extreme, but it does have some nice upgrades that other Tacoma owners may wish to consider someday. You can view his build profile by clicking here.
2021 Tacoma TRD Sport Long Bed
Sullivan went with the long bed this time as he wanted to have a toolbox but wanted to keep as much bed space as possible. And he does a lot of highway driving so the overall goal of this build was to make it more suitable for that. He was not looking to build the ultimate off-road rig or the fastest Tacoma in the world. Fuel mileage, comfort, and practicality were key objectives. If this sounds like what you use your truck for, then this might be the perfect inspiration build for you.
New Truck; Old Parts
After his SR5 was totaled the insurance company said that they would not payout for any of the modifications. The good news is that they let Sullivan remove what he wanted from his old truck. One of the first parts he harvested was the Injen Evolution cold air intake. That mod brings a bit more power and sound to the mix, and who doesn’t love more power and sound? He also managed to carry over his stereo system and the red and black leather seats. However, not everything could be salvaged so new parts were also ordered.
Other Modifications
A quick and inexpensive mod is the RedLine Tuning Hood QuickLIFT PLUS System. Reading the name of it takes longer than the actual install and it makes working under the hood of the 2021 Tacoma so much easier. One upgrade that Sullivan could not save from the old truck were the NOVA-Series LED projector headlights. This is the most expensive upgrade on the truck but totally worth it. They are a huge upgrade in terms of lighting performance over the stock halogens. And they give the truck a more aggressive and modern look. And should Sullivn ever find himself once again sliding through an intersection he will have a bit more protection this time thanks to the Body Armor 4×4 HiLine Series front bumper.
Rounding Out the Build
Sullivan has a few other smaller modifications that help his truck stand out a bit. He has a TRD shift knob which does a nice job dressing up the interior. Axial mirror mounted LED sequential turn signals have been installed. Out back you will find Cali Raised LED Raptor Style taillights to finish off the build. This is a very clean daily driver Tacoma build. Hopefully Sullivan has a bit better luck with this one. Check out the video below to see all the details.
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