Pre-van, the green previa i found was at the north portland picnpull, but i went back down later and purchased the hood, so even if its still there its missing the hood. If you havn't already, try calling the picnpulls,i found that sometimes they're able to tell you the colors of the previas they have, so you dont have to wast a trip. Good luck!
I have a '91 with front end damage - it was more in the drivers side corner... I was lucky enough to run across another identical one, but I'm leary about trying to get the radiator core support off, and also having to cut the right fender support and reweld it... Yall think it's worth it to save this old van? It runs like a champ and is really clean... I paid $500 for it, and have another $150 in all the front end parts, and still need to buy a $50 bumper filler panel, and the $55 radiator core support from the yard... then of course whatever I have to pay to have the fender support welded in...
Welcome to TVT ! At this point it's a little hard to say but this type of damage almost always looks worse than it really is. I tend to just jump in and do these sort of projects then think about them later. You may end up needing to replace the fender support, but I would resist that (at least initially). The fender support is covered-up anyhow and you can do a lot with a slide hammer, a regular hammer, blocks or wood, and a come-along winch. You won't know until you try. Occasionally I'll get lots of time involved with trying to repair something like this only to finally give-up and replace, but more often then not I'm able to get satisfactory results with less time and effort than originally anticipated. Just getting it close may be good enough as there's always the option of shimming on the critical surfaces to align correctly. Even if you end up replacing I don't think you'd necessarily have to weld. If you cut the junk yard van parts bigger than needed you can always overlap and screw/rivet together. For the seal just put a layer of high quality urethane in the overlap area and this should be sufficient.
If you decide to do the job please take pics and post them with details of the repair. Have fun! Tim
Hi abturnage,
I'll second timsrv's advice and say go for it! If the rest of the van is in good condition and seems to have a lot of life left in it, it's probably worth it to put a few dollars into it and have a good solid van, as opposed to scrapping it. It was definetely worth it for mine.
I was able to get the core support off my donor van at picnpull with an 18V sawzall, a new metal blade, and 2-3FULLY charged batteries. Cut it wide, then drilled out the welds once i took it home. I had it welded on at the body shop, just to save time being it was already getting worked on there. Think it cost $100ish, but cant remember for sure. If u have the time id follow timsrv's advice with the rivets. Maybe get an estimate from your local body shop for welding the core & fender supports and decide it from there... Good luck
My 97 all trac Previa was hit in the front driver side and it pushed in the side front drivers side inside curtain that the core support attaches to. My question is this. If my 97 s/c alltrac previa can use a 94 and up core support can I also use the 94 inside curtain that the core support attaches to?
This is tricky as my van has a side vent and small radiator that sits under (the core support curtain) and in front of the front drivers side tire. I am not sure that a core support from a 1994 non s/c charged motor will work on my 97 s/c charged previa. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated. thanks Ed in Olympia, Wa
I don't know as I've never worked on anything new than 93 NA Previas. But it should be easy to tell when you're at the yard. Just take a good look at yours 1st & snap a few pics before you go. Good luck. Tim
! At this point it's a little hard to say but this type of damage almost always looks worse than it really is. I tend to just jump in and do these sort of projects then think about them later. You may end up needing to replace the fender support, but I would resist that (at least initially). The fender support is covered-up anyhow and you can do a lot with a slide hammer, a regular hammer, blocks or wood, and a come-along winch. You won't know until you try. Occasionally I'll get lots of time involved with trying to repair something like this only to finally give-up and replace, but more often then not I'm able to get satisfactory results with less time and effort than originally anticipated. Just getting it close may be good enough as there's always the option of shimming on the critical surfaces to align correctly. Even if you end up replacing I don't think you'd necessarily have to weld. If you cut the junk yard van parts bigger than needed you can always overlap and screw/rivet together. For the seal just put a layer of high quality urethane in the overlap area and this should be sufficient.
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