I've been lurking here for a while and picked up a lot from mud. Figured it's time to start giving back a little.
After obsessing over 100's for longer than a little while I pulled the trigger on this '03 LX a few months back, had around 138K on it. The PO was a grandma who had every single service done on time and obviously didn't have young kids ride in it.
I'm stoked on this rig. I've been wheeling for a few years now and have owned a '78 CJ-5, '89 yota pickup, '85 4Runner, '00 4Runner, and now this--something big enough to bring my growing family out wheeling with.
The plan is to start small and simple, then upgrade as the bounds get pushed. Nothing crazy.
The day I picked it up:
Notice the stock 18's were replaced along the way with chrome 16's. I was cool with it, I like the look of 18's better but I like the extra sidewall for wheelin'.
Then I dumped the running boards:
Then took it wheelin' off HWY 4, Sourgrass trail. It's a simple trail but one of our favorite spots, it's a nice area along the Stanislaus River. Not too much carnage, just a few scratches, a scraped wheel, and a dent in my muffler.
My two copilots that day
The rig did amazingly well. I'm looking forward to getting to know it's capabilities better.
Then it got new shoes, 285/75/16 Goodyear MTRs. I've made the mistake of compromising before so I didn't want to regret not getting the tires I wanted the first time around.
Then I got it tinted, 50% front two and 5% everywhere else. It sucks that CA has a law against tinting the front, it gets hot out in the valley! Rocky Mountain Window Tint in Livermore hooked it up. Matt is the best in the area, highly recommend (but he's backlogged by about 6 weeks so be prepared to wait a little).
I wasn't huge on chrome wheels so I played a little poker:
Sanded them down with some 80 grit, cleaned with tack cloth and acetone, then primer'd with some rusoleum self-etching primer:
The topped with about 4 coats of rusto gloss black. I prefer gloss since it's easier to clean, but I actually prefer a satin finish. After they're broken in a little they should be where I like them. We'll see.
Poser shots. I half-a55ed the center caps so I left them off since they didn't look right. I may redo them at some point.
Up next is getting the windshield pulled and new molding in the morning. The PO went to a shop that didn't seal it right so it was leaking on the passenger side. Lame.
After that, the wife doesn't like putting the kids in my rig without the running boards so I'm debating on what sliders to get.
Looking forward to getting out of the bay area rat race and back into the woods soon.
After obsessing over 100's for longer than a little while I pulled the trigger on this '03 LX a few months back, had around 138K on it. The PO was a grandma who had every single service done on time and obviously didn't have young kids ride in it.
I'm stoked on this rig. I've been wheeling for a few years now and have owned a '78 CJ-5, '89 yota pickup, '85 4Runner, '00 4Runner, and now this--something big enough to bring my growing family out wheeling with.
The plan is to start small and simple, then upgrade as the bounds get pushed. Nothing crazy.
The day I picked it up:
Notice the stock 18's were replaced along the way with chrome 16's. I was cool with it, I like the look of 18's better but I like the extra sidewall for wheelin'.
Then I dumped the running boards:
Then took it wheelin' off HWY 4, Sourgrass trail. It's a simple trail but one of our favorite spots, it's a nice area along the Stanislaus River. Not too much carnage, just a few scratches, a scraped wheel, and a dent in my muffler.
My two copilots that day
The rig did amazingly well. I'm looking forward to getting to know it's capabilities better.
Then it got new shoes, 285/75/16 Goodyear MTRs. I've made the mistake of compromising before so I didn't want to regret not getting the tires I wanted the first time around.
Then I got it tinted, 50% front two and 5% everywhere else. It sucks that CA has a law against tinting the front, it gets hot out in the valley! Rocky Mountain Window Tint in Livermore hooked it up. Matt is the best in the area, highly recommend (but he's backlogged by about 6 weeks so be prepared to wait a little).
I wasn't huge on chrome wheels so I played a little poker:
Sanded them down with some 80 grit, cleaned with tack cloth and acetone, then primer'd with some rusoleum self-etching primer:
The topped with about 4 coats of rusto gloss black. I prefer gloss since it's easier to clean, but I actually prefer a satin finish. After they're broken in a little they should be where I like them. We'll see.
Poser shots. I half-a55ed the center caps so I left them off since they didn't look right. I may redo them at some point.
Up next is getting the windshield pulled and new molding in the morning. The PO went to a shop that didn't seal it right so it was leaking on the passenger side. Lame.
After that, the wife doesn't like putting the kids in my rig without the running boards so I'm debating on what sliders to get.
Looking forward to getting out of the bay area rat race and back into the woods soon.
