I picked up this 2000 Tacoma for $2000 with plans on swapping its engine into my 93 pickup but I ended up figuring out that I might as well fix this up since it could be a pretty nice truck too. Its a 2000 Tacoma extended cab trd sr5 3.4 V6 5 speed manual Rear electric locker 6 inch fabtech lift with 35's. It didn't come with wheels and tires since the guy wanted another $1000 for his brand new tires and wheels and I wasn't about to pay that much for them for a parts truck so a couple pictures show my 31's from my 93 pickup installed on it so that i could tow it home. He had hit a tree texting while driving.
Front end damage

Passenger side

Drivers side damage with the 35's I bought and my tow truck

 

Cool!

 

Cool, now get busy.

 

I towed it into the frame shop on Friday night so they are going to take a look at it late Monday or Tuesday and get me an actual cost of straightening it out. The Passenger front tire is pushed back a couple inches. I'm planning on converting the front end to the 2001 to 2004 style since its already needing to replace just about all of that. I have a big parts search ahead of me that's for sure.

 

sweet find man. would have been a decent donor for a 3.4 swap.

 

Yeah that's why I bought it in the first place. Then I started thinking about just fixing it up so just threw a headgasket into my 93.

 

Well after waiting 2 weeks the frame shop finally gets it up on there rack only to tell me that they can't fix it. So there went $85 for nothing there. I towed it to 2 other shops today it looks like I can replace the front of the frame with a straight used frame that I would have to find and they would sleeve it and weld it. Either that or I could do a complete frame swap. I wish the first shop would have just told me that before putting the frame on the rack to measure it out and charge me.

So now I have to decide what to do. I could replace the whole frame if I can find a used one that's not damaged. That just seams like its a ton of work swapping everything over. I could buy a used front section of the frame and have it welded on. With those first two I will run into problems with the dumb fabtech 6 inch bracket lift because of the cut front crossmember and weather or not anything in the lift is bent. I would rather have a long travel anyways but how hard will it be to find parts and convert from a bracket lift to a long travel? Or my original plan was to part it out and keep the engine and ecu for a 3.4 swap into my 93 Toyota Pickup. Hmm any advice?

 

Here are some pictures and a little sheet of paper that I got for the $85 to check the frame. It has a few measurements on it. Click on the thumbnails to open the images larger.

 

swap the motor and the whole rear axle into your 93. then lift it or sas it.

overdrive

 

Right now I'm planning on buying a 93 4runner for cheap to swap the engine and rear locking axle into but I have to sell my audi a4 quattro that I don't drive anymore first. I have way too many cars and while I have a huge driveway its just becoming too much of a car lot with shuffling cars around. I need to keep one truck running as i work as a Carpenter so I can't have my pickup down while I'm figuring out the wiring for the swap to actually work.

 

frame swapping is just tedious. I swapped frames on my 87 pickup in 4 straight days bymyself (majority of the time). It's doable!

 

Yeah the frame swap just sounds like a ton of work. And then when I'm done with that I would have to start back where I was to do the body work and all. That's why I'm planning on picking up this 4runner with a straight body to throw the 3.4 into. I like the older body style better anyways. That whole rounded body line on the front of the tacoma's fenders just ruins them for me.