Advice on where to go from here

Hi,

My name is Ian and I am new to the forum. I have a 1998 Tacoma Ext Cab. 3.4L 4x4 Manual 5 Speed. that I love and has treated me well. The tacoma is a great truck. I had hopes of building on it in the future. Unfortunately a friend of mine rolled it into a ditch a couple weeks ago going around a corner on a rainy night. YES, very sad. The driver walked away unscathed but the truck wasn't so fortunate. All the running gear is still good and the frame is straight but the body is toast.

So here is my question. I am trying to figure out what the best way to go with this would be. I know these trucks hold their value pretty well so I don't really want to give it to a scrap yard for $900. I had an idea to do some looking and find myself a double cab and short bed to put on my frame. Originally I thought I would just find an extra cab but I have a child and would like some more space. I know this requires some mods. to the body/bed mounts but I am very mechanically apt and have many friends who can help me when I need it. The project doesn't daunt me and I have a DD so transportation in the meantime is not an issue.

From the world of tacoma lovers...is this worth it? Or would I be better off parting it out? I want to make sure I get my $ out of the thing. I paid $6000 cash when I got it. I have done some research and called local scrap yards and it seems I can come up with the parts I need for $2000 or so to put a dbl cab on it. I know thats a little to spend but for 2k and some of my time I could end up with a truck I would have to spend 12k for.

Any thoughts or Ideas. Much appreciated. See the truck below before and after.

 

I got $200 on the OEM CV axles.

 

Rear axle an e-locker? Ill buy it...

 

wow, that thing is toast! sorry that happened to your truck. honestly, i dont think there is much salvageable off of it.

 

Part it out. Too much damage to build.

 

so seems like I should part out...... if that's how you recommend me getting the most value out of this thing.

 

You'll definitely get the most out of it that way if you put the time and effort into parting it out...

...there's two vultures already circling above

If you have power door locks, I got dibs on a functioning passenger side door lock actuator

 

If you do decide to part it out then probably post items on here under the 1st gen sale section. Be sure to have a price, good description and pictures. Include a piece of paper in each shot with your user name and the date on it.

Any way you choose will be time consuming as you will want to research what parts sell for and then be prepared for possible delay in selling some items or having to reduce price to clear.

Almost tied for next direction would be Craigslist and eBay. Craigslist would have the edge on not costing you to list parts. Especially for bulky items the Craigslist route has a lot to be said for it as people can come get the parts and transport them.

That is both good and bad. Stops you from having to deal with trying to safely parcel/pallet items, getting shipping quotes and dealing with shipping, BUT on the flip side you never know who is coming over to buy the parts either. Just depends on your comfort zone.

eBay has a wide audience, but you will have to pay fees to them including on any shipping billed through them. Then you have the shipping factor.

Not trying to put you off parting it, just giving you something to think about as you asked the best way to do it.

Shipping wise I'm a big fan of Priority Mail flat rate boxes as long as the weight is up there a bit. Can save you and delivers pretty consistent. Surprising how much you can get in some of those boxes. WORD TO THE WISE THOUGH, be sure to reinforce the inside of the box, support items well and tape the outside of the box really well to help provide burst resistance for heavy and weird shaped items.

I had a guy ship me an alternator with just a bit of paper stuck around the thing. The parcels get beat around during ship and the alternator burst through the flat rate box in multiple areas. The Post Office taped it back up in transit. Anyway, arrived, body of the alternator broken, fan bent, fins broken etc.

For really bulky items you can try Uship (buyer's dime and arrangement) or I've even had British car engines shipped using Yellow Freight. They put the engine on a pallet, wrapped it in plastic wrap, wrapped it in cardboard, strapped it down well with some of those Harbor Freight ratchet tiedowns and plastic wrapped the heck out of it again.

Not sure if you are supposed to ship engine stuff using them, but arrived here at the depot, they gave me a call and I went and picked it up. Seem to remember the shipper put household goods on the paperwork so maybe you're not supposed to ship that way. Don't know, just know it was fairly inexpensive.

Cheers

 

What did your insurance company offer you( you did have insurance right ) if no sue your buddy for the lost.

Sometimes the insurance will give you a lower dollar if you want there settlement money and want the truck, if that were the case part it out, or just let the insurance company have it. Parting it out is a pain in the ass, advertizing the parts, removing and dealing with people that want what you have for less than nothing, sometimes isn't worth your time and headaches.

My last piece of advice to you is never let anyone drive your vehicle because no one takes care of your stuff better than you!

 

i got a friend who did a double cab on a Xtra cab Tacoma come out pretty good, he has to cut it up and welded it back together. let me tell you now lot of work, but it can be done. It would be in your best interest to just part it out.

 

Insurance + part-out = Mad money for mods on future Taco.

 

Potentially interested in your spindles, hubs, etc for a manual hub conversion

 

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately I didn't have collision insurance on this so I am going to have to deal with it. The buddy is too close of a friend to sue .....too bad

I do have someone who may have use for the whole truck. If it doesn't work out I will be starting a thread for parting it out.

Thanks again for the advice. Certainly helped me narrow down my options.

 

daaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnn good luck OP

 

man that is a raw deal, but really the important thing is that no one got killed or hurt. My advise is to just part the truck out. like a organ donor she will live on helping others! and from where you are at you should have no trouble at all with the parts. take your time and hunt down another truck!

 

In some states a driver of a vehicle can elect to have his own auto policy pay for the damage caused to the vehicle he is driving. Texas is one of them, not sure about Cali...just something to check into.

 

Why not go to a local car stereo shop and pick up an aftermarket actuator for $15??