72 Hours - Bought a Puppy & a 100 (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 19, 2016
Threads
16
Messages
82
Location
Salt Lake City
Hi all,

I moved to Salt Lake City from Pittsburgh in October and there was no way I was going to live in this state without owning a 4x4 overlander for taking advantage of this awesome geography. At first the target was a VW Vanagon Syncro, then for a while an 80 series (almost flew to Texas for a locked LX), and then finally, after a little help from this forum, I decided to look for a 100 series. A few weeks back I located a white 1999 Land Cruiser at a dealership an hour and a half north in Logan, and after a test drive and inspection, I was able to buy it for what I think was a pretty good price. I'll post some pictures below.

The real selling point for me was the interior - its borderline perfect - and the fact that the shop that looked at it said that mechanically it was in extremely good shape. Its bone stock - *with* the factory rear diff-lock switch. This was a must for me, not necessarily for extreme off-roading needs, but because, at age 27, its still a must for me that I own a vehicle that's as close as possible to a Transformer/military tank. I understand that buying one already built might have been more cost effective, but I'm comfortable with what I got.

So far I've only done some addition-by-subtraction mods - I've removed the (broken) hood-mounted front wind deflector and taken off the running boards. Of course this example had the Toyota factory 'Donald Trump-Edition' gold package, so I removed all of the emblems, sanded them down, and resprayed them with Rustoleum "Flat Soft Iron". I was aiming for the color of the 40th Anniversary Land Cruiser badges. I also sprayed the chrome grille surround a flat black. I'm not in love with the way it all came together, but I think it'll look good once the factory silver-beige bumper is replaced with an ARB down the line. Inside, I had my girlfriend clean and condition the leather. Next i plan on removing as much of the wood interior trim as possible. I bought a Superskin Steering Wheel Cover on Amazon. I'm hoping to get that on this weekend. I've also got some spots of minor surface rust to clean up - got Navy Jelly and Toyota touch up paint for that.

The first serious mod I'd like to do are tires - I'm pretty set on finding a set of 285/75r16 BFG A/T K02s at a reasonable price, hopefully even used in order to save some $. I'm thinking that's the most bang-for-the-buck mod I can do at this point. The tires on it now are Yokohama Geolanders which I've found to be useless once the pavement ends. The goal is to get to the point where I feel comfortable heading deep into some National Parks and down some easy trails in Moab this summer. Next I want to start learning about cost effective lifts that can 1) add clearance and 2) support added weight and stiffen up the ride.

Sorry for the long first post! I'm a "car guy" but this is my first real endeavor with building up a vehicle in my vision, so I'll be on here a lot taking advantage of all of the good insight, and eventually adding some of my own. I'd love to get to know some local Utah owners too so that down the road I can trade beer or steaks for help with some mods :)

Also - The puppy's name is Timber and he's a Golden Retriever. He's got a lot of Land Cruiser adventures in his future.

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That is a clean looking cruiser. I have the exact same color. I have been thinking about painting the grill black too so it was good to see yours. I think once I get a winch bumper in black, the blacked out grill will look really good. Have fun modding it. Rear drawers has been my favorite addition so far. Well, other than the lift and tires.
 
The best addition is the puppy to share the adventures. Nice ride.
 
Congrats, I'm sure the LC will serve you well.
 
Just read in the 200 forum that BFG is running a sale right now and the author estimated $1200 for five KO2s. Might want to pull the trigger.
 
Nice find and welcome to the club.
 
nice find ! I have always liked the white.. and of course you got the best year 99 !
 
Hi all,

I moved to Salt Lake City from Pittsburgh in October and there was no way I was going to live in this state without owning a 4x4 overlander for taking advantage of this awesome geography. At first the target was a VW Vanagon Syncro, then for a while an 80 series (almost flew to Texas for a locked LX), and then finally, after a little help from this forum, I decided to look for a 100 series. A few weeks back I located a white 1999 Land Cruiser at a dealership an hour and a half north in Logan, and after a test drive and inspection, I was able to buy it for what I think was a pretty good price. I'll post some pictures below.

The real selling point for me was the interior - its borderline perfect - and the fact that the shop that looked at it said that mechanically it was in extremely good shape. Its bone stock - *with* the factory rear diff-lock switch. This was a must for me, not necessarily for extreme off-roading needs, but because, at age 27, its still a must for me that I own a vehicle that's as close as possible to a Transformer/military tank. I understand that buying one already built might have been more cost effective, but I'm comfortable with what I got.

So far I've only done some addition-by-subtraction mods - I've removed the (broken) hood-mounted front wind deflector and taken off the running boards. Of course this example had the Toyota factory 'Donald Trump-Edition' gold package, so I removed all of the emblems, sanded them down, and resprayed them with Rustoleum "Flat Soft Iron". I was aiming for the color of the 40th Anniversary Land Cruiser badges. I also sprayed the chrome grille surround a flat black. I'm not in love with the way it all came together, but I think it'll look good once the factory silver-beige bumper is replaced with an ARB down the line. Inside, I had my girlfriend clean and condition the leather. Next i plan on removing as much of the wood interior trim as possible. I bought a Superskin Steering Wheel Cover on Amazon. I'm hoping to get that on this weekend. I've also got some spots of minor surface rust to clean up - got Navy Jelly and Toyota touch up paint for that.

The first serious mod I'd like to do are tires - I'm pretty set on finding a set of 285/75r16 BFG A/T K02s at a reasonable price, hopefully even used in order to save some $. I'm thinking that's the most bang-for-the-buck mod I can do at this point. The tires on it now are Yokohama Geolanders which I've found to be useless once the pavement ends. The goal is to get to the point where I feel comfortable heading deep into some National Parks and down some easy trails in Moab this summer. Next I want to start learning about cost effective lifts that can 1) add clearance and 2) support added weight and stiffen up the ride.

Sorry for the long first post! I'm a "car guy" but this is my first real endeavor with building up a vehicle in my vision, so I'll be on here a lot taking advantage of all of the good insight, and eventually adding some of my own. I'd love to get to know some local Utah owners too so that down the road I can trade beer or steaks for help with some mods :)

Also - The puppy's name is Timber and he's a Golden Retriever. He's got a lot of Land Cruiser adventures in his future.

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I call that an awesome 72 hours!
 
Maybe time for another "Dogs of Mud" thread.

Nice truck, great looking new pal. ;)
 
A few things I've done since buying: (pictures below)


Bought a set of 285/75r16 BFG All-Terrain KO2s. Had them mounted with the white-letters out. I wouldn’t have it any other way (I grew up in the 90s). I tested them out around SLC and on some trails on Antelope Island, but I'd still like to get on some more challenging terrain - Anybody know of a good off-roading area within an hour of Salt Lake City?

Installed a Super Skin Steering Wheel Cover. I saw a post on here saying that size B fit just fine. This was not the case - I originally bought a Size B only to find out that a Size C is required, at least for the 100 series. The sizes all have to do with the thickness of the wheel. Luckily the Amazon seller refunded me without requiring me to send the product back - I love when that happens. Install took about 90 minutes and my hands were numb when I was finished, but overall I found it to be a good product. You can pull each stitch as tight as you need to. The only problem is its black - I determined this to be the best option out of the colors they offered. It looks a little out of place, but its a nice grip. I was tempted to get a Size D and try adding some padding underneath - Anyone consider this?

Finished up the emblem re-spray and got them back on. I used primer, Rustoleum Flat Soft Iron, and Rustoleum Satin Clear Coat. I rubbed them down with some spray wax and a microfiber cloth before putting them on. It looks pretty good. Similar to the emblems on the 40th Anniversary 80 Series, which is what I was going for. The worst part was applying and removing the backing from about 100 tiny pieces of 3M double sided tape.

I also painted the chrome grille surround matte black. Primed and matte clear coated. It looks alright - I think it would look more cohesive with aftermarket headlights with some black in them. I taped off the slats in the grille because I didn’t see a lot to gain by painting them and I figure that the paint will inevitably chip off after a while and that's one less thing that will look ugly.

Removed wood overlays from doors. These screamed 1990s to me and were beginning to bubble anyway. I just used a $1 plastic putty knife I got from Lowe's. I think the look is much cleaner without them. And hey - weight reduction :). I'm waiting for a hot day to tackle the dash and console.

I picked up a 7 gallon water jug at Walmart (discovered via a @paflytyer post - thank you). I also ordered a dog sling for the back seat and some ‘warm white’ interior LEDs, both off of Amazon. I’m hoping to get the interior brighter for camping, but without the in-your-face bright white color. I also bought a used Thule T2 mountain bike rack. I’m looking forward to heading into some mountain bike-terrain soon.

Other than that and tackling some small rust spots I think I may be done with mods for a bit. I’m trying to do all of this as cost-effectively as possible (I’d like to own some real estate in the not-so-distant future). I’m looking forward to getting down to Moab and hopefully Great Basin National Park in the next month or so to test everything out.

As always - Thank you and suggestions for a new-owner are greatly appreciated!

- Chris

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Looks like your pup is peeing in the rocks!! Lol. Our dog has to have grass or a rug:bang: to pee on!! #damndog
 
I would pick up some front mud flaps, cheapish, removable, easy to install and will help prevent rock chipping if you dont have sliders.
 
looks good man, time to torque / re- index those torsion bars to lift the front a little!
 
Hey you yinzer - welcome to Utah. I moved out here from the da Burgh about 20 years ago and never regretted it. Go Pens!
 
I bet it feels good to have worshed your hands of PGH.

Congrats on the 100 and the pup!
 
Ahh, your 100 and mine could be cousins. I have the same color combo and tires love the whites, but they seem hard to find congrats!
I have a 03 so you don't have to deal with the NAV if you want to swap out the head unit! Big Plus!
I noticed your comment on the Syncro. I have an 87 Syncro with a TDI conversion and rear locker along with a travel trailer. I have had it for a while, wife, and I went all over in it, when the kids were young we continued camping and road tripping in it. With the 100 in the driveway, camping trips it has become the go-to vehicle for camping trips. The other thing is that when you break down in the middle of nowhere chances are so much better of getting on the road quickly in a 100 then a VW Syncro. Believe me, I waited four days to have a part sent in from my buddies shop on the east coast once, and I was in the middle of the country!!

My dogs, we have 3, like the 100 better as well. They can't really hang their heads out of the window in the syncro!!

Have fun!!!
 
Nice rig and pup. Retrievers are extremely smart. My cousins had one and I swear if they took the time they could have trained it to make your lunch.
 
Good for you! I've lived in northern utah and se idaho since 1973. Only been without a LC for a couple of those 43 years. Welcome to land cruisers and welcome to utah. The most geologically diverse place in the US
 

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