1995 Tacoma w a '99 4Runner front clip rescue

So last June I picked up a 6/95 production date Tacoma. I live in NE Ohio so lots of salt and I'm used to working on rust. I also like to save these older trucks and land cruisers instead of sending them to scrap. My wife says I am a great turd polisher, LOL. I've used this project to teach myself to weld, do bodywork and to think outside the box, or at least outside the box for me. So I started w the Tacoma and put the front end of a 99 4Runner on it that I had for parts. It's almost road worthy, finally and I am very happy with how it turned out. Posting these pics and comments in hopes maybe somebody else can use the info along the way. Im sure this model has been done b4, just sharing my experiences. I did this with the help of my good buddy Rob and my best friends Dad, George SR. My best friend passed away 1-24-09 but I stay in touch w his Dad and all of this work was done at his shop. It's been a fun project w lots of laughs, beer drinking and just general shop shenanigans. Heres a pic of the truck when I drove it home. 2.7L auto w 262k on it, manual hubs and 4x4.

 

I'm anxious to see the progress. I love restoration projects.

 

We swapped out core support, fenders and hood along w hinges off of the donor 99 4Runner. Also I welded in new rockers and extra cab pieces and fixed various rust issues in bed and rear wheel wells and tailgate. I used the fender flares off of the 4Runner too. Few more pics getting ideas and mockups......I must say at 52 years old I've never taken on a project of this size. I know alot of people are thinking why work on something rusty etc. For me it was more about the project and seeing it thru to completion and having fun and learning along the way. It's been very rewarding for me so keep that in mind when looking at my beginners work and skill levels. Started w welding in some floor patches. Good thing I'm a good grinder because I am not much of a welder....LOL. I used alot of POR15 and USC All Metal in this project. I like All Metal because it stands up to salt much better then bondo. I also installed Boom Mat over entire floor of truck after patching and painting to aid in sound deading.

 

Swapping core support and bolting up all parts was pretty straight forward. Core support was drilling all spot welds on both core supports and installing 4Runner core on Tacoma. I used Tacoma radiator and deleted the Tacomas AC as it did not work anyway. When putting on core support I used a combo of lower mount bushings from Tacoma and 4Runner to get core support to right height. I used washer bottle from 4Runner. Lined up fenders and tacked new core in place. Lots of tweaking and a little pushing and pulling but for the most part pretty straightforward. Hood from 4Runner and hood hinges have to be swapped and hood hinge bolts have to be put in b4 the fenders go on for easy access. I also welded in new rockers and extra cab pieces too. OK, enough talking....more pics....

 

Front bumper looks like bubba gumps bottom lip

 

Yes it does.....LOL....I blacked it all out so it's a little less Gumpish looking now...... ;-)

 

Few more pics........the rear fender flares were in 3 pieces when taken off the 4Runner. I screwed them together and then drilled out the mount holes from the backside. I then used sheet metal screws and 3M panel bond glue to fix them on the Taco bed. The gas door cutout was a challenge too. But I am happy the way it all turned out.

 

I just added pics to previous post...sorry about that......sport hood.....funny you should say that!

 

Few more pics of flares and mounting. Used All Metal to blend in seams.

 

Few of gas cap cutout....I only used the minimal expanding foam as a backer to hold All Metal in place as I shaped the cutout. Took about 6 coats and lots of sanding! Passenger side was much easier

 

Tuned up the tailgate.....disassembled and lubed everything and fluid filmed the entire inside of gate.

 

Yep Taco Critter......found a sport hood in Erie, totally changed the look of the truck. Sooooo glad I went and got it!

 

What color is the truck going to be ?

 

Its white Monstaliner!

 

Few more various pics of bodywork.......sanding....lots of sanding......lol
I sanded the whole truck w 80 grit, then 220 then red ragged it w the pads that came in the Monstaliner kit.

 

I've never used Monstaliner before but I decided to on this project because I did alot of patching and repairing and figured my bodywork could benefit from the textured finish. I am thrilled w the product, application process and results. This stuff is tough and makes an amatuer like me sorta look like I know what I'm doing. I put on in 2 coats and then went back and blacked everything out. Door handles, cowl and wipers, tailgate handle, front bumper and I installed a new back bumper. I also put 3 coats of Raptor bedliner on bed too. In hindsight I should have done all the trim painting first as once the body is monstalined it's hard to get a nice clean masked edge so I had some bleed through to deal w but nothing major. All the black is VHT Brand engine paint in "GM Satin" finish. This is good rattle can paint as I've used it on my Jeep and it's tough and holds up well to UV.

 

Installed new headlights, taillights, 3rd brake light, marker lights and turn signals to freshen it up.

 

Few mechanical things I've done on truck as well. Installed new front struts from a '99 4Runner. This lifted the front about 1 1/4" and leveled it out. Also installed new rear shocks, LSPV valve and various brake lines. Replaced center carrier bearing on driveshaft and did all the normal fluid and filter changes including the transmission. Previous owner broke interior door skins so I took those all apart and fixed. Cleaned and lubed inside doors and fluid filmed everything while I had it apart. Lots of little things to make it road worthy again.

 

Thanks, appreciate that!

 

Couple pics of powder coated OEM 4Runner wheels and new tires....satin black w satin black center caps and black lug nuts makes the truck look sooooo much better. Crappy pics but the 285-75/16 Mastercraft MXT's look good I think. Also mounted a 20" light bar behind bumper lower valance in stealth mode....lol....installed switch by left knee kick plate using an OEM knockout panel. Looks good and is super bright. Still some work to do on Saturday but should do the first snow run on Sunday!