After several frame repairs the state of NJ's Salt and brine seasons have taken its toll on my frame , Drove down to TN to get a decent frame so soon as the warmer weather gets her i can get the frame cleaned up and painted and internal coat it now on to my list of rebuild parts i need to buy .

Attached Images

   

Nice you are gonna keep her going!

dealer parts diagrams have helped me along the way too. Best of luck and enjoy that Runner!

Good job. Nothing wrong with keeping them going especially with the cost of new rides

the only thing that I'm keeping is the body , motor and trans front diff everything else is getting replaced plus a lift, the rockers are getting some rust hole but ill tend to those once its back on the road , like ya said new trucks are way to expensive , im figuring about 4-5 grand to redo it some toyota parts some after market,

IF you do it all yourself maybe.. You maybe closer to 10K with today's inflation.
I had 5K in redoing a 97 limited. I even had the engine and transmissions and transfer.. Plus I didnt do the body work nor paint it either for that cost and that was several years ago now., This was doing all the work myself too. You still be ahead even if it is 10K because of the costs of things ... :-)

I'm going to be doing most of the work myself I do have some odd and end parts like the fuel tank the guy i bought the frame from gave me , the only thing i have to figure out is getting the body off since I don't have a garage or lift, I wondering if the gantry crane that harbor freight sells would lift it to get the frame out from under it.

Couple of home-brew frame swaps...


Frame Rot!! Is this the end?



V8 conversion

Yes. Several members have done frame swaps with all sorts of things. The gantry crane is only for 1 ton though.. Be kind of hard to balance with only 1 of those 2 of those would be 4 ton and would work.

I am sure you can come up with some setup that will work great for you. :-) Make sure to take photos. I enjoy the frame swaps , frame weld ups and body work photos along with the mechanical repairs. :-)

Two of the 1 ton gantry cranes would not be 4 tons of lift, i.e. 8000 lbs of lift, it would however be 4000 lbs of lift, which may work but could be iffy on the front if the engine/transmission is left in the body.

I thought the drive train was attached to the frame not the body? 1 each ton is 2000 lbs did I do a typo? Body's don't weigh 4000 pounds. The entire rig weighs close to 4000 lbs. So I would at least want cranes to hold more than 2 tons or 4000 lbs. I would want more range as that is close too close to the weight limit. Or some serious backup safety ropes, chains to help hold if the Chinese cranes in case of hydraulic faulure

Now your break lines, emergency brake cable and gas lines, steering, filler tube etc are attached to the body. This is why I would have 4 tons of crane. However, that is me. My Car lift is safe and certified to 5 tons or 10,000 pounds. So I can safely swap body on frames with the drive train still in them.

I just want people to be safe and cautious as possible. Hope my information helps. 1 ton Capacity Telescoping Gantry Crane was want as was referring too. Upon further looking into the specs it its not a 1 ton lift crane. (only 1/2) So that explains it. It also explains that Harbor freight lies..lol. Good catch AuSeeker.. It would be very iffy with those harbor lifts.. I dont think I would use them at all... :-(

several write ups on frame swap in this forum, and even some vides on youtube