`98 G-Ride 100 Build (1 Viewer)

[SALTY METHODS]

So now that I'm starting into my suspension mods, I feel like it's time to start a build thread for my 1998 LC and document my progress. So stick with me, I'm playing catch up.

The Reason:
My wife and I got married a few years ago and were looking for a SUV for a growing family. We needed something to put babies in but I didn't really want an SUV. My 1998 Toyota T100 wasn't going to cut it came to the idea of putting babies in and out of the extra cab. So we started our car swaps with replacing my wife's KIA SUV with a `09 Infiniti G37 about 10 months before. She was happy but the plan was that I was supposed to get the G for a DD and my wife was going to drive whatever new SUV we bought. So my search began.

I started throwing around the idea of buying a Honda Pilot, Subaru Forester, Tahoe or maybe one of the new Ford Explorers. I wasn't really set on anything in particular because I still didn't really want to buy a SUV. The thought of pulling up to a friend's house in a SUV/Minivan made me cringe. I've always been a Toyota guy but I was starting thinking about venturing out to buy "American". But after in-depth research online and with Consumer Reports, the option to buy a Ford or Chevy quickly went out the window. So one day, I was walking to work and saw a sun beaten 80-series LC. The light bulb quickly flickered on. Toyota Land Cruiser....! Toyota quality, 4x4 with a proven off road history, looks tough, V-6/V-8. Win, win!!

The Search:
So I began looking online and after about 9-months of searching I found the one. It was a `98, gray/green, rear locking diff, gaudy gold badging, very good interior and with only 76,000 miles. It looked like it's been a garage kept, grocery getter from day one. I wasn't really wanting a 100 series because I didn't think they looked as cool as the 80-series but when I saw how clean it was and it had a V-8 compared to the straight 6, I was sold. They wanted like $21K for it. After walking away from it and a few days of haggling with car lot owner, I drove away in it for $17K.

At the dealership:
Front

Back

Interior

My wife drove it for a few days and decided that she didn't want to drive a lumpy, bumpy SUV again. So she made the executive decision to keep her car and I was "stuck" with the Land Cruiser. I was a little bummed because I pictured myself driving the G to and from work but then I found IH8MUD and then my obsession began.

I drove it stock for a few months then started to modifying.

 

[Lacalusa]

Congrats looks really clean. What suspension u thinking of getting?

 

[MattThompson]

So now that I'm starting into my suspension mods, I feel like it's time to start a build thread for my 1998 LC and document my progress. So stick with me, I'm playing catch up.

The Reason:
My wife and I got married a few years ago and were looking for a SUV for a growing family. We needed something to put babies in but I didn't really want an SUV. My 1998 Toyota T100 wasn't going to cut it came to the idea of putting babies in and out of the extra cab. So we started our car swaps with replacing my wife's KIA SUV with a `09 Infiniti G37 about 10 months before. She was happy but the plan was that I was supposed to get the G for a DD and my wife was going to drive whatever new SUV we bought. So my search began.

I started throwing around the idea of buying a Honda Pilot, Subaru Forester, Tahoe or maybe one of the new Ford Explorers. I wasn't really set on anything in particular because I still didn't really want to buy a SUV. The thought of pulling up to a friend's house in a SUV/Minivan made me cringe. I've always been a Toyota guy but I was starting thinking about venturing out to buy "American". But after in-depth research online and with Consumer Reports, the option to buy a Ford or Chevy quickly went out the window. So one day, I was walking to work and saw a sun beaten 80-series LC. The light bulb quickly flickered on. Toyota Land Cruiser....! Toyota quality, 4x4 with a proven off road history, looks tough, V-6/V-8. Win, win!!

The Search:
So I began looking online and after about 9-months of searching I found the one. It was a `98, gray/green, rear locking diff, gaudy gold badging, very good interior and with only 76,000 miles. It looked like it's been a garage kept, grocery getter from day one. I wasn't really wanting a 100 series because I didn't think they looked as cool as the 80-series but when I saw how clean it was and it had a V-8 compared to the straight 6, I was sold. They wanted like $21K for it. After walking away from it and a few days of haggling with car lot owner, I drove away in it for $17K.

At the dealership:
Front

Back

Interior

My wife drove it for a few days and decided that she didn't want to drive a lumpy, bumpy SUV again. So she made the executive decision to keep her car and I was "stuck" with the Land Cruiser. I was a little bummed because I pictured myself driving the G to and from work but then I found IH8MUD and then my obsession began.

I drove it stock for a few months then started to modifying.

That's beautiful!

 

[Bloomer]

Wow. Clean, low mileage 98. Nice find. Congrats!

 

[RS6tofj80]

Super clean looking rig and it's got that nice little dial ...... congrats.

 

[yotasavg]

Nice score, gotta love a '98!

 

[SmoothLC]

Wow! Just wow!

And that leather looks like it's almost new.

 

[LEX]

So nice and I'm jelly of the low mileage. Congrats!

 

[ay nako]

Very clean man! reminds me of my rig when it was still stock!

 

[SALTY METHODS]

I then removed the running boards and center caps. I also plasti-dipped the gaudy gold emblems. Getting rid of the gold was so a priority to me. I hate gold emblems. Super stoked on the look of the LC once those things were done. IMO, removing these things helped lose the grocery getter look quick. Looks like a totally different vehicle without the running boards. I drove it like this for quite a while.

Running boards on

Running boards off, center caps off

Front emblem blacked out

Back badging blacked out

 

[cap80]

Black badges are a nice improvement. Great find on the truck. Congrats.

 

[SALTY METHODS]

After removing the step sides and making the G-Ride look half-way manly, I decided to modernize it by upgrading the stereo to a touch screen with GPS. So I removed the stock deck and replaced it with a JVC (sorry I don't remember what model number). I also replaced the door speakers with some Pioneers as well as put in a 4-channel Rockford Fosgate 400 watt amp. Putting in the new head unit was a huge improvement of updating the vehicle and I very much recommend it to guys who have older LCs. Most of my friends are shocked when I tell them it's an 1998. Don't replace the door speakers unless you get component speakers because the Pioneers were a slight upgrade from stock. Not worth the extra expense. Amp is a must and I now want to get a bigger amp but space is hard to find in the LC.

How the new JVC head unit sits flush in the dash:

Booting up and the screen kicks out so improve viewing angle:

Shows album artwork as well as movies. I had my friend rig it so that I can watch movies while I'm driving:

Wired the USB cable to come out into the arm rest. I'm using an old iPhone for an iPod:

The screen folds down to give you access to a DVD slot or SD card slot:

Rear view facing camera. The view isn't the best because I mounted the camera inside the rear window. So I get a lot of glare. I don't really rely on it that much but it's nice to have when backing up into tight spaces. My dad helped rig up a manual switch that allows me to turn on the rear facing camera at any time. Don't ask me how he did it but it was a bit involved to get it to work properly. That stuff is way over my head.

Used double stick tape to mount the rear facing camera to the top of the moulding inside the back window. I put tape over the infrared LEDS on the side so at night the light wouldn't create glare for the camera. Even still the image isn't the best:

 

[SALTY METHODS]

While in stock form went for a little run to test out it's off road capabilities. Nothing too gnarly. Just a little spin around the easy track in Corral Canyon, San Diego County.

Out with my friend and his Jeep.

Another outing with another bud and his F250.

Then did a ski trip up to Mammoth Mtn.

Then later on that year, some friends and I decided to go on a white water rafting trip up in the Sacramento area. We did one night in Death Valley then continued on.

Charcoal Kilns

As another Mudder had fore-warned, I ended up getting a flat because of the sharp rocks on a road we planned on taking out of the North side of the park. Luckily for us, it happened within about 5 minutes of our venture down this road. So don't do a trip to DV without E-rated tires. Once we got the spare on, I decided we should take the highway North. Bummed me out a bit because i was looking forward to some more dirt roads through DV but figured it was the smart thing to do since we didn't have the proper tires and no more spares. Plus, we were 4 guys deep with a s*** ton of gear. If you want to see more of that trip, click here: Trip to Death Valley Questions

Unloading everything to get to the lug key and tire irons

China Flat Campground

 

[SALTY METHODS]

The blown out tire was a blessing in disguise. It gave me a reason to "upgrade" my tires to something more substantial. After a few weeks of looking on Craigslist, I came up on a smokin' deal, 5 BFG Mud Terrain KO2s 285/75/16 for $500. They were barely used. Picked those up and also bought a pair of SPC UCA (Light Racing) from Metal Tech while on sale.

Here's my youngest helping me install my Light Racing (SPC) UCA

The "new" tires BFG Mud Terrain KO2 285/75/16

The tires getting installed at Discount Tire

After putting the UCA and tires on and getting it all aligned, I took my sons out for a little test run on Anderson Truck Trail, San Diego County. I also replaced the side marked lamps with the all clear lens. Makes the front end look so much better IMO.

Trip out to Palm Desert

Then went shooting with some friends out to Ocotillo Wells.

A little toasty that day

 

[SALTY METHODS]

Then hit 100K miles.

Then did another snowboard trip up to Mammoth Mtn. We stopped along the 395 to use a bush for a pee-pee break. Picture opt time!

All cleaned up and in the driveway

Went out to the desert again to meet up with some friends who were camping. On the way back we drove through a storm.

San Diego County was on the verge of getting some snow, so I packed up the wife and kids to go up to the mountains. All we got was some cold rain.

Then I installed some component Polk Audio door speakers all around as well as some sound deadening. Definitely has helped make my stereo sound so much better. It's funny how a high end vehicle like the Land Cruiser comes with such s***ty stereo and speakers.

 

[SALTY METHODS]

I was able to save up all my pennies and finally drop in and buy my lift. So I called up Slee Off Road and bought the OME torsion bars and 2.5" Medium rear springs. I also bought a set of Fox Racing 2.0 shocks from Off Road Warehouse.

Delivery time..

Got my Fox shocks in. I ended up having to return the back set because they gave me the wrong pair. Got that figured out and all is good.

Front shocks and torsion bars are in

We ran out of time to do the back set of springs and shocks this day. So in this picture, only the front shocks and torsion bars are in. If I was to do it again, I probably would have held off on the rear springs and just did the rear shocks. Since I'm not running a rear bumper, the stock springs would have been fine for now.

A week later, I had time to do the rear. Here's the stock rear spring next to the new one.

Here's a picture of the top of the rear shock. When people say it's so tight up there, I don't really see why? Yes, there's not a lot of space but for me, it was plenty to throw a closed end wrench on it.

 

[SALTY METHODS]

I was doing my casual search on CraigsList and found a set of TRD Rock Warrior wheels. I wasn't really in the market for them but I decided to splurge a bit and so I grabbed them.

Here they are in the back of the G-Ride

I also was able to get a set of OPOR rock sliders from Metal Tech (again on sale). Here they are freshly shipped and sitting in my garage.

Loaded up in the back of my truck and off to the powder coaters

And back from the powder coaters. I was originally going to go with the standard black but at the last moment decided to go with this graphite color gray. Turned out alright.

Then I ordered up both sets of Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers. In anticipation of putting on my RW wheels. I also wanted my tires to stick out a little further than they already did. I'm a fan of the slightly out of the wheel well look.

Here they are on my truck
(Front)

(Rear)

Tire on

A little improvement of stance width. I was hoping for a little more but I'm not complaining.

 

[SALTY METHODS]

Another free weekend opened up for me so I decided to put on the sliders. I would recommend using an air ratchet when putting these on. There's so much thread on the U-bolts that it would take forever if you didn't have one. Make sure to put your U-bolts under the break lines when putting on your driver's side slider. I almost made the mistake of cranking it all down, almost crushing my hard brake lines. That would have sucked. Luckily I looked at the back side of the frame before tightening everything down.

Passenger's side

Attached to the frame

Driver's side

The U-bolt under the brake line

All done

 

[SALTY METHODS]

Since my newish Rock Warrior wheels are 17" wheels and not 16", I had to be on the look out for new tires. A little bummed that I wasn't able to use my MT KO2s on these wheels but I figured I would get something a little more street friendly, that wasn't as loud and had more grip. Hopefully, gives me a little better MPG too. Anyways, found a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers 285/70/17, E-rated. Pick those up off of CraigsList and they still had the whiskers on them. The guy who sold them to me said he had less than 1,000 miles on them. Thank you...

Nitto Terra Grappler 285/70/17

Got them mounted on my wheels

Mounted on the G-Ride. Threw the other set in my garage when I decided to off roading. Pretty jazzed on how they looked.

Then I took off the rings to clean behind them as well as get the rings prepped for the infamous black Plastidip. Here it sits without the rings.

...and with the now black rings on

All that is left is one last alignment to fix a s***ty alignment job the last shop did and I'm done messing with this for awhile. Time to get this Mo-Fo dirty.

 

[nnnnnate]

Thats a great looking rig. Seems like you've scored quiet a bit on sale or off classifieds. Were you just watching for sales on the sliders or other stuff or do they have regular sales? I'd love to get a set of sliders but would be totally fine waiting a bit for a sale.

Thanks for taking the time to post all this info up!