Introduced back in 1995, the Tacoma has been one of Toyota's most reliable workhorses for almost 30 years now. It's still lacking a high-performance variant, but some owners took matters into their own hands with beefed-up powerplants. Some even went as far as to turn the truck into a dragster, usually with a Supra-sourced 2JZ mill under the hood.
This first-gen Tacoma was also modified with drag racing in mind, but the owner opted for an LS swap instead of the tried-and-true 2JZ mod. And the result is quite spectacular, with the old truck capable of running the quarter-mile in less than 10 seconds.
The mill in question is a mostly stock, 5.3-liter LS V8. But it's paired to a Borg Warner turbocharger that runs on 10 pounds of boost, so it's no slouch when it comes to power and torque. We don't know how powerful it is, but a compact truck tipping the scales at more than 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) needs more than 600 horsepower to be this quick.
The truck also sports an Explorer rear and proper racing wheels. And it turns out it's still a work in progress, so this Tacoma might become increasingly faster. Right now, the LS-swapped hauler needs 9.98 seconds to run the quarter-mile, to go with a trap speed of 133.78 mph (215.29 kph). That's only a few tenths slower than the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.
While it's not the quickest Tacoma conversion out there, it's definitely quicker than the average truck and will probably put a few stock sports cars to shame at the drag strip. Check it out in the video below.
This drag-spec Tacoma is based on the first-generation truck, sold from 1995 to 2004. The long-lived hauler was offered with a couple of inline-four and a V6 from the factory, with the latter generating 190 horsepower.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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