1997 & 2004 front body part compatibility

does anyone know if the hood & headlight/grille assembly can be interchanged between a 2004 & 1997 tacoma?

i have a 2004 taco and the front end got it's teeth knocked in a bit. a buddy of mine has a 1997 taco that he uses as a parts truck, and the headlight/grille assembly and hood are in great shape. so i was hoping to use those parts on my 04, and was wondering if anyone could speak to compatibility issues for those components between the 2 years. i'd try to do a test fit, but he lives far enough away that i wouldn't want to make the trek without some reassurance. at a glance, it looks like all the adjacent body parts are identical between the 2 trucks. so i'm hoping it would work out.

thanks, in advance, for any input you could offer.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld

 

You’ll need a new grill, hood, lights, hood hook, lights, little odds and ends, and bumper. The frame horns are different on the 01-04 and have an added extension that bolts on to them. @Ccrowe323 did this recently.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/crowe’s-01-double-cab-build.667480/

 

thanks for the info!

 

Did you ever do this OP?

 

No-I wound up finding a nice 98 shortly thereafter, and just sold the 04.

 

Did you even look at the parts? I'm just curious if you think it would work and how much of a pain in the ass it would be.

 

Bump cuz now I'm very curious myself just what it would take to slap a 97 front end on an 04.

 

unfortunately, i don't have all the details and part numbers i collected to do the job anymore, so i'm only working off of memory. however, my recollection is that the job would have been easy, but a little fussy. a couple folks have done write ups which would be more helpful than whatever i'd say, having never done the work...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-95-5-97-grille-swap-onto-01-04.95766/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/95-96-grill-sawp-to-2001-2004.217653/page-2#post-23930593