Builds Vinyl Seats 100 Series Build (1 Viewer)

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VinylSeats

SILVER Star
Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Threads
25
Messages
409
Location
Littleton, CO
I decided to start a build thread to track my progress on this Land Cruiser.

After searching for a while, I picked up my 1999 with 250,000 miles from a small dealer in the Denver area in September 2017. It had lived it's first life in Arizona. Next, it moved to Denver where the 2nd owner had driven it nearly 200,000 miles, seemingly all highway miles. It was dealer maintained for most of it's life and was finally traded into a local Lexus dealer. After the pre-purchase inspection gave me the green light (as well as a list of things to tackle going forward), I pulled the trigger.

First night home:
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Gotta get rid of that broken bug guard!

More to come.

Truck as of June 2021
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Still my favorite LC color! Would've loved to have one in white/tan but only found 1 in my search and it wasn't the right move for me.

Looking forward to seeing your progress. I try to keep pretty active in my build thread. I'm sure it will help a couple others along the way. But it's also been great way for me to keep track of everything I do to the cruiser both maintenance and upgrades.
 
Got two new master keys made from my trusted shop. My truck only came with the valet sub key so I had to figure out how to get more. After reading a number of threads on keys (some optimistic, some not so), I decided to bite the bullet and simply go with my usual shop. Looking back on it, I'm sure I could have done some of the work, even if it was simply making the second master after the mechanic did the ECU and the first one. Oh well. Paying the $600 wasn't fun but I was happy to be rid of visions of losing my one and only key.
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Now I just need one of suprax7nut's titanium integrated key fobs. Just gotta stop flip-flopping on color (grey or orange) and make a decision...
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I have orange and absolutely love that I can find it easily.
 
I was hoping i could see the key peaks and valleys and start trying all the white Land Cruisers in Littlton CO :)
Haha. I saw someone do this once on Mud and thought, "Why'd he black out the ridges? That's a bit ridiculous." Then someone on the thread described the ability to copy keys via image.

So, in addition to the fact that I have a white Land Cruiser, you know I'm irrationally paranoid. :cautious:
 
Haha. I saw someone do this once on Mud and thought, "Why'd he black out the ridges? That's a bit ridiculous." Then someone on the thread described the ability to copy keys via image.

So, in addition to the fact that I have a white Land Cruiser, you know I'm irrationally paranoid. :cautious:

Had no clue. Pic of my key is on amazon, on mud, etc.....not paranoid.....well maybe a little....:cautious:
 
Next up was the worn hood struts. With the help of my wife and a 2x4, installed the new Strong Arm Struts I bought on Amazon in a few minutes.
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Anybody have any experience with these struts? How long do they typically last?
 
My cruiser was in really great shape for a 1999 when I bought it, but it was missing the jump seats and the headrests for the 2nd row. I initially found replacements from online companies but they were way beyond what I wanted to pay. After daily visits to Craigslist, I found a donor LX north of Denver that had all the parts I needed. For $225, I picked up all the headrests and the jump seats.
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Spent the afternoon cleaning the seats and within a couple hours, they were looking like new.
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While everything looks nice and stock, the jump seats quickly came out to make way for the next project.
 
While I saw some amazing drawer systems throughout this community, I wanted to create a sleeping platform that was simple, easy to remove, and would be perfect for me, the wife, and the dog to sleep on during summer camping.

I started drawing up plans.
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After a lot of research in this and other communities, I headed to Home Depot with a pretty solid plan. Loading up the full sheets of 3/4" plywood into the TLC for the first time was one of those great "I love this truck" moments. Can't do that with a Subaru Forester!
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I used mostly 2x4s for the frame and a 2x6 on one side to accept the extra platform that would sit on the 2nd row seats.
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I wanted to build the platform high enough to use all of the totes we already use to store most things, including camping gear. I used 8 iron plumbing flanges and 4 pipes to act as the support. I then put small bits of carpet under each leg as extra padding to protect the truck carpet. I used turnbuckles at the 4 factory rings to keep things steady.
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I used some cheap carpet from Home Depot to cover the top and sides of the platform. It matches the truck pretty well. Strong adhesive and staples were used to secure the carpet.
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The platform can accommodate a full mattress. I'm 6'1" (175 lbs), my wife is 5'5" (105 lbs), and my dog is 55 lbs. It's not a luxury suite, but we can all fit!

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Due to the height of the rear platform, I had to build up the second platform a bit so it could rest on the 2nd row seats evenly. If I were to do everything again, I would maybe make the legs shorter so as to have more head room. However, we would have needed to change our camping storage a bit. Overall, I'm still happy with the height.
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The two platforms are locked together with a hinge pin on each side that goes through the 2nd platform and the rear platform lip behind it.
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I eventually moved the legs by the rear gate more to the side to better make use of the front opening. This was definitely the right move and didn't affect stability at all.
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Finished product. Tested it that night. Slept like a baby.
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Nice progress. It's the simple things that work the best :)
Thanks! Yeah, I do see some fancy drawer systems (whether DIY or purchased) and am a little jealous (I LOVE the extended cooking surfaces some have made from their drawers), but I'm super happy with this solution as a start. I'll use it for a few years and see if I need to upgrade (or just want a new project!)
 
Like many older TLCs, my truck's bungee pockets behind the driver and front passenger seat were worn out and sagging.
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Using this helpful thread by @TheForger as a guide, I decided to take a Saturday morning to fix them.

Popping off the pocket was fairly simple using the tips in the above thread.
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I purchased shock cord from REI. They did not have a tan to match but I was happy with the black. Total coast was maybe $2. I threaded them through the seat, then melted the ends to create a larger end to keep them secured. I remember that pulling off the metal collar around the plastic nubs was a huge pain. Being a few months ago, I can't remember exactly how I secure the bungee in the back.
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