I just picked up the nicest truck I have ever owned... A 2004 LX470 with 103k miles, one owner, bought and fully serviced at the same Lexus dealer here in St. Louis. Not one maintenance item was ever skipped on this truck! Accident free (just a scuff on the drivers rear bumper). It is spotless, nearly 100% rust free (just the slightest surface stains here and there). Just gave it its first bath, and based on the finish quality, I think it lived in a garage, got driven to work and parked in a structure there. The interior is like new with only the slightest wear on the leather.
That’s my wife’s Instagram post... I should mention that she loves how it rides (compared to my 4Runner with the 2.5” Tundra TRD / OME lift). And if she’s happy, we’re all happy!
My plan is a slow build with the intended goal of comfort on the highway and moderate off-road driving (I did part of the TAT last summer with my stepson in my 4Runner and plan to pick up where we left off this summer). I hope for the explorations to expand as time allows in the years to come. It also will see duty as a daily driver.
A few quick fixes are needed to get it sorted before I make any changes to it-
-The Nav is outdated (I probably won’t use it much except around town and on highways, I use Gaia and an iPad with a Dual GPS for “remote” travel), but for $10, why not?
-The leather is in great shape but dirty so I ordered the Lexol kit off EBay for $16 to get it up to shape.
-The hood struts are shot, so I’ll get those on order soon.
-The rear sub is blown (the sales guy was told $2k to fix... really??!!). I opened the panel up and I’ll pull the speaker to have it rebuilt locally for $30.
The tires are straight stock M&S, so I plan to look around for a deal on some decent all-terrains a bit larger than stock. Hope to get lucky on Craigslist there, then sell the stock ones to recoup some cost.
-HATE the gold package Trim! I’ll try to plastidip the emblems black, and if I like it, may do all the chrome in black to make it black & white. If I don’t like it I might just debadge or rebadge as a Land Cruiser (maybe even Cygnus, lol!)
-KISS drawers. I’ve made my own before, but the decent price point and apparent quality of that product makes it seem like a no-brainer!
-Oh yeah, pull the running boards and add front mud-flaps and adding LED lighting underneath to replace the running board lighting (just white, no funky colors).
-Maybe a raised air intake.
-Raised differential breathers.
-A hidden winch as I want to keep the truck light and close to GVWR.
-The Front Runner gravity fuel tank if they’ll sell me one in the US? Has anyone installed one of those?
-I’d love to add one of the stock (Amazon model?) tire carriers, but they seem to be a major undertaking that is more than I feel like tackling.
-Attic Storage shelf.
-Anderson Plugs front & rear.
-James Baroud RTT?
-Witts End Console products.
-IPad / cell phone mounts.
-Auxilliary electric fan kit.
Well that’s about it for the brainstorm so far. I’d like to keep it reasonably light, don’t have a lot of need (that I see) for the steel bumpers & carriers, although they are way cool. Mostly I’ll just drive the wheels off it, enjoy they hell out of it, and get it off pavement as often as possible!
Just to stir the pot a little- I also have the aforementioned T4R mentioned above. Night and day. Simply no comparison IMHO. My stepson is getting that for his first car! Score! I also once owned a 2004 LR Discovery which I loved but found too stressful to own!
Oh, and I did find this tonight while exploring the compartments in the back, pretty darn cool! I know, I’m a car nerd.
Feel free to chime in with any thoughts, advice or whatever!
Cheers all!
That’s my wife’s Instagram post... I should mention that she loves how it rides (compared to my 4Runner with the 2.5” Tundra TRD / OME lift). And if she’s happy, we’re all happy!
My plan is a slow build with the intended goal of comfort on the highway and moderate off-road driving (I did part of the TAT last summer with my stepson in my 4Runner and plan to pick up where we left off this summer). I hope for the explorations to expand as time allows in the years to come. It also will see duty as a daily driver.
A few quick fixes are needed to get it sorted before I make any changes to it-
-The Nav is outdated (I probably won’t use it much except around town and on highways, I use Gaia and an iPad with a Dual GPS for “remote” travel), but for $10, why not?
-The leather is in great shape but dirty so I ordered the Lexol kit off EBay for $16 to get it up to shape.
-The hood struts are shot, so I’ll get those on order soon.
-The rear sub is blown (the sales guy was told $2k to fix... really??!!). I opened the panel up and I’ll pull the speaker to have it rebuilt locally for $30.
The tires are straight stock M&S, so I plan to look around for a deal on some decent all-terrains a bit larger than stock. Hope to get lucky on Craigslist there, then sell the stock ones to recoup some cost.
-HATE the gold package Trim! I’ll try to plastidip the emblems black, and if I like it, may do all the chrome in black to make it black & white. If I don’t like it I might just debadge or rebadge as a Land Cruiser (maybe even Cygnus, lol!)
-KISS drawers. I’ve made my own before, but the decent price point and apparent quality of that product makes it seem like a no-brainer!
-Oh yeah, pull the running boards and add front mud-flaps and adding LED lighting underneath to replace the running board lighting (just white, no funky colors).
-Maybe a raised air intake.
-Raised differential breathers.
-A hidden winch as I want to keep the truck light and close to GVWR.
-The Front Runner gravity fuel tank if they’ll sell me one in the US? Has anyone installed one of those?
-I’d love to add one of the stock (Amazon model?) tire carriers, but they seem to be a major undertaking that is more than I feel like tackling.
-Attic Storage shelf.
-Anderson Plugs front & rear.
-James Baroud RTT?
-Witts End Console products.
-IPad / cell phone mounts.
-Auxilliary electric fan kit.
Well that’s about it for the brainstorm so far. I’d like to keep it reasonably light, don’t have a lot of need (that I see) for the steel bumpers & carriers, although they are way cool. Mostly I’ll just drive the wheels off it, enjoy they hell out of it, and get it off pavement as often as possible!
Just to stir the pot a little- I also have the aforementioned T4R mentioned above. Night and day. Simply no comparison IMHO. My stepson is getting that for his first car! Score! I also once owned a 2004 LR Discovery which I loved but found too stressful to own!
Oh, and I did find this tonight while exploring the compartments in the back, pretty darn cool! I know, I’m a car nerd.
Feel free to chime in with any thoughts, advice or whatever!
Cheers all!
.
