1997 Extra Cab Frame Swap Project/ Restoration Build

My 97 tacoma frame is officially too far gone to continue rust repairs so take this journey with me as I do a frame swap on my nearly 30 year old truck. Heres a pic I have of the frame I just picked up. It was from an 02 double cab, im aware I have to move the rear body and bed mounts to accommodate the extra cab body. Otherwise everything else on the double cab 4WD frame is identical to an Extra Cab 4WD frame.

I’ll be documenting my progress on this thread periodically.

My goal is to have the frame back to new, and eventually remove the wrap and paint the truck. Ive always felt like despite how great this truck has ran and treated me it just always needed that extra push to make it 100%. Ive always loved the 95-97 front face the most out of all the face lifts. There are not many left these days and I want to keep another one from hitting the junkyard.

 

Hey everyone, I know its been nearly a year since I last posted but life gets busy. Anyways I recently purchased a couple parts I know Im going to need for this job. Also figured Id share that the back half of this frame was actually restored and I had everything including the axles off and new bushings installed about 5 years ago. This truck is not a daily driver its a backup car for me. So everything from the bed back should be easy to take off and switch over to the new frame because its all been removed once already and bolts were anti seized, including the new brake lines I got a few years ago OEM from toyota. My only fear is going to be figuring out the fuel line situation.

I am aware cab mounts will have to be partially shifted but as far as I know everything else should line right up. If someone has any input to add regarding this swap please let me know if their is anything else I should be aware of.

I already replaced a good amount of parts in the last 5 years of ownership so thankfully not much will be needed to be bought on my end including upper and lower ball joints (OEM), tie rods, steering rack bushings, brakes etc.

Parts I ordered / plan on ordering:

OEM Upper Ball Joints
Moog Control Arm Bushings
Wheel Bearings
Strut Top Mounts
Knuckle Backing Plates
Sway Bar Bushings and End links
Bilstein 5100 Shocks
OME Coil Springs
CV boot repair kit
Front brake pads and rotors
Torch Off Road Upper Control Arms
MotoFab Dif Drop Kit
Leaf Spring Bushings
Add A Leaf
Misc OEM parts as needed.


Im sure im missing more or will come across little odds and ends as the next couple weeks I will finally be getting around to getting the frame rust proofed and painted.

Goal is by end of June to have a painted rolling chassis with most of the parts on it.

I only have a couple hours each day to chip away at it because much like everyone else I work lol.

I will provide photos as I go along with updates.

 

Can you share pictures along the way? Looks like quite the project and i am keen to see how you progress.

 

as mentioned in my above post I will post photos along the way

 

Hey everyone I am going to start working on the truck today. In the meantime here are some photos of what the frame currently looks like from the cab forward. (yes its a NJ/PA car its whole life so that explains that)

I also am tossing in photos of when I had the truck (partially) restored from the bed back 5 years ago. The truck is wrapped in cheetah wraps gloss black metallic, however fast forward to today most of the wrap is bubbling and peeling up and doesn't look as good as it does in the photos below.

As mentioned I will post photos along with the progress as I go along. The long-term goal is to eventually repaint the entire truck. But for now the focus is switching the frame.

 

Looking good!

 

Todays objective was to strip the frame down to nothing but the leafsprings remaining so It can be prepped for sandblasting. I will show later on how I intend on sandblasting the frame myself outdoors.

I attempted to remove the lower control arms however the bolts were seized and needed to be cut and I couldnt find my dads reciprocating saw so thats a problem for another day. In the meantime I removed the brake lines that were snipped by the junkyard (dont need them have brand new ones), sway bar, and the wire harness that was also cut up.

Those plastic plugs that plug into the frame for the brake lines and wire loom are brittle and break easily but none the less not using them so I dont care if they snapped. Used a snap on panel popper tool and made light work of anything with plastic clips that were attached to the frame (some broke off in the holes but thats unavoidable).

Some really stuck bolts but nothing some wd40 and elbow grease didnt fix.

Nothing glorious today but progress is progress.

Next on the list is to sandblast both the upper and lower arms and press in the new whiteline bushings. Both knuckles will be sand blasted as well and the machine shop will be rebuilding the hubs for me with new wheel bearings and upper control arm bushings if I cant re use my relative new ones from my old knuckles.

 

Todays objective was to remove the lower control arm bushings off the new frame, press out the old bushings, and sandblast the upper and lower arms.

This frame was replaced by Toyota at some point not sure what year. These control arms were a bitch to remove.

Tried using a reciprocating saw specifically a small milwaukee one with a fresh blade. No dice too weak even with a full battery. So as the saying goes "cant be stuck if its liquid!" So thats just what we did here, used a oxy fuel welding torch and cut the bitch out. Control arms were a flaming mess coming off but none the less it worked. I didnt have my phone with me to take pictures so use your imagination.

After fooling with that entire operation for an hour or so we now move on to the even more IRRITATING sector of this rebuild. Removing the old worn out bushings from the upper and lower arms.

When I tell you that this was a fucking headache and a half I mean it. Again used a mini torch and heated the ever loving crap out of them. Used a hammer and a chisel and worked them out. This whole process probably took another hour or so. One person holding the arm the other person chiseling hammering. I dont have an air hammer (which I may now get after this ordeal) which in hindsight would have made this a lot easier. It works well but you need patience. Personally never replacing the bushings in this truck ever again so its a one and done for me. Saved myself some money by not paying a shop to do it as well.

Next and lastly after all that ass whooping from rust and frozen bushings I headed over to my sandblast cabinent and got to work with media blasting the upper and lower arms. This was a slow process because they are powder coated so removing the coating from the inside of the bushing placement areas is painstakingly slow. I didnt go too crazy getting all the powder coating off, just enough to make it look pretty for paint and to have the bushings sit in there nicely.

Also PSA I personally HATED the whiteline bushing kit... They left out hardware and wrote in the directions to reuse some of the OLD hardware... Yeah thats a no for me. So I am ordering up some MOOG bushings and going that route. For a whopping total of $85 thats fine with me.

Next up on the list is sandblasting and painting the knuckles along with having the machine shop rebuild the bearings and replacing the backing plates.

 

Very Nice!!!!

as far as fuel lines
Just recently another member posted an incredible hard line website
Lemme find……

 

https://www.linestogo.com/products/...-cab-prerunner-3-4l-ss1206-3a-stainless-steel

 

Thanks I actually have a bunch of left over parts from a truck I parted out ages ago and saved the fuel lines from the cab. They were off an 02 double cab. I believe they will work just fine with my 97 cab.

 

Hey all just popping in I know its been about a week since I posted. I am still working behind the scenes on a few things such as ordering up parts, finding parts I already have, and fighting the nonstop rain in jersey.

For now ill throw some photos in of parts and part numbers of stuff I ordered and or plan on ordering thus far to get the chassis "rolling"

I went with the following parts thus far:

Ordered a set of eBay wheel bearings that I've been using for the last 5 years without issue and put about 35k on without issue: Not sure the name but ill link it. Loved them so much ordered another pair for the knuckles that came off the truck. Machine shop will be rebuilding these for me. https://www.ebay.com/itm/161482125653










eBay special Replacement backing plates for the brake dust shield. Mine are rotted away, so the machine shop will be installing these when they do the bearings. Nothing fancy just a OE replacement. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335684980427

Moog Control Arm Bushings both upper and lower, opted for these over white lines as I didn't like the aftermarket white line setup being that the bushings were very exposed to the elements and not "shelled" like the OEM style. Theirs controversy apparently with MOOG quality but the community says otherwise and my wallet liked this option so I'm sticking with these and will be pressing them in myself to save some coin.

Lower bushings: (its a kit that comes with 2 per box) K200119

Upper Bushings : (only sold as singles) : K200125









Top Hats I chose Monroe for $50 for the pair I'm content with that. https://www.ebay.com/itm/255459615795










Sway bar end links : Ebay non greasable ones. Most of the aftermarkets require you to grease them constantly. Not a fan https://www.ebay.com/itm/275853103538


Keeping the OEM sway bar because theirs nothing wrong with the one that came off the truck.

Shocks and Struts Bilstein 5100 : After much deliberating and lots of back and forth I really want a good ride quality for this truck as its not going to ever see off road trails if ever.

Coil Spring: OEM replacement from rock auto. If I feel that the ride is that bad with an OEM replacement Ill switch them for Old Man EMUs. Again trying to save where I can.

Mevotech: MEVOTECH SMS81102

OEM Upper Ball Joints: 43350-39105 , 43360-39095

 

Hello friends!

All my east coast people know especially the tri state NJ area it has been nonstop rain every single weekend. Today was no exception but I didn't let that stop me from getting something done.

Today's objective was to remove the upper ball joints from the knuckles, remove the rust fused backing plates, and paint up the control arms and bushings to prep for the machine shop to install the new backing plates, wheel bearings, and upper ball joints.

I sound like a broken record but as usual everything was rusted to hell and removing the 4 bolts that hold the backing plate on were a huge pain, so I had to bust out the torch and heat them for what felt like hours before the bolts and upper bushings came loose. Lots of heat, BFH and probably an hour and change worth of my time the backing plate bolts and upper ball joints were removed.


As you can see from the picture lots of heat was used, a BFH, and a little while later the knuckles were looking bare again.

Not pictured : A mini reciprocating saw cutting out the backing plates and a pair of pliers once the bolts were removed.




I used self etching primer to paint the control arms with, and some leftover black spray paint for inside the bushing holes and to coat the bushings themselves. Goal is rust prevention.







For now they are staying in primer until the machine shop is done with them because I anticipate them getting a little scratched and scuffed along the way.

I will be painting the knuckles and arms with automotive grade paint. That will be shown in a future post.


Next up is to sand blast the knuckles throw a coat of primer on em and let the machine shop take care of the rest.

 

That rustoleum refrigerator epoxy paint you posted is really good stuff especially if you glass bead or have a profiled raw metal to spray it onto. I have used that many times with motorcycle frames that I have glassbeaded. Very durable stuff!

Good luck. I recently finished a 96 extended cab and this all looks like the fun I had!

 

Fun times sandblasting these knuckles for about an hour and change. Primed them. Now they are ready to be dropped off at the machine shop for new bearings, backing plates, and upper ball joints.

 

Wow, those look nice after sand blasting. You really are going the extra mile!

 

Sandblasted more hardware and tossed some paint on the knuckles

 

I just wanted to toss this in here as reference for anyone who may be wondering but I have a frame rail as pictured from a 4x4 Extra Cab cant remember the year off hand I think its pre 2001 (not double cab) and it is placed on top of my 2002 Double Cab Frame that I'm using.


1. Their is a slight difference between the 2.7 frame engine mounts and 3.4 but they can moved or adjusted depending on engine choice.

2. Rear Cab and Bed Mounts have to be shifted forward a couple inches.

3. The two front body mounts are identical on both and in the same spots so good news is no need to move those around.



However the rear cab mounts and bed mounts will have to be shifted forward a couple inches as shown in the picture.



Otherwise everything else lines up identical including the cross members.

 

Its been a while since I laid under the truck and inspected the reality of what this frame has become. For reference please see my second post showing that the bed forward was restored via rust repair with a new frame section.
Flash forward 5 years later and the rust has only gotten worse and the area that was patched in is now completely rusted through. I live in NJ and barely drove it in the winter as this is my second car.

I cant stress enough the importance of rust prevention on these vehicles.

The next phase of the project will be moving the cab and bed mounts to the appropriate spots and fixing any little rust on the new donor frame to prevent this from ever happening again.

In the meantime while Im waiting on some OEM parts to arrive for the frame I took the time to spray everything and anything relevant to this swap with WD 40 and CRC Power Lube. Went through both cans. If dropping this car into a pool of that stuff was an option I would have done that. I'm going to be repeatedly treating it with that combination in hopes it makes my life easier down the line.

Everything from middle of the frame back was anti seized before installation 5 years ago. Hopefully that little extra pays off now.

I also learned my differential is leaking fluid but not sure exactly where. My guess is its got a pinhole rust spot and its seeping out of the bottom or from the dif cover area.