Q? Std or Ex cab?

blacktaco · 11-04-2009, 09:46 PM

I have std cab 97 taco which i just a hit deer with and damaged the radiator core support, the passenger side headlight and marker as well as the fender and hood i was looking to get it fixed until a little while ago where i ran across a 96 extended cab that has a blown head gasket and the owner feels it's a lost cause... i have a fair amount of $ in my motor and the x-cab has a 2Rz also so it's a pretty direct swap, i've swapped engines in this truck before so no big deal... question is, should i use the 96 to steal parts from to fix mine and then look into fixing the head gasket or if it was catastrophic pull it and put in the monster 2Rz i'm building now... that would give me two trucks... or pull my motor and other performance goodies and put in that truck and then cut mine in half and make a trailer out of teh back half of the std cab??? what do you think?

**Enola Gaia** · 11-04-2009, 10:00 PM

Is the 1996 XtraCab in as good or better overall shape (except for the engine) as your 1997?

blacktaco · 11-04-2009, 10:08 PM

it's in fair shape, my std cab is alot cleaner, but if i take the drivers door as well as the good parts of the 97 front end and swap it (like the headlights better) get a new set of 97 lights and move my wheels and camper shell and bed kit over and have it sprayed black (ex cab is maroon now, std cab is black) i think it will be nice... then i'd cut up the std cab and make a trailer to haul my toys/firewood/gear for camping trips... etc

**Enola Gaia** · 11-04-2009, 10:19 PM

You might want to check the fitment of your Regular Cab shell on the XtraCab. The rear cab wall profiles are different (Regular Cab = vertical; XtraCab = forward-sloped). If your shell is designed for the Regular Cab, there will be a noticeable gap between the shell and the rear cab wall on the XtraCab. Otherwise, it'll work fine.

blacktaco · 11-05-2009, 10:12 PM

I did not realize that I was hoping to reuse it

will check, truck is on the way now...

**Enola Gaia** · 11-05-2009, 10:17 PM

It's hard to tell without seeing the trucks, but ...

Given the age of the Tacos and the fact there's a significant 'problem' with each of them ...

My hunch is that over the long run you'd be better off 'merging' the best parts of both to get a single truck. Two trucks (each with problems) will sooner or later turn into one truck too many to keep up.

Just my .02 ...