corolla cruiser: 99 Land Cruiser build

[heavy]

Figured this would be a better place than any other to document my cruiser, so here it is.
Coming from a jeep background, I've wanted a 100 series since i could remember, just never could afford one lol
Well, in August 2020, i finally picked one up!

Little background on how i acquired this thing:
This summer, I spent most of my time on the west coast (From Louisiana).
While out there, I purchased an old corolla and drove it back home.
Traded said corolla for an engine, then traded engine for this thing:

99 Land Cruiser, 270k miles on the clock.
Got most of the service records and such with it too, thankfully lol

Guy i acquired it from worked at a dealership and bought it when it got traded in. Few months into owning it, he hit a deer and just kept driving it on his farm.
It's rough, and i knew i was getting myself into a wormhole, but it was the cheapest option to get myself into a 100 series.

 

[nukegoat]

Don't fix the body stuff, just run it like a boss

 

[heavy]

August 22, 2020:

Made the trade for the engine and drove 45 minutes away to scoop this thing up.
First up: Fuel, something I knew I'd have to get used to spending a bunch on lol.

being used as a farm vehicle, inside and out was disgusting.
so took it to car wash and blasted the exterior off to see how it looked under the layers of dirt and dust

doesn’t look too horrible from the back and wet

then some daylight shots

 

[heavy]

Don't fix the body stuff, just run it like a boss

hhahaha i actually drove it a few weeks like this

 

[heavy]

Next day, I immediately ordered a new driver rear window, and got that all changed out.

much better lol.
no more trash bag window!!

Shortly after acquiring the cruiser, a fellow cruiser bud of mine sent me a link to a guy parting out a 100, river rock green mica and all in Tennessee.
about 9 hours from me, not bad.
Messaged the guy and he said he was gonna be close to be that weekend and brought it all down!
saved me 5 hours of driving and got most of what i needed to fix this unit.

new door, hood, and partial front cut,
should be enough to fix the front end up nicely

 

[generalli]

I love budget builds! Will be following this closely. By the way, the right front headlights appears to be from a Toyota Sequoia.

 

[heavy]

so then i got to work stripping the front end down

can see the bent core support and such.
thankfully frame is straight and it drives well

lower hinge area was knocked in when it was wrecked:/
gonna get that taken care of soon.
but for now, i just threw some spacers under the hinge to get door to line up and function well.

hood on!
slowly looking less like a demolition derby vehicle

 

[heavy]

I love budget builds! Will be following this closely. By the way, the right front headlights appears to be from a Toyota Sequoia.

hahahah it was!
guy had one sitting around and it was cheaper than him buying a replacement cruiser light

 

[heavy]

after i picked up cruiser,
i sold a few cars out my fleet and got to work.

ordered a replacement fender for the passenger side along with a few small things

now it just looks like it has an eye patch.

 

[heavy]

While i was waiting for my new headlights to arrive, i started stripping the old ugly fake wood trim that was starting to peel up in some places, and also picked up some window visors

 

[heavy]

2 months into waiting for headlights
covid really screwed up shipping times lol.

but while waiting,
i managed to score an 07 front bumper local for 100 bucks

much better!
waiting on a few more things to come in
quick shot with my buds mpv

 

[heavy]

did a few more misc things to cruiser,
then drove it to my buds shop to visit.
while there,
he managed to quickly detail the heck out of this thing. also managed to get the rear door molding i was missing as well

 

[heavy]

few daylight shots
it was disgusting, wish i had taken some before pics.

fender molding also acquired

 

[heavy]

main reason i wanted the cruiser was to haul my dumb cars and my giant dog around.
and so far, i’ve hauled a bunch of my friends and my parts cars around, and it doesn’t tow too bad.

also my dog loves all the space as well lol

 

[heavy]

after months of waiting, headlights finally arrived!
i was going to just replace the passenger, but the drivers one was cracked as well, so i went ahead and got a pair of depo headlights.
they’re plastic, which isn’t ideal for me,
but they were cheaper for the pair than to buy one replacement

also hit up cruiser parts for a replacement lower valance panel, so installed them both in one go.

used a tree, a strap, and a BFH to knock the support a little straighter to mount everything up
it’ll do until i can get the front cut put on at some point lol

 

[heavy]

now i’m at the point where it’s not embarrassing to drive lol.
so i moved on to make interior more homey feeling.
dash had a weird spot on it,
so i ordered a dash mat for it.
def a big improvement to the interior imo

much better lol.

just a few misc pics i snapped

 

[LXKevin]

Quite a transformation. I like your front seat covers.

 

[heavy]

when i got the 100, the PO had the torsions cranked up already, so i started looking into lift options and what not.

but for the time being, ill drive it how it is
and went ahead and ordered some new tires for it.
was gonna originally go with an a/t, but a few of my buds convinced me to go m/t.
so now i had to research tires
after a bunch of good reviews from jeep guys i know about Patagonia’s, and the price for them, i was sold.
went ahead and purchased some 285/75r16s.
but while waiting, i hauled around some more dumb cars

and also hauled around my great pyr mix, pickle.
he’s claimed it as his now

 

[heavy]

Quite a transformation. I like your front seat covers.

i'm a fan as well. They'll do until i decide to recover the fronts

 

[LXKevin]

OkAutoparts in Jackson is a good source for used parts if you need anything else for the cruiser. Take it easy.