After being an active member on the forum for around two years and building up the cruiser enough to start a build thread, here I am. She is a 2001 with 204,XXX in the silver color, I believe it is known as champagne silver or something along those lines. My dad bought her new in 2001 and I’ve grown up with her so she is very sentimental. I plan on keeping the hundy for forever, and doing an engine rebuild whenever the time comes. I definitely want to add some more power, maybe a supercharger, but want to keep the Toyota power plant and have a reliable setup. My grandpa still has his Ford Model A from High School and I think that is super cool.
We have three boys in our family and we all grew up going on many road trips in the cruiser so it took quite the beating. The wood trim was peeling everywhere and she needed some tlc so we went to ACC, where we had a ton of work done. It consisted of new wood trim (I may be one of the only ones on here that actually likes it), new leather for the front seats and center console, extensive powder coating (wheels, factory roof rack, etc.), an Alpine head unit and new Rockford Fosgate door speakers, a Slee Blueberry front bumper, and finally some maintenance involving rebuilding the t-case, replacing some hoses, etc. After enjoying her for a bit I needed new tires and put some 285/75R16 Hankook Dynapro Atm, which I did not do any research on and just picked up from a discount tire. They have been pretty quiet and decent on the trails as well, but I do not have experience with any other off-road tires.
After saving up some money, Im a college student so this has been the main limiting factor, I added a some Slee Step Sliders, a Superwinch 9500 lb steel line winch, a Gamiviti Expo ++ Rack, and a Ironman 2’’ Lift with new SPC UCAs and a Trail Taylor Diff Drop. I also mounted two small led bars on the rear visor/spoiler thing for better reverse lighting when in the backcountry.
This summer I had the opportunity to intern at ACC, I am a physics and engineering student, so I was fortunate to be able to learn more about wrenching and look at some gorgeous trucks every day. The owner Brain was nice enough to let me use a lift to put in my new suspension which had some set backs which I will talk about later in the thread.
I am mainly using the vehicle as a camping rig and mild wheeling rig, although I want to be able to do fun technical trails out West. Her biggest adventure was a nine day camping trip to Estes Park, CO where I had to drive south to Salida, CO through a snow storm, a cool feat for me considering I have lived in the Southeast my whole life.
Major Maintenance/Mods:
-Slee Blueberry Front Bumper
-Slee Step Sliders
-Superwinch 9500 Steel Winch
-Gamiviti Expo ++ Rack
-Doug Thorley Headers
-Rear Mounted LEDs
-LED interior lights
-Alpine Head Unit; Door Speakers
-Stock Powder Coated 16'' Wheels with 33s
-Ironman 2'' Lift with Foamcell Pros
-SPC Front Upper Control Arms
-Custom Extended Rear Sway Bar Links
-Trail Taylor Diff Drop
-Front Leather Seat Covers
-Steering Rack
-Heater Ts
-Weathertech Mats
-Axles Recently
-Transmission at 90K (common failure for 2001s I think, but not sure)
-Rebuilt T-case
Future Plans (money permitting):
-35’’ Mud Terrains mounted on a spare set of wheels for wheeling trips
-Rear ARB Locker
-Marlin Crawler Low Range T-case Gears
-LCP Mud Flap Delete (temporary before new bumper)
-Slee Battery Tray upgrade/bigger battery/ARB Compressor
-Slee or Dissent Rear Bumper
-Ebay/Ironman/Safari snorkel (depending on funds)
-Re-wrap steering wheel
-Custom Built Drawer System
-Front LED light bar on bumper or rack
-Possibly Slee Skid Plates
-SAS (just dreamin; need to improve welding skills)
We have three boys in our family and we all grew up going on many road trips in the cruiser so it took quite the beating. The wood trim was peeling everywhere and she needed some tlc so we went to ACC, where we had a ton of work done. It consisted of new wood trim (I may be one of the only ones on here that actually likes it), new leather for the front seats and center console, extensive powder coating (wheels, factory roof rack, etc.), an Alpine head unit and new Rockford Fosgate door speakers, a Slee Blueberry front bumper, and finally some maintenance involving rebuilding the t-case, replacing some hoses, etc. After enjoying her for a bit I needed new tires and put some 285/75R16 Hankook Dynapro Atm, which I did not do any research on and just picked up from a discount tire. They have been pretty quiet and decent on the trails as well, but I do not have experience with any other off-road tires.
After saving up some money, Im a college student so this has been the main limiting factor, I added a some Slee Step Sliders, a Superwinch 9500 lb steel line winch, a Gamiviti Expo ++ Rack, and a Ironman 2’’ Lift with new SPC UCAs and a Trail Taylor Diff Drop. I also mounted two small led bars on the rear visor/spoiler thing for better reverse lighting when in the backcountry.
This summer I had the opportunity to intern at ACC, I am a physics and engineering student, so I was fortunate to be able to learn more about wrenching and look at some gorgeous trucks every day. The owner Brain was nice enough to let me use a lift to put in my new suspension which had some set backs which I will talk about later in the thread.
I am mainly using the vehicle as a camping rig and mild wheeling rig, although I want to be able to do fun technical trails out West. Her biggest adventure was a nine day camping trip to Estes Park, CO where I had to drive south to Salida, CO through a snow storm, a cool feat for me considering I have lived in the Southeast my whole life.
Major Maintenance/Mods:
-Slee Blueberry Front Bumper
-Slee Step Sliders
-Superwinch 9500 Steel Winch
-Gamiviti Expo ++ Rack
-Doug Thorley Headers
-Rear Mounted LEDs
-LED interior lights
-Alpine Head Unit; Door Speakers
-Stock Powder Coated 16'' Wheels with 33s
-Ironman 2'' Lift with Foamcell Pros
-SPC Front Upper Control Arms
-Custom Extended Rear Sway Bar Links
-Trail Taylor Diff Drop
-Front Leather Seat Covers
-Steering Rack
-Heater Ts
-Weathertech Mats
-Axles Recently
-Transmission at 90K (common failure for 2001s I think, but not sure)
-Rebuilt T-case
Future Plans (money permitting):
-35’’ Mud Terrains mounted on a spare set of wheels for wheeling trips
-Rear ARB Locker
-Marlin Crawler Low Range T-case Gears
-LCP Mud Flap Delete (temporary before new bumper)
-Slee Battery Tray upgrade/bigger battery/ARB Compressor
-Slee or Dissent Rear Bumper
-Ebay/Ironman/Safari snorkel (depending on funds)
-Re-wrap steering wheel
-Custom Built Drawer System
-Front LED light bar on bumper or rack
-Possibly Slee Skid Plates
-SAS (just dreamin; need to improve welding skills)
