There are so many nice 100's on here that it's nearly impossible for one to stand out anymore. The bolt on list is a mile long and vendors are bringing new things to the market every day. As I look around at 100s in the Hills each year, I see beautiful 100s without one modification done and others that are so clean and well built they could be featured on the SEMA show floor. Unfortunately, my 100 is neither of those anymore.
Every scratch, dent, bend and mark has its place though. This vehicle has brought me more happiness and adventure than any vehicle I will ever own. It's safely held my children on some of the toughest trails in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. It's taken my wife and I out to some of the nicest restaurants in Denver. It's sheltered my dog and I during some of the fiercest rain, snow, wind and hail that Mother Nature has thrown at us. It's taken me to some of the most beautiful places in the most remote areas of the US. It's carried my fly fishing gear to the most pristine rivers and lakes throughout the Rocky Mountains. It's been the basis and starting point to friendships that will last a lifetime. It's also never let me down, not once.
Here's a quote from my first ever post on MUD....
I still can't say that I'm an offroader. I still just enjoy traveling the less traveled roads and trails. I'll never claim to wheel harder than most, or say that I run the hard trails. Mostly, I just follow the bumper that I wasn't even sure I'd ever need. Little did I know the wormhole that I was entering. Tires and sliders seem like eons ago.
Honestly, I have kept the mods pretty modest. I only did what I felt was needed or what I thought would be interesting to try. The best advice I received was to drive this truck stock and decide what I needed along the way. Unless you're going straight to the hardest trails in your area, this advice is priceless. Learn how to be a smart driver first, then build the vehicle to enhance that skillset. A good driver and a modest build will go much farther than a bad driver and all the bolt-ons on the shelf.
This 100 started as a Colorado born and raised stock vehicle. I drove it on some dirt roads and very mild trails like that for a few months.
Then I added a set of BFG 275/70/18's for a little more aggressive tire and look. I also added a set of OME 865 springs and cranked the T-bars up a little. I was really making the ATRAC work on some of the climbs I was trying and the more aggressive tire really helped with that. The downside was the loss of gas mileage and on-road comfort. Nothing beats a totally stock Land Cruiser on the highway. Every mod from that point on is a trade off. Making one area better will make another area suffer. The cranking of the tbars made the cv's spit some grease. A quick call to Pfran and I ordered some McMaster-Carr clamps and a full LED kit. I'm still using that same stuff since that day. Never an issue.
Since I was traveling some of the more remote areas of Colorado, I needed a set of sliders to protect my doors from the rocks and I needed a roof rack to carry some extra gear. I chose Metal Tech sliders mostly because they offered a steal of a price for their Cyber Monday sale. All these years later, and I still run that same set of Metal Tech sliders. They are not nearly as new as they once were and I don't know where I fall in the realm of using gear, but I can assure you that these sliders have held up to their fair share of beatings. I rank them as one of the best mods I've done. I could have chosen another vendor and maybe had the same results, although I know for a fact that the slight kick-out near the rear of the slider has saved me from body damage. A few years later I would have a problem with a "high end" set of shocks and Metal Tech made everything right and probably ate a large part of that cost. That's something that I never forgot and I have learned that quality customer service is priceless. Mark and his crew at Metal Tech are some of the best when it comes to customer service.
For my roof rack, I went with a Gamiviti Expo rack @nakman and never looked back.
IMO, there isn't a better rack on the market in terms of cost/function. It's super low profile, holds a stupid amount of weight and is very light. However, I felt like the design could have been improved on back then. I needed more of a "floor" and more places to attach straps, tie downs and bungees. So, I welded 1/4" round steel throughout the floor of the rack to give me all the things I wanted. I left the area over the sunroof open in the unlikely event that me or my family ever needed to escape the truck through the sunroof.
The material cost me almost nothing and I found a local powdercoater to re-coat the whole rack for $60. After all these years, it's still as good as new. Gamiviti has improved on the original design 3 or 4 times since then and I'm planning to purchase their newest edition this summer.
The noise that the roof rack made was unbearable and needed to be addressed. I was trying to spend as little as possible on mods and create anything I felt could save me a few dollars. I found a local plastic store here in Denver and stopped by to look around. I was able to purchase a piece of ABS plastic that I had cut to 55" x 6". Using cardboard, I mocked up a wind fairing and traced it onto the ABS. I cut the new piece using a Skil-saw and a dremel tool. Then I sanded the sharp edges and drilled some holes to attach it to the rack. My total cost was just under $18. It's held on with zip-ties in the crudest fashion possible, but has worked perfect ever since. I've since upgraded to high quality, UV resistant zip-ties, but I still replace them once a year. Could I come up with something better? Sure, but I kinda like the anti-conforming idea I originally used.
I found a front bumper on sale back then too. It was an ARB combo bumper and because I live in Colorado and often travel remote areas at night returning from fishing, I liked the idea of the bars that protect the hood and headlights from deer/elk/moose/bear. I installed it by myself right in my driveway. So many new bumpers have hit the market since then, but I'm still pretty happy with this one. I traveled many, many miles and drove plenty of trails with my 100 set up just like that. That may have been my favorite setup. 33's, small lift, rack, sliders, front bumper and my most useful mod, a dual battery setup.
I wasn't much for working on vehicles before owning this 100. I had some knowledge, but my desire to learn and willingness to just get in there and do it were my biggest assets. The MUD forum was a huge resource. I was lucky enough to live in Denver and belong to Rising Sun 4x4 Club, so I had a distinct advantage with all the knowledgeable Land Cruiser owners in my area.
Every scratch, dent, bend and mark has its place though. This vehicle has brought me more happiness and adventure than any vehicle I will ever own. It's safely held my children on some of the toughest trails in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. It's taken my wife and I out to some of the nicest restaurants in Denver. It's sheltered my dog and I during some of the fiercest rain, snow, wind and hail that Mother Nature has thrown at us. It's taken me to some of the most beautiful places in the most remote areas of the US. It's carried my fly fishing gear to the most pristine rivers and lakes throughout the Rocky Mountains. It's been the basis and starting point to friendships that will last a lifetime. It's also never let me down, not once.
Here's a quote from my first ever post on MUD....
I still can't say that I'm an offroader. I still just enjoy traveling the less traveled roads and trails. I'll never claim to wheel harder than most, or say that I run the hard trails. Mostly, I just follow the bumper that I wasn't even sure I'd ever need. Little did I know the wormhole that I was entering. Tires and sliders seem like eons ago.
Honestly, I have kept the mods pretty modest. I only did what I felt was needed or what I thought would be interesting to try. The best advice I received was to drive this truck stock and decide what I needed along the way. Unless you're going straight to the hardest trails in your area, this advice is priceless. Learn how to be a smart driver first, then build the vehicle to enhance that skillset. A good driver and a modest build will go much farther than a bad driver and all the bolt-ons on the shelf.
This 100 started as a Colorado born and raised stock vehicle. I drove it on some dirt roads and very mild trails like that for a few months.
Then I added a set of BFG 275/70/18's for a little more aggressive tire and look. I also added a set of OME 865 springs and cranked the T-bars up a little. I was really making the ATRAC work on some of the climbs I was trying and the more aggressive tire really helped with that. The downside was the loss of gas mileage and on-road comfort. Nothing beats a totally stock Land Cruiser on the highway. Every mod from that point on is a trade off. Making one area better will make another area suffer. The cranking of the tbars made the cv's spit some grease. A quick call to Pfran and I ordered some McMaster-Carr clamps and a full LED kit. I'm still using that same stuff since that day. Never an issue.
Since I was traveling some of the more remote areas of Colorado, I needed a set of sliders to protect my doors from the rocks and I needed a roof rack to carry some extra gear. I chose Metal Tech sliders mostly because they offered a steal of a price for their Cyber Monday sale. All these years later, and I still run that same set of Metal Tech sliders. They are not nearly as new as they once were and I don't know where I fall in the realm of using gear, but I can assure you that these sliders have held up to their fair share of beatings. I rank them as one of the best mods I've done. I could have chosen another vendor and maybe had the same results, although I know for a fact that the slight kick-out near the rear of the slider has saved me from body damage. A few years later I would have a problem with a "high end" set of shocks and Metal Tech made everything right and probably ate a large part of that cost. That's something that I never forgot and I have learned that quality customer service is priceless. Mark and his crew at Metal Tech are some of the best when it comes to customer service.
For my roof rack, I went with a Gamiviti Expo rack @nakman and never looked back.
IMO, there isn't a better rack on the market in terms of cost/function. It's super low profile, holds a stupid amount of weight and is very light. However, I felt like the design could have been improved on back then. I needed more of a "floor" and more places to attach straps, tie downs and bungees. So, I welded 1/4" round steel throughout the floor of the rack to give me all the things I wanted. I left the area over the sunroof open in the unlikely event that me or my family ever needed to escape the truck through the sunroof.
The material cost me almost nothing and I found a local powdercoater to re-coat the whole rack for $60. After all these years, it's still as good as new. Gamiviti has improved on the original design 3 or 4 times since then and I'm planning to purchase their newest edition this summer.
The noise that the roof rack made was unbearable and needed to be addressed. I was trying to spend as little as possible on mods and create anything I felt could save me a few dollars. I found a local plastic store here in Denver and stopped by to look around. I was able to purchase a piece of ABS plastic that I had cut to 55" x 6". Using cardboard, I mocked up a wind fairing and traced it onto the ABS. I cut the new piece using a Skil-saw and a dremel tool. Then I sanded the sharp edges and drilled some holes to attach it to the rack. My total cost was just under $18. It's held on with zip-ties in the crudest fashion possible, but has worked perfect ever since. I've since upgraded to high quality, UV resistant zip-ties, but I still replace them once a year. Could I come up with something better? Sure, but I kinda like the anti-conforming idea I originally used.
I found a front bumper on sale back then too. It was an ARB combo bumper and because I live in Colorado and often travel remote areas at night returning from fishing, I liked the idea of the bars that protect the hood and headlights from deer/elk/moose/bear. I installed it by myself right in my driveway. So many new bumpers have hit the market since then, but I'm still pretty happy with this one. I traveled many, many miles and drove plenty of trails with my 100 set up just like that. That may have been my favorite setup. 33's, small lift, rack, sliders, front bumper and my most useful mod, a dual battery setup.
I wasn't much for working on vehicles before owning this 100. I had some knowledge, but my desire to learn and willingness to just get in there and do it were my biggest assets. The MUD forum was a huge resource. I was lucky enough to live in Denver and belong to Rising Sun 4x4 Club, so I had a distinct advantage with all the knowledgeable Land Cruiser owners in my area.
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