What would you do?

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

Long story short I think the frame is junk on my Tacoma........No not from rust.......from being bent then fixed.

I have a spot where the seam started to rip and the fram gave a little and it feels paper thin (more so then normal).

Anyway i am at a loss now what to do. The truck is paid for, I don't have that much into it and it runs / drives / looks great. My plan before this discovery was to build / wheel it till it one day became nothing more than a bunch of tube:D

Now I am not so sure about that Idea since the foundation of the build is suspect.

Whatever I do I want the rig to be able be driven anywhere anytime (for now).

Personally I am leaning towards buying an older toy that is nice and clean, swaping in the 3.4, r150 and the cases and then adding a drivers drop front axle but I would like to hear your thoughts

[head]

I am going to have to say stick with the Tacoma. You have all the fun goodies for it now, plus all the nice new creatue comforts. I'd look over the frame good and see where it could use plated. Once patched, coat the inside of the frame with oil to help fight rust.

But on the other hand, a retro rig with a modern drivetrain in it would be pretty sick too.

[head]

Plus I want to seem someone use those sick doors me and Joe built.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

I see what you are saying.......thing is this........my truck has no creature comforts now......all have is air and cruise.......both of which should be able to go into the new truck.

As far as the stuff that is on the truck.

I would plan to swap the engine, trans, cases, and rear axle into the new truck. That really only leaves the lift as an unsed upgrade but the lift is gonna be useless anyhow when I swap the front of this truck.

and while we are talking SAS I think an older truck would be easier / cheaper then the tacoma.

[ohio03trdtaco]

Do you want a DD or a trail rig? Any pic's of the damage to get a bit better idea what is going on? Any ways if your looking for it to become a trail rig just patch and start the :saw: Seems like it would be more work to pull the drive train and splice it into a older toy?

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

my goal is to have a truck with a solid front axle on 35-37" tires that can do moderate to difficult trails while still being able to be driven down the highway in comfort.

I don't want to have to tow it.

The amount of work it will take is not a great concern.

what has me scared is that i will just be patching one spot only to have a new spot become the weak link.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

I need to change my oil sometime in the not so distant future so while it is on the hoist I will try to snap some pics.

[simple4runner]

I'd fix the taco. If you are careful how you design the patches your frame can be as strong or stronger than new. The old trucks and runners end up having the same problems with frame rust once you drive them in the salt.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

well once I get through this winter I have decided that whatever I do or whatever I get the only salt it will see is if I drive it to a winter wheeling event.

I am done daily driving these trucks in the winter......I will buy a cheap beater to get me by......even if it costs me a grand it is still better then destroying the truck I have all my money, time and hard work into.

[toy yoda]

Pics would help!

I agree with you on the fact that it would be cheaper and easyer to build an older truck, and personally i like the older toys (i may be a little biased). but if i understand your situation correctly, what I would do is try and patch up the taco, and see how far you get, if you end up bending or breaking the frame then you can decide from there. and see what becomes avalible between now and then. you may be surprised at how far you can get!

[ike]

Depending on what the damage looks like i would patch the frame, or find a replacement frame from a yard and keep the tacoma.

[NEV2DEP]

I vote for 3 & 4 and build a donk

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

Your the one that needs to do that.........that way you fit in a little better in the hood.

[captain insano]

Fix it and wheel it.
If you notice after a while that your frame repairs aren’t holding up and it’s too much to fix, then grab another one to start on. That way you don’t miss out on wheeling.

[Full_Tilt_Fud]

I looked it over real good last night while I had it in the air.......there is only on spot that is really bad on the pass side right under the door (I took pics but they did not show it well) It is bad enough I think it would qualify for buy back but the rest is pretty dam solid.

I am gonna have to think about this some more and decide what I want to do.

[ugly's ok]

Forget wheeling all together......I was always a crappy driver / spotter any way lmao!

[simple4runner]

Forget wheeling all together......I was always a crappy driver / spotter any way lmao!

At least you don't drive jeep anymore, it could be worse!

[ugly's ok]

At least you don't drive jeep anymore, it could be worse!Ha ha