Toyota has become one of those brands in India that people associate with reliability. There are several examples in our country that prove this point. Toyota as a brand is popular among buyers in India for Fortuner and Innova. Both these models are extremely popular and are known for their extremely reliable engine and comparatively low cost of maintenance. We have seen many people take their old Fortuner SUVs to workshops to get them converted into the later generation model. Here we have a video where a type 2 Fortuner SUV has been converted to look like a Legender.
The images and the customization work on this project have been done by Autorounders on their Instagram page. The customer had brought in the type 2 Fortuner for customization work. The type 2 to type 3 conversion has now become very common among Fortuner owners. In such projects, Autorounders use high-quality aftermarket body kits, which are not as expensive as the OEM parts.
When the vehicle arrives at the workshop, the team completely removes the front grille, headlamps, bonnet, fenders, and bumper. The rear bumper on this SUV has also been removed. Once this is done, they look for any possible dents and scratches on the remaining body panels. They mark all the body parts and fix the dents first. Meanwhile, the rest of the team works on assembling the new kit. The aftermarket body kit is dummy fitted to check if it sits well in place. They do have to make minor changes to ensure that the kit sits perfectly.
Once the body kit is installed and the dents are fixed, the team shifts their focus to the rear. Normally, people who own type 2 Fortuners opt for a Lexus body kit, which gives the SUV a premium and aggressive look. However, in this case, the owner wanted the SUV to look like Legender.
The rear design of type 2 and the current generation Fortuner is entirely different. In order to make the rear look like Legender, some fabrication work is required. They make cuts to the tailgate and the rear fender to fabricate it in the shape of type 3 or Legender tail lamps. This is a tricky job as the look of the car completely depends on that. Once the fabrication is done, they install the Legender tail lamps into it. The chrome applique on the tailgate was blacked out, and it gets a Fortuner badging on it too.
The rear bumper of the type 2 Fortuner remains untouched in this case. Once all the fabrication and denting work was done, the car was taken to the paint booth. They repainted the SUV in Legender’s Premium Pearl White finish shade with a blacked-out roof. The alloy wheels on this SUV remained the same, but they were now painted in black to achieve a sportier look. The brake calipers were painted in red too. The conversion work does look good except the rear. The workshop has tried their best to achieve a clean look; however, something about the rear still looks a bit odd. If you ask us, it is always a good idea to get the front converted and leave the rear the same as stock.