1st. gen. Toyota seat trim. Too pricey.

My trim piece broke just like almost everyone elses. Hadn't checked prices in over a year. I spent at least 4 - 8 hours laminating a sheet (layer) of fibreglass cloth, with resin onto the back inside, and another layer on the outside of trim. sanded it smooth and covered it with a piece of leather. Looked really cool and custom. Lasted a year and a half. My brand new trim piece just arrived from ( WALMART ), thats right, for under $40.00. Think I'll still put a layer on the back of new one. Appears identical. go Walmart.

 

Being that you've broken a laminated reinforcement already, I'd suggest adding something else into the layup- a few flat pieces of 1/8" alloy or something across where it breaks? Composites generally don't do well in flat panels and need to be reinforced with stringers or other structural members. Maybe lay up some "V" shaped glass stringers you can then glue to the back and then cover in glass?

 

When I got my first Gen 1 (a 2001) it had that broken trim piece on the driver side. I replaced it with the OEM part, making sure the the tab in the center of the piece was latched onto the metal of the seat. Twelve or so years later, including a swap of that charcoal interior into the 2003 Gen 1 I have now, and the piece is perfect.

I've often wondered if some trucks not having that center tab hooked up correctly leads to the stresses and strains that result in cracking.

 

I think it's more about how you get in and out of the truck, and to some degree lift.

 

Indeed -- could be. I'm 6' 6", so I fold myself into my Gen 1 pretty carefully.

The trim was cracked on my first Gen 1 when I got it, and that little center tab wasn't engaged when I took the piece off to put the new one on.

 

@mechanicjon also offers a solution...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-tacoma-seat-trim-side-cover-reinforcement.501569/