Built in Remembrance

It’s all about Kenny and Andrea Caskey’s triplets, son Kole and daughters Ellie and Madeline who’s also known as Matt.

Kenny Caskey had every intention of building a custom ‘53 Plymouth he would purchase someday  with  his  son  Kole. Unfortunately, that someday would never come. Kole passed away peacefully in his sleep when he was only 2 years old. In tribute to his son, Kenny built this beautiful ’96 Tacoma. Kenny and Andrea’s two daughters, Ellie and Matt, are the legal owners of the Tacoma.

Kenny bought the truck from Charlie Cooper, who had bought the truck new in 1996 and used it as a daily driver. Later, Charlie had the crew at Devious Customs in Riverside, California, perform a 3 inch body drop to achieve an aggressive lowered stance. The truck was eventually completed and displayed at shows. Kenny and Charlie had many conversations about the truck, and later, when Kenny became serious about purchasing Charlie’s Tacoma, he got a phone call from Charlie. He asked Kenny if he wanted to buy the truck. He sure did. Well, it had been involved in an accident: a Toyota Sequoia had hit the front end and the rear was slammed into a wall.

There was a moment of silence, and Charlie repeated his offer. Surprisingly, Kenny told him he did want to buy it. Once Kenny had the truck, rebuild work stagnated for a while until Kenny got motivated after helping to finish Tito’s ’53 memorial pickup. He set out to finish the Tacoma in time for the Negative Camber 20th anniversary party only a few short months away.

The crew at Devious Customs replaced the frame from the firewall back using 2 x 3 x 3/13 inch rectangular tubing. The rearend was robbed from a 1985 Toyota with factory gears. The axle housing and axles were narrowed and cut 3 ½ inches on each side to accommodate the wider wheel/tire combination. The rearend was anchored with a 4 link suspension and ‘bagged using Slammed Specialties RE 8 ‘bags with Bilstein shocks. Up front, a pair of one off tubular control arms and dropped spindles were designed and fabricated by Brooks in Clear Creek, Arizona, to achieve the lowered suspension that was accompanied by a pair of Slammed Specialties RE 7 pneumatic ‘bags and Bilstein shocks. A pair of Viair compressors feeds the pneumatic ‘bag system in addition to the valves/solenoids, manifold and 3/8 inch diameter hard lines. To allow for increased front wheel/tire clearance, the brake master cylinder and power booster were removed from the firewall and placed inside the cab. Factory front disc brakes and drums in the rear were connected to the solid brake lines with braided hoses. Kenny’s Tacoma rolls on a set of 22 x 7.5 inch Lexani LX20 aluminum three piece wheels covered in Lexani (215/30R 22 front, 215/30R 22 rear) rubber.

Under the hood, we find a factory ‘96 Toyota 2.4L engine that was left fairly stock. An aluminum radiator and dual electric auxiliary fans help keep things cool during hot Arizona summers. The air is filtered with a K&N air filter before entering the air intake. A 2 ½ inch diameter exhaust system flows into and exits a dual chamber Flowmaster muffler. The five speed manual transmission was left unmolested. The folks at Master Shaft made a new driveshaft with new U joints to link the four banger to the rearend.

After being crumpled in the accident with the Sequoia and the wall, Kenny, brother Shawn Caskey and a handful of friends teamed up to perform all of the bodywork. The front sheet metal, fenders, hood, grille, headlights, bumper and bed were replaced, and the bed, tailgate and bumper were swapped out for a 2004 factory Toyota front and bed sheet metal. The only salvageable part of the truck was the body dropped 1996 cab. Kenny was adamant about not shaving the door handles, but they did shave the third brake light on the roof. A custom retractable sunroof was fused in, and the factory rear window was removed. A larger window opening was made and filled with a custom glazed window by Chris Rockley at Deer Valley Glass in Deer Valley, Arizona. The beautiful raised bed floor was made from a 1955 Ford bed wood kit. Kenny cut the wood slats and polished stainless steel stringers to fit. A pair of custom rear wheel tubs was fit just to the top edge of the bed rails. After all of the sheet metal was straightened and the doors and tailgate were aligned, it was primed, block sanded smooth and prepped for paint. The incredible color is from a factory 2012 Ford Flex (Platinum addition) DuPont Candy Red sprayed by Leon Redman. Leon also did the amazing graphics using House of Kolor Candy Brandywine highlighted with airbrushed angels in memory of Kenny’s son Kole.

The Interior Shop in Phoenix was responsible for the interior. The crew laid down Dynamat to dissipate engine heat and deaden road and engine noise. That was followed by Porsche black pile carpet. Kenny made the custom wooden planked floor with stainless steel stringer inserts to match the custom wooden bed floor. A factory bench seat was chopped, sectioned, notched and reshaped before being covered in Ferrari tan leather. Kenny painted the dash and covered it in tan leather. The factory door panels, inner kick panels and shifter boot were also covered in tan leather. A Billet Specialties 14 inch Monaco tan leather half wrapped steering wheel caps the factory steering column. Billet Specialties air conditioning vents direct the air from the Vintage Air control panel. A tan headliner encases the retractable sunroof. A set of satin silver Classic Instruments fills the custom gauge cluster created by Chucky Bond with a birch inlaid dash insert. The audio is courtesy of Joey Whitby, who installed the Pioneer FH P8800 double DIN head unit in the dash then wired it to Boston Acoustic speakers located in the doors. What was once thought of as a lost cause, Kenny and his friends recouped. The Taco is all set to see better days.

What was once thought of as a lost cause, Kenny and his friends “recooped.” The Taco is all set to see better days. ST

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KENNY CASKEY
1996 TOYOTA TACOMA
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
NEGATIVE CAMBER

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