An insane question... (1 Viewer)

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What’s up 🐷 people?!

So I’ve spent a LONG, and mostly painstaking, time in the 80 subsection learning as much as I can. And while I’m not done, I have plenty of time to catch up with that, so I can wrap my mind around the last vehicle I’ll (that’s a loose term, this’ll be a huge project) ever build, and of course it’s a 55.

Without getting in to too many details I probably haven’t thought too well through yet, the question is..

Is there a Toyota or Lexus ‘donor’ chassis (drivetrain and all) that would mate up to a 55 body/cab with minimal midlife crisis? Or has anyone ever tried this?

More or less, would a (let’s just say a..) ‘12 4Runner, or an ‘11 GX460 donor be a good vehicle to use as a base, and essentially source a 55 for the body and cab ( and worry about interior after ).
 
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The beauty is it’ll never be registered in CA, so the smog issue isn’t worrying me. I won’t say anymore to that but it’s a non-ish 🤙🏻👍🏻

I’ll look in to that! Would be a pretty solid choice for sure
 
Is there a Toyota or Lexus ‘donor’ chassis (drivetrain and all) that would mate up to a 55 body/cab with minimal midlife crisis?


Short answer...no, but guys have done it with some cutting and welding and a lot of knowledge on what works and what doesn't. It's just not so simple as to throw a body on a different frame, they got wider and longer as time went by.
 
Short answer...no, but guys have done it with some cutting and welding and a lot of knowledge on what works and what doesn't. It's just not so simple as to throw a body on a different frame, they got wider and longer as time went by.
True! And I don’t have the knowledge or skill to start something that will knowingly be a botch job..

Lots of smart stuff
Those are the issues I foresaw, or some of them anyway. I see your point with the smog, and yeah I would never want to start something that wouldn’t end up performing what I need it to. I really ultimately want a 2018 TRD pro 4runner with a pig frame 😂😂
 
I mean yes and no. But if I was doing something of this magnitude, it’d have to be pretty stellar.

My heart wants a piggy, and my practicality and intention for this wants something reliable, utterly reliable.

So it’s either find a nice pig and start the restore or frankenpig something together. I used the 4runner as an example of a affordable, newer, platform as a parts base if I wasn’t restoring what was in the 55
 
Personally, the legal side of things is what I always like to square away... thus the quick VIN post ;) All the other stuff is 'elbow grease' ;)

I'm not sure you could get any worthwhile Toyota chassis for a price that would be less than updating a 55.

FWIW, my 6.0L FJ55 was mostly reliable and a better driver than my 2002 Tacoma... it was only 'desired' changes that have caused me a lot of down time :flush:
A fair point, and I’d be upgrading the suspension and just about anything else as it stands.

Then the only other avenue I would have super questions about is if I wanted to put in a new crate yota engine, again for the sake of argument, imagine either out of a 4run or new lc, is have to run that ecu, and then swap out for, ideally, that mates transmission. Would that be a mess?
 
This should interest you: 55 + 80 + 100:

 
This should interest you: 55 + 80 + 100:

Exactly the reading I was looking for! Cheers brother thank you
 
Without getting in to too many details I probably haven’t thought too well through yet, the question is..

Is there a Toyota or Lexus ‘donor’ chassis (drivetrain and all) that would mate up to a 55 body/cab with minimal midlife crisis? Or has anyone ever tried this?
Given enough time, money and talent anything is possible! What you're describing would take lots of all of them.
 
As we used to say back in my drag racing days, “Cubic dollars always wins.” The alternative was “If it don’t go, chrome it.”
 

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