Capture Colorado 01 TRD Taco - GOAE build

[MtnClimber]

I wish we weren't so far apart. I have my stock set of struts you could have and a set of stock 16"ers with some 265/70R16's that ain't much good. All of which from my 01 DC Taco

 

[austintaco]

Well that just sucks. There really is no better way to say it, but at least you are OK. Just a heads up though. Since you are still in limbo about what insurance will and will not cover, be careful about what you post on the net. I know you are not hiding anything, but sometimes one wrong word can allow them to deny the claim. It's on your mind, you want to talk it out, but don't do it on a public forum. Protect yourself. Good luck and I hope this works out for the best.

 

[capturecolorado]

Ouch :/ that's rough... At least you're ok!

I keep telling myself to focus on the still OK part - it's not always the easiest, but the potential for this having taken a turn for the worse was quite high, so I'm thankful it didn't result in any bodily harm...

Damn man sorry about your truck. Blows me away that the topper held up. 2nd flop I've seen where one survived. Hope you get everything sorted out.

Overall it looks like it's in good shape, but on the cab-side passenger part, I think one of the stays on the frame might be tweaked, but not bad! My theory is that because they're somewhat suspended under tension, that it just deflected when the truck sat on it. Kind of the nice part of having it be a flexible system with only 1 actual attachment of the frame to the bed.

I'm not sure if 2nd gen struts and 1st gen struts are the same but I have a pair of old ones from an 07 sitting around that I could throw your way. PM me if you are interested, I'm over in Westminster.

Thanks to Kole, it sounds like it'd work for my purposes! It's worth a shot, at least!

If I remember correctly they will fit, but because the 2nd gen strut assembly is physically longer than the 1st gen it changes the geometry. What it will do is cause the strut to be the limiting factor in up travel instead of the bump and it will cause the ball joints to be the limiting factor in the down travel.

So with that said if you're doing it just to hand the truck over to insurance and be done with it then it should work.

I think....

Worth a shot! Thanks for the info

I wish we weren't so far apart. I have my stock set of struts you could have and a set of stock 16"ers with some 265/70R16's that ain't much good. All of which from my 01 DC Taco

Man, that would be perfect! Bummer you're so far :\ On the bright side, one of my coworkers will give me some tires (from his Subi), might pursue that option if need be.

Well that just sucks. There really is no better way to say it, but at least you are OK. Just a heads up though. Since you are still in limbo about what insurance will and will not cover, be careful about what you post on the net. I know you are not hiding anything, but sometimes one wrong word can allow them to deny the claim. It's on your mind, you want to talk it out, but don't do it on a public forum. Protect yourself. Good luck and I hope this works out for the best.

Ah, yes, good point. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Adventurous]

Thanks to Kole, it sounds like it'd work for my purposes! It's worth a shot, at least!

It sure is! Besides, I'm not using them. And having had a totaled truck recently I know how hard it can be.

 

[tacoma_AL]

Man, glad you're good and able to walk away, really sucks to see what happened to your truck. Wish I had something I could just send you to get her up and running. Best of luck getting her up and running again.

 

[capturecolorado]

Thanks man, it's rough, but fortunately my family is helping me with this - I'm at work so much lately, my dad's taken over trying to get in touch with the police and insurance on my behalf... which hasn't really gotten us anywhere. Insurance is claiming that uninsured motorist coverage won't apply as there was no vehicle-on-vehicle contact. Since I only have liability, and we can't find the guy who ran me off the road, there's not looking like there'll be any way to get the expenses covered by any insurance.

We're currently exploring the option of repairing it ourselves - tonight my dad came by the house with a contact of his who has done many restorations, and who has a friend at a body shop. He took a bunch of pictures this evening and will be showing them to his body shop buddy, and we'll see if that guy is interested in taking this project on. My dad's contact is saying that he thinks pulling the dents out could be an option - albeit not a perfect one. Frankly, I'm leaning toward finding a donor truck to chop the roof off of, and graft the top of the cab over to my truck; whether that's a task undertaken by myself, or by the body shop is currently in question.

The remainder of the damage is pretty straight forward and bolt-on components, doors, fenders, bed, etc., all of which I can probably source from yota yards and other junk yards. I'm not afraid of dealing with paint, and maybe some bondo here and there, but I would prefer the major cab repair be done by those with more experience, and I honestly think that a cab graft like this would be easier for the shop to do than trying to pull the crumples out. It's in my interest to pursue the graft as I don't want my truck to look as crappy as it probably would no matter how detailed the work is done in pulling these dents.

Also, if all this ever gets sorted out, I might be bobbing the bed to the length of the short bed option, and tracking down a topper for a DCSB taco, that would solve some departure angle problems and make the truck rather unusual looking

 

[Kole]

If you're going to buy another cab why not just swap the cab. To do a graft most of the interior will need to be pulled anyway. That's like 50% of the work done. Just plop the other cab on there an have an undamaged 100% stock cab.

 

[tacoma_AL]

You got a good family there Capturecolorado. Would be interestingly cool to see an Xtracab with a Dblcab length bed and cap

I tried doing that a while ago Kole, not in the same condition as he was, but the logistics and time it took to even start swapping over a xtracab to a dblcab was a fbeepking nightmare. He can also probably get the cab a lot cheaper if he's just looking for the top. Just wha I think.

 

[capturecolorado]

I've certainly thought about doing a full cab swap, but the amount of logistics for wiring and moving a cab around would be rather large. Whenever I hear from the body shop, I might see what they think about that - since if I find a donor cab for the top, the rest will likely be in reasonable shape for something like that, but I think the additional steps to do the full swap would be far greater than chopping the two tops.

 

[thefatkid]

I've certainly thought about doing a full cab swap, but the amount of logistics for wiring and moving a cab around would be rather large. Whenever I hear from the body shop, I might see what they think about that - since if I find a donor cab for the top, the rest will likely be in reasonable shape for something like that, but I think the additional steps to do the full swap would be far greater than chopping the two tops.

Swapping cabs is not difficult at all. The most difficult part is having enough man-power to lift the cab over the engine. The wiring and interior should take 5-6 hours tops. With a donor cab you still are left with the bed damage. The frame could be straightened if there are no creases, that would be easier with the cab off.

The biggest issues I have seen with pillar replacement is most body shops will not replace the whole thing, they chop it flush and butt weld it above the fender. This is no longer strong enough to hold if you roll again. A full pillar replacement is difficult and expensive.

 

[capturecolorado]

Today, the latest implementation of the never-ending flow of stressors in my life. We had a tow truck driver come up (keep in mind, it's 6f at the house, and expected snowfall between now and tomorrow morning is up to 10" in my neck of the woods (heh).

Guy wasn't a very happy camper that he had to drive on a snowy road... go figure, he's working during a BLIZZARD... And he never let me forget that fact. Granted, he was also ill-equipped, not having any chains for his truck.

I miss having fun.

The good news: it's safe and sound at the repair shop... and once it was up on the truck and on more level ground - the suspension leveled out nicely, so I'm going to say the frame is just fine.

 

[soonenough]

So what's the final verdict - cab swap or cab surgery?

 

[rickashay]

Bummer on the accident but your safety is the 1 priority so I'm glad your ok. Very nice Tacoma and I wish you the best in getting it back on the road again. Cant believe the snow you've got already!

 

[tacoma_AL]

Thing about it is, that is still one drop dead good looking 1st gen all banged up and being towed out. Hoping good news comes your way.

 

[gtbensley]

Sorry to see this. Glad you are ok. I have always enjoyed reading your build thread, looking forward to seeing where it goes.