Big Black Bear Build (1 Viewer)

[Seadub]

Hey everyone, I want to introduce myself and my rig.
I come from a long line of fuel-sipping hatchbacks, and I made the switch to something I can fit into better last June. THIS (in the voice of Dough DeMuro) is a 2015 GX460 with 73k mi, no rust, and perfect service records from the Lexus dealer. In short: a mall-crawler in its prior life. I researched this forum heavily before settling on this 150, and y’all seem all right and really knowledgeable.
At 6’2”, I’m not NBA tall but big enough that the small hatchbacks were not doing it for me anymore. I’ve had two VW GTIs and recently the fabulous gen 4 Mazda3 hatchback. I am sad to have left the stick shift life behind. However, I wanted something bigger which I could take camping without worries.
My purchasing priorities went something like this: large, off-road capable, reliable, 10 years old or newer, Xenon/LED headlights, sub-$30k, and very comfortable. The 4Runner ticked most of those boxes except comfort and price with headlights. I drove my friend’s 2016 SR5 frequently and never found the seating position to be comfortable: the chair seemed too low to the floor, and my head still seemed really close to the ceiling. Enter Lexus. I really want an LC100, but I don’t have my own garage to keep a 20ish year-old truck humming within my budget yet.
On to the rig:
I prioritized great maintenance history and low mileage above everything, and I got that. However, this thing has sat under one too many Florida Summer suns. I think that the clearcoat on the hood and roof is shot: the paint is cracked like a Michigan highway. Not flaky, more like crow's feet all over. I do not intend to make this Concours-worthy, but I do want to prevent rust and not get funny looks. I am open to a Maaco job just to get it into serviceable condition.
Mods:
The intention of the first phase of modifications is to familiarize myself with the car, minimize spending after the initial vehicle purchase, and make incremental upgrades to its appearance. So Phase One was a Toyota badge swap, yellow fog light covers, and replacing the exterior door handle chrome.
I liked the idea of swapping the Lexus badges for Toyota ones. It’s subtle and helps shield me from the perception that I’m making bukoo bucks at work. I got the part information from Sedonut’s post on here. The front swap was straightforward. Removing the rear Lexus and model emblems were completed using a borrowed heat gun, rubbing alcohol and mineral spirits. I used a 3M epoxy to affix the new, rear badge (poorly and hurriedly). It’s on my list to fix before the year-end. The fog light covers came from Lamin-ex and I put them on during a lunch break at work. Exactly what I wanted. The door handle chrome showed a lot of wear on the front driver’s side, and the front passenger’s side was missing. I bought a 4 pack off eBay, used the aforementioned heat gun to remove the adhesive, then affixed the new chrome onto the handle using the same 3M epoxy. I learned from my badge mishap and employed masking tape to hold the chrome piece down while the epoxy did its work. I haven’t done the rear chrome yet, because they are fine.
Future Mods:
Phase Two: window deflectors, sun shade, tow hitch, crossbars, canoe (!)
Phase Three: speakers and amp, Lexus cargo cover, vinyl wrap?
Now for the next year or so, I'm going to see how she does on the trails around me to help determine how hard I want mod further. I’m in Eastern Alabama, so places like Pine Mountain, North Georgia, and Talladega are my playgrounds to see how well she can do with stock suspension and tires.
I look forward to contributing what I can and interacting with you all. Cheers!

 

[iwashmycar]

Welcome!

 

[r2m]

Hey everyone, I want to introduce myself and my rig.
I come from a long line of fuel-sipping hatchbacks, and I made the switch to something I can fit into better last June. THIS (in the voice of Dough DeMuro) is a 2015 GX460 with 73k mi, no rust, and perfect service records from the Lexus dealer. In short: a mall-crawler in its prior life. I researched this forum heavily before settling on this 150, and y’all seem all right and really knowledgeable.
At 6’2”, I’m not NBA tall but big enough that the small hatchbacks were not doing it for me anymore. I’ve had two VW GTIs and recently the fabulous gen 4 Mazda3 hatchback. I am sad to have left the stick shift life behind. However, I wanted something bigger which I could take camping without worries.
My purchasing priorities went something like this: large, off-road capable, reliable, 10 years old or newer, Xenon/LED headlights, sub-$30k, and very comfortable. The 4Runner ticked most of those boxes except comfort and price with headlights. I drove my friend’s 2016 SR5 frequently and never found the seating position to be comfortable: the chair seemed too low to the floor, and my head still seemed really close to the ceiling. Enter Lexus. I really want an LC100, but I don’t have my own garage to keep a 20ish year-old truck humming within my budget yet.
On to the rig:
I prioritized great maintenance history and low mileage above everything, and I got that. However, this thing has sat under one too many Florida Summer suns. I think that the clearcoat on the hood and roof is shot: the paint is cracked like a Michigan highway. Not flaky, more like crow's feet all over. I do not intend to make this Concours-worthy, but I do want to prevent rust and not get funny looks. I am open to a Maaco job just to get it into serviceable condition.
Mods:
The intention of the first phase of modifications is to familiarize myself with the car, minimize spending after the initial vehicle purchase, and make incremental upgrades to its appearance. So Phase One was a Toyota badge swap, yellow fog light covers, and replacing the exterior door handle chrome.
I liked the idea of swapping the Lexus badges for Toyota ones. It’s subtle and helps shield me from the perception that I’m making bukoo bucks at work. I got the part information from Sedonut’s post on here. The front swap was straightforward. Removing the rear Lexus and model emblems were completed using a borrowed heat gun, rubbing alcohol and mineral spirits. I used a 3M epoxy to affix the new, rear badge (poorly and hurriedly). It’s on my list to fix before the year-end. The fog light covers came from Lamin-ex and I put them on during a lunch break at work. Exactly what I wanted. The door handle chrome showed a lot of wear on the front driver’s side, and the front passenger’s side was missing. I bought a 4 pack off eBay, used the aforementioned heat gun to remove the adhesive, then affixed the new chrome onto the handle using the same 3M epoxy. I learned from my badge mishap and employed masking tape to hold the chrome piece down while the epoxy did its work. I haven’t done the rear chrome yet, because they are fine.
Future Mods:
Phase Two: window deflectors, sun shade, tow hitch, crossbars, canoe (!)
Phase Three: speakers and amp, Lexus cargo cover, vinyl wrap?
Now for the next year or so, I'm going to see how she does on the trails around me to help determine how hard I want mod further. I’m in Eastern Alabama, so places like Pine Mountain, North Georgia, and Talladega are my playgrounds to see how well she can do with stock suspension and tires.
I look forward to contributing what I can and interacting with you all. Cheers!

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Congrats on your new ride! And welcome to the forum.