a_traut_man 2003 Land Cruiser Build

[a_traut_man]

After having tires clogging my garage since Thanksgiving and rockwarriors sitting at my Dad's place in MS they are all finally in the same location and put together. Getting LBJs done next week then fingers crossed putting on the 35s next weekend to see how much beating and body lifting i'll need to do... Just in time for me to start DD-ing the 100 again ha

 

[bozncsurf]

After having tires clogging my garage since Thanksgiving and rockwarriors sitting at my Dad's place in MS they are all finally in the same location and put together. Getting LBJs done next week then fingers crossed putting on the 35s next weekend to see how much beating and body lifting i'll need to do... Just in time for me to start DD-ing the 100 again ha

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Depends on what spacers you intend on running but I’m 99% you won’t have any issues running that setup with the 10.50 width.

I run the same tire in 12.50 on +15 offset and it cleared fine with some work .... until I went back to +4 degrees castor (but only at full compression)

Btw - I’m still a fan of your current wheels

 

[a_traut_man]

@bozncsurf haha I bet you are, clearly i never got around to painting center caps and putting them. been running around for the last 5+ years without them. How you like the Klevers?

I'm trying a thin spacer a la @GTV and have my fingers crossed that takes care of it, really don't want to do a big spacer but we will see how it goes. Didn't realize how big a 35 is until rolling it out next to the truck last night.

 

[GTV]

I suspect that you’ll have a small amount of clearancing to do around the pinch welds but they should fit relatively easily. Let us know how it goes!

 

[bozncsurf]

@bozncsurf haha I bet you are, clearly i never got around to painting center caps and putting them. been running around for the last 5+ years without them. How you like the Klevers?

I'm trying a thin spacer a la @GTV and have my fingers crossed that takes care of it, really don't want to do a big spacer but we will see how it goes. Didn't realize how big a 35 is until rolling it out next to the truck last night.

I’ve run ko2s, km2, ridge grapplers, toyos and tbh the Kenda’s have been my best performing tire for winter roads and wet highways. I see you were running duratracs - I have had experience with those too. The kendas will be everything the duratracs were when they were new but quieter and last way longer.

Can’t beat the price either

I’m excited to see them mounted up!

 

[a_traut_man]

Got impatient and decided to get the RW/35 combo on before beating out the pinch weld or the body lift. Little bit of wire bushing and filing to get the get spacer to fit snug around the hub but worked out pretty well so far. I've been real happy with the Duratracs but excited to try something new... and what better way to break in a new steering rack than 35s

 

[bozncsurf]

Got impatient and decided to get the RW/35 combo on before beating out the pinch weld or the body lift. Little bit of wire bushing and filing to get the get spacer to fit snug around the hub but worked out pretty well so far. I've been real happy with the Duratracs but excited to try something new... and what better way to break in a new steering rack than 35s

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35s for the win!

Honestly they don’t even look like pizza cutters. Perfect proportions imo

You should be able to Street drive with the current setup but the pinch weld is quick and easy insurance that you won’t rub offroad

Get the tires on the highway - they really are impressive for how aggressive they are

What size spacers did you go with ?

 

[a_traut_man]

@bozncsurf I am liking the skinny look, I was worried about clearances but feel better now that i could definitely go wider. Hopefully can make a trip out to NM/CO for trying them out.
Excited to see how the road manners are and how it goes DD-ing it.

Also, went .25” just enough to clear the hub.

 

[a_traut_man]

Real long time since I've updated any kind of build thread but did just get my LandCruiserGrilles headlight cans and grille back from powdercoating and hopefully installing this weekend. Pretty pumped to see what an updated headlight does.

the quality from @kelly saad was top notch.

 

[Exiled]

Real long time since I've updated any kind of build thread but did just get my LandCruiserGrilles headlight cans and grille back from powdercoating and hopefully installing this weekend. Pretty pumped to see what an updated headlight does.

the quality from @kelly saad was top notch.

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I did this mod (headlights) about 5 years ago and have loved it. I spent on good LED headlights and the difference was significant, plus I love the retro look.

 

[a_traut_man]

I did this mod (headlights) about 5 years ago and have loved it. I spent on good LED headlights and the difference was significant, plus I love the retro look.

How did the wiring go for you? I’m starting off with a cheap set of amazon lights, hope to upgrade later after the wallet pain wears off.
And the retro look plus headlight options is what got me.

 

[a_traut_man]

Well took longer than I hoped and the wiring harness didn’t quite work out but I at least have low beams while I troubleshoot the highs. Really liking the look.

 

[a_traut_man]

Some photos of the finished product in the daylight. Waiting on the grille badge to show up from Partsouq but one of my big take aways is I need to refresh my fogs, spotlights and the amber bullets. I am really glad I didn't go full black on the headlight cans, I like that the face matches the paint. Am still thinking about pulling the grille back off and doing a chrome wrap around the edge to see how it looks but that will be for another day.

In general the install was pretty easy with the biggest challenges being:

1. Hard time getting the side markers out, like I don't want to admit how long it took to get them out
2. Did have to modify the headlight retainer ring that came with the headlight cans. May very well have been my cheap amazon headlights but the lip on the retainers was a bit too tight so had to crimp it down all the way around. May be a slight issue later but for now I'm not worrying about it.
3. Wiring - I tried one of the conversion harnesses from Amazon that connects directly to the battery, power gets there and if the car is off/headlights turned off, etc then they go off as they should. Low beam is always powered and if the highbeam is plugged in then it is always on/doesn't change with the stalk and it sounds like the relay isn't clicking or anything when that change happens. Luckily my neighbor is a electrical engineer and he got real excited when he heard the problem i was having. Other downside to that harness is everything was about 6" shorter than what was needed to make a nice clean installation. May try the method LCG has listed on their website, was just trying to avoid cutting and splicing stuff together.
4. Some bracket alignment issues on the light cans vs the mounting points on the cruiser. A bit annoying but they do feel like they are in a fully secured.

Haven't gone through and aimed them yet so time will tell on that one.

 

[Exiled]

I remember only having one high beam when I originally installed it and Kelly Saad helped me trouble shoot it, but that was a while back. I have another set of these that I bought for my other 100 in the garage, I need to check that box to see if there's a harness in there (bought it from a MUD member about five years ago).