Toyota Fan with Tacoma Project 1996 4x4 Now For Sale $6,000

Hello All. I'm not new to Toyota's, but I am new to TacomaWorld. Except I've been using the TireCalc for years LOL. Anyway, I purchased a co-workers wrecked Tacoma awhile back. He had put so much money and work into it such as paint/body/engine/interior. He t-boned someone and the Insurance totaled the truck, and I bought it through the insurance before it went to auction.
Truck still starts and drives. I'm in the process of pulling the the inner support back into reasonable position so that a new radiator can fit. The front of the frame is bent rightward about 1". I'm not able to get it straightened in my backyard, so I think I might just turn this truck into a trail rig instead of getting it road worthy. I have a sweet 1984 4Runner that I just don't want to take everywhere because it's just too pretty. Instead of bobbing the Tacoma bed, I would prefer to go with a flat bed of some sort.
Ideally, I would trade my complete bed with tailgate, lights and bumper for a nice trail friendly flat bed. No point in me cutting up a perfectly good Tacoma bed. Anyway, I've owned a couple of Tundra's, about 5 4Runner's, and this is my 2nd Tacoma. I've even converted a 1997 2wd 4Runner to 4x4 in the past, so I know a few things about these Toyota's. I'm located in Tulsa, OK. if there is anybody local that wants to do some off-roading or wrench turning

The wreck that got this girl TOTALED 03/03/22


03/15/22


07/16/22




03/15/22


03/20/22


04/15/22


04/30/22

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Found a junkyard hood in Red. Cleaned the engine side and painted it satin black. I taped over the 3 stickers even though they are for the 3RZ and not the 3.4L.

 

Next, I painted the top of the hood. It had a lot of hail dings in it that I just decided to use Bondo on. That was my first time trying Bondo and I must have mixed in too much hardener because I barely got started and the stuff became hard and impossible to spread. Oh well. My paint skills are horrible.... I thought I would help things out by wiping the painted surface with alcohol before clear coating, and that was a big mistake. Oh well. I installed it anyway because this summer is HOT and I want to daily it because it has AC (I hope it still works). The only non-junkyard new parts are the radiator and fluids.

 

I found some green 4wd front fenders on Craigslist locally. They are very close to the gray color of the truck. I'll just leave them this color for now. It took a lot of pulling of the radiator support bracket to get them to line up again.

 

The stock airbox and windshield washer fluid reservoir were destroyed in the wreck so I just removed them completely. Found a K&N filter for $10 at a thrift store and can't believe it fit right on without any adapters WooHoo!! I removed a hose that went to the old airbox and plugged it.

 

I bought a radiator from O'Reilly but it was maybe 2" too short?? I returned it and bought one off RockAuto.com that matched the height. The impact drove the radiator back into the fan and pushed the central pulley back on its' shaft which caused belt misalignment with the alternator and power steering. I found it's replacement in the junkyard and cleaned it up before installing. While I was at it I removed and painted the black plastic timing belt cover. The timing belt looks fantastic so I left it alone. Also found a junkyard clutch fan.

03/27/22

 

I really got lucky finding a 1996 Tacoma in the local junkyard. Here I am masking and painting the chrome surrounds black on these junkyard parking lights. Evidently 96/97/98 use the same design, but 99 and up do not, so fenders differ between the years as well as 2wd/4wd.

06/29/22

 

WOW! Love your 4runner
and you done some amazing progress on your Tacoma Looks like a fun project
Best of luck and keep the pictures coming

 

That looks like a great project and the 4Runner is beautiful!

 

Weather has just been SO HOT lately I get minimal work done. Decided to move the truck to the back by the pool. Now I work for a minute or two then get wet to cool off. I am going with a 1991 4Runner grill that I painted black (was partial chrome). I need to buy some headlight alignment plastic squares because every one I have is broken.

07/08/22

 

Why didn't I think about that?
Wait... need to get a pool first... at least I got a tacoma

 

Massive effort, very cool.

 

I got the headlights on and plugged in, and they work!! I just used bailing wire to hold the makeshift grill into place. I need to bite the bullet and pay the $150 to RockAuto to get the correct year grill. I used duct tape hold the turn signals in place, because its' only temporary. Next to come will be get rid of the hood latch and replace with hood pins because the hood won't release without a second person lifting it up while I pull the release lever. I was so excited last night that I forgot to even put a license plate on it. I even got passed by a cop on my commute, so I guess tags are optional LOL.

07/11/22



07/12/22

 

I replaced the tires with 285/75R16 BFG K02's, so ~33's. Installed Rancho Quick Lift front struts ONLY. I'm getting pretty fast at replacing front struts after I discovered the secret. (Just remove the sway bar link and use a scissor jack to press down on the upper control arm. Eazy Peazy and takes all of 30 minutes to swap out a strut.) It brought up my rear as well, but I'm still sagging in the back slightly. I ordered some 3" lift leaf springs from 4WP, but that may be more than I want at this time. I might just do a quick 1" block lift to level me out. I did take the time to clean off the raised white letters.

It was $95 wheel barrow day at the junkyard on Saturday so I grabbed a steering column (mine's bent and cracked from the wreck), power steering rack (mine leaks horribly from the passenger side), condenser coil and plumbing (mine leaked out from the wreck). I think I got overheated because I was basically on the couch the rest of the weekend and couldn't install them on the truck.

LOL, my culdesack is pretty much a Toyota/Lexus circle. You can't even see my neighbor to the rights' driveway, but he's got 2 Lexus' and a Toyota as well.

07/15/22

 

Welcome! Love the work you've done so far and LOVE that 4Runner!

 

The AC worked for just a day, then the compressor started squealing. I got a condenser from a junkyard 1996 4Runner, but it is not the same design or plumbing as the Tacoma. I went ahead and ordered a new condenser from RockAuto and I'm glad I did because it came with all new mounting brackets and rubber grommets. Only cost like $75. Removed the crunchy condenser and discovered the new one wouldn't fit because of all my wrinkled radiator support bracket. It was time to stretch it back open. I drove 2 long steel tools into my yard to act as an anchor while I pulled it with my winch. I knew I would need anchors because I had tried the very same thing a few weeks back and only pulled the truck across the ground. This anchor setup worked like a champ. I was able to get the compressor in and mounted, but now I want to replace one of my liquid lines. I went to the Dealership and they wanted $90, so I'm going to try and find what I need at the junkyard today. I know exactly what to look for now, so I'll just scope out every Toyota in the yard.

07/22/22

 

It's been awhile since I posted, I know. I've been daily driving the Tacoma for awhile now. I got the news that my 2022 Ford Bronco will be here this afternoon, so it's time to let go of this 1996 Tacoma. I'm thinking a quick $6k will get this girl a new home. It's got an aftermarket bumper installed with a 17,000lb winch (yeah right). It includes the original bench seat which has been recovered in leather, and a very nice set of 4Runner bucket seats in cloth. Everything except 3 O-rings have been replaced regarding the AC, but those O-rings must need replaced because the system won't hold a vacuum. I've got a new set of rear leaf springs included in the Sale, but you get to install them.
Ask me any questions you've got. Truck is located in Tulsa, OK.