Turning 2 trucks into 1 and Sourcing Repair panels

I have acquired two tacos, an 04 single cab with a 2.4, bent frame, tons of frame rust with 180,000 miles. Got it for $800 and a beat up 96 extended cab with 300,000 miles (bought for $1000, the previous owner was replacing the torque converter and said when he put it back together the tranny puked a bunch of fluid and he quit messing with it.) My plan is to marry them and have one good truck. I think I wanna keep the 96 and steal parts from the 04. What would you do? Lots of body work needed on the 96 and I’m looking for a good source for repair panels.

 

This sounds like an elaborate project and the differences between the 96 and 04 are numerous, especially since the frames are different as well.

You are best off paying the $480 for a year of TIS access as you'll constantly be checking for part numbers, interchangeability and other things.
https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_pageLabel=ti_whats_tis&_nfpb=true

Or $90 a month.

 

Welcome to the Forum!

Make your own repair panels buying them from the Southwest USA the shipping might get expensive.

 

What shape is the bed, doors and fenders in on the 04. All of that you can swap right over. Grill, hood, lights, and core support are different but can be swapped with a little work.

Pictures of the trucks will help you get more feedback.

I'v done a lot of FrankenTaco work. Check out my build thread for reference.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-green-truck-5lug-to-6lug-conversion.660999/