Taco front end conversion????

T

tdaggett

New member
I know I saw it on here somewhere, but can't seem to find it. Who did the Tacoma front clip mod, and how tough was it? My son bashed his T4r last week, but he's stripped it down now, and I think it's salvageable. The hood, fenders, and entire front clip are gonna have to be replaced anyway, so though we might mod it a bit in the process. Does all the Taco front end bolt on in the same locations?
Any help is much appreciated.
Travis
 
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tdaggett said:
I know I saw it on here somewhere, but can't seem to find it. Who did the Tacoma front clip mod, and how tough was it? My son bashed his T4r last week, but he's stripped it down now, and I think it's salvageable. The hood, fenders, and entire front clip are gonna have to be replaced anyway, so though we might mod it a bit in the process. Does all the Taco front end bolt on in the same locations?
Any help is much appreciated.
Travis
Click to expand...

80yota4x4

here is his SAS conversion http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/58289-solid-axle-swap-has-begun.html
 
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JohnsD90 said:
I guess they might as well SAS it too if it is out of order at the moment. :D
Click to expand...

yeah, for the life of me, cant find the thread on the taco front end conversion...

there were two links I found on one thread, I thought they were it, and they are dead links now.
 
How much fab work? Do the fender/door lines match up without shaping?
We have to remove the fenders, hood, grille, bumper, etc... anyway. The sheetmetal across the front that holds the radiator will have to be replaced too. Bumper, lights and brackets, and grille are off already. Fenders and hood coming off tomorrow to assess the damage underneath. The frame wasn't bent, but I'm not sure exactly what the "core support" is. The emchanicals are all OK. Afler we get the fenders and ood off, what do I need to look at first to determine whether or not to proceed?
Thanks in advance.
Travis
 
I LOVE the Tacoma front end! I would love to do this kinda mod to my truck, but I have none of the skills listed to get it done. 80yota4x4, you've got the best lookin 4Runner, I must say!
 
Thats the info I was looking for.
Just so I'm clear on this... Since I have to replace the core support anyway, it's gonna be about the same amount of work to replace it with a Tacoma one and do the swap, as to do it all with 4runner parts?
Would you believe that the Tacoma sheetmetal is less expensive than the skins for the Runner? I figured it'd be about the same, but several hundres less for all the parts for the Taco as opposed to the Runner. Just seems odd to me.
I can get a new core suppt for about $60 so we're going to start there and make sure the truck is still "square", and make a decision. If we continue on, we'll make a thread and shpw how it comes along. How about a bumper? The boy was wanting the Shrockworks before, do you think it would still line up and look right?
This kid has a lot of work ahead of him, maybe once he's got it done he'll appreciate what he has a little more and pay attention to what he's doing.
 
Well, I think we have removed all the damaged parts and are now left with a naked front end. Not a whole lot left, which is why I'm considering the Tacoma front end conversion. If we gotta replace everything, why not try something a little different, right?
Before I go ordering a new core support, anyone know if the Tacoma support will match up with the 4runner body mount locations on the frame, and the inner fender liners (aprons)? And 80yota, did the Taco hood hinges bolt on in the stock 4runner locations?
Pics later this evening if I get a chance. Thanks.
Travis
 

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And here's whats left after all the damaged parts have been removed:
 

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I wish I could be of some help. But like you said, if you've got to replace it, do something different. IMO this is one of the sweetest mods you can do. If I had the cash and I would certainly do this to mine. Hope you decide to go through with it. It'll look sweet!!! :guitar3:
 
If you do end up doing this mod, I'd love to see what all exactly you had to do to do the conversion (and parts). 80yota4x4 did a great job last time, but unfortunately that thread is gone. Can't wait to see the finished product!
 
So it's been a while, but the repair/conversion is under way. First order of business was to strip it down and remove all the accident damage, which really left us with a blank slate. Had to drill out the spot welds that hold on the 4Runner core support.

First was installation of a new '02 Taco radiator support assembly. It fits almost perfectly. The old 4R inner fender aprons hang about 1/4 inch low in the front but its not a problem.

So far we've installed a new '02 Taco hood and hinges, and the new '02 Taco fenders. We won't know until everything is aligned and tightened down whether or not the 4R hood latch assembly will work, but it appears it might. The alignment of all the parts is kind of tedious, but this thing was slammed pretty hard into another car, so thats to be expected.

Next up will be the grille and headlight/corner light assemblies. Then the final touch.............drumroll please.............................Shrockworks pre-runner front bumper (if the kid keeps my lawn looking right and the cars washed/room clean......) More pics next time we add parts.

By the way, I think we're gonna paint the whole truck when we're done. BLACK should look NASTY!!!!
 

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Looks great so far! I've been totally motivated by this thread and I'm going to do this to my 4Runner for sure. I might have to get some help removing and installing the new core support, but I think I should be able to do everything else myself.

tdaggett said:
First was installation of a new '02 Taco radiator support assembly. It fits almost perfectly. The old 4R inner fender aprons hang about 1/4 inch low in the front but its not a problem.
Click to expand...

Did you have to do anything special for the above issue and if so what did you do? Or did the core support go on without problems? I'm going to be start collecting pieces here and there as I find them in junk yards and on Craigslist. Unfortunately, no complete Tacoma front clips have popped up at all that I've seen.

Can't wait to see more and see this mod completed! Great work so far!
 
The Taco core support went on without a hitch. Two big bolts at the bottom body mount location, and so far, all the a/c tubing, wiring harness, etc.. all fit and clip into the new support in more or less factory holes. I had to drill out the spot welds holding the core suppt to the inner fender aprons behind where the headlights are. I think about 8 spots on each side. We havent re-attached anything where the spot welds were yet. The plan is to get everything lined up with the new parts on and shoot some self tapping screws in theere while holding it in place. Then replace the screws one at a time with rivets, and then maybe have my mech throw in a couple tack welds. I really want to wait on that though till we get the grille in and really make sure we've got all the gaps lined up right. We're going with the chrome grille with black inserts, and found some black/clear euro projector headlight/corner lights, and are thinking black paint with max tint on the windows.
Opinions?
Oh, Toyota parts would probably fit better without so much adjustment, but are VERY pricey. We're using new replacement CAPA certified parts from Keystone and will have about $900 in parts by the time we're done. It really is a simple bolt on mod. Hopefully the Taco headlights will plug and platy with the 4R wiring harness without problems.
 
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