Sure enough, on a nothing bs local errand, I hit the back of a van... hard enough to dent the center of my front bumper; messed up the grill and the small piece under the grill. (I practically broke down in tears on the side of the hell known as 94 outside of Chicago.)
This brings me to you experts.
Body shop says there are no after market parts for this car ("Toyota must have patented the parts or something.") Another gentleman, who works on vintage Porsches and Scouts, said there are aftermarket pieces for significantly less; made from steel and perfectly fine for this car "since it isn't a $40,000 vintage car, who cares".
To jog memories: this was the LC I bought to transport the Mastiffs** back and forth to the east coast - which, btw, we have done several times; as well as to Tennessee and this baby is GREAT! I need to get a sound/heat shield installed and new carpeting put in but other than that, she is wonderful. (Also contemplating a simple folding rear "bench" down the road.)
**Lots of room for activities! The beasts are delighted with what amounts to a full sized bed in the back. It is an almost absurd amount of room - I should post a photo. The only downside is that I am fairly sure people see the set up and think I live in my car.
She went in for a tune-up; purrs beautifully and we are tackling the A/C in a couple of weeks. (Story went that they had pulled the belt out to get better mpg - mechanic and vintage car guy both say "people lie". (Kind of dreading that...)
So.. long story short: advice on the bumper and grill? (I am not off-roading with her, so just a regular bumper like she had would be fine or even a more refined/lighter version of the whole front bumper/cage style I see quite often.)
Also.. what should I do with the old bumper?
Last question: My headlights are a little dim - am I able to change it out for more modern brighter headlights?
Thank you for your help on this.
This brings me to you experts.
Body shop says there are no after market parts for this car ("Toyota must have patented the parts or something.") Another gentleman, who works on vintage Porsches and Scouts, said there are aftermarket pieces for significantly less; made from steel and perfectly fine for this car "since it isn't a $40,000 vintage car, who cares".
To jog memories: this was the LC I bought to transport the Mastiffs** back and forth to the east coast - which, btw, we have done several times; as well as to Tennessee and this baby is GREAT! I need to get a sound/heat shield installed and new carpeting put in but other than that, she is wonderful. (Also contemplating a simple folding rear "bench" down the road.)
**Lots of room for activities! The beasts are delighted with what amounts to a full sized bed in the back. It is an almost absurd amount of room - I should post a photo. The only downside is that I am fairly sure people see the set up and think I live in my car.
She went in for a tune-up; purrs beautifully and we are tackling the A/C in a couple of weeks. (Story went that they had pulled the belt out to get better mpg - mechanic and vintage car guy both say "people lie". (Kind of dreading that...)
So.. long story short: advice on the bumper and grill? (I am not off-roading with her, so just a regular bumper like she had would be fine or even a more refined/lighter version of the whole front bumper/cage style I see quite often.)
Also.. what should I do with the old bumper?
Last question: My headlights are a little dim - am I able to change it out for more modern brighter headlights?
Thank you for your help on this.
