New member from Indiana! 1st 3rd Gen owner

Hi everyone!

I have owned a Taco for over 20 years and this is my first time making it to the forum! ‍♂️

I am from the Indiana absolutely love my 2 trucks. I also own a 4th Gen 4runner.

I came to this forum because my beloved 1st Gen has finally succumbed to a rusting/rotting frame. The truck is a 1995 Tacoma Xtra Cab V6 4x4 5spd . I have 290k original miles on it and have always stayed on top of maintenance. I bought this truck with the inheritance money my father left me when I was in college. It is the only thing I have left from my dad.

I have dreams of fully restoring this truck to like new condition. I figure this would be a good place to find some help to point me in the right direction. .

My frame only has a couple spots that are bad and one side is worse than the other. Mechanically this truck is a tank. Cosmetically it's in poor shape. I was hit by a drunk driver and only had liability insurance on it. He did not have insurance. So I am stuck with a beat to shit looking taco.

After I was hit, I decided to let my younger brother use the truck he while he was in college. Two years later I repossessed it as he was using it as a trash truck and failed to keep up with maintenance.

I only discovered the rust on the frame after I got it back from him.

Back during the heart of the recall I took the truck to Toyota and I was told my frame was good with almost no rust and that Toyota added a rust inhibitor to protect the frame.

I thought I was going to be a lucky one but father thing is chewing away at my boy and I gotta stop it.

This forum is kind of overwhelming with info, any pointers to help me find someone local that specializes in frame restoration.

Also is this bad enough to stop driving it?

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Thank you! Anyone have any thoughts on the truck?

 

I wouldn’t drive it.

 

I would not drive that truck any longer. Sad to see, but you should take a hefty screwdriver and go around the entire frame and see if any other holes form. If not too bad, there are places that make the frame cap sections and you can have someone weld the caps on and clean up the frame.

 

Well that's a heartbreaker. What are the chances of me finding a new/ frame for her? I'm really attached to this truck. I'm willing to take as much time as needed to do it and get it done right