front end damage: where to look

[bryan89]

hi all,
i am looking locally at a first generation 4runner. the guy has it on craigslist. looks pretty solid. black 87. 22re. 5spd. clean-ish interior. original paint, except for the front clip. it has been repainted and the bumper looks kind of new.

so, i thought it might be a wrecked truck repaint. the man said that he didnt see any signs of a wreck under there, but i am going to look at it soon to see for myself.

my question is do you "kings of all things toyota" have any suggestions/secrets on where i should look on the front end to see if there was frame damage? is there one area that always crumples or is really hard to straighten out?

personally, i have never seen a krinkled frame up close. hell, i have only seen the under side of a first gen 4runner once or twice. so any advice is appreciated.

my thinking is if the hood and both front fenders were replaced and painted and maybe the bumper it would have to have been a direct frontal hit. should be noticable on front cross member right?
but he also said that he is having the original radiator rebuilt....so idk what to think. why would someone paint half a truck? maybe to preserve those sweet silver stripe graphcis on the side? lol..

thanks
bryan

 

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

The fenders, hood, and bumper are not nearly as stout as the frame. You can mess them up on a deer pretty easy and not hurt the frame one bit. Check the inner fenders for any wrinkles, and the front support that the radiator mounts to.

If the truck still has it's brush guard under the front, see if it's bent, and or still bolted on with all 4 bolts...

 

[bryan89]

did an autocheck. the thing has had 12 owners since 87 and been in three accidents. two the rear. one to left front. they were back in 2002 and 2006.

one thing it has going for it is that it has been within 50 miles of its original dealership its whole life, with the exception of a 1 year stent in colorado, but now its back to its original home in NC.

its a 3 hour ride for a look. what do you guys think. worth a look? asking $2750. 185,000miles

i know the rear wreck probably required a tailgate because the guy said the rear gate has chips of red coming up from underneath black. and the fenders/hood on the front. hoping that it was all sheet metal though.

 

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

Sounds a little steep for something with that many accidents.... If it's rust free then maybe...

 

[bryan89]

im going to put it on the back burner for now. its still an option cause its close to home. dont mind the accidents if there was no real frame damage and the repair was done alright.

but i am still searching.

 

[KLF]

The body parts (hood & fenders) should have stickers on them somewhere with matching VINs. If the stickers are not there, then they are not original. Next would be the quality of the replacement parts, AFAIK all OEM body parts have TOYOTA stamped into them somewhere.

Look at the frame crossmember behind the front valence, under the bumper. It's the part with the row of holes in it. It should be straight.

That price is too high.

 

[Combat Chuck]

That price is ridiculous. I wouldn't care if it was rebuilt with body panels made out of solid money, and you could eat off the inside of the valve cover, I wouldn't go much higher than 1500 for a truck that's been in three accidents.