Visited the local dealer

[BillBoost37]

And saw probably another three or four piles of frames for the trucks like these




So far so good on not being for 4Runners that I know of. At least Toyota has stepped up pretty well to the issue. :doh:

 

[Lester Lugnut]

Who knows what vehicle they are for.

Just the same, I'll bet a lot of people over at the tacomaworld.com forum would be glad to see this.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Probably Tacoma, Tundra, and/or Sequoia frames.

 

[LandCruiser]

How cost effective is it to replace an entire frame vs. just buying back and destroying the truck?

 

[541joseph]

How cost effective is it to replace an entire frame vs. just buying back and destroying the truck?

all that truly matters to toyota is keeping people happy

 

[BillBoost37]

I think the parts guy said Taco's. I give Toyota a lot of credit for taking care of the issue.

 

[NoDak]

is that an aftermarket HUD?

 

[BillBoost37]

is that an aftermarket HUD?

It's a stock Grand Prix HUD, however it's in a Regal. I did a few things to the Regal when I picked it up.

HUD
LED turn signals behind the mirrors (fun with heaters in them)
Puddle lights
Tons of suspension mods
Brake upgrades
Swapped the subframe to aluminum from steel
Modded engine (then swapped to NA from SC when it hung a valve)
Added factory heated seat elements into non heated seats
Stereo with sub box etc - built and planned to not use any usable trunk space
Homelink mirror with compass and autodimming

There is almost no bolt that car except body parts that didn't come off.

 

[Park]

It's a stock Grand Prix HUD, however it's in a Regal. I did a few things to the Regal when I picked it up.

HUD
LED turn signals behind the mirrors (fun with heaters in them)
Puddle lights
Tons of suspension mods
Brake upgrades
Swapped the subframe to aluminum from steel
Modded engine (then swapped to NA from SC when it hung a valve)
Added factory heated seat elements into non heated seats
Stereo with sub box etc - built and planned to not use any usable trunk space
Homelink mirror with compass and autodimming

There is almost no bolt that car except body parts that didn't come off.

Got a build thread for it?

 

[BillBoost37]

Most of the stuff is here. I have done more detailed depending on forum, but you know how it goes. There's pics etc a few posts down.

The Regal

 

[shadowmaker]

Most of the stuff is here. I have done more detailed depending on forum, but you know how it goes. There's pics etc a few posts down.

The Regal

I had 2000 GTP and sold parts for them for several years. Actually worked with one of the exhaust manufactures to design a down pipe and headers. I got screwed over on the headers in the end to be honest and lost a bunch of money.

 

[Martinjmpr]

New frames?

Okay, question then: Doesn't swapping out a frame pretty much entail completely disassembling all the major components of the vehicle and then reassembling them on the new frame?

So, does every dealership have the equipment and know-how to do this and keep the vehicle up to factory standards? Or are there more centralized/regionalized dealerships that have this capability and the smaller local dealers would have to send the vehicle to one of the bigger dealers to get this done?

I would have thought that completely disassembling and reassembling a vehicle would require some very specialized equipment that most dealers wouldn't have (because how often does that actually need to be done?)

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Okay, question then: Doesn't swapping out a frame pretty much entail completely disassembling all the major components of the vehicle and then reassembling them on the new frame?

So, does every dealership have the equipment and know-how to do this and keep the vehicle up to factory standards? Or are there more centralized/regionalized dealerships that have this capability and the smaller local dealers would have to send the vehicle to one of the bigger dealers to get this done?

I would have thought that completely disassembling and reassembling a vehicle would require some very specialized equipment that most dealers wouldn't have (because how often does that actually need to be done?)

Yes and no...

Its just unbolting the cab, bed, and drive train and then swapping it to a new frame for the most part; those are really the 3 big components, everything else is just unbolting/bolting/detail crap that every mechanic has done for the most part (i.e. replacing control arms, lines, ect.)

That being said, it actually doesn't require much more than two lifts and some extra people to push the frame; all you really do is use a lift to pick up the body off the frame, roll the old frame out, bolt the new frame together into a roller and then roll it under the body. I'm sure some dealers have more experience with it than others (we're waiting for all the parts to show up for our first one this month I think? We don't get many in California, but we somehow managed to get a Tacoma from a customer that needs a new frame) but from what I hear, most all the dealerships in the salt states have gotten pretty used to doing these; a LOT of labor time involved.

 

[Swimmerboy2112]

At the dealer I used to work at we had a guy who could swap frames in just under 24hrs of work.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

a LOT of labor time involved.

Thanks for the overview. I was wondering how you'd go about a project like this.