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How to: 95.5-97 Grille swap onto 01-04

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by RattleTractor, Jun 1, 2010.

  1. Jun 1, 2010 at 8:30 PM
    #1
    RattleTractor

    RattleTractor [OP] Lube: It's the key to penetration.

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    Ok, so, I bought an 01 V6 TRD Taco to replace the old rusting out '96 that I originally had, but I was averse to the billet grille on the new truck and I really like the original Taco face, so I did a grille swap.

    Started with 2 trucks:
    DSC01831-1_7eccd32332c0f6dbdbd7ed26e671687b2b29d4b2.jpg

    Removed the hoods, lights, bumpers, and grilles from both trucks:
    DSC01841_b818757388d6058bf7c255ba3ac6fbd4c6d5b614.jpgDSC01839_607e6fcb054d4fce183ca5e4f1fe90da9bd6040c.jpgDSC01847_f68bfd077b8e17637ce3537ec45570077131876d.jpg

    Swapped the hoods and put ARB mounts on the new truck:
    DSC01848_ac5ea745785a673562b6ffc70dcf502e96ca3d74.jpgDSC01850_95a25e64af570bd4b575771cfa0eb1b102336dce.jpg

    Then moved the truck to a garage and started on the old-style headlight mounts on the new truck. This involved drilling holes in the body panels for the mount/aiming screws and squaring them out with a file. One went behind an existing hole on top of the light, and the other had to be marked and drilled afterward to ensure correct placement.
    Filing:
    DSC01853_a35769673491a3ed36846ca3b09708d3a7650c80.jpgDSC01854_1b30b536d98fcd679244886eedfba9fdfde49d5c.jpg

    Once the square plastic screw mounts fit, I put them in the holes and added epoxy to make sure they stayed put. Left them to set for the night and day and finished the next evening...

    The grille clips are all the same for both styles, so the only modification needed was a little filing on the left side of the main grille part to make it fit in front of a cooling system hose. Then it just slid right on. I also used zip-ties to hold the grille in place because the OEM clips suck and always break after 1 use. It's much easier to use zip ties and just cut them off each time.

    ARB mount process, with lights and grille all in place:
    DSC01857_cc4af8372e5d6266d2f2362329c6779e989c052a.jpg


    There you have it! All finished. Now I have a truly unique truck, not to mention I rid myself of that billet grille.
    DSC01859_bb5fd24c522f17a6204b01c9076f66560a4a4cd9.jpg

    Not sure if anyone cares or even wants to copy it, but there's what I did. If somebody else would like to follow suit and has questions, feel free to PM me anytime.

    Parts swapped:
    Hood
    Hood latch (the 01-04 hood latch is too tall)
    Bumper - I used an ARB bull bar
    SAE rectangular headlights and corresponding mounting/adjustment hardware - I used IPF H4 conversion lenses
    Grille
    Metal trim pieces that attach to grille in bottom corners (purely cosmetic) - I lost the right one while driving in March 2014

    The parking lights and fenders do not change.
    UPDATE 1/21/14: I did end up changing the parking lights to the older style because while the overall shape is identical, 95.5-97 lights used 2 screws and plastic plugs to mount into the fender and 01-04 lights used a plastic tab. Fortunately, the square holes for mounting the plugs remains unchanged for all 1st gen fenders, so no modification was needed. I simply removed the newer mount, put in the plugs, and screwed in some old-style corner lights from Rockauto. If you want pictures of the process PM me.

    Lastly, the 95.5-97 grille will not fit on the 01-04 trucks with a stock bumper that has the color-matched trim piece on the top of it. I did not care because I installed an ARB bar as well but that must otherwise be removed.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2015
    robm7, YotaBro, SwampYota and 8 others like this.
  2. Jun 1, 2010 at 8:33 PM
    #2
    HomerTaco

    HomerTaco also HomerTaco Vendor

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    HomerTaco ...................................................................................................................................................... Core-Hurst short throw shifter & T-handle / Carbon Fiber Interior / custom console light / De-badged / leather interior / Heated Front seats / Red Line Hood Struts / Painted speaker grills /one-off TRD Satoshi Grill with 12-15 front-end swap/ Pioneer AVIC-X920BT HU / Scangauge II / Black LED Tails / Dash Mount for iPad mini / Safari Snorkel / Auto-pilot mode / Leer 100XQ Cap / 4x Innovations sliders / Rear Diff Breather Mod / front windows tinted to 35% / Brute Force Fab Hybrid Front Bumper / BAMF Rear Diff Skid / Budbuilt Skids / CBI Trail Master 2.0 rear hybrid bumper / Fox rr coils/ TC UCA's/ TC spindle gussets/ TC Cam Tab gussets / Dakar leafs / Defined Engineering shackles / All pro U bolt flip / Timbren Rear Bumpstops / BAMF LCA skids / Exhaust re-route / Fog Light anytime Mod / LowRange Off Road extended rear brake lines / ATO Shackle Flip / sectioned Bushwhacker flares / re-geared to 4.56 / ARB Front & Rear Locking Diff / ARB CKMA12 compressor / PrInSu full rack system / 1" body lift / Inchworm 4.7 crawlbox / twin stick FJ t-case / Davez off-road triple-stick kit/
    That's creative... Time consuming, but creative...:)
    +1 for you sir.
     
    Running Board Man and GQ7227 like this.
  3. Jun 1, 2010 at 8:37 PM
    #3
    RattleTractor

    RattleTractor [OP] Lube: It's the key to penetration.

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    Eh... not that much time. Maybe 2 hours tops, and the ARB was the hardest part and took the longest.
     
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  4. Dec 1, 2010 at 9:18 PM
    #4
    trd7

    trd7 4wd tacoma

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    good job ;)
     
  5. Dec 1, 2010 at 9:22 PM
    #5
    Unknown

    Unknown He who angers you conquers you

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    Nice, i want to do that but an 01-04 in my 95
     
  6. Dec 2, 2010 at 1:41 AM
    #6
    SRQ TACO

    SRQ TACO Well-Known Member

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    I want to do a 95 4wd front end on my 00. It should only take the headlights, corner lights, grille, bumper fillers, and front bumper to do on a 00.
     
    Running Board Man likes this.
  7. Dec 2, 2010 at 6:03 AM
    #7
    RattleTractor

    RattleTractor [OP] Lube: It's the key to penetration.

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    You shouldn't need corner lights...the shape is the same for all 1st gens. The only difference is the older ones (like my 96) were held by screws while the newer ones clipped in.
    As for the bumper, if there is a little color-matched plastic trim piece on top of the chrome part then you will have to either remove that or get a different bumper. The older bumpers did not have that so the 95.5-97 grilles won't fit if it's there. It can probably be easily pulled off though.
    You can use any old SAE rectangular headlights. I went for the IPF ones because a friend had the round ones and he liked them quite a bit.

    So you really only need grille, little metal trim pieces that go in between grille and bumper (bumper fillers?), modified bumper, and headlights.

    EDIT:I make note of the bumper trim piece in the write-up too.
     
    Running Board Man likes this.
  8. Jun 6, 2011 at 1:35 AM
    #8
    ilove_taco_ma

    ilove_taco_ma Well-Known Member

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    fresno, california
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    nothing, all stock expect got a OE replacement air filter K&N.
    very nice.
     
  9. Jun 6, 2011 at 9:24 AM
    #9
    Blackdawg

    Blackdawg Dr. Frankenstein

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    ALL OF THEM!...Then some more.
    this is a win!

    us 95-96 tacos look da best :p haha
     
  10. Jan 24, 2015 at 4:18 PM
    #10
    Mikescollins

    Mikescollins Member

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    I had to swap my radiator support and the 97 model was way cheaper than the 95 but didn't have the headlight mount holes, you saved me a lot of money and time thank a lot man.
     
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  11. Dec 13, 2015 at 1:34 PM
    #11
    etcetera

    etcetera Member

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    Great post but I have a question...if I did this to my 98 SR5, what modification would i need to make to the bumper? Not sure what you guys mean by the "color-matched plastic piece on top of the chrome"? Will I need to replace/modify the bumper to install a 97 grille? Thanks!
     
  12. Dec 13, 2015 at 1:42 PM
    #12
    Madjik_Man

    Madjik_Man The Rembrandt of Rattle Can

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    You do not. I have a 95-97 front end on my 98 and still have the 98 bumper/valence.

    The middle part of the bumper that dips down (to accommodate the 98-00 grille) obviously isn't flush with the 95-97 grille but other than that it's totally fine.

    Check my build thread for pics of the process and finished product.
     
  13. Jul 7, 2016 at 10:42 PM
    #13
    Hobblestix

    Hobblestix New Member

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    Hello, so I have a 96 4WD Tacoma and I was wondering if you knew if the connerlamps directly next to the headlamps will swap with the cornerlamps from a 98-00? From what I read I think it was said that the newer model clips in while the older model screws in.. I just wanted to verify...? Thanks for your help.
     
  14. Jul 9, 2016 at 6:56 AM
    #14
    RattleTractor

    RattleTractor [OP] Lube: It's the key to penetration.

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    You are correct - newer models have clips and older ones have screws.

    That said, they are the same size and shape. The locations of the plastic mounts are even the same and interchangeable.

    Still, I don't think you should replace yours with the newer style. The clip-style ones came on my 01, but they kept loosening and trying to fall off so I bought some older screw-type ones off Rockauto and found the plastic mounts on a scrapyard Toyota. Now it's much better and they never fall off.
     
  15. Jul 9, 2016 at 3:39 PM
    #15
    Madjik_Man

    Madjik_Man The Rembrandt of Rattle Can

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    This is something I need to do. Those adjustment screws are too loose on my conversion and it's causing the headlight bracket to fall out/off. Kinda sucks.
     
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  16. Jul 10, 2016 at 8:44 AM
    #16
    RattleTractor

    RattleTractor [OP] Lube: It's the key to penetration.

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    Yikes!

    G-flex epoxy is fantastic stuff. 24hr cure time/waterproof/somewhat flexible. I began mounting skis with it and it's quickly become my primary tough-duty epoxy. I picked it up at West Marine.
     
  17. Jul 10, 2016 at 10:56 AM
    #17
    Madjik_Man

    Madjik_Man The Rembrandt of Rattle Can

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    Thanks. I'll check it out.

    One question: did you use springs to hold your headlight brackets to the core support?
     
  18. Jul 10, 2016 at 11:03 AM
    #18
    RattleTractor

    RattleTractor [OP] Lube: It's the key to penetration.

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    ^^^
    I reused the OEM ones, but I believe one broke when I tried to move it. So I'm pretty sure only one side has had a spring for the past 6 years.

    You can get them from Toyota though if you chose to.
     
  19. Feb 18, 2017 at 6:55 PM
    #19
    Fierrintacoma

    Fierrintacoma New Member

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    Hola amigos .quiero cambiar mi tacoma 1996 a 2001 todo de frente que me acomsejanon que ocupo.
     
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  20. Nov 19, 2018 at 1:24 PM
    #20
    tsurf17

    tsurf17 Bull Rider

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    Hey so I think I found a nice grill I want on my 96 Tacoma it's for 01 to 04. And I'm going to get a new bumper. So I also need 01-04 headlights and a hood? Anything else I'm missing?

    Screenshot_20181119-132223.jpg
     

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