After lurking for a little while, I think it is time to finally get a build thread going to document all the changes we've made to the LX, but also to help others on the journey to building their dream trucks.
Introduction to Cruisers:
In the cold of January 2021, my wife Gigi and I were in quarantine like so many of you at that time and were curled up in front of our fireplace watching Amazon Prime Video. Having just finished another show, we were looking for something to take up the rest of the evening, and stumbled upon Expedition Overland, Season 1. We had talked at length before that fateful day about someday building a self-sufficient off-roading rig that would be able to take us up to Alaska for a few weeks, as that was somewhere neither one of us had been, but we both dreamt about. So with that already in mind, we watched the entire season over the next couple of days. On about day 3, as we were finishing up season 1, Gigi asked me "how much do you think that Land Cruiser would cost to build?" this started the gears turning in our minds about what rig, when, and how we would be able to afford building our very own "overland" ready truck.
The Search:
By the end of the month, the search was on in earnest; we had set a budget to purchase the rig (sub $6,000), I had reached out to friends who owned various off-roading trucks, spent countless hours on Youtube watching build videos, and test driven several used Jeeps and 4runners that I thought would be the platform we ended up with. I honestly had not thought much of the Land Cruiser platform, as it was just something I knew of from my more affluent clients and relatives, not something I thought 2 mid 20-somethings would be able to afford to purchase, let alone build out. The first couple semi-built rigs I found were incredibly rough, poorly maintained, extremely high mileage, and above all, out of our budget. This was discouraging, but we kept looking, still doing more research, and continuing to dream about where this rig would take us. But as fate would have it, one evening in early March I was on Facebook Marketplace searching for a 4th Gen 4Runner, and found this fairly clean, higher mileage, 2000 Lexus LX470, in the glorious old man tan.
The Rig:
Once I saw the truck, I knew it would be a good base to start from, but I was apprehensive of the mileage and of course, it being a Lexus, not a "TRUE" Land Cruiser. I knew I should go at least look at it in person though, since we were having such a hard time finding a rig like we wanted. So, I messaged the gentleman who had listed the truck, and setup a time for that next day to go take a look at it, and take it on a test drive. From the first look I could tell someone had taken care of this truck, with just under 290k on the clock, the paint was in good condition other than some clear coat peeling on the hood, interior was fairly clean other than some front seat tears, and the best part of all, it was listed at $5,000, $1,000 UNDER our budget. After looking over the car, looking though the Carfax, and having him walk me around the car, he tossed me the keys and said "go see what your wife thinks of it, and if you want it, I'll have the paperwork ready for you when you get back.". With that, I was in the driver's seat of the first Land Cruiser I had ever piloted, and it was a religious experience. The road manners felt more like my E39 5 series BMW than my 1-ton diesel work trucks... But this is a capable, off-roading, truck, right? It was hard to believe, but all at once I knew this was the vehicle that we would end up with. After driving around with Gigi in the passenger seat for just a couple minutes, showing off the fully functional AHC, the aftermarket Bluetooth head unit, and just how refined and quiet the ride was, she was also sold. I brought back the truck, signed the paperwork, and we met right smack in the middle at $4,200, and so begins our journey.
Introduction to Cruisers:
In the cold of January 2021, my wife Gigi and I were in quarantine like so many of you at that time and were curled up in front of our fireplace watching Amazon Prime Video. Having just finished another show, we were looking for something to take up the rest of the evening, and stumbled upon Expedition Overland, Season 1. We had talked at length before that fateful day about someday building a self-sufficient off-roading rig that would be able to take us up to Alaska for a few weeks, as that was somewhere neither one of us had been, but we both dreamt about. So with that already in mind, we watched the entire season over the next couple of days. On about day 3, as we were finishing up season 1, Gigi asked me "how much do you think that Land Cruiser would cost to build?" this started the gears turning in our minds about what rig, when, and how we would be able to afford building our very own "overland" ready truck.
The Search:
By the end of the month, the search was on in earnest; we had set a budget to purchase the rig (sub $6,000), I had reached out to friends who owned various off-roading trucks, spent countless hours on Youtube watching build videos, and test driven several used Jeeps and 4runners that I thought would be the platform we ended up with. I honestly had not thought much of the Land Cruiser platform, as it was just something I knew of from my more affluent clients and relatives, not something I thought 2 mid 20-somethings would be able to afford to purchase, let alone build out. The first couple semi-built rigs I found were incredibly rough, poorly maintained, extremely high mileage, and above all, out of our budget. This was discouraging, but we kept looking, still doing more research, and continuing to dream about where this rig would take us. But as fate would have it, one evening in early March I was on Facebook Marketplace searching for a 4th Gen 4Runner, and found this fairly clean, higher mileage, 2000 Lexus LX470, in the glorious old man tan.
The Rig:
Once I saw the truck, I knew it would be a good base to start from, but I was apprehensive of the mileage and of course, it being a Lexus, not a "TRUE" Land Cruiser. I knew I should go at least look at it in person though, since we were having such a hard time finding a rig like we wanted. So, I messaged the gentleman who had listed the truck, and setup a time for that next day to go take a look at it, and take it on a test drive. From the first look I could tell someone had taken care of this truck, with just under 290k on the clock, the paint was in good condition other than some clear coat peeling on the hood, interior was fairly clean other than some front seat tears, and the best part of all, it was listed at $5,000, $1,000 UNDER our budget. After looking over the car, looking though the Carfax, and having him walk me around the car, he tossed me the keys and said "go see what your wife thinks of it, and if you want it, I'll have the paperwork ready for you when you get back.". With that, I was in the driver's seat of the first Land Cruiser I had ever piloted, and it was a religious experience. The road manners felt more like my E39 5 series BMW than my 1-ton diesel work trucks... But this is a capable, off-roading, truck, right? It was hard to believe, but all at once I knew this was the vehicle that we would end up with. After driving around with Gigi in the passenger seat for just a couple minutes, showing off the fully functional AHC, the aftermarket Bluetooth head unit, and just how refined and quiet the ride was, she was also sold. I brought back the truck, signed the paperwork, and we met right smack in the middle at $4,200, and so begins our journey.
