Just completed my rig

Hey all new to the forum! I am excited on how this truck turned out. I wasn’t even looking for a tundra, I put a message out on Facebook to friends and family if anyone had a cheap car for sale and a friend reached out said she had a 2000 tundra AC V8 with 160,000 for $6000! Rust free spent its whole life in the desert. I couldn’t get the cash out quick enough! Since then, I dove down the tundra rabbit hole researching everything I could. And ended up with this! See pics! It was meant to be, it could not have worked out any better. I found somebody online who had a compete aisian timing belt kit with water pump, rollers and tensioner for $50. Used beilstien 5100 and OME leveling springs for $90. Stock Wheel set from a 2018 Tacoma for $100. Kleaver 35x10.5R17 for $240 each . It took a few weeks and some trimming on the front wheel wells and 1/16 on the upper control arm but I am extremely happy with the results. I rub the frame ever so slightly in the front when the wheel is cut all the way. My question is if anyone has had any issues passing state vehicle inspections after notching their frame? Or if I should just ditch the idea, it only rubs slightly. Cheers!

 

Thirty Fives, love to see it.

Truck looks great.

 

Looks good, Time for gears! Those are 4Runner wheels.

 

Why and where are you thinking of notching the frame? And I’ll go ahead and say don’t do it before you explain.

 

Thread title: Just Completed My Rig



Helpful hint: It's never complete!

Welcome to the forum!

oh, and for the record I'm with @KNABORES . Don't notch the frame under any circumstances.

 

Spacers or better offset/looking wheels.

 

If you zoom in on the center of the photo you can see where the tire rubs against the frame at droop and full articulation. I was considering notching out the lower part of the frame there and welding in a recess to allow for full steering. I need to pass safety inspections here in Utah and not sure if they would pass me or not?

 

Wouldn’t pass you for tire rubbing? Picky

 

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the great purchase!

 

Welcome! How are those tires treating you so far? Stumbled across them recently and they've peaked my interest for my next set

 

Could always ask them. The shops have a checklist I'm sure. Been a long, long time since I lived somewhere (which was Utah, by the way) that required inspections.

That is a great find. The sort of thing we all hope for when we're in the market for a vehicle. You got a better than average Tundra for a way better than average price.

 

I would not notch the frame because of some tire rubbing. If anything, I'd look for some wheels with a different offset, or smaller tires. With factory gear ratios a smaller tire would help drivability, and improve your gas mileage.

 

Yeah, those wheels have less poke than Tundra specific wheels do. But too much and you start running the fender.

 

I'll notch my bumper and fender long before the frame.

It looks good, but to reiterate @KNABORES DO NOT NOTCH THE FRAME. As @FishNinja said, spacers or different offset wheel.

 

If inspection is an issue, hand the technician a 20 dollar bill to "take a closer look". It's worked for me, more than once, on some pretty obvious issues.

Your truck looks great with those tires!

 

That's funny. While the US isn't a typical "bribe culture" country, at least at our lower levels of society, it's good to know it still works. However I'd be really nervous relying the willingness of a auto tech to accept a bribe in order to have a truck that's allowed on the road. Would be a crapshoot every year.

 

As a former NC Inspector myself, "If there's a 20 in the cupholder, it passes"

 

I'm not saying bribery works. I'm just saying I've had this crack in my windshield for a few years now........

 

What crack?

 

exactly......

 

They don't pass cracked windshields down there? I've had a cracked windshield so long it's developed bubbles.


Also +1 don't cut the frame. Get some 1.25 or 1.5 spacers. I have 255x85xr16 (33x10x16) on stock Patrick's with 1.25 spacers and it fits perfect.

 

I think it depends on the severity? Not 100% on that

 

I go to the same place every year for vehicle inspections.
It's a small local tire shop.

My last 6 inspections she did nothing more than plug the truck into the computer.
No sensor in the tail pipe, no light bulb checks, none of that..
Maybe she looked at the one tire on the way to plug it in..

Texas just did away with vehicle inspections starting in 2025, except for highly populated counties.
Mine wasn't highly populated when I moved here 18 years ago, but it is now..
Not sure why San Antonio didn't make the list, they are pretty fuckin populated..

Texas passes bill eliminating mandatory vehicle inspections | KXAN Austin



Congrats @Bert836
Truck looks nice and welcome to the forum, but as others stated, you're never done modding..

 

Thanks all, I guess I’ll hold off notching the frame for now, but I love that I didn’t have to cut the fenders at all. I think if I put the spacers on, I’d have to do some more trimming to the fenders and I don’t want to do that either. FYI the kenda Kleaver RT tires measure 34.5 tall 10 & 7/16 wide fully aired up and Lug depth 3/4 of an inch. Really happy with the way it turned out!

 

Bribery is illegal. But nothing against a kind gesture, or a gift, or forgetting that you left a $20 in the cupholder.

 

everybody knows 35's arent 35's just like my 34's aren't 34's

but if you want full turning radius and none of the *brahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrahbrah*

You're options are
•cut frame (bad idea)
•spacers (not a bad idea)
•more negative offset wheels (best idea)

2 of those will require you trim the pinch weld and fender/fenderliner. Which would also entail adding a snorkel of some sort to keep your engine from sucking in water.

Or just notch your frame. (I said don't do this, but you just can't convince some people)

simply put, our trucks ain't meant for 35's w/o some decent modification.

you went down this rabbit hole. I'm just letting you know what you're in store for my guy.

 

pshhhh nothing is illegal until you get caught.

 

Nice find by the way. I've been scouring KSL for trucks and there are quite a few people that are really proud of their trucks. Regardless of salvage title, rusty, 2WD, etc. Finally have seen some reasonably priced clean and maintained trucks show up, but not like what you found.
Good looking rig.

 

Fully agree. And just to point out, the latter two of those options will then have the tires eating the body/fender arch, or vice-versa, which is no bueno. Based on that tuck shot, I'm going to fare a wile guess that OP may be really close to eating fender in a reverse-flex.

Interestingly, I think someone actually posted that exact truck on here a couple months back.

 

Im running the same wheels with a smaller tire and I rub the frame just as bad. I'd let it ride.


This is one of my favorite trucks from the forum @DA Tunbrah


He has a few inches of the fender trimmed for clearance. No flares and slick sides is pure sex.