It’s been almost seven months since I’ve posted up a new video on this truck. Firebolt did make an appearance in my recent Turbo Garage Lineup video and I’ve been sharing updates on social media, but other than that it’s been pretty quiet. I never meant to leave y’all hanging, life just got super busy and the car hobby had to take a back seat for a bit. That said, I’ve been driving this truck a few times a week since I got it running and absolutely love almost everything about it.

Project Firebolt is a turbocharged V8 truck that’s scary fast even at low boost, so what’s not to love? The off-putting, nose down, tail up stance that Firebolt rolled out of the garage with, that’s what! It’s time to fix this overworked and outmatched stock Toyota front suspension by bolting on some of the best that QA1 has to offer. This suspension will fix that unplanned raked stance, perform great and give us all the adjustability we’ll ever need.

So now we know how the stock Tacoma suspension reacts when you jam an iron block V8 in the nose — poorly! (Image/Tom Tharp)
After a long time away from the garage, it feels great to be wrenching again. Let’s fix this front suspension! (Image/Tom Tharp)
These QA1 coil-overs from Summit Racing will lift up Firebolt’s droopy nose and offer tons of adjustment. (Image/Tom Tharp)
Our first step is to get the truck in the air and rip out the stock suspension bits. (Image/Tom Tharp)
To run QA1 coil-overs in a Tacoma, some simple lower control arm modifications are required. (Image/Tom Tharp)
Here’s the modified control arms, wearing a few coats of my all-time favorite paint: Summit Racing’s General Chassis Enamel. (Part# SUM-SP1402) (Image/Tom Tharp)
In go the shiny new suspension parts!  Kind of a shame that these will be hidden from view. (Image/Tom Tharp)
Firebolt now has a suspension that is much more capable and ready for anything…even this! (Image/Tom Tharp)
Keywords
LS swaps, Project Firebolt, Turbo Tom, Video
Share this Article
Author: Tom Tharp