Capture Colorado 01 TRD Taco - GOAE build

[capturecolorado]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Today the mechanic got the fluids changed or topped off as needed and got it , he said it lost abrunninglost3qts of oil, it sputtered and spewed gnarly exhaust for a bit, and then ran smoothly. He said he massaged the doors around and got the windows rolled up and drove it to the body shop. The body shop dude is working on finding a donor cab, till then I'm not sure how he wants to do things.

 

[capturecolorado]

Does anyone have any good resources for info on cab swappage? I've perused multiple threads, and so far the most informational has been Monte's. The thought of doing a full cab swap is high on my list of consideration right now, as it'll be more structurally sound, and require less body work. I'm tentative with the idea of doing the roof swap - at best if the pillars are all sleeved on the inside, it'll just be slightly less prone to buckling in the event that the truck wants its belly rubbed again. No matter how well it's done, there's always going to be that possibility lurking in the back of my mind.

And I don't like the way cages look on tacos, and don't want one on mine - too busy for my taste.

Basically, I can make my schedule such that I have time to fuss around with a cab swap, provided I can figure out space to do this, and the steps necessary. I want to be absolutely sure that this is something I can confidently tackle before I dive into it, as if I get in over my head, that's kind of a tough spot to be in.

As with any project I begin, I make sure I know the major steps before I begin, cut, or remove anything. Does anyone have info for how the wiring from the engine bay to the cab attach inside? And what all enters/exits the cab (roughly) for electrical and mechanical? Obviously the throttle cable, parking brake, brake and clutch stuff, are all mechanical, I've never looked closely at how the brake and clutch bits transfer through the firewall, but the throttle and parking brake are just cables.

I figure if I can completely gut the donor cab, get the existing cab off, and the gutted donor on the frame, then connect the basics, I can go to work disassembling my cab and systematically moving parts from one to the other - bit by bit...

 

[bknudtsen]

Cab swap makes the most sense to me. Invest in a bunch of zip-loc bags, a marker and take your time.

 

[soonenough]

Cab swap makes the most sense to me. Invest in a bunch of zip-loc bags, a marker and take your time.

And take a LOT of photos.

 

[capturecolorado]

Many...many photos. I was just thinking Google Glass would be handy for that, except for the $1500 price tag...

 

[tacoma_AL]

Many...many photos. I was just thinking Google Glass would be handy for that, except for the $1500 price tag...

go-pro? Essentially could work the same way

 

[capturecolorado]

True, my dad has my old Gopro, and I've got a little point and shoot that would lend itself well to that task.

 

[johnboytrd]

Hey there, subbing your build here too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shadow61]

being a collision repairman i can tell you a cab swap isnt that difficult. we change frames on trucks all the time and removing the cab only takes a few hours if you are at all mechanically inclined. most wiring for the engine compartment either unplugs at the fuse box or out under the engine compartment. we label all our connections and take pictures.we can take a wrecked truck, one man working on it, and swap a frame under it in about 3 days. thats removing the bed, taking off the cab, placing the new frame on stands, swapping all the suspension, fuel systems, engine and tranny etc, then setting the stuff back on it. If you have access to a 2 post lift it will make your life a lot easier. as for swapping out the interior stuff it can be done in a day. Granted i have been doing it for about 30 yrs but i see new guys come into this field and be able to do the same thing

 

[capturecolorado]

being a collision repairman i can tell you a cab swap isnt that difficult. we change frames on trucks all the time and removing the cab only takes a few hours if you are at all mechanically inclined. most wiring for the engine compartment either unplugs at the fuse box or out under the engine compartment. we label all our connections and take pictures.we can take a wrecked truck, one man working on it, and swap a frame under it in about 3 days. thats removing the bed, taking off the cab, placing the new frame on stands, swapping all the suspension, fuel systems, engine and tranny etc, then setting the stuff back on it. If you have access to a 2 post lift it will make your life a lot easier. as for swapping out the interior stuff it can be done in a day. Granted i have been doing it for about 30 yrs but i see new guys come into this field and be able to do the same thing

I think this is the route we're going to go. I met with my dad, and my friend Terry who's offered his services as a TIG welder today (he's also swapped roofs on a few older FJ's). I went into the discussion thinking the roof swap would be the generally agreed-upon route we'd end up going, especially since my dad has seemed hesitant, if not against the idea, since early on. But after discussing it, bouncing ideas back and forth and kind of running through the "game plan", the three of us kind of concluded that the cab swap is the most logical route to go, and the most reliable (and no body filler!).

So now I'm going to try and do as much quick research as I can and prepare to take a few extra days off of work to make sure I have the time to do this, including paint. The mechanical things that I'm uncertain of how to tackle are the clutch, and brake / master cylinder, the rest I'm sure will be pretty straight forward, disconnect, move, reconnect. For those who have done this - do you have insight as to how to deal with the VIN thing? Just drill out the rivets and move the original VIN plate over to the new cab?

 

[capturecolorado]

Shipping info for the service manual said it was set to arrive at my house Tuesday sometime, happy to see it arrived Saturday

And more importantly, we have CAB! Yesterday my dad and I rented a trailer and went up to Jim's yard to pick up the cab and new doors, dropped by the car wash on the way back to give it a good cleaning, then with the help of 3 extra sets of hands, the 5 of us got the cab up and out of the bed and into the garage without a hitch.

It was really funny driving back from the yard, because we kept thinking there was this ******* in a little truck tailgating us...

I have to work today and tomorrow, since I sucked myself into managing eBay sales for work, and planned an event for today, but tomorrow night I roll down to my parents house, and Tuesday morning I begin the process... I need to come up with an order of operations, but that's yet to happen.

I've also decided on paint, and ordered paint today, hopefully it'll arrive before long - going with a replica CARC desert storm tan

If any of you local guys know of the existence of an 01-04 headliner and / or door panels, preferably of the tan variety, please let me know!

I'm both nervous and excited to begin this process, nervous for the stupid amount of intricate steps I'm going to have to endure in the coming week, yet excited for the intimate knowledge I'm about to gain on how the truck is put together.

 

[BrennMan]

This is going to be so cool to watch. Super impressed you are taking this on. Well done. :wings:

 

[capturecolorado]

This is going to be so cool to watch. Super impressed you are taking this on. Well done. :wings:

Thanks man. I'll be sure to post up pictures nightly, I've got my small camera charging now so I can stay on top of orientation photos, as well as general progress shots.

Tomorrow morning, plan is to begin removing major stuff, starting at the back end and moving forward:
- rear bumper
- bed/contents
~ turn truck around in garage ~
- fenders
- glass
- at least the passenger seat, maybe driver and then lightly install for repositioning truck
- interior trim / carpet / headliner / etc.

Once the headliner is out and trim removed I'll get my bearings on what the wiring into that part of the cab looks like and remove it as needed. As soon as that's all clear I'll be cutting the roof off, then throwing it on the ground and stomping on it angrily :violent-smiley-031:. But mostly to have an easier time working on the thing, especially since I'll be able to have more light going into the cab, and be less crunched.

Excited, nervous, and ready to get on with life.

 

[capturecolorado]

Well, my back hurts.

Started the day off by removing the topper, rear bumper, and getting the bed ready to pluck off.

Once that was done, I got to work on the interior trim, I also had my windshield guy come by and pull the one from the donor cab, while he was here he pushed out the rear window for me. Turns out, the doors on these things are stupid easy to remove... like, way easier than my Jeep's doors were - yay logical construction!

This next image only reminds me of one thing...

Decapitated 'er so it'd be easier to work on and see. Turns out, it is.

Final resting place of the day.

Tomorrow I'm going to toss the seat back in, turn it around, and park it in its final resting place until everything is done, at which point I'll begin fully disassembling the rest of the dash wiring. Tonight I just removed the cosmetic bits, and non-critical things, so that I can still get it running in the morning.

 

[seanpistol]

Good work!