Builds Atnolan94 Land Crooser Build Thread

[lazarus18]

Lots of small projects done today.

Got my mudflap eliminators from @LandCruiserPhil yesterday and they are PERFECT! Amazing product. Thanks for the idea Phil I will post in your classified thread as well with a quick review. nothing but positives literally no complaints.

Removed my tinted sunroof visor and luckily had no paint damage underneath and all the dirt wiped right off.

I added some of those big grid LED lights off amazon in my domes. They come with a universal dome light adapter and some adhesive backing tho stick them up in the dome housings (middle and cargo). The light isn't blue, its more of a stark white which I really enjoy. I wouldn't be happy with a really blue light. These things are BRIGHT I'm pretty happy, but I will wait a few nights to give a final verdict.

Lastly, I made the little jumper to replace the ACC relay, which allows 12v power even with the ignition off to the power plug in center stack, the one in the console, and the one in the cargo area. This will allow me to run lights or charge my phone with the vehicle not actually running. The cigarette lighter is NOT included in this loop, but mine is broken anyways so no big deal! Easy mod but something that make me super happy. I kept the relay in my glove box just in case my little jumper gets damaged or stops working.

I was planning to paint my wheels and do my rear heater bypass/starter job, but woke up to a puddle of oil under my wife's Tiguan...spent too much time this AM dealing with that. That has been major headache over the past 2 weeks....the car dumped all 4.7 quarts last Saturday because of a bad drain plug that kwik Kar didn't replace while doing an oil change...I got lazy and paid them to do it...that did NOT go well.

We are about {this} close to selling her Tiguan for about $15k and putting her in a GX470. Then we will have a Cruiser and a "fancy Prado" in the family

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Do you have a link to the lights?

 

[atnolan94]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IXKTW6C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oops for got to add the link @lazarus18 . I'm glad its a 4 pack because I only needed 2 and 1 was smashed in the mail. Came will all necessary adapters and adhesive, etc. Very straightforward. Very worth it so far. I closed the garage and made it super dark and when the back doors/hatch are open these things are crazy bright... there's literally 36 diodes on each panel, and usually these interior LEDs have 3 small ones....so the light output is phenomenal.

 

[atnolan94]

Make Your Power Outlets ALWAYS On

Also here's the write up to get constant power to 3 of your 4 12v outlets. I am assuming this TLCFAQ site is run by a Mud member. If you know who it is, let me know. i'd love to give credit where its due. It was also tremendously helpful in programming my new key!

 

[atnolan94]

Oh wow I totally forgot to show off my fancy steering wheel. I am very impressed with the quality. The color is obviously a little off, but I think a quick dye will make it perfect. Even still its not awful The feel and quality is 10/10 and 3 day shipping from taiwan is obscene! I love how the fake wood feels in my palm. And the little paddles at 10 & 2 are absolutely amazing.

 

[lazarus18]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IXKTW6C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oops for got to add the link @lazarus18 . I'm glad its a 4 pack because I only needed 2 and 1 was smashed in the mail. Came will all necessary adapters and adhesive, etc. Very straightforward. Very worth it so far. I closed the garage and made it super dark and when the back doors/hatch are open these things are crazy bright... there's literally 36 diodes on each panel, and usually these interior LEDs have 3 small ones....so the light output is phenomenal.

I need to get some for the door panels have you looked into that yet?

 

[atnolan94]

Not yet but those little bulbs are pretty easy. Those light housings just pop out of the door then you will see how to carefully pop the lens off the housing. Be careful not to break the clips. All of mine are functional so I haven't messed with them yet.

 

[atnolan94]

I have planned on black emblems since I got this truck. I HATE the gold emblems... I went ahead and did the cheapo plasti dip method for now. When I paint my wheels in the coming weeks I will also remove my emblems and properly sand, prime, paint, and clear them. There’s some peeling on the emblems themselves that you can see if you look really close, and I will correct that before they are paitned. I really did the plasti dip to get a taste of whether I’ll like the look or not and so far I really do! Looks much more modern and clean.

 

[atnolan94]

Inspired by @DirtDawg I pulled my roof rack and I’m actually super happy with it! You can see my matte black Toyota emblem here too, which turned out great.

 

[lazarus18]

Love that classic look @atnolan94 ! Want to take mine off as well but I potentially will be using it for some upcoming trips. Also see that yours doesn’t have the black guard above the rear cab light..... did you take it off? Thinking of pulling mine off but haven’t researched what they really do yet.

 

[atnolan94]

Love that classic look @atnolan94 ! Want to take mine off as well but I potentially will be using it for some upcoming trips. Also see that yours doesn’t have the black guard above the rear cab light..... did you take it off? Thinking of pulling mine off but haven’t researched what they really do yet.

Like that weird spoiler thing? Mine had been broken off and the brackets were still on it. I just unbolted the brackets and threaded the bolts back in. You can see in the rear pics of the truck on either side of the third brake light. I attached an old pic to show what I’m referring to. Is this what you’re referring to?

 

[lazarus18]

Like that weird spoiler thing? Mine had been broken off and the brackets were still on it. I just unbolted the brackets and threaded the bolts back in. You can see in the rear pics of the truck on either side of the third brake light. I attached an old pic to show what I’m referring to. Is this what you’re referring to?

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Yea that’s exactly what I am speaking of. I like the classic look a lot that has no roof rack and no spoiler.

 

[atnolan94]

Yea that’s exactly what I am speaking of. I like the classic look a lot that has no roof rack and no spoiler.

Ok great. Yeah from what Connor has told me, the roof rack is pretty unique to the US market. Obviously other markets around the world had them, but I guess all of the US spec ones did. The spoiler thing is just ugly! Haha. I’m sure a quick search will help you with that.

Like I said I still wasn’t 100% about taking the roof rack off, but I promise you the pics don’t do it justice. It looks so good. I also noticed a reduction in wind noise too, which Connor didn’t report. However he has an LX and the front foot of the roof rack was well behind the driver window, whereas our LC’s the front foot is basically right above your head next to the sunroof.

My advice on the roof rack is just get help from someone else to physically lift the rack off the roof in one piece. And make sure they’re talll enough to reach. It’s annoying to take apart on the roof doing it by yourself. Also you’ll need 12 m8x1.25 bolts and some silicone sealant because those holes go straight to your headliner. Lastly you need 12 little black plastic blanks to fill the holes in the roof trim, at $8 a piece. So you’re looking at about a $55 project in total which isn’t bad! Whenever you get time to do the rack removal feel free to PM me with questions.

 

[atnolan94]

This was before I took my rack off, but I’ve now had the truck 3 weeks as of tomorrow. We have come a long way!!

 

[Ouray19]

Dang, coming along nice. I have a question, outside of aesthetics and some wind noise, whats the reason for removing the factory roof rack? Do you plan on throwing up an aftermarket at some point? Or do you just like the look?

 

[atnolan94]

Dang, coming along nice. I have a question, outside of aesthetics and some wind noise, whats the reason for removing the factory roof rack? Do you plan on throwing up an aftermarket at some point? Or do you just like the look?

Thanks, I appreciate it! My rack was really faded and the paint was peeling off. I will never use this factory rack and I like the look without it to be honest. I would consider a nice aftermarket rack, but I just don't do many trips or activities that an aftermarket rack would be necessary for. I also don't have kids or a bunch of people to bring along with me, so space isn't a huge premium for me by any means. But I wouldn't rule it out. I'd be interested in drawers and a swing out setup first to de-clutter items from inside like tools and gear, and be able to move my cooler from the cargo area to a swing out. the other issue is the factory rack was rubbing clear coat off of the roof where the feet sit. Hopefully I can mitigate some of the issues related to that by removing it.

Honestly the wind noise was an unexpected benefit. But between removing this and the ugly sunroof visor my cruiser is MUCH quieter on the highway now.

 

[lazarus18]

@atnolan94 I also would like your thoughts on rims.... I have the factory and dont mind the factory rims cause I dont want to spend an arm and leg on rims but also because I think it can keep with a factory look while still looking good with a little bit of lift and other accessories.... My question to you is, what do you think about the lx470 rims and having them painted duplicolor graphite with flat clear coat? On my white LC I was going to do this with my factory rims but the lx470 16inch rims kind of resemble the rock warrior rims as far as spokes go..... I have no idea how it would look but found a deal for all 4 rims for $50. I would see about taking my hub cap off the toyota and put it on with the lx470 rim so no lexus logos would appear.... Let me know what you think.....

 

[Ouray19]

Thanks, I appreciate it! My rack was really faded and the paint was peeling off. I will never use this factory rack and I like the look without it to be honest. I would consider a nice aftermarket rack, but I just don't do many trips or activities that an aftermarket rack would be necessary for. I also don't have kids or a bunch of people to bring along with me, so space isn't a huge premium for me by any means. But I wouldn't rule it out. I'd be interested in drawers and a swing out setup first to de-clutter items from inside like tools and gear, and be able to move my cooler from the cargo area to a swing out. the other issue is the factory rack was rubbing clear coat off of the roof where the feet sit. Hopefully I can mitigate some of the issues related to that by removing it.

Honestly the wind noise was an unexpected benefit. But between removing this and the ugly sunroof visor my cruiser is MUCH quieter on the highway now.

Awesome. Yeah, for someone with 2 kids under 3 and a large dog, any trip has me driving down the highway like the Clampetts. But I can see why you wouldn't need it if that wasn't the case.

 

[OSTATECRUISER]

Thanks, I appreciate it! My rack was really faded and the paint was peeling off. I will never use this factory rack and I like the look without it to be honest. I would consider a nice aftermarket rack, but I just don't do many trips or activities that an aftermarket rack would be necessary for. I also don't have kids or a bunch of people to bring along with me, so space isn't a huge premium for me by any means. But I wouldn't rule it out. I'd be interested in drawers and a swing out setup first to de-clutter items from inside like tools and gear, and be able to move my cooler from the cargo area to a swing out. the other issue is the factory rack was rubbing clear coat off of the roof where the feet sit. Hopefully I can mitigate some of the issues related to that by removing it.

Honestly the wind noise was an unexpected benefit. But between removing this and the ugly sunroof visor my cruiser is MUCH quieter on the highway now.

Love everything you are doing! Really enjoy following your updates. I agree 100% on roof rack etc. delete. I think the cruiser looks the best sans roof rack, running boards, spoiler, visors. I also love the black emblems/grill on the champagne pearl body. The PO painted the wheels graphite on my riverrock green cruiser. I went matte black a few weeks ago and think it looks a lot better, just my opinion.
Looking forward to seeing your color choice.

 

[atnolan94]

@atnolan94 I also would like your thoughts on rims.... I have the factory and dont mind the factory rims cause I dont want to spend an arm and leg on rims but also because I think it can keep with a factory look while still looking good with a little bit of lift and other accessories.... My question to you is, what do you think about the lx470 rims and having them painted duplicolor graphite with flat clear coat? On my white LC I was going to do this with my factory rims but the lx470 16inch rims kind of resemble the rock warrior rims as far as spokes go..... I have no idea how it would look but found a deal for all 4 rims for $50. I would see about taking my hub cap off the toyota and put it on with the lx470 rim so no lexus logos would appear.... Let me know what you think.....

I don't personally like the LX wheels...the split spoke is just kinda funky to me. And I actually text drove an LX about 6 weeks ago that was black on grey with black rims and they just didn't look right...

Awesome. Yeah, for someone with 2 kids under 3 and a large dog, any trip has me driving down the highway like the Clampetts. But I can see why you wouldn't need it if that wasn't the case.

For sure haha! I think down the road as the wife and I start collecting (more) dogs and children an aftermarket rack may become a necessity! Just 1 dog and no kids currently, obviously subject to change hah

Love everything you are doing! Really enjoy following your updates. I agree 100% on roof rack etc. delete. I think the cruiser looks the best sans roof rack, running boards, spoiler, visors. I also love the black emblems/grill on the champagne pearl body. The PO painted the wheels graphite on my riverrock green cruiser. I went matte black a few weeks ago and think it looks a lot better, just my opinion.
Looking forward to seeing your color choice.

Thanks! As of now I'm going with a graphite color and a matte finish. I will have to get my tries are balanced afterwards (since I have to pop off the weights to paint the wheels) so the timing of it will have to be right, so i have some time to think and come up with a plan. I saw a pic here on mud of a champagne truck with graphite wheels and it looked great.

 

[atnolan94]

@OSTATECRUISER found the pic....

This guys is much cleaner than mine. but once I monstaline my rockers and trim we will be in great shape!

Also if anyone knows who this is, credit to him. I found this saved on my desktop but can't find the thread it was posted in.