I ended up with this '98 model a few months back through a trade. The plan was to slap some tires on it, do a little maintenance, and try to capitalize off of the market before it dropped off earlier this year and put a few backs back in the tiller towards a goal I've been working towards on the back burner. It needed a muffler and some tires, upper ball joints, and a new home as I have too many projects. Figured I'd passively look for some marketplace deals as I waited for the title, and get back to working on other things.
At this point I yanked the running boards off and I started rounding up tundra steelies every time I could find one cheap. Then I bought some alloy Tundra wheels with tires that weren't bubbled to get around with for $50 as the Boys (sorry in advance for all the Dog pics) needed a ride to the local creek in the evenings and the Yaris wasn't ideal after a little rain.
I absolutely HATED this look, but I was having a REALLY hard time finding a fourth steelie for what I wanted to pay that would allow me to pull the trigger on some tires, so it had to do. Meanwhile, I got bored and started messing with stuff I had laying around. One was a Matrix XRS steering wheel. I like the sportier feel of a smaller wheel, so I chucked it on to see how it felt. And while I loved the feel, I highly disliked how out of place it looked equal to the Tundra wheels, and the dual stage airbag wasn't happy with the OEM SRS ECU.
I've played this game in a few other Toyotas and was familiar with this style, so off to the local pick n pull I went looking for a RAV4 with the proper cover and single stage bag assembly. BINGO! The xRS wheel with Rav4 guts was right at home!
It's about this point that I knew I was in trouble. You see, I'm already spending time doing small things that I'm justifying as completely reversible, learning experiences. No big deal, it's just a steering wheel, and it will work in the other car I have now aesthetically as well. Perfect. Let's make a lap around this joint to make sure there's nothing cool, and GTFO.
At this point I yanked the running boards off and I started rounding up tundra steelies every time I could find one cheap. Then I bought some alloy Tundra wheels with tires that weren't bubbled to get around with for $50 as the Boys (sorry in advance for all the Dog pics) needed a ride to the local creek in the evenings and the Yaris wasn't ideal after a little rain.
I absolutely HATED this look, but I was having a REALLY hard time finding a fourth steelie for what I wanted to pay that would allow me to pull the trigger on some tires, so it had to do. Meanwhile, I got bored and started messing with stuff I had laying around. One was a Matrix XRS steering wheel. I like the sportier feel of a smaller wheel, so I chucked it on to see how it felt. And while I loved the feel, I highly disliked how out of place it looked equal to the Tundra wheels, and the dual stage airbag wasn't happy with the OEM SRS ECU.
I've played this game in a few other Toyotas and was familiar with this style, so off to the local pick n pull I went looking for a RAV4 with the proper cover and single stage bag assembly. BINGO! The xRS wheel with Rav4 guts was right at home!
It's about this point that I knew I was in trouble. You see, I'm already spending time doing small things that I'm justifying as completely reversible, learning experiences. No big deal, it's just a steering wheel, and it will work in the other car I have now aesthetically as well. Perfect. Let's make a lap around this joint to make sure there's nothing cool, and GTFO.