2003 TRD OR w/Factory Supercharger. Advice?

I've read through a considerable amount of the links provided in the stickied threads…thanks for the efforts. Very informative.

I initially posted this in the buyers guide thread, but I figure I’ll get more traction here. Mods, feel free to delete if needed.

I'm not seeing a lot of information on the 1st gen factory supercharger. My son is interested in a 1st gen he found at a local dealer (dealer is a Toyota truck hoarder of sorts as that's basically all he sells). I haven't gotten much information yet, other than it's a supercharged ‘03 TRD OR with the 5sp manual and a tiny little moon roof. I did a brief walkaround on it without being able to open the truck or pop the hood.

Things I like:

• It's a Tacoma
• low miles for it's age - 102k
• It's a manual transmission truck.
• The body looks really good...no signs of cancer or paint issues.
• Frame looks solid. Black overspray noted, however...but no significant rust issues or soft spots.
• Interior looks to be well maintained. No seat covers, little to no staining.
• No noticeable leaks from underneath, or on ground where it's been sitting for about a week
• It's already lifted with 33 mt tires
• ARB bumper (always like them on Toyotas and jeeps)

Things I'm unsure of:

• Supercharger - no knowlege of these
• Black undercarraige spray. likely recent. Hopefully just for cosmetic or preventative purposes. I poked around and couldn't find any flaking or soft spots
• moon roof - I recall moon roofshaving a lot of leaking issues in the 90s
• A-pillar gauges - I assume they were aftermarket? Looks cheesy to me.
• things to look for specific for these trucks
• if the timing belt has been replaced

Things I don't like:

• Its lifted with adjustable coils up front, body spacers, and blocks in the rear. I'd probably want to changethis. I wonder if a set of ICON 3rdgen leafs would fit?
• Snorkel
• So small. I forgot how small the 1st gens were...
• 16k asking price seems about 2-3k too high to me.

Any input or advice would be appreciated. Things to look for, find out, ask, etc.

 

He’s asking 16k. Lol. He’s notorious for being stubborn too. The guy has some primo tacomas on his lot that have sat there for over a year. Not sure how he can afford to pay taxes on all of them.

 

Show up with 14 grand in cash.

I’d buy that truck.

 

He probably has a boost gauge and AFR gauge in the pillar as do i

 

All that black sprayed on the underneath of everything would make me worry about what is being covered up.

 

It’s notable but looks kinda thin and revealing no?

 

I would take a scope through the frame to see how bad the rust is. They rust from inside out.

 

Just noticed that he is still running stock rear brake lines. If you're doing any decent wheeling, it's going to pop right off since there isn't much slack left.

He also didn't move the brake proportioning valve up like you are supposed to after the lift.

 

Figure the truck has just had a major detailing.

See what the test drive and up close and personal inspection tells you.



Lower Ball joints!

The price is supply and demand if the seller can wait for the price they want some Tacoma lust driven fool will come along sooner or later.

You have a State tax on non registered vehicles you own?

 

Three things to always look at before buying a 1st gen tacoma:

- frame rust- specially by the gas tank and where the rear shock attaches to the frame

- lower ball joints, timing belts, and water pump (these need to be done every 80K)

- supercharger (when was the last time it was rebuilt?)

 

yep

 

yeah…it doesn’t appear to be a rust encapsulation. Looks more like a thin bed liner spray. I think it was done for cosmetic purposes. It does look good.

 

I’d probably be rebuilding the suspension. Those are good observations…ty

 

Any fuel modifications done to support the supercharger (bigger injectors, 7th injector, methanol, etc)? Technically not required but the 3.4l loves to run lean without support and if the previous owner ran it hard while it was running lean that's bad news for the engine.

Not the case for all 3.4s but it's a common issue when they're supercharged

 

I want to get the 7th Injector i imagine it’s going to make a huge difference

 

Looks like the undercoating was sprayed not long ago. Not sure if it's just me but it looks like there is some overspray on the oil filter and the frame only looks like it is coated on the side facing outward. Please tell me I'm wrong. Having said that, it doesn't look bad from the pictures.

 

The oil filter was the obvious giveaway. The undercoating actually looks fairly thorough, albeit a bit sloppy with the overspray. I’ll try and get a scope to check out the inside of the frame to make sure it’s not covering up an issue.

 

WTF? It's slung all over the alternator and oil filter too. Must've sprayed it recently or haven't changed the oil in a long time. I'll bet it's full of rust underneath.

 

Not only that but look at the rear shocks. They even coated the rod lol. Very clear especially on the passenger side one.


Lol looks like they even sprayed the entire front adjustable coils.