Achilles' heel of SFA - Body: Options when Replacing

[Jaco Versfeld]

Hi There,

I don't know if you would agree with me, but I think the Achilles' heel of the trusted old SFA is the body and specifically body rust.

What should I do if the body becomes too rusted, or metal fatigue becomes apparent in the (hopefully not) distant future? I hear that a common place of metal fatigue is at the corner of the C-pillar for the older Hiluxes, especially the Botswana specced ones. (Mufasa luckily hasn't cracked a c-pillar yet ...)

Getting a good shell is almost like looking for Hen's teeth. The risk is also quite big - why has the body been replaced in the first place (rust, roll-over, etc.)

A couple of alternative options that I thought of:

1. Fibreglass shells. My biggest concern with the fibreglass type of bodies is again risk (maybe unfounded), but will the fibreglass not crack after a couple of kilos on a badly corrugated road? Also, in case of a roll-over or accident (Heaven forbid both), how strong is the fibreglass body in comparison to the steel shell?

2. Does anyone know if the 4x2 Double cab hiluxes of the later 1990s will fit without any modification?

3. Would a SRX IFS Double cab shell and loadbin (or any newer IFS model) fit? (What will happen to the market value?)

4. Would a Land Cruiser shell fit - this would be quite expensive, especially if you consider the Meano converted double cab shells. Questions here are weight, modifications needed, and the quality of the conversion (rumour has it that the quality of these conversion correlates to the day of week )?

5. Are there maybe other shells (Nissan, Bolero, etc.) (this would look really ugly) that would fit?

6. Would be great if Toyota (first prize) or some Chinese company/South African company (second prize) could manufacture SFA double cab shells again. If it was made by Toyota, I know that I would be willing to pay a premium for the shell.

7. The Uri's body might also be an option, but my opinion is that it really looks ugly. I also wonder about road noise. The biggest concern, however, is what happens in case of a roll-over or accident? Has these bodies been crash tested?

What other options are there?

[Mud Dog]

The best option IMO is to fix the old shell if possible.

[fredster]

I myself had to hunt for a body after a nasty incident on a trail. They are difficult to find like you mentioned, but there are quite a few about.
answers to some of your questions:
1.) these fibre glass shells are stronger than the original shells - have not heard of any cracking, and have seen a few.
2.) Yes they do - I have the rolling proof
5.) Yes I have seen a Nissan Sani mounted on a SFA chassis, although I cannot comment on the mods they had to make to get the shell mounted.
8.) go Single cab - if one heads out of the city areas towards the farm land areas, you will find many a hilux - even a stout shell will work, although finding one that does not have major amounts of rust might take a few visits.

I notice you are from the northern region - There are still a few shells floating in the Limpopo region - Make sure to visit gumtree or similar sites often, and or ask around - You'll be amazed at what you will find just lying about.