gen 1 body on 94 chassis

anyone know how easy this would be? I know the gas door is on the opposite side so I would have to put the gen 1 tank in the new chassis. Has anything like this been attempted? Is there documentation anywhere?

donor chassis is a 1994 extra cab 4x4 manual. Gen 1 body is an 1999 2x4 auto.
-will the shifter even be remotely close to the same location?
-will the wiring harnesses and connections be compatible?
-are the overall frame dimensions similar?

thanks for any info anyone may have. If no info is out there then I guess it will be a good write up opportunity.

 

that is a HUGE undertaking even if you have a fully equipt show with lifts and slide cranes and trolley systems to move stuff around and that's if you know they are matching frames, but its even more risky and more of a can of worms then you think especially when you don't even know if they match up. it takes Toyota with a team of mechanics and a shop filled with a million dollars worth of specialized equipt 3-4 weeks to swap frames out.

whats wrong with your old frame?

 

Your techs down south must work much slower could very well be the heat .

Here two techs working together that have been doing the frame swaps .

One day 8 hours old frame removed .

Second day 8 hours new frame installed out the door .

The down time is getting the frames from the builder!! Then they don`t start to the new frame is there that could be where your figures came from .

Why not go the other direction and put the I hope 3.4 engine in the 94 much less physical work

I am sure it can be done with enough $$$$$ and time. Just what power train do you plan to use??

Your going to need to be able to fabricate lots of parts

As long as your welding and fabricating skills are good moving cab and bed mounts etc

Being the 2 frames are different sizes

Along with the fuel tank the exhaust is on the right The E-Brake is on the left merging the two systems will be interesting

The electrical merging the wire harnesses will be the Two EWD`s and one wire at a time Could take a good couple 8 hour days if your good.Like to re pin connectors ??

Anyone good enough to do this why would you document it ??

I need to ask why ??

 

thanks for the info Wyoming.

In response to Keakar:
im not worried about the physical act of removing and swapping the bodies themselves. I don't have pulleys or trolley systems. I have an engine hoist, some wood, ratchet straps...ill be fine as far as that goes. If it takes toyota weeks to do that's only because the truck sits more than it actually gets worked on while it is there. My old frame is rusted from the inside out and is trash. It is beyond repair.

Wyoming:
I have no problem making/modifying mounts or relocating them. Esp since its on a 4x4 if I have to change much then ill just make a body lift while im at it.

The powertrain I plan to use is the v6 from the 94. My 99 is the 2.4 liter. If I had the v6 I would definitely just swap motors too. The 94 is in good condition but there is more rust in the body than id like which is why I want to swap the body's.

The wiring/cpu is a concern though. I was hoping to hear that the harnesses were pretty much plug and play. Since they aren't I may consider swapping cab harnesses out as well so that I don't have to second guess connections.

The reason for documenting it would be to help others in deciding what to do with their trucks in the future. For those like me who do not qualify for the warranty for whatever reason and have to consider their options. Obviously finding a frame from a gen 1 tacoma would be less work however its also more expensive. Ive searched all over the area for a donor g1 but it's more difficult to come across something that has a good frame and is still part out worthy.

 

No matter just what you do You will have your work cut out

I hope you don`t have Emissions Inspections where you live

If you here in Pa you would still have a 99 Tacoma we go by the VIN and the 3.0 would need to have the OBD II system installed so it can talk to the fancy Emission Computer

Funny I have a hard enough time taking pictures

I think it would be easier to just build a new frame for the Tacoma.

I sure would not go through all this work for a 3.0 .

We all do what we do

I still want to build a 3.4 4x4 Third Generation Celica . Then I have all the parts to do it.

Good Luck!!

 

the frame on a taco is wider.i tried putting a 1st gen bed on a 91 it no workie.Good luck

 

He says that is really not a major problem we will see.

 

Wyoming09? live in Pa drive a 2000 what gives.

 

Just pokin fun a fellow statesman.

 

My brother and I just swapped a frame on a k1500. Took a little over a day and a half. Still gotta replace the airbags and paint half the truck. I was surprised it didn't total it had already been sent to copart. Then progressive decided they wanted to fix it

 

truck sold out from under me today so it looks like I wont be doing this. At least not at this time. Unfortunate. I guess ill be building a frame. Thanks for the responses and comments.

 

While this is not going to happen.

Had you given any thought to how you would have modified the steering shaft from the cab to the steering box.

Being they would not be anywhere close to lining up.

I am sure we would all like to hear your fix to this problem.

 

...

that's the sort of information I asked for in the beginning of the post. At no point did I say that I could do anything. I simply said I had no problem moving body mounts around. Im not really sure what you mean here anyway, the locations would have to be fairly close as the two trucks are so similar in size and appearance. IF I had gone through with this and something did arise that prevented me from completing the project I would just stick the original body back on, sell off the 99 body and spend the cash to fix the 94 up.

At any rate, people all over the world stick all kinds of body's on all kinds of frames. There would be a solution.

Forgive me for being curious and willing to experiment.

Finally, id love to try and solve that problem but as I stated, the truck is gone anyway.

 

well, ive seen a steering shaft made with the 95.5-04 steering column with a custom sleeve welded to work with a 86-94 lower steering rod and steering box. The 96 tacoma in my driveway just has the ifs box and steering rod and it was converted some how.

I tried to put a 96 single cab cab on a 79-83 frame(well, cab sat on it for a few months). the cab mounts are wider, the front is way off, the middle not so bad but youd have to make all new cab mounts. The steering shaft/rod would probably sit sideways. The shifter would need to be cut out on the back area.

 

thank you for informative and useful information. I am still considering shopping around for a 90s toyota truck. I love Tacoma's but I've always wanted an early 90s too.

 

I feel ya man. I wish toyota would make a cab size like that with just the simple things that work. Ive been daily driving my 87 truck, that I originally got running to have a 4wd, but I just enjoy driving it.

Over the years weve done a bunch of cab swaps, all 89-95/84-88 on to 79-88 frames. With the 79-83 years only the front mounts are a tad bit off from 84-95, either need to redrill or make the mounts wider.
One other thing is the bumper mounting is gonna be different on all those different years. The tacoma 95-00 bumper brackets are farther spread apart then the older years.

 

They won't replace frames on 99 trucks anyway. Only the 01-04 Tacomas get new frames now, the older ones just get bought back and crushed.