Hey

New tacoma owner here. Been doin some reading in the subs. Much help found.

 

Welcome! Post a pic of the taco!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Here it is. 2003 2.7l 4x4 manual with homemade rust repair underneath. Inside is surprisingly clean though.

 

1st gens are classic! take good care of it bro

 

I got a bit of doing on it to do. Where do you attach the top of the rear shocks when the lug rusted off? Duct tape it to the rail? No, there are other ways to jerry rig it. Id show a pic of how it’s rigged now but it’s a bit embarrassing. I looked at it and said, yeah that’s ridiculous, but bought it anyway because it’s was the only one available in my area and I was hungry for a taco.

 

man that’s a nice looking truck

 

Take it on like a landscaping project and work on it in stages. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you just hop in and drive it wherever you want to go.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld
You'll find the fix for your shock mount here
https://www.autorust.com/

 

Hey
Welcome to TW!

 

thank you very much. It’ll be more than just the mounting lugs, there’re are two welded patches holding the rails together at that point on both sides, needs to be redone the right way.

 

Safe T Cap has a ready made frame cap section with shock mounting bolt already welded on.
Fits perfectly in place.
https://www.autorust.com/product/right-side-rear-shock-mount-inner-mount-plate-tac-161u2-r/
That's passenger side but driverside is available

 

I appreciate that I'm incredibly proud of it, it's been a pure joy to drive, and I've gotten more than my money's worth since 2004 - when I bought it.

 

I’m probably going to buy the whole set to secure the whole frame. But I’m not the one to do the work. What kind of shop would be best suited for this? A welding/machine shop? A collision repair shop? A custom auto shop? My brother down the road who happens to be a professional welder/pipe fitter who claims to know how to fix it?

 

Best place for installation of Safe T Cap is an authorized installer near you.
Check their website
https://www.autorust.com/

 

in that case, I’ll need to figure out how to get it 150 miles out of state. That’s where the nearest one to me is.

 

Nice grille. Where did u get it. Btw this is my first post so if I mess something up that’s why

 

Thanks check out this site: https://tacovinyl.com/ the letters are heavy, solid and screw into the assembly. Post looks fine no worries!

 

Welcome!

 

Throwing ideas to myself. First idea is to spend roughly $1500 on safetcaps for the rear three sections on both sides with shock mounts and spring hangers, new springs and shocks. Alternately, I know full frames are near impossible to come by and the replacement program is expired. If I felt like it, would this frame for $2500 fit my '03 2.7L extended cab? https://parts.toyotaoffortworth.com/p/Toyota_2003_Tacoma/Frame-Rail/48320582/5100104340.html